1 Thessalonians 2:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

NASB: so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

CSB: we encouraged, comforted, and implored each one of you to live worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

NLT: We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory.

KJV: That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

NKJV: that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

This continues the father-children analogy Paul began in the prior verse, describing his ministry to the Thessalonians. Just as a father teaches and encourages his children, so Paul urged and encouraged the Thessalonian Christians to live in a way that would honor God, who had summoned them to partake of His kingdom and glory.

With his Jewish background Paul would have recalled the command God gave to the Israelite fathers before the nation entered the Promised Land. He charged them with the responsibility to teach His commandments, statutes, and rules "diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Paul took his spiritual father status seriously and discharged his responsibility faithfully.

Proverbs 4 describes a wise father's instructions to his son and the son's responsibility to heed the instructions. The chapter begins with an exhortation: "Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight" (Proverbs 4:1). Like a wise father, Paul had instructed his spiritual children at Thessalonica.

First Thessalonians 2:9–12 is Paul's call for the Christians at Thessalonica to recall how he and his coworkers had conducted themselves. He describes how hard they had labored to support themselves, so they would not be a burden to the Thessalonians. He also calls on his readers to remember the godly lifestyle they led at Thessalonica while they shared the gospel. No one could accuse them of any wrongdoing. Like a loving father, they had encouraged and instructed the believers to lead a life that honored God, who had called them into His kingdom and glory.

Paul begins to flesh out the general ideas he mentioned in chapter 1. Here in chapters 2 and 3, he further explains how he came to preach to the Thessalonian people. Paul particularly notes that his good conduct, proving his unselfish motivations, was instrumental in his success. The warm response of the people also endeared them to Paul, making him long to visit them again. Unfortunately, Paul was prevented from doing so, a struggle he attributes to Satan. Paul once again expresses his gratitude for the Thessalonian Christians' ability to honor God despite persecution.

Chapter 1 briefly introduced the relationship between Paul and the Christians at Thessalonica. This introduction is expanded in chapter 2, where Paul gives additional details about how he came to preach there, why he left, and what he has heard of their spiritual progress. Chapter 3 will round out this glowing report with a reference to a visit from Paul's friend and student, Timothy.

The apostle Paul's second missionary journey included a visit to the prominent Greek city of Thessalonica. This stood alongside a major land route and boasted a busy seaport. A number of individuals believed Paul's message (Acts 17:1–4), but an angry mob forced Paul to leave the city after his brief stay. Later, while in Athens, Paul received a glowing report: the believers at Thessalonica were growing spiritually and serving God fervently. However, they had questions about the Lord's return, including what happens to a believer who dies before that day. And, as all churches do, they had some areas in which they were falling short. In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, written about AD 51, he addresses these developments. Paul expresses gratitude for the Thessalonian believers' spiritual progress, and frequently makes references to Christ's impending return.