Paul's Exhortations to the Thessalonian Church Volume 12

Paul Longs to Go back to Thessalonica but is Blocked by the devil

1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. KJV

We see the work of the devil being carried out fiercely and ferociously against the Apostle Paul and all those with him as he Paul just reminded these new believers in Thessalonica in the previous two (2) verses, and because of such things we now find Paul yearning and longing to be in the presence (face to face) of these Thessalonian believers as he declares to them with these words, "But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire." (1 Thessalonians 2:17) (KJV). The little English phrase 'being taken' is used this one and only time in the entire New Testament and it is translated by one Greek word aporphanizo, which is from the Greek word apo that is a primary particle meaning off, that is, away from something near. Secondly, this Greek word aporphanizo is a derivative of the Greek word orphanos which means bereaved (orphan), that is, parentless. Therefore, we see then that this Greek word aporphanizo is the combining of the two (2) Greek words apo & orphanos meaning then to bereave wholly, that is, (figuratively) separate (from intercourse or communication between individuals).

In other words, Paul had been taken away from vital communication with these new believers in Thessalonica much earlier than he would have liked as we remind ourselves once again with the words documented for us by Dr. Luke in the Book of Acts with these words, "But the unbelieving Jews were aroused to jealousy, and, getting hold of some wicked men (ruffians and rascals) and loungers in the marketplace, they gathered together a mob, set the town in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring [Paul and Silas] out to the people. But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the city authorities, crying, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, And Jason has received them to his house {and} privately protected them! And they are all ignoring {and} acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] asserting that there is another king, one Jesus! And both the crowd and the city authorities, on hearing this, were irritated (stirred up and troubled). And when they had taken security [bail] from Jason and the others, they let them go. Now the brethren at once sent Paul and Silas away by night to Beroea; and when they arrived, they entered the synagogue of the Jews." (Acts 17:5-10) (Amplified Bible).

Paul viewed this seperation as that of something that would last only a short while and he was never at all seperated from these new believers in Thessalonica in spirit, but was always with them and had them in his inner man continuously. With this thought now in mind, Paul declares to them in this letter that he endeavoured more abundantly to see their faces in person. The English word 'endeavoured' Paul uses here is translated by the Greek word spoudazo meaning to use speed, that is, to make effort, be prompt or earnest: - do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study. The little English phrase 'the more abundantly' is translated by one Greek word perissoteros which is an adverb meaning more superabundantly: - more abundant, the more earnest, (more) exceedingly, more frequent, or much more. In other words, the Apostle Paul wanted them to know and underdstand that he made diligent, earnest, grueling, hard, frequent, and abundant efforts to get back to them in Thessalonica soon after having been forced out of the city as we documented again above (Acts 17:10), but here he now declares to them the reason for not being able to get back to them in person, "Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us." (1 Thessalonians 2:18) (KJV).

Paul lets them know why he was unable to get back to them in person, for it was the same enemy or adversary that had caused him to leave sooner than he would have desired, that is, the devil working in and through the Jews who persecuted the Apostle Paul physically everywhere he went as again evidenced by what we previously documented in Acts 17:13 as they even followed him from Thessalonica into Beroea to cause him the same problems there. It was the devil who was in and energizing every person that brought physical attacks against the Apostle Paul imprisoning and attempting to kill him as documented again for us by Dr. Luke here with these words, "And when the strife became more and more tense {and} violent, the commandant, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, ordered the troops to go down and take him forcibly from among them and conduct him back into the barracks. And [that same] following night the Lord stood beside Paul and said, 'Take courage, {Paul,} for as you have borne faithful witness concerning Me at Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.' Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a plot and bound themselves by an oath {and} under a curse neither to eat nor drink till they had done away with Paul. There were more than forty [men of them], who formed this conspiracy [swearing together this oath and curse]. And they went to the chief priests and elders, saying, We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath {and} under a curse not to taste any food until we have slain Paul." (Acts 23:10-14) (Amplified Bible).

Also even at the very beginning in Paul's ministry when an attempt upon his life took place as documented for us again by Dr. Luke with these words, "After considerable time had elapsed, the Jews conspired to put Saul out of the way by slaying him, But [the knowledge of] their plot was made known to Saul. They were guarding the [city's] gates day and night to kill him, But his disciples took him at night and let him down through the [city's] wall, lowering him in a basket {or} hamper." (Acts 9:23-25) (Amplified Bible). We see then that Paul was no stranger to the devil's schemes and plots throughout his life and ministry to destroy him and as he thought, then he would destroy the Gospel of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, but instead our Lord Jesus was always and at all times in complete control and none of the devil's plans and schemes succeeded until Paul had finished his race of faith here on the earth as he declared to brother Timothy with these very affective and touching words written to Timothy to encourage him and strengthen him in the spiritual battles and warfare with the devil, "For I am already about to be sacrificed [my life is about to be poured out as a drink offering]; the time of my [spirit's] release [from the body] is at hand {and} I will soon go free. I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith. [As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me {and} recompense me on that [great] day--and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved {and} yearned for {and} welcomed His appearing (His return)." (2 Timothy 4:6-8) (Amplified Bible). I would say that the desire of the wicked men documented above would come under the category of causing Paul hinderances.

"We have a remarkable instance, not so much of the transient affections of holy grief, desire, or joy, as of that abiding tenderness, that loving temper, which is so apparent in all St. Paul's writings, towards those he styles his children in the faith. This is the more carefully to be observed, because the passions occasionally exercising themselves, and flowing like a torrent, in the Apostle, are observable to every reader; whereas it requires a nicer attention to discern those calm standing tempers, that fixed posture of his soul, from whence the others only flow out, and which more peculiarly distinguish his character." John Wesley

"The Apostle Paul was no stranger to attacks from the devil against his preaching of the truth of the Gospel of Christ and against his very life, but that never deterred him because Paul knew that our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ was in control of his life and not the devil, therefore, Paul had no fear of the devil, but the enemies stumbling blocks did cause Paul grief when it kept him from strengthening the faith of new believers 'in Christ' because he wanted them to become as spiritually strong as himself or even stronger that they too would be able to take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and the shield of faith to quench every fiery dart thrown at them by the devil." Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

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…