According to the Bible, Christians are called by God to perform works that build up Christ’s church, both globally and locally (Ephesians 4:11-12). These works help Christians mature in their understanding of God and, therefore, their obedience to him. Essentially, Christ-followers help one another grow while pointing a lost world to Jesus. In addition to the service God ordains all Christians to perform, the Lord calls some men to live as ministers of the Gospel, dedicating their entire livelihood to this action. Ministry means service, specifically service to God. A minister, then, lives to care for Christ’s church as he serves God.

              In this series of three articles, we will look at Paul the Apostle as he ministered in the ancient Greek city of Thessalonica. We will examine his motive, message, and lifestyle. Key principles exist that Christians can take with them for ministry. Part 1 will focus on Paul’s motive for service. Part 2 will cover his message, and part 3 his lifestyle.

The Passage

“For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. 3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.5 For we never came with words of flattery as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.  (1 Thess. 2:1-6)

Part 1: Motive

              Paul, who brought the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to the city of Thessalonica (see chapter 1 for evidence of this fact), lays out his true reason for ministry beginning in 1 Thessalonians 2. Understanding Paul’s purpose is vitally important in living a victorious Christian life.

What his Motives were not:

              We’ll start with what Paul’s motives were not. Paul states in verse 5-6,

“We never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ” (1 Thess. 2:5-6).

The key term in these verses is “flattery.” Paul specifically says that he did not travel to Thessalonica to flatter its people, but rather to declare the Gospel of god. Since Paul strongly sets himself against the idea of flattering speech, it is important to know what the term means. Flattery is telling people what you know they want to hear. It is buttering others up in order to manipulate emotions. In a ministry context, flattering speech avoids the topic of sin, thus watering down the Gospel message. At the heart of flattery are two core desires, listed in verses 5-6.

Greed

              Greed is the love of money and the love of the power and control money brings. When money becomes an idol, a man will commit all sorts of sins—theft, cheating, murder, etc.—to gain more of it. Because of this fact, Paul writes, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim. 6:10). Greedy ministers will devour those they serve because money is God to them. Paul, then, was not a man overcome by greed.

Glory

              Glory is adoration from others. It is praise and even worship from other people. This desire for personal glory, which is different than a healthy thankfulness for God’s blessings, is a deadly, poisonous sin. At the heart of this sin is the evil attitude of pride, or putting oneself above God. Pride motivated Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden as they were deceived by the prideful serpent, Satan, who later audaciously asked Jesus to worship him (see Luke 4:7)! Adam and Eve transgressed the boundaries set by God, displaying a God-complex in their actions. Ever since the Garden of Eden, a glory-battle has existed. The perfect Creator God deserves to be worshiped, and he created man to live by worshiping him. The sin that lies in the heart of man, however, seeks to reverse these roles, with the glory belonging to man rather than God. The unworthy creature desires to be treated like the Creator. Paul connects the sin of flattery to sinful pride (glory-seeking) because those who flatter others ultimately live to serve themselves. Paul saw the folly in this mindset and avoided it.

              Money, power, and fame did not control Paul, so he freely ministered to the Thessalonians without using manipulation or deceit. Believers should take note of Paul’s wariness of greed and glory. Kill these desires, replacing them with a pure heart before God.

Paul’s True Motive

              Paul reveals his motivation for ministry in verse 4, saying “just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4). Paul ultimately brought the Gospel to Thessalonica not for personal recognition or even out of love for its people, but first and foremost to please God. It was love for God and the desire to bring him glory that motivated Paul to make this journey. Paul understood a very key principle:  he could only love others because God, through Christ, first loved him (see 1 John 4:19). And Paul, in wondrous response to the love of the Lord Jesus, displayed his love for Christ by obeying him (see John 14:15,21), in this context by preaching the Gospel and caring for the Thessalonian people.

              Peter echoes the same idea of glorifying God when he writes about the use of spiritual gifts:

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Notice that Peter states believers exercise spiritual gifts to serve one another. A servant of Christ must love others, and this is a good and noble desire to have! At the same time, though, love for others is working toward a grander purpose—to magnify God’s name. A love for God and thus a desire to please him inevitably leads to a ministry that cares for others. But love for God must come first. God designed the Christian life this way. This is why, among many other reasons, Jesus lists the Greatest Two Commandments in a specific order:

  1. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
  2. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

Praise God that Paul latched on so closely to this reality! He lived to please our great, Almighty God. If Paul had worked out of any other core motivation, he would have been guilty of idolatry, and the Lord’s name would have been blasphemed. By ministering out of a desire to please God, Paul guaranteed that his work would move toward the goal of building up Christ’s church. And what a lesson this is for Christians to learn regarding their service in the community, workplace, family, and church. A service done solely to please God. God blessed Paul’s love for Christ with a fruitful ministry, and He desires you to bear much fruit as well.

Come back soon to read Lessons from the Apostle Paul Part 2: his Message.