1 Thessalonians 2
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.
7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.
11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you —I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.
19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
20 For you are our glory and joy.
Paul wrote Thessalonians in the Holy Spirit as John wrote the Gospel of John. Both have something in common, they do not employ parables. Jesus sent His Disciples out to do work. All the Disciples will have a different order and path where the Holy Spirit grows them. And John, being the Disciple who stayed with Jesus, probably did not consider the parables very puzzling. John uses allegories instead. This is what John remembers of walking in awe and wonder with the Son of God. And John was chosen in the beginning.
The disciples were blessed to have grown up as Jews with the teaching of the Bible - we call The Old Testament. Their lives Testify to God. And we need to learn, again, the examples known well to the Disciples of Jesus' Generation - and why life had changed even in the Examples of the Old Testament.
This passage of Paul's is like the Disciple John - filled with Love. Pressed down like this ~ No instead ~ uplifted by the millenniums of learning about God! Allegories built on being Raised by God.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Allegories.
We need to remember, again and again, how the Disciples had been raised. They did not come from the 1st Century of Rome, they came from the millenniums of goodness and flaws of being raised in the well, badly, and unique to them and their hearts/ souls Scriptures of God.
Verse 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.
David. We gloss over the fact that David spent his train-David-up- years as a killer for hire. In fact, David was slaying the enemies of the Nation David would father. The other countries were Baal and baby killers. David was making - honestly - pre-war.
David and the Bible do not deceive us on the harsh realities of life. Violence. Needy Families? David was certainly the Father of His Nation.
Yet God did not name Israel David. Nor David Israel. David did not spring from any error of God. All impurity is not a glossy magazine of cheery welcome. David was entrusted to live a Gospel record of his life. David was indeed an important Allegory. These men, these disciples, came from Jews who believed in one marriage, one wife, one husband. David left an allegory we need to remember as we commit a vow to God called Marriage. David was beloved by God for his obedience to a difficult, nigh, impossible task involving even living in ditches in Ziklag - far from safe or prosperous.
David is an allegory of bad marriage - bad parenting - guilt consuming parental responsibilities and parenting punishment effectively.
If you want a perfect allegory of treat others the way you want to be treated.
Look at David's Michal, the daughter of King Saul. David put her away. And when David put Abigail away to obtain a total of six wives. Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacha, Haggith, Abital and Eglah during the 7-1/2 years he reigned in Hebron as king of Judah. After David moved his capital to Jerusalem, he married Bathsheba. By the end of David's life - his wives are separately summonsed and there is no tearful goodbye. Love has become a polite obeisance.
David ends up dying in the arms of a woman who was really paid to keep him warm, from probable heart failure. In David's family - greed, rape, thoughts to murder and murder. His family dynasty will fall by with David's Grandson and we never really report his great-grandson picks up David's Dynasty again.
God works in the nigh well impossible weaving all things to good for those who love Him and work according to His Purpose.
David IS an ALLEGORY - do unto others. Or see what happens with love and respect and family ties. David had too many people stand in his shadow and did not take the time to concentrate on his family life.
Let us remember why Jesus wanted to teach pictures - to obtain the whole picture.
Verse Six
Obtaining Glory from People.
Sarah expected slavery. She expected to have Haggar to do whatever was thrown her way. And then she expected to see no human need or emotion from someone casually sexually used. Haggar was beneath Sarah. Sarah had times where she was like the disciples of Jesus. If there were conflicts, like Jesus explaining Communion of the Son of God and His Sacrifice - Sarah wanted comfort. Sarah wanted personal Glory from those around her. She wanted the Will of God to be easy. Sarah wanted another woman's child. Sarah did err.
John expected to Do the Will of God.
Abraham expected to rescue Lot - Hard Work. Abraham expected to argue with the Most High to save others.
The 10 Disciples who fled, repented, and later gave their lives. Sarah laughed at the ability of God to do His Work, His Story, His Will. Sarah passed on. The Allegory is:
Genesis 25:1
Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah.
And Abraham treated Ishmael harshly and he treated the children he had with Keturah harshly. Creating the Middle East difficulty. An Allegory of do unto others.
Verse 17
we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you
Abraham longed for many years for God's Word to be filled.
David longed for years for God's Word to be filled.
Israel, Judah, Judea all longed for God's Word to be filled. Jesus was waited for.
The Disciples all lived to see Jesus again. And have. A Paradise Jesus proclaims.
Isaiah 41
3"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.
4"Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"
What we do with our lives - is the point - God did not fly the Children of Israel to the Promised Land. He expected them to have personal and actual war, trust, to be brave, to go forth. To obey God.
James 4
14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
Father God,
We are Your beloved, build us up in Your Most Holy Faith. With Jesus help us to pray in the Holy Spirit.
Gently, like a nursing mother, taking care of us Your own children. Be Gracious to us, we ask. Affectionately desire us, we are ready to share with You not only Your Gospel, but also our own selves, because You are very dear to us.
Seeing Your Living Parables in our lives, looking for the good, we will labor and toil for Jesus. We proclaimed the Gospel of God. God is Love.
We seek the belief of all Your Promises to us in Jesus. Cover us in the Name of Jesus, we ask of You Our Father. Cover us so closely with Your Arms as wings, and in Jesus, call our prayers holy and righteous and blameless. Forgive us as a Father with His Children, when our conduct toward You, and believers, is not as You love us to be.
As Our Father with His children, exhort each heart and soul. Encourage us, charge us to walk in a manner worthy of You God. Lead us. We want Your Kingdom and Your Glory.
Keep us firmly in Your Love Father God, the Grace upon Grace mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ leading to eternal life. Please have mercy on those who doubt. Help us to do Your Will. Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Help us see to show mercy with reverence of You.
Glory and Joy in Expectation for our Prayers with Jesus.
You are able to keep us from stumbling and present us blameless before Your presence.
The glory with great joy, the only God, our only Savior Jesus Christ our Lord. We will see Your glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen in The Highest Name of Jesus the Christ.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
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