In the opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, we saw in his introductory remarks many characterizations of a godly church, as exemplified by the church of Thessalonica. Paul expressed his gratitude for their response to the gospel that he and his missionary team had delivered to them.
Now as we come to the second chapter, Paul gives a defense of his ministry of the gospel to this church. We can surmise by the tone and content of this letter that some people were critical of Paul and Silas and Timothy’s ministry and sought to undermine the work that they had founded in Thessalonica. And so in the context of this defense of his ministry, we will see the hallmarks of a godly ministry of the gospel, as exemplified by Paul and his companions.
These hallmarks of his ministry should be a template for effective pastoral ministry in the church today as well. There are a lot of possible ways in which a pastor can minister to the church. But it’s much too common today in the church, to see pastors a variety of methods of ministering, which seem to produce various results, but which have no precedent in the Biblical mandate to preach the gospel and make disciples. And I would add to that - the test of a minister’s effectiveness, of his adherence to the Biblical standard, should not be judged by the size of the congregation. You can draw quite a crowd with bread and circuses, but the spiritual growth of the church is not something that is always synonymous with the size of the church.
So I think it would be helpful for us to consider this defense of Paul’s ministry as a template for a godly ministry of the gospel, and hope that we will tailor our ministry according to Paul’s example. Now there are 20 verses in this chapter, and about half that many characteristics, so I am going to have to move quickly through the text to cover them all. But the first characteristic we see is that Paul’s ministry was his purpose was to give to the church, and not to take from the church.
Paul says in vs 1, “For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain.” A lot of translations interpret this word as “vain,” which means, as not without purpose. The superficial interpretation then is saying that his ministry was not without fruit. But there is another possible meaning which I think fits in the context better. This word translated “vain” may also be translated as “empty handed.” So what Paul might be saying in that case is “far from coming to take something from you, we came to bring you something - our hands were not empty.” And I think that fits more in keeping with the context of the chapter, as you will see going forward. The treasure Paul brought to these people was much greater than anything he might have taken from them. And his desire all along was to give them this great gift of salvation. That’s why he came to Thessalonica. Not as a predator, as perhaps some of Paul’s critics had asserted, to see what he could take, but to give them the invaluable gift of the gospel.
And that is, in effect, what he says in vs 2, “but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.” Another translation reads like this, “On the contrary, though we had previously suffered and had been shamefully treated at Philippi as you know, still by the help of God we summoned courage to tell you the good news of God with profound solicitude.” Now I like how that translation answers the previous assertion that they had not come empty handed, but on the contrary, they delivered to them the good news of God. What they brought was the gospel and they ministered it to them. Their intention was not to take, but to give.
In that statement, you should also notice a mention of the beating and imprisonment that Paul and Silas had endured at Philippi. So even though they had just recently suffered a great ordeal for the sake of the gospel, they wanted to come to share the gospel in Thessalonica as well. They had a deep concern for the spiritual well being of the Thessalonians, which was the reason for their coming.
That concern for the souls to whom you minister is yet another characteristic of a godly ministry. A desire to see people come to a saving knowledge of the Lord, and to grow in their faith, and to equip them to walk in the truth, these things are a hallmark of a godly ministry. Not simply to grow in size, to raise up a great building, a big organization that only profits the ego of the minister, but doesn’t give the people what they really need.
The next characteristic of Paul’s ministry was that the gospel which he preached was not designed to appeal to men, but to please God. He says in vs 3 and 4, “For our exhortation didn't come from error or impurity or an intent to deceive. Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts.”
A number of years ago, a well known pastor had a desire to build a great church, and so they came upon a plan to send a questionnaire out to the community asking them what they would like to see in a church. The answers to the survey provided a template for their church, and started a movement in evangelical circles called the seeker friendly church. They tailored their ministry to appeal to the unsaved. And the result was that they did in fact build an enormous church which became a prototype for 1000’s of other churches who also wanted to build a bigger church. The question remains though if many of the people drawn to such churches are truly saved. And for those that are saved, how many grow spiritually mature in such an environment.
That’s not what Paul and Silas and Timothy did when they came to the Thessalonians. Rather than rely on questionnaires and market surveys to see what they should preach, they looked to God to see what He would have them preach. Rather than trying to appeal to men, they wanted to be faithful to what God wanted them to present as their message.
In some respects, the early church wasn’t much different from the church landscape today. There are still imposters and fraudsters and tricksters plying the church for money, for the sake of ego, for the sake of building a monument to their own charisma. Paul warned Timothy in another letter that “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2Tim. 4:3)
Let me assure you that if you are really preaching the word of God, then you aren’t tickling anyone’s ears. And you’re probably not going to win a popularity contest either. Because the gospel is offensive. It’s convicting. It’s cleansing. It’s sanctifying. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church ]in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” The gospel will either cause you to be cleansed, sanctified and holy, or it will cause you to turn away. It will not tickle your ears.
And Paul says that their gospel was not intended to be flattering, nor as a means to gain honor or riches. Notice vs 5, “For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed--God is witness-- nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.”
Paul appeals to the Thessalonians by saying, “you know that what I am saying is true.” They had been witnesses of the purity of his motives. They knew that Paul and his companions had not come under false pretenses, nor to try to take advantage. Paul and Silas and Timothy were the spiritual fathers of this church. So these people certainly would have remembered the way in which they came, and the reason why they came.
Even though they had the authority of the apostolic office, they had not asserted their authority as such, but instead they were gentle towards them. He says in vs 7, “But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing [mother] tenderly cares for her own children.”
You know, the apostles had an authority that was given to them by God. An apostle was a one time position given for the founding of the church. They were the foundation of the church. Eph 2:19-20 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner [stone,]”
This authority of the apostles was something that could be quite formidable. You remember that at the beginning of the church in Jerusalem, Peter had two people in his church, Ananias and Sapphira, who had lied to the church in regards to the money they had received from the sale of some land. And Peter called them out on it, saying that they had in effect lied to the Holy Spirit. And as a result of their sin, at Peter’s word, God struck them dead right in the middle of the church. Paul as well said on one occasion that he delivered a certain person to Satan, for the destruction of his flesh because he had refused to repent of his sin and put a stumbling block in front of the church.
So this authority they had as apostles was formidable, and yet Paul did not wield his authority like a club, but instead was gentle towards them, even as a mother tenderly cares for her children. You should remember that gentleness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Gentleness is power under control. It was used to speak of a horse that was trained. And this gentleness came from a love which they had for the church.
We see that love stated in vs 8, “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” As I’ve often said before, the greatest expression of love is to share the gospel with someone. If you only share in superficial, physical things, then it’s not the fullest expression of love. To share the gospel is to show love for another. And Paul says they not only were desiring to share the gospel with them, but also their own lives. That is, they were wiling to share their lives, or even to sacrifice their lives for their sake. They risked their lives for the sake of sharing the gospel with them.
What a convicting statement, when we think of how typically the modern church or it’s ministers are willing to sacrifice very little for the sake of the gospel. Any inconvenience, any degree of difficulty or discomfort or danger, is an excuse to not go to church, or an excuse to avoid evangelizing the lost. But love is sacrificial, and willing to do whatever it takes, even risking one’s health and safety for the sake of the gospel.
Another hallmark of a godly ministry of the gospel is that the apostles avoided being a burden to the church. Vs 9, “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, [how] working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” Once again, it was Paul’s right as an apostle to receive financial support from the church for his ministry. Paul speaks in other places in regards to pastoral duties that “The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.” He said that those who do the work of preaching should be worthy of double honor. But in the case of this church, as Paul was desirous of establishing it, he provided for his own financial needs by working in order to not be a burden upon the church.
I think there is an idea in this, of a farmer who plants a fruit tree, and adds supports to hold it up, and fertilizes it, and carefully tends to it until it reaches a stage of maturity by which it is able to support itself and bear fruit. Or as a father or mother who raises a child, provides for the child in every way, until the child reaches maturity where they can stand on their own. I think that is what Paul and Silas and Timothy had in mind here. There may be a time - especially in the founding of a church, when a pastor may want to hold off in receiving the financial support that he rightfully should expect, until such a time when the church becomes established. But in a broader aspect, I think the principle of not being a burden to the church is the guiding principle here. Not having your own interests at heart, but the church’s interest as paramount.
And to that point of a parental perspective on their ministry, Paul says that they acted as fathers to the church, so that they might see spiritual growth in the church. Vs10 “You are witnesses, and [so is] God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we [were] exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father [would] his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
It’s interesting to notice that Paul had said they were like a mother to the church back in vs 7, and now he says they were like fathers to them. And even as they preached in order to please God and not men, so now they call upon God and them as witnesses that they had indeed acted uprightly towards the church. Like spiritual fathers, they had implored and encouraged, and exhorted the church to walk in a way as to please the Lord, who is their heavenly father. Their ministry was paternal. It was loving, gentle, and yet firm and encouraging as a good father would encourage their own children. Their interest was not just in counting decisions, or claiming how many had joined the church, but in discipling the church to walk after the Lord day by day.
Now to that point that the apostles had acted towards them as fathers, on behalf of their heavenly Father, Paul says that they received the word of the apostles as the word of God. Vs 13, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men, but [for] what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”
Not only does that give credit to the church, that it had the spiritual discernment to realize that they spoke the word of God, but it also credits the apostles, who spoke the word of God and not the wisdom of man. A lot of pastor’s think that they are full of wisdom and insight and can address many of the social ills and problems of people today without reliance upon the word of God. But Paul and Silas and Timothy were wise enough to realize that the wisdom of God was greater than any wisdom they could muster up. So they preached the word.
Paul said in 1Co 1:18, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ... 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, ... 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Listen, one of the most important hallmarks of a godly ministry is to preach the word of God, and then for the church to receive it as the word of God. A lot of churches today excel in music, they excel in ceremony, they may excel in programs, they may excel in all kinds of classes to cover every contingency in human society, but they are delinquent in preaching the word of God. But the word of God is powerful, sharper than a two edged sword, and able to divide between soul and spirit, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Man’s wisdom is not able to do that. Paul says the word of God performs it’s work in you who believe. The power is in the word, not in man’s wisdom.
Another hallmark of a godly ministry is that they endured persecution for the sake of the gospel. He says in vs14 “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they [did] from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost.” Willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ is evidence of a godly ministry. Not only had Paul and his companions suffered for the gospel, but the church at Thessalonica had suffered persecution as well.
Paul says that in persecution, they had imitated the church in Jerusalem. In both Jerusalem and in Thessalonica they had suffered persecution at the hands of their own countrymen. And Paul goes on to speak of the Jews who had persecuted the church in Judea, he says that the wrath of God had come upon them as a result of their persecution of the church.
But whether the persecution comes from Jews or Gentiles, it is the same thing, because it stems from the age old warfare of the devil against Christ, the woman and the rest of her seed, according to what we have been studying in Revelation. But willingness to suffer persecution for the sake of the gospel is yet another characteristic of a godly minister, who considers persecution with Christ to be much more desirable than accommodation by the world.
The last hallmark of a godly ministry of the gospel is a desire for fellowship. Fellowship is able to be accomplished in the spirit in some measure, but it is best done in person. Paul and Silas and Timothy desired to see these people face to face that they had given birth to in the spirit, that they considered their children in the faith.
So Paul writes, in vs17 "But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while--in person, not in spirit--were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. For we wanted to come to you--I, Paul, more than once--and [yet] Satan hindered us. For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”
In light of what we learned last week from Revelation 20, that Satan has been bound during the church age so that he might not deceive the nations, it raises the question concerning Paul’s statement that Satan had hindered them from coming to see the church in person. Obviously, Satan being bound does not mean that Satan is powerless. He does still exert a powerful influence in the affairs of men, especially if they are endeavoring to work for the kingdom of God. He is still our arch enemy, and we that are ministers and servants of God are especially targets of his hate.
But the fact is, though he may hinder us, he cannot defeat us. He may impede the progress of the gospel, but he cannot stop it. He is limited, hobbled, even bound by the surpassing power of God towards us. Though he may have hindered Paul and his friends from coming at that time, yet he was not able to stop this letter from being written, which undoubtedly benefited that church much more than even Paul himself visiting in person could have done. And we cannot even comprehend the benefit to the spread of the gospel that this letter has accomplished for thousands of churches in the ages since. Satan may have won that skirmish, but the kingdom of God has won the war.
One last point I want to make in closing. In every chapter, usually at the end of the chapter, Paul speaks about the second coming of the Lord. In chapter four Paul will go to great lengths to speak about the second coming of Christ, and how that assurance should give the church great comfort. I really think that is the main point of this letter, to give hope and encouragement to the church concerning the second coming of Christ. And so he mentions it again and again at the end of each chapter before devoting one whole passage to it’s details.
But it’s interesting that Paul considers the church of Thessalonica as his hope and joy and glory at the coming of Christ. And that is because as John said there can be no greater joy than to see one’s children walking in the truth. When Jesus comes again, Paul will realize such great joy to see that the church that he planted in Thessalonica as they are raised to meet the Lord in the air. And these saints of God that he helped to bring to the Lord, will be his glory, his crown of his achievement on earth.
That should be our hope and joy and glory as well. That at the second coming, we might see those whom we brought to Christ. There can be no greater reward than to know that you played a part in the salvation of some soul that now is enjoying eternal life with God. In that respect, we should all be ministers of the gospel. Let us be effective ministers, by employing these characteristics in our ministry to one another and to those that are lost. Let us be faithful stewards of the gospel, ministering to those who are in need of salvation, and discipling those who are fellow saints.
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