2:1,2
“Our visit was not without results”, or “was not in vain”. The people in the church has experienced the results. Paul and his companions had come from Philippi where they had experienced great suffering. They also experienced “strong opposition” in Thessalonica, but this did not deter them from preaching the gospel. It seems that there were accusations being made against Paul, as often happened. If we are walking in step with the Spirit then we will see results in our ministry. This does not mean things will be easy, but it will mean that we are effective, because the Spirit will be working through us.
2:3,4
Paul and his fellow evangelists were often accused of all sorts of things. It seems that in Thessalonica they were accused of just being plain wrong, or having impure motives. It was also said they were trying to trick the Thessalonians. These accusations were without foundation. Note that in defending themselves Paul did not belittle what they were doing at all. They spoke as “workman approved by God”., and they were entrusted with the gospel. The gospel is God’s message, we need to handle it properly, it is not ours to mess about with. They were not trying to please men, as most travelling speakers did, but to please God. And God knows what is going on in our hearts, so while it is possible to fool men, there is no fooling God.
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