The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Thessalonians — Section 30

EXPOSITION. the gospel, though not entirely e:r.oluding OHAPTER n the success of the gospel among the Thes- OoNTKNT!!.-Paul turns from the reporte salonians (oomp. l Car. xv. 14, "And if Chris, be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and d nthere to the experience of the readers. your faith is also vain ''). Th,·y tliemeelves !.-new that his entrance Ver. 2.-But even after we had 1u1fered was not powerless; although maltreated in before, and were shamefully entreated. As Pliilippi, he wae emboldened to preach the the word here rendered " sutfere,I before " gospel at Thessalonioa. His preaching did does not in itself imply that the sufferinus were unjust, the apo,tle adds, "and we~e not proceed either from delusion on his part shamefully entreated." As ye know, at or from e. desire to delude others. He felt Philippi. We are informed, in the Acts of approved by God, and Wll8 actuated by no the ApostlPa, that Paul and Silas were improper motives: be sought neither their publicly scourged and cast into prison; and praise nor their money; so far from insisting seourging with rods was regarded as an ignominious punishment, and therefore on his apostolic rights, he was gentle among was forbi<lden to be inflicted on Roman citi- them, and conducted himself with the zens, such as Paul and Silas were. " They tenderness of a nursing mother toward her have beaten us openly uncondemned, being children; e.nd BO far from his miniBtry being Romans, and have cast us into prison " a pretext for covetousness, he had laboured (Acts xvi. 37). We were bold in our God to speak unto you. The word here rendered for his own support; and thus he could " bold" denotes boldness or freedom of confidently appeal to the Thesse.lonians e.s speech; and hence some render the clause, witneBSea of the blamelessness of his con- " We were bold of speech in our God, so aa duct And ae his entrance among them Wll8 to speak =to you" (Ellicott). Perhaps. not powerless, so he thanked (;od that it however, aa the verb "to speak " follows, it is better to render the clause, " We were resulted in their reception of the gospel ; confident in our God to speak; " or "em they had embraced it as the word of God, boldened to speak" (R. V ., "we wa:r.ed bold"). end had not shunned persecution for its This boldness or confidence was in our Go<l, sake; they had in this become the imitators that is, on account of our fellowship or union of the Churches in J udma. The apostle then with him. The gospel of God. The genitive of origin, denoting. not merely that God wu alludes to his earnest desires to see them; the Object, but that he was the Author of the twice he had attempted to come to The11B&- gospel With much contention; or, in much lonica_ and twice he ha.cl been prevented by ,·011flict (R. V.), alluding to the peril and the machinations of Sata.n. They were very dauger with which Paul preached the gospel dear to him-the object8 of his tender affec- in Thessalonica. Ver. 3.-For our e:r.hortation. This word tions, e.nd the source of his rejoicing before 1 baa a twofold signilication, denoting both the Lord Jesus Christ at lib coming. "exhortatiou" and "consolatiou;" when it Ver. L-For yourselves, brethren; in con- • refers to the moral conduct it denotes e:r.- trast to otlH·r 1wrsous. Not only do strangers hortation, but when it is an address to a report the power a.nd efficacy of our preach- sufferer it denotes consolation. In. the gospel ing amo,,g you, but you yourselves are ex- these two meanings are blended together. perimentally acquainted with it. Know our Was not of deceit. Not in the @ense of guile, entrance i.n llilto yon; referring, not merely which would be tautological, but simply to the mere preaching of the gospel to the "error," without any direct evil intent; our Thes:,e,lonians, but to the entrance which gospel was not a delusion-we were not our- the gospel fo11ILd into their heart• -to its sel ved deceived. Nor of uncleanness; a coming, not in word only, but aleo iu power word usually employed to denote sensuality, ( eh i. 5). That it waa not in vain ; not and in tliis sense the me1rning is-We did empty, useless, to no purpose,-<l.escriptive not, like the heathen in their worship, give of the charact.er of the apostolic t·11traoce occasion to unclean practices : " We have 1<.IDong them. Our entrance amoug- yc,u corrupted no man" (2 Cor. vii. 2). The wu not powerless, unreal; on tht coutr,u y, word, however, may be taken in a more it wu mighty, energetic, powtorful. The general sense, as denoting impurity of dis- reference is oliietly tu the manner or mode position, impure motives: such u th11 in wilioh Paul and hia oompaniona preached impure desire of appiall88 or al ~ to olt. n. 1-20.] THI~ FJRS1' EPISTLE TO THE TBESSALONIANS. t7