Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 1 Thessalonians
Chapter 3: Stablished in the Faith
First Thessalonians 3 shows a pastor's anxious love and his overflowing relief. Unable to bear the suspense any longer, Paul had sent Timothy, 'our brother, and minister of God,' to 'establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith,' fearing that under persecution 'the tempter' might have shaken them and his 'labour be in vain.' But Timothy returned with 'good tidings of your faith and charity,' and Paul was 'comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith,' declaring, 'now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.' His heart spills over in thanksgiving and prayer: 'night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face,' asking that God and 'our Lord Jesus Christ' would direct his way to them, make them 'increase and abound in love,' and 'stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' This chapter shows us love that agonizes, joy that revives, and a prayer for holiness fixed on the Lord's return.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 1 Thessalonians chapter 3. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul sends Timothy to strengthen the young church, rejoices at the good report of their faith, and prays for their growth in love and holiness before the coming of the Lord. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Timothy Sent
To establish and comfort them in their faith.
Appointed to Affliction
Believers are called to suffer tribulation.
Good Tidings of Your Faith
Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
Unblameable in Holiness
Established for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Now We Live, If Ye Stand Fast (1 Thessalonians 3:1-8)
Paul sends Timothy to steady the persecuted church, and is revived by the good news that their faith stands firm.
To Establish You, and to Comfort You Concerning Your Faith
"Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. 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. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain. But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord."
Word Study
"to establish," Greek sterizo (στηρίζω). The word means to set firmly, to make stable, to prop up or buttress so a thing will not fall; it is used of fixing something solidly in place. "And sent Timotheus... to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith." The young Thessalonian church was under the strain of persecution, and Paul's fear was that they might be shaken loose from their footing. So he sends Timothy not merely to cheer them but to sterizo them, to steady and anchor their faith so it would stand against the pressure. The same word appears again at the chapter's end, where Paul prays God would "stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness" (verse 13). This is a great work of the ministry and of the Spirit: to establish believers, to root and settle them so firmly in the truth and in Christ that afflictions cannot move them. Faith that is merely new and warm can still be blown over; faith that is established stands. And notice who does the establishing: Timothy is sent to do it, yet ultimately it is God who "stablishes." The Lord uses faithful servants to steady His people, propping up the trembling until they stand fast, immovable, in Him.
Explanation
Unable to bear the suspense, Paul sent Timothy "to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no man should be moved by these afflictions." He feared "lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain." Then came Timothy's report of their "faith and charity," and Paul's relief overflows: "now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." The apostle's own well-being is bound up with his converts' steadfastness — their perseverance is his very life. Such is the heart of a shepherd for the flock.
Gospel Focus
Paul's love for the Thessalonians would not let him rest. Torn away from them by persecution, he says twice that he "could no longer forbear", he could not endure the suspense of not knowing how they fared. So, though it meant being "left at Athens alone," he sent Timothy, "our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ," on a costly errand: "to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith." His aim was "that no man should be moved by these afflictions." And here Paul teaches a sober truth about the Christian life: "yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto." Believers are appointed to tribulation; suffering is not a sign that something has gone wrong but part of the path Christ's people walk. Paul had warned them of this in advance, "we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass." Still, he was anxious, "lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain." Persecution is one of Satan's tools to shake young faith. Then comes the relief, and it is like a burst of sunlight: "now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity." Their faith stood, their love abounded, and they longed to see Paul as he longed to see them. The effect on Paul is total: "we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith. For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." The apostle's own well-being rose and fell with the spiritual health of his converts; their standing fast was, to him, life itself. Here is a shepherd's heart laid bare: a love that agonizes when the flock is in danger, that spends itself to strengthen them, and that is revived to the point of "now we live" when they stand firm in the Lord.
Unblameable in Holiness at His Coming (1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)
Paul overflows in thanksgiving and prays that God would increase their love and establish their hearts blameless in holiness for the coming of the Lord.
Now God Himself and Our Father, and Our Lord Jesus Christ
"For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
Word Study
"unblameable," Greek amemptos (ἄμεμπτος). The word means blameless, without fault, giving no ground for accusation or reproach. "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul's prayer aims at the highest goal: that when the Lord appears, His people would stand before Him with hearts against which no charge can be laid. This is not sinless perfection achieved by human effort, for Paul prays that God would establish them so, "the Lord make you to increase and abound in love," and "he may stablish your hearts." The blamelessness is God's work in the believer, a heart so grounded in holiness and overflowing in love that it stands unaccused at Christ's coming. Note too that amemptos is measured "before God," in His sight, not merely before men. And its setting is love: Paul asks that they "increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men," for a heart established in love is a heart established in holiness; the two are not rivals but partners. So the goal of the Christian life is to be presented blameless before God at the return of the Lord Jesus, holy hearts, overflowing with love, that give the Judge no cause for reproach, all of it wrought by the God who "is faithful... who also will do it" (5:24).
Explanation
Paul cannot find thanks enough — "what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy?" — and prays "night and day exceedingly" to see them and "perfect that which is lacking in your faith." His prayer reaches for two things: that the Lord would "make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all," and would "stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Love and holiness, growing now, made ready for that day — that is the burden of Paul's ceaseless prayer.
Gospel Focus
Paul's relief turns to worship. "What thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God?" His gratitude is so great he cannot find thanks enough to match it. And his joy drives him to prayer: "night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith." Even a commended, thriving church still had things "lacking" in its faith, and Paul longs to come and fill them up; growth is never finished this side of glory. Then he prays. "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you." It is worth pausing here. Paul names "God... our Father" and "our Lord Jesus Christ" together, and in the Greek the verb that follows, "direct," is singular, not plural, as though the Father and the Lord Jesus act as one. This is the mystery the Apostolic faith confesses: the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are not two separate Gods but the one God, revealed as our Father and manifest as our Lord Jesus. Paul prays to God, and that God is both the Father and the Lord Jesus, undivided. Then his requests: first, that God would open the way for him to return; second, that "the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men." Love is the great evidence of a healthy church, and it is God who makes it grow. And the goal of that growing love is holiness: "to the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Here the whole prayer lands on the blessed hope. Everything is aimed at that day, that hearts established in love and holiness would stand blameless before God when the Lord Jesus returns "with all his saints." So Paul teaches us to pray as he prayed: with overflowing thanks, for one another's growth, that God Himself would make us abound in love and hold our hearts blameless in holiness until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 3 in Review
First Thessalonians 3 lays bare a shepherd's heart. Unable to "forbear," Paul sent Timothy "to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith," fearing the persecuted church might be shaken by "the tempter." But Timothy returned with "good tidings of your faith and charity," and Paul was "comforted... by your faith," declaring, "now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." His relief overflows into thanksgiving and prayer, "night and day praying exceedingly," asking that "God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ" would direct his way, make them "increase and abound in love," and "stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter both models pastoral love and teaches sound truth. It shows that believers are "appointed" to tribulation, and that faith under fire needs to be established, propped up and steadied by faithful servants whom God uses. It reveals a love so bound to God's people that their standing fast is the minister's very life. And its closing prayer is rich with Apostolic truth: it addresses "God... our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ" as one, the one God revealed as Father and manifest in the Lord Jesus, and it fixes the whole aim of the Christian life on being found "unblameable in holiness before God... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." So we labor to establish one another, we abound in love, and we pray to be kept blameless in holiness for the day of His appearing.
- Faithful servants are sent "to establish" and comfort believers in their faith (3:2).
- Believers are "appointed" to suffer tribulation; it is part of the path (3:3-4).
- Satan tempts young faith, seeking to make the labor "in vain" (3:5).
- A pastor's life rises and falls with his people: "now we live, if ye stand fast" (3:8).
- "God... our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ" are addressed as one God (3:11).
- The goal is hearts "unblameable in holiness" at the coming of the Lord Jesus (3:13).
Questions for Reflection
- Whose faith are you helping to "establish" and steady under pressure?
- Do you receive tribulation as part of the path, or as a sign something is wrong?
- Are you increasing and abounding in love "one toward another, and toward all men"?
- Is your aim to stand "unblameable in holiness" at the coming of the Lord?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Timothy sent to establish; appointed to tribulation: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Acts 14:22; John 16:33. Comforted by their faith; standing fast in the Lord: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-8; Philippians 1:27; 3 John 4. The Father and the Lord Jesus as one God: 1 Thessalonians 3:11; John 10:30; John 14:9. Increase in love; unblameable in holiness at His coming: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; Philippians 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:23. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Timothy sent to establish; believers appointed to tribulation: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Acts 14:22.
- Comforted by their faith; now we live if ye stand fast: 1 Thessalonians 3:6-8; Philippians 1:27.
- God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ addressed as one: 1 Thessalonians 3:11; John 10:30.
- Abound in love; hearts unblameable in holiness at His coming: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.