1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 1Therefore when we no longer could endure, we determined to be left behind in Athens alone, 2and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3in order that no one might be disturbed by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
Paul continues to reflect on the theme of suffering in order to encourage the Thessalonians to stand strong in their faith. He reminds them of the experiences he, Silas, and Timothy had during their travels in Macedonia and Greece. Something significant bothered the team when they arrived in Athens. There is no clear object to the temporal participle endure, but the next phrase suggests they were concerned about the situation in Thessalonica. They may have reflected back on their brief time there and realized that this church needed more discipling, so they sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to help the church grow in their faith. Timothy was a young man at this point. His age is not given in the New Testament. Speculations have ranged from teenager to young adult. It is noteworthy that Timothy had not been with Paul long in his travels yet was being sent by Paul to help with the situation in Thessalonica. It is no wonder that the believers in Derbe and Lystra spoke highly of this young man since Paul commissioned him already to help in discipleship in a difficult place (Acts 16:2). Timothy’s efforts may have contributed to the quick spiritual growth of this church.
Paul builds up Timothy here by calling him our brother and God’s fellow worker. These descriptions endeared Timothy to the Thessalonians as part of the mission team of Paul and Silas and one of the important influences in this church. He had God’s approval and was inspired and guided by God. Timothy’s mission in Thessalonica was to strengthen and encourage. He must have had the gift of encouragement because of how Paul sent him on difficult assignments to help churches like the divided Corinthians or the Ephesians who were threatened by heresy. The faith of the Thessalonians was very young, even as short as a month or two, and so they needed instruction and inspiration so they could hold up under the afflictions and persecution (thlipsesin).
Perhaps the most difficult idea in these verses comes at the end of verse 3: we have been destined for this. “This” refers back to the experience of suffering for faith in Christ. Destined (keimetha) can mean appointed or exist for something. The basic idea is that suffering is part of the Christian experience. Jesus told his disciples to expect suffering for following him (John 15:20). Suffering is not inherent to being a disciple of Jesus, but it is the outcome of living a holy life in a world that is darkened by sin, pride, and selfishness. Paul gives an important insight in these verses about how to deal with this potential. The key idea is that believers need to be strengthened by God’s sustaining grace through the ministry of others. In this case, Timothy was God’s instrument to help the Thessalonians.
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