This long section from 1 Thessalonians 2:1 to 3:10 is exceedingly valuable in developing a biblical approach to gospel ministry. The final section of this material, 3:6-10, is especially valuable as Paul sums up his thoughts about a true ministry as he has sought to offer it to his dearly loved friends in Thessalonica. In these verses, we see what according to the apostle are the true goals and biblical methods of gospel ministry, as well as the causes of rejoicing for those ministering in Christ’s name.

The background for this material is the report recently given to Paul by his young protégé Timothy. Paul had sent him to Thessalonica to check on the believers whom they had been forced to leave behind (vv. 3:1-2). In verse 6, Paul added that now “Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you.” It seems that Timothy had just arrived and delivered his news to Paul, and the apostle was so excited that he fired off this letter to express his joy and thanksgiving.

A Study of Paul’s letters will show that the graces of faith and love were not just his desire for this particular church, but also his consistent goal in all the other places where he ministered. We know this because of the frequency with which Paul wrote of faith and love in his other letters.

According to Paul, then, what should we aim for in the Christian nurture of our children? The answer: growth in faith in God and love for others. What should our goal in the discipleship of new believers? According to Paul, it is faith and love. How should we evaluate our own growth in grace? These two graces – faith and love – are the two issues on which my entire life depends. What is my life about? Is my life as a Christian defined by outward achievements, success in ministry, or the opinion of others about me? All these goals involve factors largely outside my control. Instead, my life is about faith and love: the goal of my growth in Christ is to learn to trust God more fully and to love others more genuinely. This is the true measure of a Christian man or woman: his or her faith toward Christ and love toward others. The same dynamics provide the apostolic measure of a healthy church.

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul has repeatedly stressed the priority of God’s Word, having rejoiced that “you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (v. 1:6). In verse 3:10, Paul relates his intense desire to “see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith,” by which he evidently means that he longs to resume his teaching of God’s Word so as to bring the Thessalonians into a sounder grasp of saving faith. Since Paul was hindered from going to Thessalonica, one purpose of this letter was to give an advance installment of his teaching, much of which focused on the biblical doctrine of the return of Christ and the day of the Lord. It is obvious that believers today need instruction from the Bible on these and all other doctrinal topics.

In verses 3:9-10 Paul also shows his typical commitment to the ministry of prayer. He asks, “What thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day…?” Responding to Timothy’s good news by giving thanks to God in prayer, Paul shows that he credits God for the Thessalonians’ growing faith and love, relying not on any earthly device but on the power of God through the Word and prayer. In order to fulfill his ministry, Paul needs God’s help; here he asks God to remove obstacles in the way of his return to the Thessalonians, “that we may see you face to face” (v. 9).

Moreover, Paul’s expression “and supply what is lacking in your faith” may apply as much to his ministry of prayer as to his ministry of the Word. Paul’s point was simply that he was aware that as new believers in a difficult situation, the Thessalonians had weaknesses to be shored up, vulnerabilities to be protected, and areas of ignorance that needed instruction. Unable at present to meet these needs personally, Paul did the best thing possible: he prayed for his Christian friends with respect to their spiritual needs. We should likewise pray for the church and for our Christian comrades, asking God to supply what is lacking for growth in faith and love.

Paul speaks throughout this passage about the value of Christian fellowship. Indeed, the reason he had sent Timothy to Thessalonica was to ensure that fellowship was not broken between Paul’s band of ministers and the congregation that they had left behind. Part of the normal fellowship that Christians should enjoy is shared communion in the Lord’s Supper. Paul saw this sacrament as fostering and protecting the fellowship of the church.

If we possess an approach to ministry that aims for the proper biblical goals of faith and love and employs the biblical methods of God’s Word, prayer, and stimulating Christian fellowship, it is very likely that we will be blessed with reasons to rejoice, despite the many inevitable hardships. In this, Paul is our example as he followed the example of Christ. His ministry in Corinth endured great “distress and affliction,” to such an extent that Acts 18:9-10 records that the exalted Jesus encouraged Paul with a special vision. Yet in the midst of these loses, Paul was compensated in ministry by the joy of the Lord’s blessing. Paul is able to rejoice, exclaiming, “For now we live” because of what the Lord had done and was continuing to do through his ministry (v. 3:8).

The first and primary blessing that Paul mentions is the joy of learning that fellow believers are persevering in faith toward salvation. Paul’s concern over this reminds us that any professing believer’s continuance in faith is far from automatic. Today’s practice of assuring a new convert that he or she possess the certainty of eternal life, without stressing the need for a costly perseverance in following Jesus, is totally at odds with the biblical pattern.

A second cause for rejoicing takes place whenever the bonds of Christian love and fellowship are kept strong. It is obvious how important this was to the apostle. Along with his great relief over the continuing faith of the Thessalonians was the report that “you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you” (v. 3:6).

Third, Paul rejoices at the inestimable privilege of his access in the presence of God for worship and prayer. He writes of “all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God” (v. 3:9). Do you realize the enormous blessing of having access to the presence of God? When you come to worship, do you thank God that He receives you, together with all the church, into His holy and loving presence, where a fountain of eternal life is found, so that you might praise and commune with Him? Do you realize, as Paul did, what an overwhelming privilege it is to be able to come before the throne of grace with petitions that will be received into the loving hands of God Himself? How foolish we are to take this privilege lightly – a privilege secured for us by the pains of God’s Son on the cross. And we are equally foolish if we neglect the gathering of God’s people for worship and the blessing of corporate and private prayer, through which God’s mighty power is secured for our salvation and the salvation of those we love!

There are fellow Christians who need your ministry, encouragement, and prayers, and in the lost multitudes of unbelievers who perish without a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will you offer yourself to be used by Christ for the blessing and salvation of others? If you do, you will really live, both in this world and in the age to come when the glory of a true Christian ministry will be fully seen.

1 Thessalonians 3:6-10 Study Questions:

In the face of the difficulties of the world today, what might compromise look like for the church?

In verses 6-10, Paul expresses great joy and thankfulness because of the Thessalonians. What has Timothy reported about the church that has given Paul this deep joy?

What expressions of faith and love within your own life or the life of your Christian community today would prompt the same kind of joy and thankfulness that Paul felt?

In verse 10, Paul does not say that there is anything wrong with the Thessalonians’ faith at present; he only implies that faith needs to grow with every day, with each new trial or test, and that maybe his own further teaching and encouragement will be needed to help that to happen. In what ways can the content, passion and pattern of Paul’s prayer be a model for us?