By: Dale Weckbacher
1 Thessalonians 2:7-8
7 But
we were gentle[a] among you, like a
nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So,
being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only
the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very
dear to us.
(ESV)
The Greek word translated apostle is apostolos. It carries the meaning of “a messenger,
envoy, delegate, one commissioned by another to represent him in some way,
especially a man sent out by Jesus Christ Himself to preach the Gospel; an
apostle.” (1) In other words, an apostle is a messenger
sent by God to deliver the message of the Gospel. Our modern day equivalent of an apostle would
be a missionary.
Only people with a special heart have the calling of an
apostle or missionary. They must exhibit
a selfless desire to care for those they are sent to share the Gospel
with. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us that
pride precedes a fall, something that could prove extremely dangerous for one
in a foreign land sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2 provides a glimpse into the
selfless prideless heart of Paul towards those he was called to share the
Gospel with and provides a pattern for those of us having the calling on our
lives to share the Gospel.
Paul’s coming to Thessalonica came with
1)
Courage in suffering (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) – Paul’s
service for the Lord was one full of suffering (2 Corinthians 11:16-33). However instead of complaining and allowing
these sufferings to stop him, Paul was courageous and before suffering a martyr’s
death, declared he had run his race successfully (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
2)
Honoring the calling by pleasing God not men (1Thessalonians 2:3-6) – Psalm 1 tells us that someone that chooses not to follow
the way of the wicked but instead chooses to delight and meditate day and night
on the law of the Lord will be blessed.
Before his ascension, Jesus told his followers to go out into all the
world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:14-20,Acts 1:6-11). This calling upon all of
us is not going to please everyone. In
fact, many will resist us but we, like Paul, must remember that the purpose of the
calling we have from God is not to please people, but God.
3)
Gentle Strength (1 Thessalonians 2:7) – Jesus
said it is the meek that shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). The Greek word translated Meek in Matthew 5:5
is praus. While the word can be translated
meek, it does not mean weakness but the exercise of God’s strength under His
control. (2) Paul’s heart was a heart dedicated to God,
resulting in a gentle strength of endurance of suffering for God.
4)
Love (1 Thessalonians 2:8) – In his letter to
the Corinthians, Paul spoke of faith, hope, and love abiding and that love was
the greatest of these three abiding qualities (1 Corinthians 13:13). It was Paul’s love for those he shared the
Gospel with that helped him press on through great suffering. However, his love was not a shallow love but
a reflection of the love of God that dwelt in his heart.
5)
Diligence (1 Thessalonians 2:9) – Besides having
to endure persecution for his faith, Paul also had some sort of physical
ailment or thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7). Scripture does not provide specifics as to
what this ailment was but from Paul’s writing we can surmise it was a source of
much discomfort to him. However, there
is no record in scripture of Paul taking a sick day or leave of absence due to
this ailment. Instead the heart of Paul
was to diligently press on in spite of the great pain this ailment caused him.
6)
Righteous and blameless conduct (1 Thessalonians2:10) – Like Samuel before him (1 Samuel 12:1-5), Paul strove to serve his God
in righteousness and conduct his life in a blameless manner after accepting
Jesus as his savior. However, just as
with us, he was human and no doubt had his flaws. However, in his heart he knew he had right
standing with God through the blood of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-31) and that
in the eyes of God the Father, he stood blameless. His heart’s desire was for others to also
experience this righteousness in their own hearts.
7)
Fatherly encouragement (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
– As with any good father, Paul’s heart sought to encourage the new believers
in Thessalonica.
Paul then praises the Thessalonians because even during
Paul’s brief time with them, they received the words Paul spoke not as words
coming from him, but as the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). So ingrained in them was the Word of God that
they became imitators of God in Christ Jesus in Judea and actually endured victoriously
the same suffering Paul did (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16).
I would like to encourage everyone reading this that is a
believer in Jesus as their Savior to ask God to help you develop the heart of
an apostle. Ask God to help you develop
courage in suffering. Ask God to help
you live a life pleasing to God and to stop worrying what other people think of
you. Ask God for His strength in your
heart under His control by surrendering the desires of your heart to Him. Be diligent in your faith and allow the love
of God to shine from your life. Be
courageous knowing you possess the righteousness of God in your heart, not due
to what you have done, but due to what Jesus has done. And finally, be encouraged for we have
eternal life with Jesus in our future (John 3:16) and know Jesus is coming back
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
1. Bible Hub. 652. apostolos. biblehub.com. [Online]
[Cited: September 22, 2016.] http://biblehub.com/greek/652.htm.
2. —. 4239. praus. biblehub.com.
[Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: September 25, 2016.]
http://biblehub.com/greek/4239.htm.
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