CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Thessalonians 2:1. Our entrance in … was not in vain.—The word for “vain” here is the same as that in the first half of “ceno-taph.” The entrance into Thessalonica, we might say colloquially, “had something in it.”
1 Thessalonians 2:2. Suffered before.—Previously, that is, to our entrance to Thessalonica. And were shamefully entreated.—The acute sense of suffering in mind shows how far St. Paul was from Stoicism. It is this same exquisite sensibility which makes possible the beautiful courtesy with which, in his letters, we are so familiar. With much contention.—All the watchfulness required by one in the arena and all the danger incident to a false movement characterised St. Paul’s work.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Essential Elements of Success in Preaching. I. Boldness.
Outsiders testified of the success of the gospel, and the apostles could confidently appeal to the converts in confirmation of the report. “For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you that it was not in vain” (1 Thessalonians 2:1). In the first twelve verses of this chapter Paul is describing the special features of their ministry, the manner and spirit of their preaching; and what he denies is, not so much that their labours had been vain, fruitless, and without result, as he denies that those labours were in themselves vain, frivolous empty of all human earnestness, and of divine truth and force. We trace in their ministerial endeavours four essential elements that are ever found in all successful preaching—boldness, sincerity, gentleness, moral consistency. Consider, first, their boldness.
I. This boldness manifested in the earnest declaration of the truth.—“We were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention” (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Bold in their conception of the divine origin and vast scope of the gospel, and its wondrous adaptation to the wants of universal man, they were not less bold in its faithful proclamation. Their deep conviction of the supreme authority of the truth gave them unusual courage. We see the same intrepid spirit in Paul on other occasions, when his fearless words roused the ire of Festus, shook the conscience of the thoughtless Felix, or swayed the heart of Agrippa towards a wise decision. We see it in Elijah as he rebuked the sins of the wicked Ahab with withering invectives, or threw the baffled priests of Baal into maddening hysteria—himself the while unmoved and confident. We see it conspicuously in Him, who came in the spirit and power of Elias, whose burning words assailed every form of wrong, and who did not scruple to denounce the deluded leaders of a corrupt Church in the most scathing terms—“Ye serpents! ye generation of vipers! How can ye escape the damnation of hell?” “With much contention”—amid much conflict and danger. This kind of preaching provoked opposition and involved them in great inward struggles. The faithful messenger of God fears not the most violent assault from without; but the thought of the fatal issues to those who obstinately reject and fight against the gospel fills him with agonising concern.
II. This boldness no suffering could daunt.—“Even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi” (1 Thessalonians 2:2). They had come fresh from a city where they had been cruelly outraged. Though Roman citizens, they had been publicly scourged and, to add to their degradation, were thrust into the inner prison, and their feet made fast in the stocks—treatment reserved for the vilest felons. But so far from being dismayed, their sufferings only deepened their love for the gospel and inflamed the passion to make it known. A German professor has lately made experiments with chalcedony and other quartzose minerals, and he has demonstrated that when such stones are ground on large and rapidly revolving wheels they exhibit a brilliant phosphorescent glow throughout their entire mass. So is it with the resolute worker. The more he is ground under the strong wheel of suffering and persecution, the more intensely will his entire character glow with the radiance of an unquenchable bravery.
III. This boldness was divinely inspired.—“We were bold in our God” (1 Thessalonians 2:2). It was not the froth of a senseless presumption, not the wild, aimless effort of a reckless bravado; but the calm, grand heroism of a profound faith in the divine. They fell back completely upon God, and drew their deepest inspiration and mightiest strength from Him. The prophet Jeremiah, in a moment of despondency, decided to “speak no more in the name of the Lord”; but when he could say, “The Lord is with me as a mighty, terrible One,” his courage returned, and he obeyed implicitly the divine mandate, “Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Similarly commissioned, Paul once exclaimed, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Endowed with the like spirit, Luther uttered his noble protest at the Diet of Worms—“Here I stand: I cannot do otherwise: God help me!”
Lessons.—
1. Boldness is absolutely indispensable in attacking, not simply in the mass, but in detail, the crying evils of the age.
2. Boldness is acquired only by studious and prayerful familiarity with God’s message and with God.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Thessalonians 2:1-2. The Preaching of the Gospel not in Vain.
I. It is not in vain as respects the end and object of the gospel itself.—
1. Conversion.
2. Sanctification or edification.
3. Condemnation.
II. It was not in vain as respected the objects of the apostle.—
1. His commission was to preach the gospel. He did it.
2. To gather in souls. He did so.
3. His reward was the approbation of Christ and seals to His ministry. He had both.
III. It was not in vain as respected the Thessalonians.—They were turned from idolatry; their hearts glowed with new feelings; their characters shone with new graces.—Stewart.