1 Thessalonians 3:1–13 (NKJV)
1 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. 6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you—7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
At the end of 1 Thess. 2, Paul wrote that he, Silvanus, and Timothy had not only been away from the Christians in Thessalonica for a while and were eager to return to them, but that they had been hindered by Satan in their plans to reunite with the brethren there. When they “could no longer endure” the separation, Paul and Silvanus sent Timothy to them to establish them and encourage them concerning their faith. They did this so that the Thessalonians might be encouraged in their faith in Christ and not shaken by their afflictions. He then adds these touching words: “Therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith.” Paul and the others were comforted and strengthened by the faith of the Thessalonians as they continued to live their lives to the glory of God in the true confession of Christ.
In Christ’s Church, Christians are gifted by God to be able to bear one another’s burdens and share one another’s joys, for they are all part of the body of Christ. When someone else in the church is hurting, that person can and should be comforted by others in the faith who have experienced similar difficulties and challenges. By sharing with each other God’s faithfulness in seeing them through their own circumstances, brothers and sisters in Christ have not only the duty but the privilege to stand with each other, to confess their sins and faults to each other, to encourage each other, and simply to live as fellow members of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. In this way, the whole congregation is bolstered and built up.
Take Paul’s words to heart: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another…so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
Let us pray: Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. This glorious hope revives our courage by the way, while each in expectation lives and longs to see the Day. (TLH 464:1, 5)
