Paul's Exhortations to the Thessalonian Church Volume 4

Paul Affirms his Conduct among these Thessalonians Part 1

1 Thessalonians 2:1-3 For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:  KJV

When the Apostle Paul entered the city of Thessalonica on his missionary journeys preaching the Gospel of Christ, he did not come into the city with fan-fare or great outward displays of how good and great he was, there was never any billboards declaring his soon arrival, nor any flyers passed out proclaiming what a great speaker he was and that everyone in the city should be compelled to come out and hear him speak. No, Paul was just a redeemed Jew who once himself was engrossed, engulfed, and then energized by false worship, so he just went everywhere now with the truth that there is but One God who made everything visible and invisible and His Name is Jesus Christ. Therefore, because he only preached the true Gospel of Christ Jesus, that is, His death, burial, and subsequent resurrection from the dead (proving Himself to be God, for only the God-Man could die and come back to life again), then God the Holy Spirit convicted repentant hearts of men and women in that city and regeneration, redemption, and resurrection of spiritually dead souls took place in Thessalonica and these people then turned away from false worship of idols to worship our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ alone, just as Paul had done.

The little English phrase 'in vain' Paul uses at the end of this verse is translated by one Greek word kenos which means simply empty. In other words, the evidence of Paul's authenticity as an appointed Apostle of Jesus Christ was the new life formed, shaped, and molded into the hearts and minds of those who became a part of Christ Mystical Body and formed the local body there in the city of Thessalonica. Note: "Not always does the preaching of the true Gospel of Christ pierce the souls of unregenerate men and women in places where Christianity is not believed, for there has been accounts over the centuries of many faithful men and women of God who proclaimed the truth for years even and no one turned to Christ, this does not ever diminish the Power of the Gospel or by no means the Power of God, but what it does reveal is that God/Christ will not kick in the door of the hearts of sinners, He will only enter in when He is invited through repentance and faith and this is precisely what happened in the city of Thessalonica with some who live there. Paul perhaps was more concerned with his authenticity being believed in accordance with the truth of his message and his motives, that being, that he was not an imposter or false teacher seeking the applauds of men and desiring to enrich himself not caring about the eternal destinies of the souls of men and women."

This is exactly where Paul begins the next verse showing his desire to see lost men and women turn to Jesus Christ no matter the personal cost to himself as he declares with these words, "But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much contention." (1 Thessalonians 2:2) (KJV). The English phrase 'after that we had suffered before' is translated by one Greek word propascho (used this one and only time in the New Testament) meaning to undergo hardship previously: - suffer before. The English phrase 'shamefully entreated' is translated by one Greek word hubrizo meaning to exercise violence, that is, abuse: - use despitefully, reproach, entreat shamefully (spitefully). The English word 'bold' Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word parrhesiazomai meaning to be frank in utterance, or confident in spirit and demeanor: to preach or speak boldly. In other words, despite the evil treatment Paul received at the hands of unregenerate men or two-legged devils in the city of Philippi (Acts 16:16-24), yet he came to Thessalonica with confidence, courage, and concern for the souls immersed in the worship of idol gods made by the hands of men and preached there as if nothing bad or evil had happened to him in Philippi. Note: "Today the preachers who are popular in this country do not face even remotely the evil treatment the Apostle Paul faced in his day for simply preaching the Gospel of Christ (but in other countries Christians and Christians converts are being treated even worse than Paul), some in this country face criticism for their flaunting, flamboyant, and fat lifestyles at the expense of the masses of people sending them money expecting to become healthy and wealthy as many of these proclaim that God/Jesus wants them to be, so some of these preachers are hounded by the media to fully disclose their ministry and personal earnings and many of them refuse to do so. This is not suffering for the Gospel's sake, this is true false prophets/profits at work praying on some sincere seekers of the truth."

Paul further reiterates the truth of his motives for coming to this city of Thessalonica by saying, "For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:" (1 Thessalonians 2:3) (KJV). First, Paul declares that his preaching was not of 'deceit' and this English word is translated by the Greek word plane meaning objectively fraudulence; that is, being an imposter or a misleader or in knowingly proclaiming error. Second, Paul declares that his preaching was not of 'uncleanness' which is translated by the Greek word akatharsia meaning having the quality of being impure or that which promoted moral impurity as being the will of God. Thirdly, Paul declares that his preaching was not of 'guile' and this English word is translated by the Greek word dolos meaning to decoy or to entrap or to trick; figuratively to delude or to be wily. In other words, Paul had no plans upon coming to their city to trick or bait these people into following him so that he could profit from their resources or to promote to them an acceptance of free love among them and seeking to sleep with as many of their women as being what God wanted for them, this was not Paul's intentions or motive to mislead these unbelievers with a false narrative of what the Gospel of Christ was and of who the God of Heaven is as revealed in Jesus Christ. Note 1: "Here is what Vincent's Word Study had to say about Paul's meaning here of 'uncleanness', 'Paul speaks of working uncleanness in a spirit of selfish desire which is the spirit of covetousness. In Ephesians 5:3, uncleanness and covetousness are closely associated. Paul means that his exhortation did not proceed from greed for gain or lust for power.'" Note 2: "Here is what Vincent's Word Study had to say about Paul's meaning here of 'guile', 'While uncleanness expresses impure purpose or motive, guile has reference to improper means; plausible but insincere methods of winning converts; suppression of the truth; 'huckstering the word of God' (see on 2 Corinthians 2:17); adulterating it for purposes of gain or popularity.'"

"The Apostle here comforts himself either in the success of his ministry, that it was not fruitless or in vain (according to our translation), or as others think, reflecting upon the sincerity of his preaching, that it was not vain and empty, or deceitful and treacherous. The subject-matter of the Apostle's preaching was not vain and idle speculations about useless niceties and foolish questions, but sound and solid truth, such as was most likely to profit his hearers. A good example this is, to be imitated by all the ministers of the Gospel. Much less was the Apostle's preaching vain or deceitful. He could say to these Thessalonians what he told the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 4:2): We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully. He had no sinister or worldly design in his preaching." Matthew Henry

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…