+I. Often misled by professed zeal for truth.+
+II. Tortured and murdered the noblest men of their own race.+
+III. Opposed the Gospel with violent and unreasoning severity.+
+IV. Have themselves been persecuted by all the nations among whom
they sojourned.+
+V. Furnish an unanswerable argument for the truth of Christianity.+
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 17-20.
_The Power of Satan, Great but Restricted._
St. Paul had a profound, unhesitating belief in the reality and
personal activity of Satan. An examination of the apostle's own
writings and discourses places this beyond doubt. We need refer to
but a few passages. Satan is "the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" (Eph.
ii. 2); "the god of this world, blinding the minds of them which
believe not" (2 Cor. iv. 4). To convert to the Christian religion is
to bring men "from the power of Satan unto God" (Acts xxvi. 18). To
relapse is "to turn aside after Satan" (1 Tim. v. 15). To commit sin
is to "give place to the devil" (Eph. iv. 27). If Paul suffered from
some grievous bodily ailment that checked him in his evangelical
labours, it was "the angel of Satan to buffet him" (2 Cor. xii. 17);
and when he was prevented from paying a visit to the struggling
Church at Thessalonica, it was "Satan that hindered him." Observe:--
+I. The power of Satan forcing an unwilling separation.+--"But we,
brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in
heart" (ver. 17).
1. _The separation was painful, but temporary._--"Being taken from
you"--literally, being _orphaned of you._ This grief was like that of
a father bereft of his children, or children of their parents. Their
emotions were expressed by Jacob--"If I am bereaved of my children, I
am bereaved" (Gen. xliii. 14). They hoped speedily to return; and,
after the lapse of five years, their hopes were realised. Satan acted
by means of wicked men (Acts xvii. 5-8, 13).
2. _The separation did not lessen their spiritual attachment._--"In
presence, not in heart." Satan may deprive of the opportunity of
social intercourse, but not of reciprocal Christian love. Augustine,
referring to different kinds of friendship, shows the pre-eminence of
the spiritual, where the link is grace and the Spirit of God:
"Natural affection want of presence diminisheth; mundane friendship,
where profit makes the union, want of profit unlooseth; but spiritual
amity nothing dissolves, no, not that which dissolves all others,
lack of society."
+II. The power of Satan hindering an earnestly desired
visit.+--1. _Opposition intensified their desire to see their
converts._ "Endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with
great desire" (ver. 17). As lime is influenced by water, as a stream
grows more furious by the obstacles set against it, so genuine
affection is increased in fervour by that which opposes it.
2. _The opposition succeeded in baffling repeated attempts to carry
out that desire._--"Wherefore, we would have come unto you, even I
Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us" (ver. 18). The apostle
halted at Berœa on his way to Athens, and probably attempted then to
return to Thessalonica, but was thwarted in his design. Though no
express reference is made in the history to the agency of Satan, Paul
had unmistakable evidence of its operation in many ways. _Satan
hindered us_--perhaps by imprisonment, tempests at sea, or by keeping
him so fully occupied with incessant conflicts and ever-new
tribulations of his own, as to leave him no leisure for carrying out
his plan. The verb signifies to cut a trench in the way of a pursuing
enemy, so as to hinder his progress.
+III. The power of Satan unable to rob the Christian worker of the
joy and reward of success.+--Great as is the power of Satan, it is
not omnipotent. The Christian warrior can successfully withstand it
(Eph. vi. 11-13); and he is assured that God will bruise Satan under
his feet (Rom. xvi. 20).
1. _Success in soul-saving is productive of unutterable joy._--"For
what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye?"
(ver. 19). The merchant rejoices over his gains, the warrior over his
victories, the artist over the achievements of genius; but there is
no joy so sweet, so exquisite, so abiding, as the successful winner
of souls.
2. _The joy of success in soul-saving will be among the highest
rewards of the future._--"In the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
His coming? For ye are our glory and joy" (vers. 19, 20). The return
of Christ to heaven, after the judgment, is here compared to the
solemnity of a triumph, in which the apostle is to appear crowned in
token of victory over the false religions of the world, attended by
his converts; and because they are the cause of his being thus
crowned, they are, by a beautiful figure of speech, called his crown
of rejoicing. Special honour is promised to the successful worker
(Dan. xii. 3). (1) Joy enhanced by the recognitions in the future
life. "Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
His coming?" If Paul knows his converts in the heavenly world, shall
we not know our loved ones who have gone before? (2) By the presence
and approbation of the Lord Jesus for whom we have laboured. "In Thy
presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore" (Ps. xvi. 11).
+Lessons.+--1. _The power of Satan works through many agencies;
therefore, we have need of watchfulness._ 2. _The power of Satan is
limited; therefore, we need not be discouraged._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._