Error-Free and Pure (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12)                                                                            2010. 01. 31                                  Pastor Edward Cheng 

Last time in 1 Thessalonians 1, we talked about Paul’s “big three:” faith, hope, and love.  They span the spectrum of time—faith in the historical fact of Jesus’ work, love governing us in the present, and hope in the future coming of Christ.  They each also have a present component: the “work of faith, labor of love, and endurance of hope.”  The Thessalonians apparently displayed these three attributes, since the short amount of time that Paul spent with them seemed to be really intense and intimate.  In 2:1-12, Paul reflects on his time with the Thessalonians, and he describes the heart attitude which he had while he was serving them.  As we read this, we begin to understand what the heart of Christian service really is. 

What is the highest value in Christian service?  Commitment?  Faithfulness?  Skill?  In fact, we know that it’s one of Paul’s big three: love.  When we want to serve others, that is the one thing we have to have. 

It turns out that love is displayed to the Thessalonians not only in how Paul treated them, but how he did not act toward them.  Starting in v. 1-3, he says that his ministry does not “spring from error or impure motives” or from wanting to trick anyone.  The love that Paul displayed was with a genuine heart, and out of genuine desire.

In v. 4, he says, “we are not trying to please men but God.”  There is a struggle in ministry sometimes between “felt” needs, and spiritual needs.  Felt needs are the issues that people generally want to hear about, such as money management, or relationships, which have a direct connection to our present lives.  On the other hand, spiritual needs aren’t necessarily determined by what’s going on in our lives right now.  For example, I chose to preach from 1 Thessalonians because we haven’t had it preached in a long time.  We as God’s people need to ingest his Word, all of it—we need to learn our Bible.  Paul did not go to the Thessalonians just to please them.  The love he had for them led him to minister to them in a way that actually was good for them, not just to make them feel good.  Sometimes God wants to reveal things that we’d rather keep hidden; sometimes he wants to convict our hearts. 

In v. 5, we see a couple more things.  Paul didn’t come with flattery, or a mask for greed.  He didn’t come to pump them up, and he didn’t come for himself.  The love he displayed to the Thessalonians was for their good.  He didn’t take advantage of them. 

In v. 6, Paul writes that it was not “for praise from men.”  I would suggest that Paul did like it when people complimented him for his teaching, but that was not the point of his work.  His love for people dominated his service. 

As he continues, he turns to the positive.  In v. 7 he says, “We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” This is a picture of a mother nursing—giving of herself to her children.  Nursing is taxing on the mother, so in the same way Paul is saying that it cost him to serve the Thessalonians, yet he did it out of love. 

In v. 8, he says that he loved them so much, that his ministry to them was not a job—it was sharing life with them.  Anyone can study the Bible on their own, but Christian service in church means going through life together. 

In v. 9-12, Paul says that he deals with the Thessalonians like a father, by “encouraging, comforting, and urging.” Again, he wasn’t just trying to get people to like him; he was there to preach the totality of God’s word, to encourage people in God’s word how to live their lives. 

One more thing I want to notice in this passage: Paul writes “You know…” four times in the passage (v. 1, 2, 5, 11) and in 1:5.  He’s saying, “You know all this, because I was with you, among you.” This is one disadvantage of mega-churches, where it’s impossible for everyone to get to know their pastors well enough to be able to tell whether they serve with the same attitudes as Paul’s. The Thessalonians know Paul’s inner attitudes because they shared life together. 

Do we see our Christian service as just a job we have to do? Whatever it is you do in our church, I know it’s important, but I would also rather you do it for the right attitude—because we share life together.