1 Thessalonians 3:2

“and sent Timothy, our brother and God's minister in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith”

“Our brother”: The brother of the Thessalonians and Paul, and. very valuable brother at that (1 Peter 2:19). “God's minister”: The Christian actually does serve God! This simple expression demands. number of logical conclusions. Man can understand what God wants done, that is, the Bible is understandable.. man can serve God in. way that pleases God, which means that God's standards are not impossible nor are they unreasonable. “Preachers of the gospel should revel in the way Paul speaks of his fellow-workers. Paul had no jealousy. Whenever anyone did anything for Christ, Paul was glad” (Fields p. 84). This description of Timothy reveals, “Paul's loving appreciation of the worth of this young companion and the deep significance of his work” (Erdman p. 47). If we are working with God (1 Corinthians 3:9), then should not we do the best job we possibly can for Him? “So we sent Timothy, whose fellowship would have meant much to Paul. Perhaps Paul gave Timothy this exalted description because he wanted to show that in sending him he had sent. gifted and qualified representative” (Stott p. 64). The Thessalonians should be impressed, that in sending Timothy, and thus being alone in Athens, Paul is making. tremendous personal sacrifice for them. The various accusations to the contrary are completely false, because Paul is still making sacrifices for this congregation. Notice Paul's attitude towards people. Barclay notes, “It will always remain true that we can never affect or win people at all unless we begin, quite simply, by liking them. The man who begins by despising men or by looking down on them or by disliking them can never go on to save men” (p. 226).

Anxiety, concern and worry are the natural by-products of putting your best into something. “When. man has put the best of himself into anything he is anxious until he knows how the work of his hands and of his brain will weather the storms” (Barclay pp. 226-227). When you put your soul into God's cause then you will understand why others do pursue the Christian in sin (James 5:19); why others oppose error (Galatians 2:5); why others worry about the future of the church (2 Corinthians 11:28); and why others endeavor to maintain unity in the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1).

“To establish you”: “Was an almost technical term for the consolidation and building up of new converts (Acts 14:22; Acts 15:32; Romans 1:11; Romans 16:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:17)” (Stott pp. 64-65). “The idea of putting in. buttress,. support” (Morris p. 100).

Paul knew that new converts needed to be strengthened. The Christian needs teaching that will enable them to become stable in their convictions and unmoved by trials, tempting offers or false doctrine (Colossians 1:23). Yet this expression infers that new converts are expected to take time out of their lives to receive and benefit from such teaching.

“Comfort”: Encouragement that leads to. strengthening of one's faith. “Timothy, then, must tell these recent converts to the Christian faith, ‘You're doing fine. Continue to do so. But do so more and more'” (Hendriksen p. 84). “Concerning your faith”: Note that all these efforts are towards the goal of strengthening and encouraging these Christians to remain convicted and firm in reference to their faith. Unfortunately, some seem to offer. form of encouragement that encourages the unfaithful Christian to remain in their unfaithfulness, that is, an encouragement that buys the excuses of the unfaithful or agrees with their justifications for why they have not been serving God faithfully.