One Is the Loneliest Number

One Is the Loneliest Number
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5
1 Thessalonians 3:1-3
“Therefore when we could bear it no
longer, we were willing to be left
behind at Athens alone, and we sent
Timothy, our brother and God’s
coworker in the gospel of Christ, to
establish and exhort you in your faith,
that no one be moved by these
afflictions. For you yourselves know …”
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
1 Thessalonians 3:3-5
“that we are destined for this. For
when we were with you, we kept
telling you beforehand that we were to
suffer affliction, just as it has come to
pass, and just as you know. For this
reason, when I could bear it no longer,
I sent to learn about your faith, for
fear that somehow the tempter …”
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
1 Thessalonians 3:5
“had tempted you and our labor would
be in vain.”
(ESV)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Paul’s Concern
“Therefore when we could bear it no
longer, we were willing to be left
behind at Athens alone …” (3:1)
Lonely Words
• Left behind (kataleipō)—abandoned
• Alone (monos)—deserted, helpless
– Expresses a sense of desolation
– Appears last in the clause for
emphasis
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Timothy’s Character
“We sent Timothy, our brother and God’s
coworker in the gospel of Christ …” (3:2a)
Hebrews 5:12
“For though by this time you ought to
be teachers, you need someone to
teach you again the basic principles of
the oracles of God. You need milk, not
solid food.”
(ESV)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
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Titles
Brother (adelphos)—1 Cor 16:12
Messenger (apostolos)—1 Thes 2:7
Minister (leitourgos)—Phil 2:25
Assistant/helper (diakoneō)—Acts 19:22
Fellow servant (syndoulos)—Col 1:7
Fellow worker (syngenēs)—Rom 16:6
Good soldier (stratiotēs)—2 Tim 2:3
Fellow prisoner (synaichmaiotos)—Rom 16:7
Laborer (kopiaō)—1 Cor 16:16
Teammate (syzygos)—Phil 4:3
God’s coworker (theos synergos)—1 Thes 3:2
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
The Church’s Condition
“That no one be moved by these
afflictions … for when we were with you,
we kept telling you beforehand that we
were to suffer affliction” (3:3-4)
Moved (sainō)
• Be shaken, disturbed, deceived
– Originally, the word was used of the
wagging of a dog’s tail.
– It takes on the meaning of turning
away.
– Paul was concerned that
Thessalonians might be led astray
from Christ, specifically by adversity.
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Ephesians 4:12-14
“To equip the saints … to the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
so that we may no longer be children,
tossed to and fro by the waves and
carried about by every wind of
doctrine, by human cunning, by
craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (ESV)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Afflictions (thlipsis)
• Tribulation, oppression, affliction
– “For when we were with you, we kept
telling you beforehand that we were
to suffer affliction, just as it has come
to pass, and just as you know” (3:4)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
2 Timothy 3:12
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly
life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
(ESV)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Timothy’s Charge
“We sent Timothy … to establish and
exhort you … and to learn about your
faith.” (3:2b, 5)
Two-fold Mission
• To learn about their faith
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Two-fold Mission
• To learn about their faith
• To establish and exhort
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Establish (sterizō)
• To confirm, strengthen, set firmly,
help to become unwavering
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Exhort (parakaleō)
• Literally, to call alongside. To
summon to one’s aid, to encourage.
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
Acts 18:1-3
• “After this Paul left Athens and went
to Corinth. And he found a Jew
named Aquila … with his wife Priscilla
… and he went to see them and … he
stayed with them.”
(ESV)
“One Is the Loneliest Number”
One Is the Loneliest Number
“One is the loneliest number that you'll ever
do. Two can be as bad as one. It's the
loneliest number since the number one.”
—Three Dog Night