1 Thessalonians 3

This is the third of the five chapters of 1 Thessalonians. At the end of chapter 2 (2:17–20), Paul confesses that he longed to see the believers again but that Satan hindered him. Chapter 3 tells how that longing led to action: Paul sent Timothy from Athens, Timothy returned with news, and Paul responds to that news with thanksgiving and prayer.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Unable to bear the separation any longer, Paul and his companions remain alone at Athens and send Timothy to Thessalonica. His purpose was to establish the believers in their faith so that they would not be shaken by afflictions (hardship and persecution). Paul reminds them that while he was with them he told them beforehand that they would suffer tribulation, and so it came to pass. He also says that he feared "the tempter" might have tempted them and that his and his companions' labor might prove to be in vain.
• Verses 6–10 Timothy returns with good news of the believers' faith and love and of their earnest desire to see Paul and his companions. Paul says that he was comforted in the midst of his distress and affliction, and he gives thanks to God. He adds that he prays night and day that he might see their faces and perfect that which is lacking in their faith.
• Verses 11–13 Paul's prayer. He asks that God and the Lord Jesus would direct his way to Thessalonica, that the believers' love would abound toward one another and toward all men, and that they would be unblameable in holiness when the Lord Jesus comes with all his saints.

Key Verses

• 1 Thessalonians 3:8 "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." This verse shows how deeply the believers' faith mattered to Paul.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12 "Increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men." Love is not to remain confined within the church but is to extend to all people.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:13 "At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." This verse links holy living with the theme of the Second Coming, which the letter addresses throughout.

People and Places

• Paul: The apostle who sent the letter. According to 1:1, Silvanus and Timothy are named with him as senders.
• Timothy: Paul's coworker. The text calls him "our brother" and "minister of God" in "the gospel of Christ."
• Athens: The city where Paul remained after sending Timothy away.
• Thessalonica: A city in the region of Macedonia and the home of the church that received the letter.

Points for Reflection

• Relationship to Acts: Acts 17 reports that Paul left Silas and Timothy in Berea and went on to Athens alone. Acts 18 reports that the two men came from Macedonia to Corinth. Because Acts does not record Timothy coming to Athens and then being sent back to Thessalonica, various explanations have been offered for harmonizing the two accounts. A widely known view identifies Timothy's return in verse 6 with the event in Acts 18:5 and holds that the letter was written from Corinth.
• "The tempter": This is generally understood to refer to Satan, who, according to 2:18, hindered Paul's journey.
• "All his saints" (verse 13): There are three interpretations of this phrase. One takes it to mean angels, citing "all the saints" in Zechariah 14:5. Another takes it to mean believers who have already died, citing 4:14. A third holds that it refers to both groups. Some interpreters within dispensationalism distinguish this verse from the Rapture of 4:17, reading it as a later stage of the coming in which Christ comes "with" his saints. Other traditions, by contrast, read chapter 4 and 3:13 as describing a single event, the Second Coming.
• Holiness: The prayer in verse 13 leads into the exhortations to holy living in chapter 4. In the Wesleyan tradition, this verse is sometimes cited together with 5:23 in explaining sanctification and holiness.