1 Thessalonians 2:4

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) Were allowed.—Rather, have been, and in 1Thessalonians 2:3 is, not “was.” St. Paul is arguing from his habitual practice. “But we speak after the manner of men who remember that God Himself has tried them, and has been satisfied to entrust the gospel to them, making it our business to please, not men, but God who thus tries our hearts” (1Corinthians 4:1-2). The word translated “allowed” implies examining and approving (as in Luke 14:19; 1Timothy 3:10; 1Peter 1:7; 1John 4:1), and is repeated emphatically (trans lated “trieth”): “being examined and approved by God, we study to please Him who constantly examines and approves us, not to court those to whom we are sent.” St. Paul expresses here, as elsewhere, a total disregard of men’s opinions about him (1Corinthians 4:3; Galatians 1:10).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-6 The apostle had no wordly design in his preaching. Suffering in a good cause should sharpen holy resolution. The gospel of Christ at first met with much opposition; and it was preached with contention, with striving in preaching, and against opposition. And as the matter of the apostle's exhortation was true and pure, the manner of his speaking was without guile. The gospel of Christ is designed for mortifying corrupt affections, and that men may be brought under the power of faith. This is the great motive to sincerity, to consider that God not only sees all we do, but knows our thoughts afar off, and searches the heart. And it is from this God who trieth our hearts, that we must receive our reward. The evidences of the apostle's sincerity were, that he avoided flattery and covetousness. He avoided ambition and vain-glory.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel - Compare 1 Timothy 1:11-12. Since there had been committed to us an office so high and holy, and so much demanding sincerity, fidelity, and honesty, we endeavored to act in all respects in conformity to the trust reposed in us. The gospel is a system of truth and sincerity, and we evinced the same. The gospel is concerned with great realities, and we did not resort to trick and illusion. The office of the ministry is most responsible, and we acted in view of the great account which we must render. The meaning is, that Paul had such a sense of the truth, reality, and importance of the gospel, and of his responsibility, as effectually to keep him from anything like craft or cunning in preaching it. An effectual restrainer from mere management and trick will always be found in a deep conviction of the truth and importance of religion. Artifice and cunning are the usual accompaniments of a bad cause - and, when adopted by a minister of the gospel, will usually, when detected, leave the impression that he feels that he is engaged in such a cause. If an object cannot be secured by sincerity and straight-forward dealing, it is not desirable that it should be secured at all.

Even so we speak - In accordance with the nature of the gospel; with the truth and sincerity which such a cause demands.

Not as pleasing men - Not in the manner of impostors, who make it their object to please people. The meaning of the apostle is, that he did not aim to teach such doctrines as would flatter people; as would win their applause; or as would gratify their passions or their fancy. We are not to suppose that he desired to offend people; or that he regarded their esteem as of no value; or that he was indifferent whether they were pleased or displeased; but that it was not the direct object of his preaching to please them. It was to declare the truth, and to obtain the approbation of God whatever people might think of it; see the notes on Galatians 1:10.

Which trieth our hearts - It is often said to be an attribute of God that he tries or searches the hearts of people; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10; Psalm 11:4; Romans 8:27. The meaning here is, that the apostle had a deep conviction of the truth that God knew all his motives, and that all would be revealed in the last day.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. as—according as; even as.

allowed—Greek, "We have been approved on trial," "deemed fit." This word corresponds to "God which trieth our hearts" below. This approval as to sincerity depends solely on the grace and mercy of God (Ac 9:15; 1Co 7:25; 2Co 3:5; 1Ti 1:11, 12).

not as pleasing—not as persons who seek to please men; characteristic of false teachers (Ga 1:10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel: this verse gives the reasons of what the apostle spake in the former about his sincerity. The one is taken from his trust; God intrusted him with the gospel, to preserve it from corruption by error, therefore his exhortation or doctrine was not of error or deceit, but he preached the gospel in simplicity and purity; he did not, he durst not, adulterate or corrupt it, for it was committed to his trust; as he calls the gospel his trust, 1 Timothy 1:11. And the sense of this great trust kept him also from uncleanness and guile in the discharge of his ministry. And he had this trust by God’s appointment or approbation, God approved of him for this trust, and that upon knowledge and judgment, as the word signifies, dedokimasmeya, and as he speaks, 1 Timothy 1:12, he judged me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Not so before his conversion, being a persecutor, blasphemer, & c.; but God fitted him by extraordinary revelations, gifts, graces, and made him faithful, and then put him into the ministry, and intrusted him with the gospel. And because he speaks in the plural number,

we were allowed of God, & c., therefore Silvanus and Timotheus, yea, and other apostles and ministers, are to be understood as comprehended with him in this trust.

Even so we speak; that is, as men thus approved of by God, and intrusted with the gospel, that we may faithfully discharge our trust, and be able to give a good account of it, as stewards of their trust, 1 Corinthians 4:1,2.

Not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts: this is another reason of their faithfulness and integrity, mentioned in the foregoing verse, which was the sense of God’s omniscience, knowing and trying their hearts. Trying imports more than mere knowing, it is a knowledge upon search and proof, as gold and silver are known by the touchstone. And though God trieth the hearts of all men, yet especially such as are intrusted with the gospel. Or these last words may have a more immediate reference to the foregoing; we speak not as pleasing men, because we know God trieth our hearts. And this confirms what he said before concerning his exhortation, that it was not of deceit, uncleanness, or guile. If it had, he would have so preached as to please men; the opinions, the lusts, the practices of men. In some cases the apostle did seek to please men, 1 Corinthians 10:33, even as I please all men in all things. But he pleased not men when it stood in competition with his pleasing God; we speak, not as pleasing men, but God. Otherwise the rule takes place with all, Romans 15:2: Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. Ministers of the gospel are Christ’s servants by office, and, as servants, they are to please their own Master. If I pleased men, saith Paul, I should not be the servant of Christ, Galatians 1:10. And this made the apostle have regard not only to his doctrine and outward conversation, but the inward aim and intentions of his heart, as knowing God tried his heart. And expecting the reward of his labours more from God than men, he therefore sought to please God rather than men, and approve his heart unto him. And herein he reflects upon those false apostles that sought to please men, preached up the law of Moses to please the Jews; or others, that preached and abused the doctrine of the gospel to gratify the lusts of men.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But as we were allowed of God,.... Or, "approved of God"; not that there were any previous fitness and worthiness in them to be ministers of the word; but such was the good will and pleasure of God, that he from all eternity chose and appointed them to this work; and in his own time by his grace called them to it, and by his gifts qualified them for it, who otherwise were unworthy of it, and insufficient for it:

to be put in trust with the Gospel; which is of great worth and value, a rich treasure, and of the last importance; which to be trusted with is a very great honour; and the discharge of such a trust requires great faithfulness, and which the apostles had:

even so we speak; the Gospel as delivered to them, both as to matter and manner; neither taking from it nor adding to it, nor mixing it with anything of their own, nor disguising it with any artifice:

not as pleasing men; to gain favour and affection, esteem, applause, and honour from them; to escape reproach and persecution, and obtain worldly advantages by dropping, concealing, or blending of truths to make them more agreeable to the taste of natural men:

but God, which trieth our hearts; studying to approve themselves to God, whose Gospel was committed to them, from whom they received gifts to preach it, and to whom they were accountable for all; and who being the searcher of the hearts, and the trier of the reins of the children of men, knows the intentions and designs of men, and the springs of all actions; and sees through all artifices, and from whom nothing can be hidden, and who will, in his own time, bring to light the hidden things of darkness; under a sense of which faithful ministers act, as of sincerity, and as in the sight of an omniscient God.

Geneva Study Bible

{4} But as we were {c} allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which {d} trieth our hearts.

(4) To approve his conscience to God, being free from all flattery and covetousness.

(c) There is this difference between the judgments of God and the judgments of men, that when men choose, they give regard to the qualities of those things which stand before them, but God finds the reason of his counsel only in himself. Therefore, it follows that seeing as we are not able to think a good thought, that whoever he first chooses to those callings, he does not find them able but indeed makes them able. And therefore in that we are empowered of God, it depends upon his mercy.

(d) Who approves and allows them.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Thessalonians 2:4. The contrast.

καθώς] not equivalent to because, quoniam (Flatt), but according as, or in conformity with this.

δοκιμάζειν] denotes to prove, to try, then to esteem worthy, so that it corresponds to the verb ἀξιοῦν, 2 Thessalonians 1:11. Comp. Plut. Thes. 12: Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ Θησεὺς ἐπὶ τὸ ἄριστον οὐκ ἐδοκίμαζε φράζειν αὑτόν, ὅστις εἴη.

δεδοκιμάσμεθα denotes, accordingly, not the divine act of the purification of the human character (Moldenhauer), but the being esteemed worthy on the part of God; not, however, as a reward of human merit, or a recognition of a disposition not taken up with earthly things (Chrysostom: εἰ μὴ εἶδε παντὸς ἀπηλλαγμένους βιωτικοῦ, οὐκ ἂν ἡμᾶς εἵλετο; Theophylact: οὐκ ἂν ἐξελέξατο, εἰ μὴ ἀξίους ἐγίνωσκε); also, not as an anticipation that Paul and his associates would preach the gospel without pleasing men (Oecumenius: ὁ Θεὸς ἐδοκίμασεν ἡμᾶς μηδὲν πρὸς δόξαν λαλεῖν ἀνθρώπων μέλλοντας), but as a manifestation of the free and gracious counsel of God (Theodoret, Grotius, Pelt). The chief idea, however, is not δεδοκιμάσμεθα (so Hofmann), but πιστευθῆναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.

The passive form: πιστευθῆναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, is according to the well-known Greek idiom, of using in the passive the nominative of the person, even in verbs which in the active govern the genitive or dative. Comp. Romans 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; Kühner, II. p. 34; Winer, p. 205 [E. T. 286].

οὕτως] emphatically: even in this condition, even according to this rule. It does not refer to the following ὡς (Flatt), but to the preceding καθώς, and denotes that the gospel preaching of the apostle and his associates was in correspondence with the grace and obligation imparted to them.

οὐχ ὡς κ.τ.λ.] explains and defines the whole preceding sentence: καθὼς … οὕτως λαλοῦμεν.

ἀρέσκειν] is here, on account of the concluding words ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ κ.τ.λ., not to please, to find approbation, but to seek to please. For, in reference to God, the apostle, according to his whole religious views and habits of thought, could only predicate of himself an endeavour to please, but not the actual fact that he pleased Him. It would, however, be erroneous to put this meaning into the verb itself;[33] it arises only when the present or imperfect is employed, because these tenses may be used de conatu. See Pflugk, ad Eur. Hel. V. 1085; Stallb. ad Plat. Gorg. p. 185, and ad Protag. p. 46; Kühner, II. p. 67.

ὡς] may either be—(1) a pure particle of comparison: not as men-pleasers, but as such who seek to please God; or (2) may mark the condition: not as such who, etc.; or lastly, (3) may emphasize the perversity which would exist, if the apostle was accused of ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκειν: not as if we sought to please men. In the two first cases ὡς extends over the second member of the sentence: ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ κ.τ.λ., in the last only over ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκοντες. The second meaning is to be preferred, as according to it οὐχ ὡς κ.τ.λ. corresponds best to the qualifying words expressive of the apostle’s mode of preaching (1 Thessalonians 2:3).

τῷ δοκιμάζοντι τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν] who proves, searches our hearts. ἡμῶν refers to the speaker. To understand it generally, with Koppe, Pelt, Koch, and Bloomfield, is indeed possible, but not to be commended, as the general form τῷ δοκιμάζοντι τὰς καρδίας, without the addition of ἡμῶν, would be expected. Comp. Romans 8:27; Revelation 2:23; Psalm 7:10. Moreover, Paul speaks neither here nor in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 ff. of himself only, as de Wette thinks “very probable” in 1 Thessalonians 2:3-4, but “certain” in 1 Thessalonians 2:7, but includes his associates mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 1:1. If the apostle spoke only of himself, he would not have put τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν (1 Thessalonians 2:4) and τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς (1 Thessalonians 2:8), but would have written both times the singular, τὴν καρδίαν ἡμῶν and τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν.

[33] So Wieseler on Galatians 1:10, who, however, explains it not “to seek to please,” but “to live to please;” and after him, Hofmann and Möhler in the 3d ed. of de Wette’s Commentary.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Thessalonians 2:4. “As God, who tests our hearts, has attested our fitness to be entrusted with the gospel,” a characteristic play on the word. The definite commission of the gospel excluded any weak attempt to flatter men’s prejudices or to adapt oneself to their tastes. Hence the thought of the following verse.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak] Again the A.V. misses the force of the Greek perfect: better, as we have been approved by God to be entrusted. “Allow” in older English bears the stronger sense of accept, approve (comp. Romans 14:22), but even so falls short of the meaning of St Paul. His word is the same that is rendered in the last clause of the verse as trieth (R. V., proveth); it includes both proving and approving, it is approving on trial, or testing: comp. ch. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (same Greek verb, “Prove all things); and 1 Corinthians 3:13, “The fire will prove each man’s work.” The Apostle had been tested for his work, and tested by it; God had made proof of him as a minister of Christ, and he was shown to be worthy of his trust: tried, then trusted (comp. 1 Timothy 1:12). “To be put in trust with the gospel” is the highest conceivable responsibility; the sense of it is enough to exclude every base motive and deceitful practice (1 Thessalonians 2:3). On Paul’s trust, read 1 Timothy 1:12-17 and Acts 9:15-16 : “He is a chosen vessel unto Me.”

so we speak] under the sense of this solemn trust, with the sincerity and self-abnegation that our charge demands.

not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts] R. V., proveth (see previous note): more precisely, pleasing God—Him who proves our hearts. This last is an O.T. expression, a standing attribute of God: see Psalm 17:3, Jeremiah 11:20, &c.; also Acts 1:24, “Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all.” “Unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid” (Book of Common Prayer).

The “heart,” in the language of the Bible, is not the seat of the feelings alone; it is “the inner man,” the real self, the centre and meeting-point of all our thoughts, feelings, and resolves. It is there that God proves us: “The Lord looketh upon the heart.” No impure motive or crafty expedient, such as might deceive men, escapes Him. The sense of this continual and omniscient scrutiny makes any kind of dishonesty impossible to the Apostle. Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:9-12 : “He that judgeth me is the Lord.”

It is God’s gospel that Paul and Silas have to preach; God had trusted them with it, and given them strength and courage to proclaim it (1 Thessalonians 2:2); to God’s approval, therefore, they must look, and to that alone. “Men,” such as the magistrates of Philippi and the populace of Thessalonica, would be pleased only if the messengers of Christ were silenced. So the authorities of Jerusalem “charged Peter and John not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus;” but they answered: “If it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye” (Acts 4:18-19). This sense of the sovereignty of God gives religion its invincible power; it is the conviction that makes martyrs. It is finely expressed in the Antigone of Sophocles (ll. 450–460), where the heroine replies to the tyrant Creon:

“Nor could I think thine edict of such might,

That one who is mortal thus should overrule

The infallible, unwritten laws of heaven.”

St Paul tells us elsewhere, and by way of example, that he “pleased all in all things for their good, unto edification” (1 Corinthians 10:33; Romans 15:2). To please men in that which displeases God, is to injure them: “If (in such circumstances) I pleased men, I should not be Christ’s slave” (Galatians 1:10). That is, to be the slave of public opinion,—often an ignorant, sometimes an unprincipled master.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 are then a general disclaimer of unworthy motives on the part of the missionaries. Their bold testimony at Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2) was due to two things—their sincerity of heart, and their loyalty to God. Now we resume the account of the Apostle’s relations to the Thessalonians, confirming these professions:—

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Thessalonians 2:4. Δεδοκιμάσμεθα, we have been proved [approved]) Refer to this word, δοκιμάζοντι, who proveth and trieth, which presently occurs.—ἀρέσκοντες) careful to please.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - But; in contrast. As; according as. We were allowed. The old English for "approved." Of God. The word rendered "allowed" signifies tried, tested as gold is tested in the fire, and hence also the result of that trial, "approved." As we were esteemed worthy to be put in trust with the gospel; entrusted with its publication. Even so; in this condition of approval and trust. We speak, not as pleasing men, but God, that trieth. The same verb that is rendered "allowed" in the first part of the verse; hence "proverb," or "approveth." Our hearts. Not a general statement, "God who is the Discerner of the heart;" but "our hearts," namely, of us, the publishers of the gospel - Paul and Silas and Timothy; thus appealing to God, as the infallible Judge of their sincerity. 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Vincent's Word Studies

We were allowed (δεδοκιμάσμεθα)

More correctly, approved. See on 1 Peter 1:7. We came and spoke to you as tested men.

Pleasing (ἀρέσκοντες)

As being those who seek to please. Comp. Galatians 1:10, and ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι man-pleasers, Ephesians 6:6; Colossians 3:22. Comp. lxx, Psalm 52:5 : "God hath scattered the bones of men-pleasers." The fourth Psalm of Solomon is entitled: Against the men-pleasers (ἀνθρωπαρέσκοις).

Who proveth (δοκιμάζοντι)

Word-play with δεδοκιμάσμεθα we were approved.