“But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you–even I, Paul, time and again–but Satan hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).
The loving relationship that Paul the Apostle enjoyed with the members of the Thessalonian church is something that should be clearly evident from this passage, even to the most casual reader. For Paul, the Thessalonians were like family in a very real sense. For instance, Paul compared his ministry among the Thessalonians to that of a nursing mother earlier in 1 Thessalonians 2:7. He later shifted parental metaphors to that of a father who “…treated each one of you as a father treats his own children” (NET) in verse eleven.
Here now in verse seventeen, Paul will build upon this imagery by addressing the Thessalonians as “brethren.” We can further illustrate these deep emotional ties with a closer examination of the language Paul used in describing his forced departure from Thessalonica some time earlier…
“The Gk. word means ‘orphaned,’ a word used for parents as well as children who have been separated. Paul continues to use the family imagery of vv. 7, 11 in depicting his relationship with the Thessalonian congregation. …the sudden departure of Paul’s team from Thessalonica may have occasioned misgivings in some hearts about his paternal care for and commitment to the believers whom he left behind” (1)
So who or what was responsible for separating Paul from his spiritual family in Thessalonica? One Biblical expositor traces the answer to that question back to its ultimate source…
“Already in this chapter we have seen three sources of opposition to the apostle: Opposition from the state (Verse 2); opposition from society (Verse 14); and here, opposition from Satan. While this might look like three enemies, it is really only one. Other Scriptures indicate that the state and society are often the channels of the devil’s attempts to hinder the spread of the good Word of God. This is what Paul was encountering here.” (2)
While this created a great degree of short-term distress for Paul the Apostle, our final commentator identifies a positive long-term effect that came as a result of these events…
“Perhaps, however, God worked it all together for good, in that Paul was thereby constrained instead to write this epistle to them, followed by another of equally eternal significance.” (3)
(1) Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (pp. 2135–2136). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.
(2) Excerpted with permission from A Father’s Joy © 1987 by Ray Stedman Ministries. All rights reserved. Visit www.RayStedman.org for the complete library of Ray Stedman material. Please direct any questions to [email protected]
(3) Institute for Creation Research, New Defender’s Study Bible Notes 1 Thessalonians 2:18 https://www.icr.org/bible/1Th/2/18