Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Thessalonians 3:3

That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

3. that no man should be moved by these afflictions ] Better, that no mam be moved (R. V.). “Objective sentence, explaining and specifying the subject-matter of the exhortation” (Ellicott). “That” means “to the effect that.”

With “moved” comp. the fuller expression of 2Th 2:2, “Shaken in mind or troubled”; also Col 1:23, “moved away from the hope of the gospel.” But the Greek verb here used seems to imply “moved to softness” (Jowett).

Not by, but literally in, or amid these afflictions; for these were not so much the cause by which faith was likely to be shaken, as the circumstances amid which it was assailed and which lent force to every temptation. “Amid these afflictions” the reasonings of unbelief and the enticements of idolatry and sin would have redoubled force. It was Timothy’s business to shew that such trials ought not to disturb, but rather to confirm their faith.

for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto ] The R. V. gives the verb its proper emphasis: hereunto we are appointed.

St Paul delicately associates himself with his persecuted friends, passing from “you” of the last sentence to “we;” comp. the transition in ch. 1Th 5:4-5. Indeed “these afflictions” were directed in the first instance against the apostles (see ch. 1Th 2:2; 1Th 2:14-15; 1Th 3:7, &c.), and came on the Thessalonians through association with them.

Appointed is identical with “ set for defence of the gospel” (Php 1:16) and “ set upon a hill” (Mat 5:14), indicating the situation in which one is placed. This was their appointed post and station. And they well “knew” that such was their “calling of God:” “the fiery trial” was no “strange thing” (comp. 1Pe 2:20-21; 1Pe 4:12).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

That no man should be moved – The word rendered moved ( saino) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means to wag, to move to and fro, as of dogs which wag their tails in fondness (Hom. Od. K. 216. AEl. A. N. 10:7. Ovid. 14:258); then to caress, to fawn upon, to flatter; then to move or waver in mind – as from fear; to dread, to tremble. See Passow and Wetstein. Here the sense is, to be so moved or agitated by fear, or by the terror of persecution, as to forsake their religion. The object of sending Timothy was, that they might not be thus moved, but that amidst all opposition they might adhere steadfastly to their religion.

These afflictions – See the notes at 1Th 2:14.

For yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto – It is not quite certain whether by the word we here the apostle refers to himself; or to himself and the Thessalonians; or to Christians in general. On either supposition what he says is true, and either would meet the case. It would be most to the purpose, however, to suppose that he means to state the general idea that all Christians are exposed to persecution and could not hope to avoid it. It would then appear that the Thessalonians had partaken only of the common lot. Still there may have been a special reference to the fact that Paul and his fellow-laborers there were subjected to trials; and if this be the reference, then the idea is, that the Thessalonians should not be moved by their trials, for even their teachers were not exempt. Even their enemies could not say that the apostle and his co-workers were impostors, for they had persevered in preaching the gospel when they knew that these trials were coming upon them. The phrase, we are appointed thereunto, means that such was the divine arrangement. No one who professed Christianity could hope to be exempted from trial, for it was the common lot of all believers; compare 1Co 4:9 note; 2Ti 3:12 note.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

1Th 3:3-5

That no man should be moved by these afflictions

The perils of suffering

God hath decreed the saints to distress.

As He fore-appointed them to heaven, so He fore-appointed them to heaviness and hardships (1Th 3:3). The wilderness is the road to Canaan. Christ went by Bethany–the house of grief, to Jerusalem–the vision of peace. What was said of Christ may be said of a Christian, Ought not Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory? None ever yet went to heaven without conflicts.

I. The motives to quicken the Christian this condition.

1. Affliction will search whether thou art sound or no. Great troubles are great trials; hence afflictions are called temptations (Jam 1:2). Grace is brought to the proof when it is brought to persecution, as gold when it is brought to the touchstone. The soldiers knowledge or ignorance, courage or cowardice, will appear when the enemy, strong and subtle, meets him in the field. So a saint comes to the test when he comes to tribulation.

2. God intendeth to sanctify thee, and to make thee better by affliction. He sendeth prosperity to quicken thee to praise, and He sendeth adversity to stir thee up to patience and prayer. He forceth thee, like the ark, to sail in deep waters, that thy soul may mount nearer to the skies. The husbandman throweth his seed into deep furrows, and is glad of a sharp winter because it will thrive the better.

3. Many are the worse for affliction. Though the fire heateth the water and makes it more serviceable, yet it wholly consumeth the wood. The same flail that liberates the corn bruiseth the stalk. Afflictions that better a saint harden a sinner. Ahaz in his distress sinned more against the Lord, and every plague in Egypt increased the plague of Pharaohs heart.

4. If godliness be thy business, under the cross thou mayest expect Gods company. The worse the ways and the weather in which thou travellest, the more need of good society. Israel had the rarest manifestations of God when they were in the wilderness. Whoever be neglected, the sick child shall be tended not by the maid, but by the mother herself. God may leave His prospering saints to the guardianship of angels, but His afflicted ones may be sure of His presence and favour both in water and fire (Isa 43:8; Isa 43:4).

II. The power of religion manifests itself in affliction.

1. It leads the Christian to avoid those sins which an afflicted estate is prone to, such as despising Gods hand, impatience under suffering and its continuance, and envying the condition of those who prosper.

2. It also helps him to exercise those graces which are required and proper in adversity, such as faith, rejoicing in the Lord, and contentedness with his condition. Whatsoever the rod be with which he is scourged, he kisses it. He blesses God taking from him as well as giving to him; and this turned his blows into blessings, the grievous cross on his back into a glorious crown on his head.

III. The divine end in the Christians affliction.

1. It is to discover the Christian to himself. Thieves, when endeavouring to break into a house, and are prevented, do this courtesy to the master of the house–they show him the weakest part of his dwelling. Satan, by the troubles he brings on the saints, doth them often this kindness–by his rough waters their leaks are made known to them. To try the truth of grace, God led Israel many years through the wilderness, when He could have carried them a nearer way in a few days to Canaan, but it was to prove them, and to know what was in their heart.

2. It is to purge out some sins from the Christian. A garment is stricken with a staff that the dust may be beaten out. Tribulation comes from tribulus–a flail, because it makes the husk fly off. Joseph spake roughly to his brethren to make them repent of their sin; and so doth God deal severely with His children to make them mournful for their sin; and when once He hath brought them to that, He smileth on them.

3. It is to increase the graces of the Christian. Wisps scour vessels and make them the brighter; the fire purifieth the vessels of gold, and maketh them more meet for the Masters use. True Christians, like the vine, bear the more fruit for bleeding. Speaking of great afflictions, the Seer of the Apocalypse saith, Here is the faith and patience of the saints. Here they are exercised, and here they are increased; for frequent acts of grace strengthen the habits of grace. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

Necessary afflictions

Too long a period of fair weather in the Italian valleys creates such a superabundance of dust that the traveller sighs for a shower. He is smothered, his eyes smart, the grit even grates between his teeth. So prosperity, long continued, breeds a plague of dust even more injurious, for it almost blinds the spirit. A Christian making money fast is just a man in a cloud of dust–it will fill his eyes if he is not careful. A Christian full of worldly care is in the same condition. Afflictions might almost be prayed for if we never had them. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The object of afflictions

There is no more precious truth than that uttered by Archbishop Secker, Afflictions are not a consuming but a refining fire to the godly. Fitly as Archbishop Trench said, We sometimes wonder, with regard to some of Gods dealings with His children, that He should cast them again and again into the crucible of trial. It seems to us as though they were already refined gold. But He sees that in them which we do not see, a further fineness which is possible; and He will not give over till that be obtained. It is just as in a portrait by some cunning artist, which is now drawing near to its completion. Men look at it and count it perfect, and are well nigh impatient that the artist does not now withhold his hand and declare it finished, while he, knowing better, touches and retouches as he returns again and again to his work. And why? Because there floats before him an ideal of possible excellence at which he has not yet arrived, but which will not allow him to rest or be contented till he has embodied it in his work. It is thus with God and some of His dear children. A storm among the Highlands of Scotland often effects great and rapid changes. The huge mountain that slumbers harmlessly in the sunshine with such calm and sullen majesty, is transformed by the tempest into a monster of fury. Its sides are suddenly sheeted with waterfalls, and the ferocious torrents work devastation among the glens and straths that lie in their impetuous course. The trees and shrubs that are but slightly rooted are swept away, and only the firmly grounded survive. So it is when the storm of persecution breaks upon the gospel and its adherents. The new converts, the roots of whose faith have not penetrated so deeply into the soil of truth, are in danger of being disturbed and carried away. Their peril is matter of anxiety to the Christian worker. Hence the apostle sends Timothy and writes this Epistle to the Thessalonians to confirm and establish them in the faith. He shows–

I. That suffering is the inevitable lot of Gods people.

1. Suffering is a Divine ordinance. We are appointed thereunto. A strange way, one would think, of reconciling people to affliction to tell them they have nothing else to expect. Here lies the triumph of the gospel, that it prescribes such conditions and reconciles men to their acceptance. This it does by the grace it imparts, and the hope it affords.

(1) The purity of the Church coming in contact with sin and misery produces suffering Because ye are not of the world, etc.

(2) Our trials do not happen without the knowledge, consent, and control of God.

(3) The Divine appointment of suffering is for our highest culture; withdrawing our affections from the temporal, and fixing them on the eternal; cleansing our corruptions and strengthening us to the right.

(4) The greatest suffering often brings us into the neighbourhood of the greatest blessing.

2. Suffering was the subject of frequent apostolic warning (1Th 3:4). Paul was an illustrious example of heroic fortitude (Act 20:23). It is both wise and kind to forewarn Gods people of coming afflictions that they be not overtaken unprepared. The predictions of the apostle came to pass. Their first acquaintance with the gospel was in the midst of persecution and trial. The violent opposition continued, but the warning and exhortations of the apostle were not in vain (2Th 1:4).

3. The suffering of Gods people is a cause of ministerial anxiety (1Th 3:5). It has been pithily said, Calamity is mans true touchstone. The faithful minister, knowing the perils of suffering, and the awful consequences of apostacy, is anxiously concerned about the faith of his converts. There are three modes of bearing the ills of life: by indifference, which is the most common; by philosophy, which is the most ostentatious; and by religion, which is the most effectual (Colton)

.

II. That suffering exposes Gods people to the disturbing forces of Satanic temptations. Lest by some means the tempter have tempted you.

1. A suggestive designation of Satan. The Tempter–what unspeakable vileness and ruin are suggested by that name! All human woe may be traced directly up to him. The greatest champions of Christendom, such as Paul and Luther, had the most vivid sense of the personality, nearness and unceasing counter working of this great adversary of God and man. There is need of sleepless vigilance and prayer.

2. The versatility of Satanic temptations. Lest by some means. He may descend suddenly, clothed with terror and burning with wrath, to surprise and terrify into sin. More frequently he appears in the seductive and more dangerous garb of an angel of light, the deceptive phantom of what he once was. Infinite are his methods, but his aim is one–to suggest doubts and impious inferences as to Gods providential dealings of severity, and to produce apostacy from the faith.

III. That the temptations of a suffering state imperil the work of Gods servants. And our labour be in vain. In vain as regards the great end of their salvation; they would lapse into their former heathenish state, and lose their reward; and in vain as regards the joy which the apostle anticipated from their ultimate salvation. It is true, no work done for God is absolutely in vain; the worker shall receive his just reward, but it may be in vain with regard to the object. It is bitterly disappointing to see the work that has cost so much, frustrated by temptation. How different might have been the moral history of thousands if they had not yielded to the first fiery trial.

IV. That Gods people may triumph over the greatest suffering. That no man should be moved. Drawn away by flattery, or shaken by these afflictions. While piety is tried it is also strengthened by suffering. The watchful and faithful soul may use his troubles as aids to a richer experience and firmer consolidation of Christian character. Lessons–

1. To live a godly life involves suffering.

2. A period of suffering is ever attended with powerful temptations.

3. The grace of God is sufficient to sustain and deliver. (G. Barlow.)

The Christian conditions of life

Man was made for happiness is the easy formulary concerning the nature and ends of life which seems generally accepted. But if that had been Pauls view, the text could hardly have been written, nor Christ borne the witness of Mat 16:24-25; nor the heroes of Heb 11:1-40 been pourtrayed. That formula may sound the philosophers roadsteads, but is lost in the great sea of life as we launch forth to the depths which have been fathomed only by the life of the Lord. We need only read casually the lives of the great ones pourtrayed in Scripture to see that happiness was just the last thing they were thinking of; for had that been their aim, life must have been to them a dreadful disappointment. Paul at any rate was not afraid to hold forth a widely different rule and end even to young converts.

I. What is the aim of man? What offers him the highest attraction, and puts him under the strongest restraint? To live a life after the image and mind of God, leaving the happiness question alone.

1. This may bring happiness or pain, but such a man has as his end something which transcends happiness and makes him oblivious of pain (Gal 2:20). Self-love has forgotten itself in the love of Him whose love is the intensest passion that can possess the spirit, and fills it with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But the joy springs out of the passion, the passion is not cherished as the way to the joy.

2. We shall never arrive at a true Christian philosophy of life until we purge out the leaven of the last century philosophy, and consider the aim of mans life as something more than a search for happiness. To be is greater than to be anything; to live is greater than to possess or enjoy. Being will include both happiness and unhappiness as long as the world and the Spirit are at war, but it will not feel itself nearer its end in the one than in the other. To live God-like will alone satisfy it; and that is sharing the burdens and sufferings of Christ.

3. There is nothing to frighten a man in the vision of struggles and suffering for a worthy end. Nay, there is that which should attract him. All the nobler spirits will be more fired by the end than daunted by the suffering. A high end which God smiles upon and pursues, is what inspires men with indomitable courage, and exalted joy. You feel it in the smallest things. Your days of exultation are when you are toiling earnestly and bearing bravely for the sake of some noble end, on which you can ask Gods blessing. Pain which you would feel keenly in lazier moods seems hardly to touch you. The most glorious moment of Jacobs life was that night of agonizing wrestling, though it left him a halting man and spoilt for much of happiness. It is life in its full beat and swing, not the satisfaction of desire which is bliss.

II. The appointment of affliction as the means.

1. The ordinance of affliction, I am not come to send peace but a sword. The first fruit of the advent of the Saviour to the world, to a soul, is to deepen the sorrow of life, and to increase the pressure of its burden. It was no part of Christs plan to makes a fools paradise of the world. He came to deepen its experience in every way: to make it a more solemn thing to live, by unveiling lifes issues; a more awful thing to sin, by unveiling Gods holiness; a more hopeful and, therefore, more blessed thing to suffer, by declaring the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Easy had it been for Him to restore the beauty and joy of Eden; but something larger He had set before Him to realize. The worlds chief sufferers have been the worlds chief blessed ones in time and in eternity.

2. The author of the ordinance, God Himself. There is something terrible in the idea of the Epicurean God, sitting calmly on high with no eye to pity, no hand to save. Even the Jew, with his sublime conception of the God of Sinai, shrank from this. Isa 53:1-12 tells a nobler tale. Dark as the ordinance of sorrow may seem, He ordained it to Himself, before He ordained it to you. If the law be through much tribulation ye shall inherit the kingdom, if the symbol of the new life be the Cross, the God from whom the law issues Himself won the kingdom by tribulation, and consecrated the Cross as its emblem by His own death. No soldier murmurs if his captain but leads him through the deadly peril. We are not afraid or ashamed to suffer in the flesh, when the chief sufferer is incarnate God.

3. The reason of the ordinance. There are a thousand subsidiary reasons, but the supreme one is that we may have fellowship with God. Man made happy on easy terms might have held just such fellowship with God as a light-hearted, innocent child can hold with one who has borne the burden of lifes battle. He feels a passing interest in the childs prattle but keeps himself for the friend who has fought or suffered at his side. And God wants the fellowship of friends, not the prattle of children in eternity; friends whose powers have been exercised in the sternest of conflicts, and proved that they hate evil as He hates it, and love good as He loves it, by being willing to resist the one and to clasp the other even unto death. The suffering He ordains is precisely the fellowship of His suffering. Perfect through sufferings is the Divine perfectness whereby the perfected may converse with Him forever.

4. The end of the ordinance: Supreme and perfect bliss. The hunters after happiness miss it utterly. Those who lift the Cross as their symbol of life, and bear it till they change it for a crown, find in bearing it a blessedness which is kindred with the blessedness of God. It is a deep truth that none but those who suffer keenly can enjoy keenly. So you who are troubled rest with us is Christs promise to those who dare to look boldly into this mystery of pain. Rest where the warrior can recall the incidents of the battle and reap the fruit of the victory–where the purified spirit shall shine resplendent–where rest shall be untiring service without disappointment or pain. (Baldwin Brown, B. A.)

The persecution of the early church

To what extent did the early Christians suffer persecution? Much has been said of the tolerant spirit of the Roman government, inclined to let all religions sleep peacefully under the shadow of its wings. But it is one thing to tolerate existing religions, another to sanction a new one, and that, too, not seeking to insinuate itself privately, but openly professing as its object the conversion of the world. Probably there has never been a civilized country in which such an attempt at proselytism would not have been at first met by persecution. Every page of the Acts is a picture of similar persecutions; and more remarkable than any part of it is the narrative which St. Paul gives of his own sufferings (2Co 11:23-33), and which, amid many other reflections, suggests the thought, how small a part of his life has been preserved. From the state of Christianity in the time of Pliny or Taeitus, we can scarcely form an idea of its first difficulties. Everywhere it had to encounter the fierce spirit of fanaticism, wrought up in the Jew to its highest pitch, in the pagan just needing to be awakened. The Jews, the false brethren, the heretics, the heathen, were in league more or less openly at one time or other for its destruction. All ages which have witnessed a revival of religious feeling, have witnessed also the outbreak of religious passions; the pure light of the one becomes the spark by which the other is kindled. Reasons of state sometimes create a faint and distant suspicion of the new faith; the feelings of the mass rise to overwhelm it. The Roman government may be said to have observed in general the same line respecting the first preachers of the gospel, as would be observed in modern times: that is to say, of matters of faith and opinion, as such, they hardly took account, except in so far as they endangered the safety of the government, or led to breaches of the public peace. It seemed idle to them to dispute about questions of the Jewish law in Roman courts of justice; but they were not the less prepared to call to account those by whose supposed agency a whole city was in an uproar. Hence, when the really peaceful character of the gospel was seen, the persecutions gradually ceased and revived only at a later period, when Christianity became a political power. Allowing for the difference of times and seasons, the feelings of the Roman governors were not altogether unlike those with which the followers of John Wesley, in the last century, might have been regarded by the magistrates of an English town. And, making still greater allowance for the malignity and depth of the passions by which men were agitated as the old religions were breaking up, a parallel not less just might be drawn also between the feelings of the multitude. There was in both cases a kind of sympathy by which the lower class were attracted towards the new teachers. Natural feeling suggested that these men had come for their good: they were grateful for the love shown of them, and for the ministration to their temporal wants. There was a time (Act 2:47; Act 4:21) when the first believers were in favour with all the people; but at the preaching of Stephen the scene changes and the deep irreconcilable hostility of the two principles is beginning to be felt; it is not peace, but a sword; not I am come to fulfil the law, but not one stone shall be left upon another. The moment this was clearly perceived, not only would the farsighted jealousy of the chief priests and rulers be alarmed at the preaching of the apostles, but the very instincts of the multitude itself would rise at them. More than anything that we have witnessed in modern times of religious intolerance, would be the feeling against those who sought to relax the bond of circumcision as enemies to their country, religion and God. But another aspect of the new religion served to bring home these feelings even yet more nearly–the description of the family, as our Lord foretold, the father was against the son, etc. A new power had arisen in the world, which seemed to cut across and dissever natural affections. Consider what is implied in the words of believing women not a few; what animosities of parents and brethren, etc. An unknown tie, closer than that of kindred, drew away the individuals of a family, and joined them to an external society. It was not only that they were members of another church, or attendants on a separate worship. The difference went beyond. In the daily intercourse of life, at every meal, the unbelieving brother or sister was conscious of the presence of the unclean. It was an injury not readily to be forgotten, or forgiven in its authors, than which in this world none could be greater. The fanatic priest, led on by every personal and religious motive; the man of the world, caring for none of those things, but not the less resenting the intrusion on the peace of his home; the craftsman, fearing for his gains; the accursed multitude, knowing not the law, but irritated at the very notion of this mysterious society of such real though hidden strength–would all work together towards the overthrow of those who seemed to them to be turning upside down the political, religious and social order of the world. (Prof. Jowett.)

The need of the apostolic warning

An example of this was seen in the case of Demas, who was allured by the love of this world, and forsook Paul in his sufferings at Rome, and departed to Thessalonica (2Ti 4:10). The devil is often more to he feared when he fawns than when he roars. The man of God at Judah overcame Satan at Bethel, but was ensnared by him under the oak tree (1Ki 13:14). David vanquished Satan in the battlefield (1Sa 17:48), but was vanquished by him in the cool of the evening on the housetop (2Sa 11:2). (Bp. Wordsworth.)

Appointed to affliction

Church history nowhere gives a more striking illustration of these words, and of the power which lies in them to strengthen and comfort, than in the story of the banishment of some five thousand bishops and presbyters, with their adherents, into the desert, by Hunneric, during the African persecutions of the sixth century. They were torn from their homes, and shut up amid squalor and hunger in a small prison, and afterwards driven, with every species of maltreatment, over the burning sands. Yet the song of that suffering pilgrim band had its constant refrain, Such glory have all Gods saints. (J. Hutchison, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 3. That no man should be moved] That is, caused to apostatize from Christianity.

We are appointed thereunto.] . We are exposed to this, we lie open to such, they are unavoidable in the present state of things; as the Latins say, sic est sors nostra, “this is our lot.” God appoints nothing of this kind, but he permits it: for he has made man a free agent.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The apostle had mentioned before his great afflictions, and they knew well what he himself had suffered both at Thessalonica and Berea, Act 17:1-34, and therefore might fear they might hereupon be shaken in their faith. And Timothy therefore was sent to comfort and establish them: God could do this without him, but the ministry is his ordinance he works by. And when he saith,

that no man should be moved, it shows what is a Christians duty, to be unmoved by sufferings for the gospel. The word here used by the apostle answers another word, used 2Th 2:2, which alludes to the waves of the sea shaken by the winds. Fears, and doubts, or hesitations of mind, do move and shake it, which the apostle sent Timothy to prevent, or remove. And besides, he addeth an argument of his own to confirm them, when he tells them, ye

know that we are appointed thereunto. The word is used Luk 2:34; 1Ti 1:9. But he means, we suffer afflictions according to the purpose and intention of God; they come not by chance, or merely from mens wrath and enmity, but from the appointment of God. And whether the apostle speaks only of his own sufferings, and other ministers of the gospel, or of all saints in general, as Act 14:22; Rom 8:17,36; 2Ti 3:12, is uncertain; we may well understand it of both; so that he would not have these Thessalonians think it strange, as if some strange thing happened to them, 1Pe 4:12, whereby to be shaken in their minds.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. moved“shaken,””disturbed.” The Greek is literally said of dogswagging the tail in fawning on one. Therefore TITTMANNexplains it, “That no man should, amidst his calamities, beallured by the flattering hope of a more pleasant lifeto abandon his duty.” So ELSNERand BENGEL, “cajoledout of his faith.” In afflictions, relatives and opponentscombine with the ease-loving heart itself in flatteries, which itneeds strong faith to overcome.

yourselves knowWealways candidly told you so (1Th 3:4;Act 14:22). None but a religionfrom God would have held out such a trying prospect to those whoshould embrace it, and yet succeed in winning converts.

weChristians.

appointed thereuntobyGod’s counsel (1Th 5:9).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

That no man should be moved by these afflictions,…. Which the apostle endured for the sake of preaching the Gospel among them, and which he feared might be a means of troubling their minds, of shaking their faith, and moving them from the hope of the Gospel; for though none of these things moved him, who was an old soldier of Christ, and used to hardness, and an apostle of Christ; yet these were young converts, and not used to such things, and therefore might be staggered at them, and be offended, as stony ground hearers are; and though the apostle hoped better things of them, yet was he concerned for them, that no one among them might be unhinged by them, or succumb under them:

for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto; by the immutable decree of God: afflictions, as to their nature, measure, and duration, are appointed for the people of God, and they are appointed for them; this is the case of all who will live godly in Christ Jesus, and especially of Gospel ministers; of which these saints had been apprized by the apostle, and therefore was nothing new, unheard of, and unexpected, or to be looked upon as a strange thing; and seeing this was the appointment of heaven, and the will of God, they should be patiently endured, and quietly submitted to.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

That no man be moved ( ). Epexegetical articular infinitive in accusative case of general reference. is old word to wag the tail, to flatter, beguile and this sense suits here (only N.T. example). The sense of “moved” or troubled or disheartened is from the reading of F G and found in the papyri.

We are appointed (). Present middle, used here as passive of . We Christians are set

hereunto ( ) to be beguiled by tribulations. We must resist.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Moved [] . N. T. o o LXX In Class., as early as Homer, of dogs; to wag the tail, fawn (Hom. Od. 10 217; 16 6). Hence of persons, to fawn or cringe. The word is apparently used here in the original sense, to be shaken. 25 We are appointed [] . As Luk 2:34 (see note); Phi 1:17. Comp. Act 14:22, in which occur four of the words used here. For the thought, see Mt 5:10; Mt 10:17; Mt 16:24; 1Pe 2:21 ff.; 1Pe 4:12; 2Ti 3:12.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “That no man should be moved” (to medena sainesthai) “no one to be drawn aside,” caused to turn back into the world because of disappointments, troubles, trials, or faith misplaced in men, Eph 3:13; 1Co 4:9-16.

2) “By these afflictions” (en tais thlipsesin tautais) “by these troubles, afflictions, or tribulations”, to which each child of God is heir, to lead him to a life of patience in the Master’s service. Our Lord, the apostles, and the disciples experienced such, endured them. Joh 16:2; 2Ti 3:12; Rom 5:3-5.

3) “For yourselves know” (autoi gar oidate) “for (you) yourselves know or perceive”, because he had taught them, even as others, Rom 8:17.

4) “That we are appointed thereto” (hoti eis touto kemetha) “That to this (end) we are appointed”; Mat 10:22; Joh 16:18-21; Joh 16:33. The truly sanctified one, dedicated and enlightened, should reflect resignation to the will of God for his life, with joy, even in tribulation, Rom 5:3-5; 1Co 10:31; Heb 13:3-5.

MINISTERS OF JOY

Some men move through life as a band of music moves down the street, flinging out pleasure on every side through the air to every one, far and near, that can listen. Some men fill the air with their presence and sweetness, as orchards in October days fill the air with perfume of ripe fruit. Some women cling to their own houses, like the honeysuckle over the door, yet like it, sweeten all the region with the subtle fragrance of their goodness. There are trees of righteousness which are ever dropping precious fruit around them. There are lives that shine like star-beams, or charm the heart like songs sung upon a holy day. How great a bounty and a blessing it is to hold the royal gifts of the soul so that they shall be music to some and fragrance to others, and life to all! It would be no unworthy thing to live for, to make the power which we have within us the breath of other men’s joy; to scatter sunshine where only clouds and shadows reign; to fill the atmosphere where earth’s weary toilers must stand with a brightness which they cannot create for themselves, and -which they long for, enjoy, and appreciate.

-Beecher

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

3 For ye yourselves know. As all would gladly exempt themselves from the necessity of bearing the cross, Paul teaches that there is no reason why believers should feel dismayed on occasion of persecutions, as though it were a thing that was new and unusual, inasmuch as this is our condition, which the Lord has assigned to us. For this manner of expression — we are appointed to it — is as though he had said, that we are Christians on this condition. He says, however, that they know it, because it became them to fight the more bravely, (556) inasmuch as they had been forewarned in time. In addition to this, incessant afflictions made Paul contemptible among rude and ignorant persons. On this account he states that nothing had befallen him but what he had long before, in the manner of a prophet, foretold.

(556) “ Plus vaillamment et courageusement;” — “More valiantly and courageously.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

1Th. 3:3. That no man should be moved.The word seems to imply moved to softness, as Professor Jowett intimates. It is used especially of the motion of a dogs tail as it fawns on its master. So the word passes over to the mental sphere (compare on St. Jamess figure, 1Th. 1:6). That no man should amidst his calamities be allured by the flattering hope of a more pleasant life to abandon his duty (Tittmann).

1Th. 3:4. We should suffer tribulation.In the verse previous the noun from the same root as the one here translated suffer tribulation is given as afflictions. The actual persecution of the Roman government was slight, but what may be termed social persecution and the illegal violence employed towards the first disciples unceasing (Jowett).

1Th. 3:5. When I could no longer forbear sent to know.The whole verse shows the tension of the apostles mind.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.1Th. 3:3-5

The Perils of Suffering.

A storm among the Highlands of Scotland often effects great and rapid changes. The huge mountain that slumbers harmlessly in the sunshine, with such calm and sullen majesty, is transformed by the tempest into a monster of fury. Its sides are suddenly sheeted with waterfalls, and the ferocious torrents work devastation among the glens and straths that lie in their impetuous course. The trees and shrubs that are but slightly rooted are swept away, and only the firmly grounded survive. So it is when the storm of persecution breaks upon the gospel and its adherents. The new converts, the roots of whose faith have not penetrated so deeply into the soil of truth, are in danger of being disturbed and carried away. Their peril is matter of anxiety to the Christian worker. Hence the apostle sends Timothy, and writes this epistle to the Thessalonians, to confirm and establish them in the faith. He shows:
I. That suffering is the inevitable lot of Gods people.

1. That suffering is a divine ordinance. For ye yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto (1Th. 3:3). A strange way, one would think, of reconciling people to affliction, by telling them that they have nothing else to expect. It is a grand proof of the triumph of the gospel over the rebellious human heart that it prescribes such conditions and reconciles men to the acceptance of them; and it does so both by the grace which it imparts for the present and by the glorious hope it holds out for the future. It is laid down as a law of Christian progress that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. The very purity of the Church, imperfect as it is, coming into contact with the sin and misery prevalent in the world, produces suffering. Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. It is enough for us to know that our trials do not happen without the knowledge and consent and purpose and control of God, and that their extent and duration are regulated by His infinite, fatherly wisdom and love. The divine appointment of suffering is designed for our highest discipline and culturewithdrawing our affections from the temporal and centring them on eternal realities; exposing our hypocrisies and cleansing the moral corruptions that have entered into our lives, like filth on standing waters, and strengthening us to do the right, undismayed by the bitterest afflictions. The greatest suffering often brings us into the neighbourhood of the greatest blessing. Gold is cleaner after it has been put into the fire: be thou gold, and the fiery persecution shall not hurt thee.

2. That suffering was the subject of frequent apostolic warning.For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation (1Th. 3:4). It is intimated here that it was not so much one single statement on some particular occasion as it was the constant and habitual tenor of the apostles teaching that suffering was to be expected. Paul himself was an illustrious example of heroic fortitude in suffering for Christs sake. The Holy Ghost, said he, witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and affliction abide me (Act. 20:23). It is both wise and kind to forewarn Gods people of coming afflictions, that they be not overtaken unexpectedly and unprepared. The predictions of the apostle were verified: Even as it came to pass, and ye know. Their first acquaintance with the gospel was in the midst of persecution and trial. The violent opposition continued, but the warnings and exhortations of the apostle were not in vain (2Th. 1:4).

3. That the suffering of Gods people is a cause of ministerial anxiety.For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith (1Th. 3:5). It has been pithily said, Calamity is mans true touchstone. The strongest have then become a prey to the malice and subtlety of Satan. The faithful minister, knowing the perils of suffering and the awful consequences of apostasy, is anxiously concerned about the faith of his converts. There are three modes of bearing the ills of lifeby indifference, which is the most common; by philosophy, which is the most ostentatious; and by religion, which is the most effectual (Colton).

II. That suffering exposes Gods people to the disturbing forces of Satanic temptations.Lest by some means the tempter have tempted you (1Th. 3:5).

1. A suggestive designation of Satan.The tempter. What unspeakable vileness, ruin, misery, and terror are suggested by that name! All human woe may be traced directly up to him. The greatest champions of Christendom, such as Paul and Luther, had the most vivid sense of the personality, nearness, and unceasing counter-working of this great adversary of God and man. There is need of sleepless vigilance and prayer.

2. The versatility of Satanic temptations.Lest by some means. He may descend suddenly, clothed with terror and burning with wrath, to surprise and terrify into sin. More frequently he appears in the seductive and more dangerous garb of an angel of light, the deceptive phantom of what he once was. Infinite are his methods; his aim is oneto suggest doubts and impious references as to Gods providential dealings of severity, and to produce apostasy from the faith.

III. That the temptations of a suffering state imperil the work of Gods servants.And our labour be in vain (1Th. 3:5). In vain as regards the great end of their salvation; they would lapse into their former heathenish state, and by apostasy lose their heavenly reward; and in vain as regards the joy which the apostle anticipated from their ultimate salvation. It is true no work done for God is absolutely in vain; the worker shall receive his just reward; but it may be in vain with regard to the object to which his best efforts have been directed, It is bitterly disappointing to see the work that has cost so much, utterly frustrated by a momentary temptation of the wicked one. How different might have been the moral history of thousands if they had not yielded to the first fiery trial!

Of all the sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are theseit might have been.

IV. That Gods people may triumph over the greatest suffering.That no man should be moved [drawn away by flattery or shaken] by these afflictions (1Th. 3:3). While piety is tried, it is also strengthened by suffering. The watchful and faithful soul may use his troubles as aids to a richer experience and a firmer consolidation of Christian character. Thus God schooleth and nurtureth His people, that so, through many tribulations, they may enter into their rest. Frankincense, when it is put into the fire, giveth the greater perfume; spice, if it be pounded, smelleth the sweeter; the earth, when it is torn up by the plough, becometh more fruitful; the seed in the ground, after frost and snow and winter storms, springeth up the ranker; the nigher the vine is pruned to the stock, the greater grape it yieldeth; the grape, when it is most pressed and beaten, maketh the sweetest wine; fine gold is the better when it is cast into the fire; rough stones, with hewing, are squared and made fit for the building; cloth is rent and cut that it may make a garment; linen that is thrown into the tub, washed, and beaten, is the fairer (Jewell).

Lessons.

1. To live a godly life involves suffering.

2. A period of suffering is ever attended with powerful temptations.

3. The grace of God is sufficient to sustain and deliver His people amid the perils of acutest suffering.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

1Th. 3:3-5. The Necessity and the Perils of Affliction.

I. That afflictions are disturbing and distressing to the children of God.

II. That afflictions are appointed by God for His peoples good.

III. That Christians are forewarned to expect affliction.

IV. That Satan uses affliction as a means of temptation.

V. That the faithful minister must labour and watch in order to secure the steadfastness of believers under his care.Herbert, the saintly poet of the seventeeth century, exhorts the preacher to make the consolations of the gospel his main theme:

Oh, let him speak of comfort, tis
Most wanted in this vale of tears.

P. Mearns.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Text (1Th. 3:3-4)

3 that no man be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed. 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

Translation and Paraphrase

3.

(I sent Timothy unto you) so that none (of you) would be shaken about (and distressed) by these troubles (which you are having). For you yourselves know that (in Gods arrangement of things) we are appointed unto this (very) thing (affliction).

4.

For (you surely remember that) even while we were (still) with you, (that) we kept telling you before (anything had yet happened), that we (as Christians) were certain to be pressed (with afflictions), just as it (soon) came to pass, and (as) you know (very well how) it has happened, (Therefore, do not be disturbed by this turn of events.)

Notes (1Th. 3:3-4)

1.

Often when people become Christians and discover that they experience trouble and sorrow afterwards, they wonder if they have made a mistake, They wonder if they are actually saved, thinking that their sufferings are an indication of Gods judgment upon them.

2.

But notice that Paul says in these verses that we are actually appointed in Gods arrangement of things to suffer tribulation. The we refers to all Christians. Let them all hear it.

The words tribulation and affliction come from the Greek thlipsis and mean a pressing, pressing together, pressure, oppression, affliction, distress, etc. (Thayer) Tribulation is our lot as Christians.

Joh. 16:33In the world we shall have tribulation.

Act. 14:22We enter into the kingdom of God through much tribulation. See also Joh. 15:18-19; Mar. 10:30.

3.

But let us remember that God is not the instigator of all our troubles. God did not bring the sufferings of Job upon him. The devil did it. (See Job, chapters 1 and 2.) If Job had accused God of hurting him, Job would have accused God foolishly. Job. 1:22. Christians are appointed to suffer, probably because the evil world cannot stand the contrast of sanctified lives to its wickedness. God permits this evil to exist, but the time is coming when God will punish those who afflict us, and give rest to those who are afflicted. 2Th. 1:6-7.

4.

We are happy to report that Pauls hope that the Thessalonians had not been moved by affliction was found to be a fact. 2Th. 1:4. They did continue to bear their tribulations without giving up the faith. It is possible for suffering people to be victorious over persecutions, so that no man should be moved (or shaken) by these afflictions.

5.

Paul seems to have had to jog the memory of the Thessalonians several times. In this verse he asks, Dont you remember how that while I was with you I told you that we would have Suffering? Compare 2Th. 2:5; 2Th. 3:10. Such verses as Act. 14:22 indicate that Paul did indeed warn his converts of tribulation to come.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(3) Moved, or more literally, seduced. The very peculiar word in the original means, in the first instance, the fawning of an animal upon its master: then, through the intermediate sense of wheedling, it comes to mean the gradual detachment of a person from his resolution by any insinuating representations, whether of flattery or (as here) of fear. The next word should be in or in the midst of, rather than by, therefore (though both may be included) their own afflictions are chiefly meant, not St. Pauls.

For yourselves.Your previous expectation that Christianity involved the suffering of persecution ought to be enough to prevent you now from losing your faith.

We are appointed thereunto.The we means all Christian people: their election into the Church must needs be an election to suffering (see marg. refs.). No cross, no crown.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. These afflictions The persecutions encountered from their countrymen. 1Th 2:14.

Appointed thereunto To suffer these persecutions is the very mission to which we as Christians are appointed. They are the severe yet glorious lot of our sacred profession.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1Th 3:3. For yourselves know Here seems to be a particular allusion to Act 9:15-16; Act 20:23. What Apostles, prophets, and even common Christians were to expect in the world, see Mat 10:34-36. Act 17:5. Rom 8:17. Eph 3:13. &c. &c.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Th 3:3 . ] related to , only here in the N. T., means, to shake, to swing hither and thither. It is used specially of dogs who wag their tails (comp. Hom. Od. xvi. 4 ff., x. 217; Arist. Eq. 1031), from which the wider acceptation of fawning or caressing is derived. Then the verb stands generally for any act of shaking, passing from the sphere of sense to that of mind. Comp. Diog. Laert. viii. 41: .

Sophocl. Antig. 1214: . (Other proofs in Wetstein.) Thus here denotes a being disquieted, becoming wavering in the faith. Chrysostom correctly explains it by . With unnecessary harshness Faber Stapulensis, to whom also Beza (adblandiri, adversariis videlicet evangelii) is inclined, Elsner, Observ. sacr. II. p. 275 f., Wolf, and Tittmann, de synonym. in N. T. p. 189, think to preserve the meaning fawning (and alluring), giving the sense: that they should not permit themselves, by “adulationes et illicitamenta carnis” (Faber Stapulensis), to apostatize from Christianity, and relapse into heathenism or Judaism. Also Rckert, whom Koch follows, adopts this view, as he will not acknowledge the meaning in the verb: he thinks, rather, that from the meaning to fawn , the meaning blanditiis corrumpi in the passive is formed; and from that, in consequence of the toning down of the meaning, the general idea of corrumpi arose. Hofmann explains directly by to delude , a meaning which the word never has.

] in these afflictions , , is purely temporal, not instrumental, although, in regard to the subject in hand, it cannot be doubted that it was the to whose influence the possibility of a is attributed. is , indicative , denoting the afflictions which both the Thessalonians and Paul (so Calixtus, Flatt, Schott, and others; Oecumenius, Theophylact, Estius, Osiander, Nat. Alexander, Benson, Macknight, erroneously refer the to Paul only ) have just experienced, and which are here considered as belonging to the present, since a renewed outbreak of them was every instant to be feared. The first part of 1Th 3:3 , accordingly, contains the warning not to suffer themselves to apostatize from the faith in Christ in the time of trouble and of need.

But it is asked how 1Th 3:3 is to be connected with the preceding. Those who read, with the Receptus , (see critical note), regard as the Dativus commodi, which, as the Hebrew placed before an infinitive, serves for the statement of the object; thus would be equivalent to (Grotius, Turretin, Benson, Koppe, Pelt, Olshausen). But with the infinitive is used exclusively to denote the reason or the inducing cause, never to denote the design; comp. 2Co 2:12 , and Winer, p. 293 [E. T. 413]. Rckert, indeed, retaining this grammatical use of , makes it denote: “unde nascituram speraverat, quum Timotheum misit, apostolus;” and, although he does not decide positively, prefers the reading , in order that he may find expressed therein a twofold object in sending Timotheus, in conformity with the longing of the apostle previously stated: (1) in respect to the readers, and (2) in respect to himself. Timotheus, Paul intends to say, is sent “fratres ut firmaret, sibi ut afferret ex bona illorum conditione solatium.” But this interpretation is simply impossible, as, in referring to the apostle, it would be indispensably necessary, on account of the preceding , to subjoin . Accordingly, even from internal reasons, criticism requires us to read . But here, also, a different view is conceivable: (1) We might, with Matthaei, supply a second to from the preceding . But in this case we cannot understand why the second has been suppressed by Paul, as elsewhere he does not avoid the repetition of the form ; comp. e.g. Rom 4:11 . Or (2) with Schott, Koch, and Bisping, we might take as an absolute accusative, in the sense of quod attinet ad. But, considering the rarity of this construction, and the misuse which is practised with its assumption (comp. Bernhardy, Syntax, p. 132 f.; also Phi 4:10 , on which Schott founds, is no analogy, as there is the usual objective accusative to , used transitively), this shift should only be resorted to when no other expedient presents itself. (3) Winer, 5th ed. p. 375 [E. T. 413], whom de Wette, Reiche, Buttmann, Gramm. des neutestam. Sprachgebrauchs, p. 226 [E. T. 263f.], Hofmann, and Riggenbach follow, makes dependent on , and considers it as a further explanation of , namely, to exhort that none should become wavering. But if depended on , then , in the sense of to exhort, would be construed with the simple accusative of the thing, an assumption the possibility of which is to be absolutely denied. (The passages on which Reiche supports the opposite view are without force. In Luk 3:18 both accusatives are not governed by , but, in agreement with Act 13:32 , by ; in 1Ti 6:2 , depends on , and is annexed only in a loose manner to ; so also in Tit 2:15 belongs only to , but not also to the following verbs; further, in Mar 5:23 does not depend on , but is the adverbial much, very; lastly, Mar 5:17 and Act 8:31 are not analogous, as there is put with the accusative of the person, to which a simple infinitive, but not an infinitive with the article , follows.) Besides, if . were a further explanation or epexegesis of , then not the accusative would have been put, but the genitive ., in agreement with . Accordingly, this interpretation is also to be rejected. There consequently remains only (4) to consider . as an apposition to the whole preceding sentence , so that . serves only to repeat the same thought which was before positively expressed in a negative but better defined form; thus, instead of , might have been written. Thus the sense is: to strengthen you and to exhort you on behalf of your faith that is, that no one may be shaken in these troubles; or, to strengthen and exhort you on account of your faith, particularly on one point, which is contained in one requirement: that no one may be shaken, etc. [46] Accordingly, certainly depends on the preceding ; but our interpretation is entirely different from that adduced in (1), as no second can be inserted before without injuring the indissoluble unity which combines . . . . with what precedes.

. , 1Th 3:4 , is not, with Moldenhauer, Griesbach, Vater, Flatt, to be included in a parenthesis, as , 1Th 3:5 , is connected with what directly precedes.

] proves the legitimacy of the demand .

] 1Th 3:4 , explains whence they knew it, namely, partly from previous definite intimations of the apostle, and partly from their own experience. Contrary to the text, Theodoret: from the previous intimation of Christ.

] that we were appointed thereto . Comp. Phi 1:17 ; Luk 2:34 . , i.e. not , but (comp. 1Th 3:4 ), in connection with . Moreover, refers not only to Paul (Oecumenius, Estius, Osiander, and others), or to Paul and his companions (Hofmann), nor also to Paul and the Thessalonians (Koppe), but to Christians in general.

[46] Alford accedes to this interpretation. Bouman ( Chartae theolog . I. p. 79 ff.) assumes a middle position between this view and that adopted by Winer, de Wette, and Reiche: Ego ita de Wettium sequor ac Winerum, ut cum proxime praecedente Infinitivo connectendum existimem. Verum toto tertiae hujus sectionis dicto: , illius, quam Timothei ministerio ad Thessalonicenses perferendam curabat Apostolus, praecipuum argumentum ac summa contineri mihi videtur. Cujus rei, ni fallor, indicium est dictumque adeo acuit et a caeteris distinguit praemissus ille articulus . Quem ibi ponere Graecos, ubi nos signa, citationis vulgo notum est. Veluti postmodum, chap. 1Th 4:1 : . . .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

(3) That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. (4) For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

It should seem, that part of the sorrows of the Thessalonians was on the Apostle’s account. They knew that he had been driven from them by the storm raised round the house of Jason, from whence the brethren had sent away Paul by night. See Act 17:1-15 . And as he had been obliged to flee to Athens from Berea, their fears on his account were increased. How sweetly Paul reminds them of what he had continually preached as the true marks of the Apostolic character. No man should be moved by afflictions. It is Jesus which appoints, watches over, regulates, and sanctifies them. How little understood are those things in the present hour? If a faithful minister of Christ was to be sought for, in the present day by this mark of persecution, to what congregation would the enquiry be made? The general feature of the times is, to soften as much as may be, doctrines which are not palatable, for others of a more accommodating spirit. The primitive days of our fathers, after the Lord, in his mercy had caused this land to emerge from popery, were remarkable for holding forth the word of life. The great truths of our holy faith, such as the election of God, redemption wholly by Christ, the regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and the everlasting safety of the Church, in the final perseverance of the Lord’s redeemed ones, were never lost sight of in their ministry. But how are these esteemed in the present hour, when, under the delusive pretence of spreading the truths of God, men of the most opposite principles in religion mingle together, concealing their different views of faith, that they may give no offence to each other. What would Paul have said to this smothering spirit, had he lived in these days? His affectionate Epistle to the Thessalonians, in charging them not to be moved by the afflictions of persecution, would have been totally unnecessary.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

Ver. 3. That no man should be moved ] Gr. , flattered, as a dog flattereth, by moving his tail; q.d. The devil, by flattering you, with promise of more ease by a contrary course, will but do as a dirty dog, defile you with fawning.

That we are appointed thereunto ] viz. By God’s decree, whereunto if damned ghosts must subscribe,Rom 9:19-20Rom 9:19-20 , how much more should God’s elect! 1Pe 1:6 . It is but a delicacy to dream of heaven to be had without much hardship. Many would fain pull a rose without pricks, feed on manchet, pass a deliciis ad delicias: they would sit in the seat of honour with Zebedee’s children, but not drink the cup of affliction. This will not be. Elijah must to heaven, but in a whirlwind. Daniel must be brought through lions and leopards to the meek Lamb of God, Messiah the Prince. John shall hear the harmony of harpers, but first the noise of thunder. The Israelites had five days of sorrow before their feast of joy, Lev 23:27 ; Lev 23:34 . The first handsel a God gave them in their journey to the promised Canaan, was bitterness and thirst. It was by Marah that they came to Elim; neither could they taste of the sweet waters of Siloam, till they had crossed the swift streams of Jordan. We cannot sing the song of Moses, of God’s servants, and of the Lamb, but we must first swim through a sea of burning glass, Rev 15:2-3 . Non nisi per angusta, ad augusta. Not unless through trouble to glory.

a Lucky prognostic, omen, presage, augury; token or omen of good luck. Obs. D

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 .] that no one might be disquieted (ref.: Soph. Antig. 1214, : Eur. Rhes. 53, , &c. In these places is a vox media , conveying the meaning of agitation, disquieting, which the context must interpret for better or worse) in (in the midst of) these tribulations (which are happening to us both). The construction of is doubted. Lnem. enters into the matter, as usual, at length and thoroughly. He first deals with the rec. . ., and exposes as ungrammatical the view which would regard it as a dativus commodi , as = , rejecting also Rckert’s more grammatical view, that it indicates “ unde nascituram speraverat, quum Timotheum misit, apostolus .” Then as to . ., we may take it either 1) with Matthi, supplying a second from the former . But then why is not the second expressed, as in Rom 4:11 ? Or, 2) with Schott, as a pendent accusative, in the sense ‘ quod attinet, ad .’ But this is a very rare construction, which has been often assumed without reason (see Bernhardy, pp. 132 ff.), and therefore should only be resorted to when no other supposition will help the construction: 3) Winer, edn. 3 (not in edn. 6), 45. 3 anm., whom De W. and Ellicott follow, makes it dependent on , and treats it as a further explanation of viz. ‘ to exhort, that none should become unstable .’ But if . . depended on , then , in the sense of ‘ to exhort ,’ would be followed by a imple accusative of the thing, which though perhaps possible, see 1Ti 6:2 , is very harsh. (Consult however Ellicott’s note, as to the mere mediate dependence of such clauses on the governing verb in comparison with the immediate dependence of substantives.) Besides, if . . were a further specification of , it would not be accusative but genitive. 4) It only remains that we should take . . as in apposition with the whole foregoing sentence, . . . . . . . . so that . . serves only to repeat the same thought, which was before positively expressed, in a negative but better defined form: being nearly = . So that the sense is: to confirm you and exhort you on behalf of your faith, that is, that no one may be shaken in these troubles : . being dependent, not on a second understood, as in (1), but on the first , which is expressed. With this view I entirely agree, only adding, that instead of making = , I would rather say that might have been inserted before .

] Reason why no one should be shaken . Griesb., al., parenthesize 1Th 3:4 ; but wrongly, for 1Th 3:5 , connects with this sentence immediately. ; probably not for Theodoret’s reason: , but for that given in 1Th 3:4 .

, viz. to , contained in above: the subject to being ‘we Christians.’

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1Th 3:3 . Cf. Artemid., Oneirocritica ii. 11, [ cf. 2Th 3:2 ] [ cf. Act 17:4 ] .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

no man. Greek. medeia.

moved: or, agitated. Greek. saino. Only here.

afflictions. Greek. thlipsis. See 1Th 1:6.

know. App-132.

are appointed. Literally lie. Greek. keimai. Compare Luk 2:34. Php 1:1, Php 1:17.

thereunto = unto (App-104.) this.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

3.] that no one might be disquieted (ref.: Soph. Antig. 1214, : Eur. Rhes. 53, , &c. In these places is a vox media, conveying the meaning of agitation, disquieting, which the context must interpret for better or worse) in (in the midst of) these tribulations (which are happening to us both). The construction of is doubted. Lnem. enters into the matter, as usual, at length and thoroughly. He first deals with the rec. . ., and exposes as ungrammatical the view which would regard it as a dativus commodi, as = , rejecting also Rckerts more grammatical view, that it indicates unde nascituram speraverat, quum Timotheum misit, apostolus. Then as to . .,-we may take it either 1) with Matthi, supplying a second from the former . But then why is not the second expressed, as in Rom 4:11? Or, 2) with Schott, as a pendent accusative, in the sense quod attinet, ad. But this is a very rare construction, which has been often assumed without reason (see Bernhardy, pp. 132 ff.), and therefore should only be resorted to when no other supposition will help the construction: 3) Winer, edn. 3 (not in edn. 6), 45. 3 anm., whom De W. and Ellicott follow, makes it dependent on , and treats it as a further explanation of -viz. to exhort, that none should become unstable. But if . . depended on , then , in the sense of to exhort, would be followed by a imple accusative of the thing, which though perhaps possible, see 1Ti 6:2, is very harsh. (Consult however Ellicotts note, as to the mere mediate dependence of such clauses on the governing verb in comparison with the immediate dependence of substantives.) Besides, if . . were a further specification of , it would not be accusative but genitive. 4) It only remains that we should take . . as in apposition with the whole foregoing sentence, . . . . . . . .-so that . . serves only to repeat the same thought, which was before positively expressed, in a negative but better defined form: being nearly = . So that the sense is: to confirm you and exhort you on behalf of your faith, that is, that no one may be shaken in these troubles: . being dependent, not on a second understood, as in (1), but on the first , which is expressed. With this view I entirely agree, only adding, that instead of making = , I would rather say that might have been inserted before .

] Reason why no one should be shaken. Griesb., al., parenthesize – 1Th 3:4; but wrongly, for 1Th 3:5, connects with this sentence immediately. ; probably not for Theodorets reason: ,-but for that given in 1Th 3:4.

, viz. to , contained in above: the subject to being we Christians.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Th 3:3. ) [that no man should be moved,-seduced and cajoled out of his faith]: from , to move. Eustathius shows, that it is properly applied to dogs, when they fawn by wagging the tail;[11] by metaphor , applied to those that are deceitful at heart and prone to flatter; and this is obviously the idea here. For in afflictions, relatives and opponents, and the heart itself, mingle their flatteries, and when these are overcome, believers are confirmed.-, in these (present) afflictions) The present time.-, we lie, i.e. are set, are appointed unto this) An argument from our calling: comp. ch. 1Th 5:9, God , hath appointed us.

[11] So Latin ceveo in Persius; Th. cieo, to move or shake, as from , .-ED.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

1Th 3:3

that no man be moved by these afflictions;-Their love for Paul was so great that his afflictions unduly moved and excited them and they felt discouraged and disheartened that Paul, the leader of the Christians, an inspired man of God, should so suffer. [But the afflictions to which he especially refers are most likely the persecutions which began with the establishment of the church and still continued.]

for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed.-[From the very beginning God declares to his people that they may expect to be tried and therefore when trial comes they cannot be inclined to suppose that God is forgetful of them.] The afflictions of God’s children do not result from chance, but are the necessary consequence of being his children; they arise from the appointment and ordinance of God. We must be conformed to Christ in his sufferings. To his disciples Jesus said: In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (Joh 16:33.) When the Lord called Paul to the apostleship, he showed him how many things he must suffer for his names sake. (Act 9:16.) All the apostles suffered persecution, and, concerning Christians in general, Paul asserts that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. (Act 14:22.)

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

moved: Psa 112:6, Act 2:25, Act 20:24, Act 21:13, Rom 5:3, 1Co 15:58, Eph 3:13, Phi 1:28, Col 1:23, 2Th 1:4, 2Ti 1:8, 1Pe 4:12-14, Rev 2:10, Rev 2:13

we are: 1Th 5:9, Mat 10:16-18, Mat 24:9, Mat 24:10, Luk 21:12, Joh 15:19-21, Joh 16:2, Joh 16:33, Act 9:16, Act 14:22, Act 20:23, Act 21:11, Act 21:13, Rom 8:35-37, 1Co 4:9, 2Ti 3:11, 2Ti 3:12, 1Pe 2:21, 1Pe 4:12

Reciprocal: Num 21:4 – the soul Job 23:14 – appointed Job 29:25 – one that Psa 34:19 – Many Psa 66:12 – through Pro 27:17 – so Ecc 2:20 – General Mat 6:34 – Sufficient Mat 16:24 – If Mar 4:17 – when Luk 9:44 – these Luk 16:25 – likewise Luk 21:13 – General Joh 14:1 – not Joh 14:2 – if Act 13:43 – persuaded Act 16:40 – they comforted 1Co 4:17 – I sent 2Co 6:4 – afflictions 2Co 8:2 – in Col 1:11 – unto 2Th 2:2 – shaken 1Pe 5:9 – the same

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1Th 3:3. Moved is from a Greek word that means “to agitate, disturb, trouble,” and Paul did not want the brethren to be disturbed by their afflictions or persecutions. Are appointed means to be destined to a thing, and it denotes that opposition is bound to come against those who are true servants of God. The reason is that such a life is a rebuke against the people of the sinful world, and they show their resentment by persecuting the doers of the righteous life. (See 2Ti 3:12.)

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Th 3:3. For yourselves know. Expected tribulations can be no trial to faith, however they may try our sincerity and integrity. From the first God declares to His people that they may count upon trial; and therefore when trial comes they cannot be inclined to suppose that God is forgetful of them. Seeing that afflictions are appointed to us, and we appointed to them; seeing there is a decree of God concerning them, a decree as to the matter of them, as to the manner of them, as to the measure of them, as to the time of them, when they shall commence, how far they shall advance, how long they shall continue; seeing everything in affliction is under an appointment, how meek and humble, how patient and submissive, ought the Christians spirit to be under them, and with what steadiness of expectation may and ought he to look up to heaven for a sanctified use and improvement of them! (Burkitt).

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

As if the apostle had said, “One great end why I have sent Timothy among you is this, lest either upon the account of your own afflictions, or my sufferings, you should be moved from your stedfastness, either drawn away by fraud and flattery, or driven away by force and terror;” that no man be moved by these afflictions.

Observe also, the argument to confirm them in the faith, amidst all their sufferings and afflictions, and that is drawn from the pleasure and purpose, the ordination and appointment of God, concerning their afflictions; Ye yourselves know, that we are thereunto appointed.

Learn hence, 1. That the best of saints are subject to be moved by their afflictions.

2. That it is the high commendation of a Christian, not to stir or be moved from his stedfastness by the heaviest shock of affliction that may fall upon him: That no man may be moved by these afflictions.

Some render the word appointed, set as a mark to be shot at; some saints, with holy Job, are set on purpose as a mark for the arrow of affliciton to be levelled at, yet then are they to keep their ground, and stand immovable; we honour God abundantly, when we are immovable in our active obedience; and we glorify him eminently, when we are immovable in our passive obedience; when we stand to it in the midst of sufferings, and are no more moved either by cowardice or impatience, than a post that is shot at. This is the glory of a Christian, and his great duty, and it is the glory of God, and his certain due.

Learn, 3. That believers are under a divine appointment from God himself, to undergo trouble and affliction. The ultimate destination of believers, is to rest,(God hath not appointed them unto wrath, but to obtain salvation): But the intermediate destination of them is to trouble and affliction, in order unto rest, and to prepare them for that rest. Seeing then that afflictions are appointed to us, and we appointed to them, seeing there is a decree of God concerning them, a decree as to the matter of them, as to the manner of them, as to the measure of them, as to the time of them, when they shall commence, how far they shall advance, how long they shall continue, seeing every thing in affliction is under an appointment; how meek and humble, how patient and submissive ought the Christian’s spirit to be under them! And with what steadiness of expectation may and ought he to look up to heaven for a sanctified use and improvement of them! Let no man be moved by afflictions, knowing we are appointed thereunto.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

that no man [of you] be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed. [“We” refers to all Christians, and Theophylact sagely remarks, “Let all Christians hear this.” As to the doctrine, see Mat 13:21; Mar 10:30; Joh 15:18; Joh 16:33; Act 4:22]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: {1} for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

(1) The will of God, who calls his own on this condition, to bring them to glory by affliction, is a most sure remedy against all afflictions.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Often new believers, and even older believers, interpret difficulty as a sign that they need to change something. Timothy reminded them that persecution is a normal experience for the Christian (cf. Mat 5:11-12; Mat 10:16-28; Mat 20:22-23; Mat 24:9-10; et al.), just as Paul had previously instructed them. Had the Thessalonians fallen before this temptation they would have been in danger of becoming like rocky soil in which the seed of the gospel does not root firmly. Thus the ministry expended on them would have been in vain in the sense that it would not have resulted in substantial growth and fruit.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)