Paul Remembers His Visit to Thessalonica

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 NLT
⁷ As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. ⁸ We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
⁹ Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. ¹⁰ You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. ¹¹ And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. ¹² We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 

Examine the Scriptures:

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12 NLT
Paul Remembers His Visit to Thessalonica 

⁷ As apostles of Christ

Paul’s calling:

Galatians 1:1 NLT
¹ This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

Galatians 1:15-16 NLT
¹⁵ But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

Silas and Timothy were co-workers, fellow soldiers, brothers, or messengers. Don’t get hung up on the word apostles.  In a broader sense an apostle could be referring to a person being sent out to share the Gospel.  

we certainly had a right to make some demands of you,

In this section, Paul continues defending his ministry among the Thessalonians.

Apostles had the authority to request support.

1 Corinthians 9:3-14 NLT
³ This is my answer to those who question my authority. ⁴ Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? ⁵ Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does? ⁶ Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?
⁷ What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? ⁸ Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? ⁹ For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? ¹⁰ Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.
¹¹ Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? ¹² If you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ.
¹³ Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. 

• Paul rightfully could have expected the church at Thessalonica to support his team financially. 

but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.

ESV  But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 

NKJV  ⁷ But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children.

• Paul and his team treated the new believers at Thessalonica much like a mother cares for her children.

Intimate, patient, loving and selfless.

Jesus talking to the disciples:

Matthew 20:25-28 NLT
²⁵ But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. ²⁶ But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. ²⁸ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Paul and his team chose to minister rather than to be ministered to. 

⁸ We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

Paul’s team loved the believers in Thessalonica.

• The apostles’ ministry was not just about delivering a message. They gave themselves—their time, energy, resources, emotions, and even faced persecution—for the sake of the believers.

The gospel and their lives were inseparably linked.

• Genuine ministry involves vulnerability and love, not just teaching.  

⁹ Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.

2 Thessalonians 3:8 NLT
⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 

Acts 18:3 tells us that Paul was a tentmaker.

• Paul’s love was shown by his long hours of manual labor. He worked hard to pay his own expenses rather than depend on the Thessalonian believers for support.

• Ministry is about giving, not taking. 

¹⁰ You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.

Paul called on both the Thessalonians (human) and God (divine) to affirm his holy conduct in the ministry.

2 Corinthians 1:12 NLT
¹² We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

• Paul called on both the Thessalonians and God to affirm his holy conduct in the ministry.

Paul’s life reflected his preaching. 

¹¹ And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. 

Having used the metaphor of a mother (v. 7), Paul now uses a father image.

• The Thessalonians were Paul’s children in the faith.

• A loving father disciples (guides, instructs, encourages, and holds accountable) his children.

Ministry involves both nurturing tenderness (mother) and guiding discipline (father).

• Ministry involves both nurturing tenderness and guiding discipline. 

¹² We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy.

Pleaded
Encouraged
Urged
Implored
Exhorted
Begged
Comforted
Charged

The personal touch of a loving father.

Strong positive appeals.

Verses for us to consider:

Colossians 1:9-10 NLT
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Ephesians 4:1-3 NLT
4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

Colossians 4:5 NLT
⁵ Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 

For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. 

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
¹³ For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, ¹⁴ who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Ephesians 5:8 NLT
⁸ For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

Romans 8:17-18 NLT
¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Colossians 1:27 NLT
²⁷ For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.

 

• We have been called to share in God’s Kingdom and glory.