Inexpressible Joy
INEXPRESSIBLE JOY
1 THESSALONIANS 3:6-10
The effect of Timothy’s report was to strengthen, not slacken, Paul’s prayer for his friends.
In the transition from 3:5 to 3:6 there is a change of tone from anxious concern to joyful relief. Timothy has just returned to Corinth with a report which exceeds the apostle’s highest expectations, and his delight is apparent in every line. Paul had sent Timothy to Thessalonica to learn the condition of their faith (3:5). Timothy had returned with the news that their faith in Christ was strong, their love toward one another earnest, and their affection for the apostle deep (3:6; see also 1:3; 4:9f.; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). They had not forgotten Paul and were as eager to see him as he was to be in Thessalonica once again (2:17-20; 3:6,10f.).
So overwhelmed was Paul that he speaks of Timothy’s report as “the receiving of a gospel” through which he was comforted and made to know a new surge of life. Only here in all the New Testament does this nontechnical use of the term “gospel” (“good news”) occur. What encouraged Paul most of all was the steadfastness of the Thessalonians on the matter of faith (3:7). When he speaks of his life depending on the firm stand of the believers (3:8), he is not exaggerating. The one thing that made life worth living was the experience of introducing people to the Savior and the privilege of watching them grow in grace and knowledge.
Paul had laid a sound foundation for faith at Thessalonica, but he recognizes at once that the glory for the faithfulness of his converts belonged only to God (3:9). He finds himself inadequate to express the thanksgiving which wells up in him as he presents the Thessalonians to God in prayer. At the same time he is not blind to the realities under which his converts live. They are subject to many pressures and still young in the faith. While their faith in Christ is strong, it lacks moral depth and doctrinal certainty. Paul, therefore, continues to pray earnestly and unceasingly that God may still allow him to return to his friends, that he may bring them to a greater maturity in the Lord (3:10).