1 Thessalonians 2:1

1 THESS. 2

There are three clear topics in this chapter, the first (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12) dealing with what is usually referred to as Paul's defense against criticism, the second (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16) stressing the fidelity of the Thessalonians under persecution, and (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20) a warm expression of Paul's affection for them.

Regarding Paul's alleged defense in the first paragraph, it seems to this writer, despite the near-unanimous opinion of many scholars to the contrary, that entirely too much has been made of the alleged slanders against Paul. Brief notice was paid to this in 1 Thessalonians 1, but further pursuit of the question raises more and more doubts about the usual mode of interpretation. Of course, there were slanders against Paul; and those intent on killing Paul would not have stopped at any device that might have been used to thwart his labors; and, from the Corinthians, it is clear enough that Paul did, now and again, address himself squarely to the problem of replying to slanderous charges. Nevertheless, the tone of this letter is different. At Corinth, the slanders were being promulgated by those associated with the church; but in Thessalonica there appears to have been no disruptive element within the fold at all; thus any slanders that might have come would of necessity have had to come from without; and, if we may judge from the strong terms of 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, it was their persecution, not mere slander, that is in view.

Unlike the Corinthian letters, Thessalonians "has no explicit statement that elements there were misrepresenting Paul and his companions."[1] We feel strong agreement with Kelcy that this paragraph "may be no more than a defense of the missionaries ... drawing a distinction between themselves and the wandering charlatans of the times."[2]

Then again, the passage may be viewed as preventive, rather than defensive. Certainly, when Paul worked to support himself, he did not begin doing so only after slander compelled it, but that was his manner of preventing slander. Why not view this paragraph in exactly the same way? That all of this could be apologetic is true enough; but again from Kelcy, "There is not the same certainty"[3] of it here as is evident in Corinthians.

For yourselves, brethren, know our entering in unto you, that it hath not been found vain: (1 Thessalonians 2:1)

Morris paraphrased this as "Our visit to you was no failure."[4] Ward has a discerning insight into the word "for" which stands at the head of the chapter. "It is a common Greek idiom in which a reason is given for a statement understood but not expressed."[5]

The unexpressed statement is, "This report is true" (that is, the report Paul had mentioned a moment before in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, where it appears that all Greece was talking about the overwhelming success of the gospel message). Paul was saying, "You do not need anyone to tell you what happened, for you yourselves know it."

True to his refusal to boast about anything, in the personal sense, Paul, instead of magnifying the success, chose to dwell rather upon the character of the missionaries as it had been tried and proved through hardships and persecutions.

[1] Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters of Paul to the Thessalonians (Austin, Texas: R. B. Sweet Company, Inc., 1968), p. 38.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentaries, 1,2Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 42.

[5] Ronald A. Ward, Commentary on 1,2Thessalonians (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher, 1973), p. 49.