Published: October 5, 2025 | Speaker: Tim Freitag | Series: The Law of Liberty - Part 5 | Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-20
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Thessalonians. I'm going to read um chapter 2 again this morning. We're sort of partway through here.
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I debated and I decided in the end not to uh read the New Living Translation version this morning. But uh Justin had an interesting comment for me after class last week that I thought was worth
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considering yourselves as I read this morning, which was think about if you got this in an email. Try to try to modernize it for yourself. Think about this if somebody was writing to this to you now. How would it feel?
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what would your impression of it be? Um, we've talked a number of times that that a great deal of Thessalonians is encouraging, but this uh particular section, this this chapter 2 here is
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maybe not as uh I don't know. I guess maybe we call it a mixed bag. But you be the judge. Let's read um chapter 2 together and then uh proceed
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with the with the study. I am reading from the New American Standard Version, by the way, not the New Living Translation. For you yourselves know, brethren, that
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our coming to you was not in vain. 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
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opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or from impurity or by way of deceit. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing
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men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed, as God is our witness, nor did we seek glory from men, either from
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you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.
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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 so very dear to us.
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For you were called, brethren, our labor and our hardship, working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you. We proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses and so is God. how dei
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devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behave 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
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worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you receive the word
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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. For you, brethren, became
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imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you also endured the same suffering at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed
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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
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might be saved, with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. the utmost. But we, brethren, having been taken away
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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.
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For who is our joy or our hope or crown of exaltation? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? For you are our glory and joy.
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Certainly making a defense here. Um, and we've spoken about that at some length last week that he is defending his actions, his um, bearing his ministry to them there in however long
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that fairly short time was. I didn't see very much in the commentaries that suggested that he felt
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it necessary, particularly to defend himself against the Thessalonians, to whom he's writing. um he he doesn't ever seem to charge them with misrepresenting him, but he does apparently feel it necessary here
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to go to some length to explain his actions and the way he walked. Um and I want to talk about some of those actions here, but I also want to talk about unless there's a particular
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question about the the sort of general sense, I want to talk about a couple of particulars here. The phrasing that he uses. Um we had spoken a bit about this idea of boldness. Um and uh Josiah pointed
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out that the the etmology of the word there in the the Greek really comes from two words pa and rees. I'm not going to say them quite correctly, I'm sure, but
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it's effectively uh all or complete and speaking or words. So you could you could translate it as in complete speech or all words. Um effectively he didn't
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hold any words back. Um, you might even translate it as bluntness instead of boldness. That he was never deceptive. He committed no lie of omission. He used all words necessary to to deliver the
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gospel to them. Um, and so he says here um the gospel of God amid much opposition. And he says here that uh he had boldness
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in our God to speak to you. The gospel of God amid much opposition. It's interesting here that he says the gospel of our God or of God in chapter 1 uh
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verse 5 he uses the phrase our gospel of course in other places he says my gospel um simply to say that he bears those things as completely equivalent the
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gospel of God is synonymous with our gospel synonymous with my gospel Paul's gospel was the gospel of God that which he had been entrusted with by God approved by God to speak um also says
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here that he had boldness in God. So again, it is manifestly not his own boldness. It is the boldness that comes from standing firm on the word, standing and delivering that message. Um and we
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spoke briefly about the idea that that one should not be a novice in the scriptures. One should be able to stand again by the power of God, but it is also necessary to be a workman able to
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handle the word. Um, which brings us to this phrase here. I'm not gonna, again, we're not going to extract every single bit of meaning out of these, but um, yes, Abe, you had a
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>> I think that's very reasonable. um he doesn't describe to us very much in this particular section how much he knew that it was going to take root and again I would remind us of the context um the last two places that he went it did not
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go particularly well for them um there was some reception but not much before they were run out of town and and you know he he was run out of Thessalonian
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Thessalonica but also it did have a root there much more than um previously seen in his endeavors. Of course, there is a church there that he will write to later at Philippi and so on. But um relatively
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speaking, I actually think if you look at his missionary journey there, this this uh this uh endeavor at Thessalonica was the most
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successful so far of that leg of his trip. Um I'll put it that way. as we what as from what we read out of Acts it seems that way anyways until he gets to Berea where there is a much uh stronger
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reception much more they they use the phrase these were more noble-minded Luke says um says um and I we do have a clue here um at the end of the chapter we we talked about
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this a little bit in chapter 1 uh we have a clue here again we're not told the specific proportions of the makeup of the church of Thessalonica but he says um to them here near the end of
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the chapter. You endured the same things at the hands of your countrymen that the churches in Judea did at the hands of the Jews, which would seem to indicate that the majority of the church at Thessalonica is probably Greek. Um,
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because he's separating their the countrymen from the the Jews as a separate term there. But I find it very interesting and we'll talk about it more here at the end of the chapter that in
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what way does he say they are imitators of churches of Christ Jesus in Judea? They are imitators in that they are persecuted. They are imitated imitators in the sense that they are resisted.
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Yeah. So, um they tell us in in Acts that in particular they were effectively accused of uh a number of things that could have risen to very risen risen to various serious levels of crime. Um
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particularly that that they proclaim that there is a king other than Caesar, right? You could you could be tried for treason theoretically on that. Um and they're effectively made it doesn't even tell us what the pledge is that they had
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to give a pledge. I would assume to not disturb the peace um is the way I would read that. Um say it again.
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>> Yes. Almost certainly there was a monetary component to that that they had to put down money to the uh authorities. Um in addition to the fact that as far as we can read Jason's business was
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probably trashed uh as part of that. Chuck and then Abigail.
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>> Atheism wasn't >> right. Yeah. So again, we're not given a ton of specifics about Thessalonica um in terms of their persecution, but we know that it it did all of the churches
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that were in view here had some level of that kind of persecution. It varied um and it also probably varied depending on the notoriety of the person in question. I mean, one of the reasons
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why Jason is sort of a focus of that passage is because as far as we can read, he was he was basically a business leader, fairly important fellow in the community. Um, so of course they went
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after him u more than they were necessarily going after somebody who's, you know, a washer person or something, you know, fisherman. Um, Abigail and
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That's that's a very good point because yes um and it's in uh why am I which is the one with the silver smiths that I'm forgetting now Ephesus um you know those those in some
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cases were tied specifically to a deity like the the the the guild itself would have a deity you were expected to worship as part of that. So, um, we've we've of course seen and Paul, frankly,
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he equates it here that they, um, suffered the same. He says, "You endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen as they did from the Jews." Um, that they killed both Jesus
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and the prophets and drove us out. Um, so he's saying the the biggest part here for for Paul that he's highlighting is is that they're putting obstacles, hindrances in the way of the spread of
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the gospel. Um, John, you had your hand. >> Oh, I'm sorry.
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did they know? they know? Did they know their culture?
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>> I don't know that I can answer that question 100% other than to say So it it yeah it's on the northern end of
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of Greece there. It was considered to be an important trade route. Um it was if I'm remembering rightly it was the capital of that particular province and was considered to be a trade route that
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a lot of people would pass through. So I have no doubt that the people of Thessalonica were relatively cosmopolitan in their awareness of various people and cultures because there was a lot of exchange
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in that place. We're also told of course in Acts 17 and 17 there that that when Paul went in, he went into the synagogue in that place. So there was an established Jewish community. I'm not
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given any of the specifics in terms of how many. It was apparently enough that a some of them believed and b a large contingent of them were able to rile up the people and and run him out of town.
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So not insignificant numbers by any means. Um means. Um I don't know if that answers your question other than to say Thessalonigo was not a small city. Um it was was
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regionally very important um and and was considered I think a gateway to uh sort of northern trade routes and beyond. So, all right. Well, let's turn our
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attention then um back over here. I want to speak on this idea of apostilhip for a minute. Um just just for a moment. Um and I'm going
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to read here. I'm going to read from Mark chapter 3 because I think this the use of the term here, my Bible has it in lowercase A,
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not capitalized. So apostle probably in the general sense meaning messenger. But I think that this we could read it in this way um sort of a fulfillment if you
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like of Mark chapter 3. Um even though here of course it was it was more specific than that but Jesus ordaining them to go out and preach. Um
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it says here that uh Jesus went up on the mountain and summoned those to himself whom he wanted and they came to him and he appointed 12 so that they would be with him and that he could send
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them out to preach and they would have authority to cast out demons. And so then he appoints the 12. But I think that this is what Paul is talking about here saying that he has been approved to
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carry this message to be a messenger of this gospel as a fulfillment here to be sent out to preach ordained to send to be sent forth. Um and he uses the
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lowercase A. Well, I I'm going to argue that it is lowercase A here in the sense of messenger, not capital A apostle. Um, oddly enough, out of the half a dozen
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commentaries I consulted, only one of them made any note of this fact at all. Calvin did not, Darby did not. They We just went right on past that question.
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Um Leon Morris in his commentary said here um it is evident from the things that Paul is talking about that for him at least here apostilhip is not something which conferred honor upon a man as much
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as something which laid a sacred obligation upon him. Um so he says here I had to uh I had to deliver this message. I had to be uh out here
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ministering because this was entrusted to me. This is the thing that I was called to do. Do you have your hand up?
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>> Okay. >> I think that a lot of reform commentators are afraid to talk about authority. This is too painful. But he uses that word.
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>> He does. >> He says >> he says I could have >> aspostles of Christ. >> Yeah. We could have >> exerted our authority. >> Yeah. >> So it seems like to say something else
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like Paul wasn't talking about authority. He chose not to assert the authority that
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>> asserts his authority as an apostle and says how do you want me to come back to you? You know, you want me to come back as as friend or you want me to come back as your apostle? >> Yeah. Well, and I I appreciate that because I I agree. I certainly furrowed
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my brow when I looked at it, but I think the part of here that I I would hold up as correct. He says it does not necessarily confer honor. I think that they are honored and they are honored by
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Christ. But what does he say here at the end of the chapter? What is our joy or crown or exaltation? It's you. It is the result of the gospel. Not so much the
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authority or the term that he's using. Um, but I do think that that that does miss the mark in some respect there. You're not wrong. That he he does speak of authority. And he says specifically
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that he did not wield that authority. He did not lord it over them. And I think that's the gist of what we see in this whole section of the chapter. Um, he says from the very beginning through his
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defense here that at no point did I lord it over you or demand anything of you or even ask you for money or support or anything. Um, so I appreciate that. Uh,
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I think it's it's correct to say he's not interested in using his apostilhip to
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apostilhip to levy any personal gain. Um, that's not what he's after here by any means. And in at least in this section, he's viewing it as his obligation as messenger is what I would say.
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>> I don't know. I feel like his wise
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>> right? And so but he also says to otherostiously
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>> No >> I guess I guess what I'm saying is that western thought western thought last years. >> I would agree with that. >> I think
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Morris greatly respect that tradition.
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>> There is authority in the world >> whether we like it or not. >> God authority may exercise it as lording it over. That authority may be benevolent.
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>> Well, >> yeah, but >> I find it very interesting actually in in the respect that this section got treatment in Calvin's commentary. Calvin actually highlighted um where he says in
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first Corinthians, "I robbed other churches that I was not serving in order to serve you." effectively saying, "I asked them for money or goods or whatever support so that I could serve
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you." And and I I went and looked and as far as I could tell, robbed is the correct translation. I mean, it's not really ambiguous there. Um, so he says in other places, you know, he he
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effectively it falls under the by any means that some might be saved as far as I can read. Um, so I appreciate that. I think you're you're right that we are often anti- athoritarian in our
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thinking, Erin. thinking, Erin. Is there a comparison he's drawing throughout this and
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other kinds of teachers in that culture? Whatever he's hedging against seems to be unsaid. The only thing he seems to say is in chapter three when we can bear it no longer I
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check on you. >> Yeah. >> And I don't know if that would have been a suspicious move. culturally speaking or or if it would seem like he was doing what traveling
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philosophers did in the day or or what have you. Do you know? >> So I don't there are two components there some of which I know some of which I don't. So I lean on those who know
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more than me. The the thing I would compare to I don't know a lot about the traditions of the Jewish teaching at the time and whether or not there was some sort of itinerant circuit for them. I do know that for the Greeks there was very
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much an itinerate circuit of um and at the time they were usually called sophists who went and spoke on various subjects for money. Um and it was it was a living it was a trade that you went
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around and you you philosophized uh and you earned a living doing it and sometimes you would teach people. Um, I I would say that we could draw a comparison against that, not only from
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his phrasing here about the the support, but also saying, you know, I wasn't doing this out of eloquence. I'm not a sophist effectively. I'm I'm not a great speaker. I'm not particularly engaging
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to listen to. I came here with the raw word and the need to tell it to you. You looked like you had a thought there. >> Yes. >> Oh, just from what I've read, it was you
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came first. came first. >> Oh, yeah.
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seems to fit. I was just wondering if that would explain the context. He's talking about we didn't seek.
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>> um >> yeah. Yeah. So he says uh we did not seek glory from men either from you or from others even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our
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It seems that they at least the New American standard seems to be translating that as assertion of demands. >> Make demands.
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saying our honor could have demanded support from you being >> use the English phrase we could have thrown our weight around
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>> so it's almost like we have that possess that But we didn't use it,
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>> Absolutely. I appreciate you bringing us >> us back in here because >> Yeah. Right. Exactly. So, he's it's not it's not authority that he's he's holding to himself. And I would say I don't I appreciate Erin's question there
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because I don't think that you can find a place where any of the apostles after the resurrection go around attempting to acrue glory or honor themselves. Um not
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in that way. Anyhow, I do think this this larger section is is in contrast to I think it's in contrast to a couple of things. One, I think it must be in contrast to the culture of the day. But
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two, let's not forget, he's writing, as far as I can tell, from Berea where the Jews from Thessalonica have pursued him to make accusations against him to continue to try to hinder the gospel,
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which I think is part of what James is saying here. And really, that's the that is the crux of this entire chapter 2 here is for Paul,
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he is running the race of of the gospel and and providing the message. And it's it is in some respects an obstacle course, but he's going and trying to remove as many obstacles as he can
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before he sets out. Abigail
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>> I think that that is that is a large measure of it. It is the monetary uh um demand that he could have made but I I wouldn't completely remove the other because of what he says here in verse 7. Um and again I don't I don't have the
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Greek in front of me. I don't know if the conjunction is truly but here or however but in verse 7 it says but we prove to be gentle among you that seems to be contrasting to the immediate
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precedent uh there we prove to be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children um he he he says both here and in the the last
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section of that next paragraph 11 and 12 he draws a very familial relationship that I was as as a mother and as a father to you. He he says there
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very clearly. Um and and there is some debate in the commentaries about how we ought to translate the words in verse 11 where my translation says exhorting and encouraging and imploring. Some of you
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will probably have urging. Some of you may even have comforting as one of the words there. Um one of those words as far as I could read is only used here in this particular one. And so there's a
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lot of debate about how we should translate that word. But the gist of what we're saying there or what Paul is getting at is really by any means I urged you the way a father urges his
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children whether through encouragement or through reproof or through exhortation. I was giving all of my emotional energy that you ought to be
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walking uprightly. Uh Abe first and then
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So he can claim he can claim authority but there has to be a willing
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I I think I understand what you mean and I think I'm going to disagree here because Paul says very clearly at the beginning of the section here um that he was entrusted by God having been approved by God to be entrusted with the
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gospel. Uh we speak not as pleasing men but as as God. He he makes very clear if you had rejected this, I'm not going to change the message by any means. So, um the authority doesn't derive as much
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from the congregation as it does from recognition of of the entrusting of God to to his people.
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>> Yes. I would say for myself for myself my authority does not come from the congregation. I thought that
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that's it that's it from the word of God. But however, if the congregation chooses not to as a
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chooses to challenge that authority, then that's the congregation's choice. So, but not
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we see him as a message. Yeah. message. Yeah. >> It's the same man. The congregation has a major impact on that.
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>> trouble. So there is there is definitely an element here. I I do appreciate the the idea. I I hope um which is that yes there is there is something to be said
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for the reception of the word right here and he says very clearly for this reason we thank God that when you receive the word of God you received it as the word of God not the word of men right he is
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he is so excited to write them this letter because he's highlighting I came to you delivering the word of God and you didn't hear me as a sophist you heard me as a messenger of the word of
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God and you received it as the word of God That's that's chapter two here is I didn't come to you with with fancy words and you know great speeches. Um I came
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to you with the word of God and thank God you received it as it is. That is the the joy and the glory and the crown and why he was so excited and frankly it's what leads us into chapter three
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three why he could not wait to see them again because he was so excited to see that word take that root in them. But I I do think um it's it's a useful place
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to pause and consider um as we're talking about all of the things that come out of Thessalonians and Titus and Phileiman and and Jude. We're going
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to talk a little bit more about elders and the qualifications and the things that they're told. But one of the things that I've noted in my readings and and various things, studies and so on, is there's a lot said
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about the responsibilities of the preacher, responsibilities of the messenger, etc. There's not as much said about what Lloyd Jones terms the responsibility of the hearers, the
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responsibility of those who are receiving the word. there is another half if you like to the preaching of the word and that is the those who are hearing those who are receiving and
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their responsibility to respond to it as it is. Um and again I would I would 100% highlight Paul's excitement here uh near
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the end of this where he says we thank God that you received the word of God which you heard from us. who accepted it not as the word of men for but for what it really is the word of God which also
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performs its work in you who believe now I don't think that performs its work in you who believe stops at salvation he's already talking to them as having
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been saved this work is performing it or this word is performing its work in you who believe so as we go forward we want to see more of that Abe asked the question last time what was it they were
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doing um what was their obedience? What did that look like? And I think he gives us a few clues through here. Um first of all, that they the their witness was
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resounding and going out from them, but also that they were receiving these things in opposition. They were receiving these things in um adversity. He says that you're suffering the same
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kind of things that the churches in Judea did. I I can't number the many of time the number of times that I've read Thessalonians and it never occurred to me what he's saying right there that you
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became imitators of the churches in Judea because you're suffering the way they are suffering. Like that's the imitation that's happening there. You are following on their sufferings. You are actually fulfilling when Jesus said
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if you love me the world will hate you. That's what's happening. That's where he's he's able to commend them here in this particular um
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sorry I'm way off of my notes here. So I'm trying to find where u to come back to here. I don't want to leave this section though without pointing out just a
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couple of things. Um, so he is uh he's not lording it over here that he is he is tender with them. And and I appreciate Chuck's comment. It's
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made me think that maybe I should have done this study instead of taking these five books. We should have done a compare and contrast of Thessalonians to Corinthians. Um but I don't know if we could do that in one session. Um
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that he is speaking to them as someone who has had a good reception and yet He makes clear here um one of the commentators wrote that in order to
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spare them he does not spare himself. He gave them his time. Um he gave each one of gave himself completely to them for the sake of the gospel. That he was working constantly to support himself
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and yet he says here in the middle that he never begrudged any of them uh his time effectively. He says our labor and hardship working day and night so as not to be a burden. they proclaim the gospel
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to you or to you the gospel of our God. Um so he's saying you know we did everything we had to effectively
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working ourselves to the bone to support ourselves and to not have any kind of um maintenance from you or or be a burden to you in any way. And yet we also were we're were spending every spare moment
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preaching the gospel, delivering these things to you and witnessing in this way. So, way. So, um, that he's giving his time and that he's blameless before both the unbelievers but also the church. And I
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think that's the other piece here. He's absolutely defending himself against the accusations of those who have hounded him. Um, trying to prevent him, as he says here, trying to hinder us from
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speaking to the Gentiles in order that they might be saved. He's saying, "We did everything we could by our own conduct to remove any obstacle to the gospel." And that's the point. I think
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that's the point for Paul in every time that he brings this up in every letter is by our action we did all that we could to make sure there was no we were no obstacle to the gospel.
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>> I think the church follow
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many years that my vocational
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>> certainly there was some discussion in a few of the commentaries of this contrasted to some of the other places where Paul basically says uh you know provide for your ministers. I I agree with you though that that the
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example here is that he is self-supporting. Um and and his self-support never blocks the gospel, right? His self-sport uh never
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was a hindrance to delivering the word or a hindrance to caring for his flock. Um he he says it here effectively. Um
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he he uses both the phrase as as as nursing mothers tenderly with you but also as a father exhorting and reproving and so on. He he he draws very much that familiar aspect which is not to put it
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too plainly here but sometimes I'm at work but I'm always here with you for you. I'm always here concerned about your well-being. the the the degree to which he describes himself as enshed
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there is that idea of the family unit >> as as with his putting away of his rights yet asserting his authority with making
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and also his tail. Why should we not strive for both right to imitate? Absolutely. No, I I agree with you there. And and uh you know, I I
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think he's saying uh that just like a father when you're raising kids, sometimes
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you're approving them, sometimes you're exhorting them, sometimes you're encouraging. I had opportunity yesterday to both tell my children how much I appreciated that they were focused on helping other people and doing great
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things. and we went to another store and some reason that store was a jungle gym and I had to reprove them. These things I think in the gospel he's saying in in in this body I the same thing. I I guess
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I was a little beused by how much debate there was about these words in verse 11 exhorting, encouraging, imploring. Um, uh, Calvin had a quote here that I was
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going to read which I'm going to skip now, but he he basically says, um, oh, you know, that he had to exhort even these believers whom he's he's praising. He had to exhort them. How much more should we who are slow of spirit need to
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be exhorted and so on. I'm like, okay, I think you're overblowing exhorting here. He's talking about it as a father, but if you want to overblow exorting, I was told in seminary that students could not preach, but we could exhort. Uh, until
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you're ordained, that's when you get to preach. exhorting is what students do. So, you know, if you want to really go down the rabbit hole of of misuse of terms here, um, it's clear though, it's
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clear in the in the English translation, as I think it is clear in the Greek, what he's saying is, I acted as a father towards you, that by whatever method was necessary at the time, I could steer you
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in righteous behavior. There's the point. Okay? point. Okay? So that they have become imitators. Um so Paul says here that he as he's
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encouraged sorry I'm trying to put together several of these things here. He's encouraged he is constantly thanking God that the word had its result. This word does its work in you
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to what? That it's bearing the fruit of the spirit. Okay. So what is that work? That it is showing forth in righteousness in upright behavior in a witness before the world. Um and then
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again he says here I think very significantly that you are imitators of the churches in Judea imitating in the sense that they have been um persecuted but I do think that his
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for you have become actually covers that whole preceding thought. Okay. So that you have become imitators of the churches in Judea specifically in your suffering but also in that you receive
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the word of God as the word of God. Right? That that he's covering all of those things for you have become imitators. um also imitators in persecution. So this is what he's he's
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exhorting them to in this particular moment here is the you did receive it this way. Your witness the the the faith invinced by the church in Thessalonica
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is part of Paul's defense of himself and of his apostolic ministry. It is manifestly not Paul's work alone. That I think is one of his major points
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here that it is obviously the work of the spirit both in the way it was delivered and in the way it was received. Again, the responsibility of both those who teach and those who hear
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that we ought to receive the word by the spirit in as much as it is preached by the spirit. Any particular questions before we close? All right. Well, let's close in a word
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of prayer and indeed go upstairs to continue worship and to hear the word Father, we thank you again for your word. We thank you for having these
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great examples to imitate. And we ask that you would empower us by the work of the spirit within us to be those who walk uprightly, who offer no obstacle to
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the gospel, but exert ourselves and our energies to see that it is displayed before men. That you are glorified and that your word can
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indeed have its perfect work among mankind. that many might be saved, but beyond that we might grow in faith and in the knowledge of the word and of the truth of the gospel. That we would
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forever call upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to honor him as is his due and that our father might be glorified thereby. We ask all of these things in
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Jesus name. Amen.