But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.
Parallel Translations
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But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.
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but as we were alowed of God that the gospell shuld be committed vnto vs: even so we speake not as though we entended to please men but God which trieth oure hertes.
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But as we were allowed of God, that the Gospel should be committed vnto vs, so we speake, not as they that please men, but God, which approoueth our hearts.
Cross-references (34)
Passages linked to 1 Thessalonians 2:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.
- Romans 8:27 He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, because he makes intercession for the saints according to God.
- Galatians 2:7 but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcised, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcised—
- Psalms 17:3 You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.
- 2 Timothy 1:14 That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
- Ephesians 6:6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
- 1 Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that you try the heart, and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you.
- Psalms 139:1-2 Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
- Jeremiah 32:19 great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;
- 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries. Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
- Ephesians 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Titus 1:3 but in his own time revealed his word in the message with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior;
- Numbers 27:16 “Let Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation,
- 1 Kings 8:39 then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know (for you, even you only, know the hearts of all the children of men);
- Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.
- Luke 16:11 If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
- 1 Corinthians 9:17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.
- 1 Timothy 1:11-13 according to the Good News of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; although I used to be a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
- Hebrews 4:13 There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
- Psalms 44:21 won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
- Jeremiah 17:10 “I, Yahweh, search the mind. I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
- Luke 12:42 The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his lord will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the right times?
- 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
- 2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God, and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.
- Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.
- 1 Timothy 6:20 Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of what is falsely called knowledge,
- Revelation 2:23 I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
- Psalms 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.
- John 2:24-25 But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them, because he knew everyone, and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
- John 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
- 1 Corinthians 7:25 Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.
- 2 Corinthians 5:16 Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
- 2 Timothy 2:2 The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same things to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4 As we have been approved. He goes even…
4 As we have been approved. He goes even a step higher, for he appeals to God as the Author of his apostleship, and he reasons in this manner: “God, when he assigned me this office, bore witness to me as a faithful servant; there is no reason, therefore, why men should have doubts as to my fidelity, which they know to have been approved of by God. Paul, however, does not glory in having been approved of, as though he were such of himself; for he does not dispute here as to what he had by nature, nor does he place his own power in collision with the grace of God, but simply says that the Gospel had been committed to him as a faithful and approved servant. Now, God approves of those whom he has formed for himself according to his own pleasure.
Not as pleasing men. What is meant by pleasing men has been explained in the Epistle to the Galatians, (Galatians 1:10) and this passage, also, shews it admirably. For Paul contrasts pleasing men, and pleasing God, as things that are opposed to each other. Farther, when he says — God, who trieth our hearts, he intimates, that those who endeavor to obtain the favor of men, are not influenced by an upright conscience, and do nothing from the heart. Let us know, therefore, that true ministers of the gospel ought to make it their aim to devote to God their endeavors, and to do it from the heart, not from any outward regard to the world, but because conscience tells them that it is right and proper. Thus it will be secured that they will not make it their aim to please men, that is, that they will not act under the influence of ambition, with a view to the favor of men.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Seeing there is this difference between the judgments of…
Seeing there is this difference between the judgments of God and the judgments of men, that when men choose, they respect the qualities of those things which stand before them, but God findeth the reason of his counsel only in himself, it followeth, that seeing we are not able to think a good thought, that whomsoever he first chooseth to those holy callings, he maketh them able, and doth not find them able. And therefore in that we are allowed of God, it hangeth upon his mercy.
To approve his conscience to God, being free from all flattery and covetousness.
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Which liketh and alloweth them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 4 But as we were allowed of God to…
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.
Ver. 4. But as we were allowed] Enabled and counted faithful, 1Ti 1:12.
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Not as pleasing men] {See Trapp on "Gal 1:10"} Men be they pleased or displeased, God must not be displeased.
But God] Who looketh upon displeasing service as a double dishonour.
Which trieth our hearts] And so knoweth our aims, Quicquid igitur agas, propter Deum agas. Propter te, Deum agas, propter te, as he cried. It stands me upon, saith one, to see, that though my work be but mean, yet it may be clean; though not fine, yet not foul, soiled and slubbered with the slur of a rotten heart, since it is God I have to deal with. (Drus. Apophth.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain But as we were allowed of God to be…
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, 1Ti 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, δεδοκιμασμεθα, and as he speaks, 1Ti 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.
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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, 1Co 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, 1Co 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, Rom 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, Gal 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.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But as we were allowed of God,.... Or, "approved…
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:
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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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. But as we were allowed of God]…
Verse 4. But as we were allowed of God] καθως δεδοκιμασμεθα. As we were accounted worthy to be put in trust-as God put confidence in us, and sent us on his most especial message to mankind, even so we speak, keeping the dignity of our high calling continually in view; and, acting as in the sight of God, we speak not to please or flatter men, though our doctrine is the most consolatory that can be conceived, but to please that God who searcheth the heart, and before whom all our motives are constantly without a veil.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But as we were allowed of God to be…
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel - Compare 1Ti 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.
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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 Gal 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; 1Ch 28:9; 1Ch 29:17; Jer 11:20; Jer 17:10; Psa 11:4; Rom 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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain As we were approved of and chosen by God…
As we were approved of and chosen by God to announce his gospel, we have tried to correspond with his designs; and we speak in a spirit of disinterestedness, not to please men, but God. Being chosen by God, it is to him we must render an account. Have we spoken to you in words of flattery? Have we disguised the gospel truth, or concealed its austerity? Have we made piety a cloak for avarice? &c. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain as--according as; even as.
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 (Act 9:15; Co1 7:25; Co2 3:5; Ti1 1:11-12).
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not as pleasing--not as persons who seek to please men; characteristic of false teachers (Gal 1:10).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. God… gospel—His announcement was traceable to no mythology,…
4. God… gospel—His announcement was traceable to no mythology, but to God himself. And as in trust from the absolutely pure, we were pure above all mere human purity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. but as we were allowed of God to…
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. Rom_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. 1Th_5:21 (same Greek verb, “Prove all things); and 1Co_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. 1Ti_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 (1Th_2:3). On Paul’s trust, read 1Ti_1:12-17 and Act_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.
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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 Psa_17:3, Jer_11:20, &c.; also Act_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 1Co_4:1-5; 2Co_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 (1Th_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” (Act_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” (1Co_10:33; Rom_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” (Gal_1:10). That is, to be the slave of public opinion,—often an ignorant, sometimes an unprincipled master.
1Th_2:3-4 are then a general disclaimer of unworthy motives on the part of the missionaries. Their bold testimony at Thessalonica (1Th_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:—
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) Were allowed.—Rather, have been, and in 1Th_2:3 is,…
(4) Were allowed.—Rather, have been, and in 1Th_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” (1Co_4:1-2). The word translated “allowed” implies examining and approving (as in Luk_14:19; 1Ti_3:10; 1Pe_1:7; 1Jn_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 (1Co_4:3; Gal_1:10).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain But; in contrast. As; according as. We were allowed.…
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.
Entrusted with the gospel.
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I THE GOSPEL IS A TRUST.
1. The gospel is of great value. If property is put in trust it is presumably valuable. We carefully guard what we prize highly. God"s message of reconciliation is a charter of liberty, a covenant of grace, a promissory note of future blessings.
2. The gospel needs to be guarded and administered. It is in danger of being lost, forgotten, perverted, and corrupted. Trustees are required in order to preserve it in its integrity and to give it forth to those who need it.
3. The gospel is entrusted to men. There are those who are put in trust with the gospel. Men are to trust God; God also trusts men. He confides in the honor and devotion of his people. As the steward is entrusted with his master"s estate, the servant of God receives a trust of the rich treasures of the gospel. The treasure is committed to earthen vessels. Thus does God honor his children and use them for his good purposes.
II THE TRUSTEES OF THE GOSPEL ARE CHOSEN AND APPROVED OF GOD. God called the prophets, and Christ called the apostles. Every true Christian minister is called of God. The Church is God"s chosen company of trustees of the gospel. Christian nations are providentially appointed for its custodianship. Certain qualifications are required in the trustees, in order that they may be approved of God.
1. They must hold the truth themselves. "Not of error" (ver. 3). The first requisites are an understanding of and a belief in the gospel.
2. They must live in accordance with the truth. "Nor of uncleanness." The trustee of the holy gospel must be a regenerate man. Otherwise his conduct will damage the gospel which he holds.
3. They must be honest in the discharge of the trust. "Nor in guile." No self-seeking, double-dealing, or men-pleasing can be permitted in the trustees of the gospel. They must be sincerely devoted to the truth that is entrusted to them.
III THE TRUSTEESHIP OF THE GOSPEL IMPOSES IMPORTANT DUTIES.
1. The gospel must be preserved in its integrity. The trustees are not permitted to tamper with the trust. We have no right to add to or to detract from the gospel as it is given to us in the New Testament. It is a matter of honor that one who holds office in a Christian Church should net avail himself of the advantages of his position to advance private views which in
2. any way militate against what is contained in the gospel charter on which the Church is founded. The New Testament is a trust-deed, and its provisions must be studiously observed, or the trusteeship implied by any active work in the Church must be resigned. Any other course is dishonest.
3. The trust of the gospel must be discharged for the benefit of those for whom it is designed. The trustees must study the interests of the beneficiaries. Trustees of the gospel are teachers of the gospel. This truth of God is not to be wrapped up in a napkin, but made use of for the good of mankind. The Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God that ultimately the Gentiles might receive those oracles from their hands. The Church is entrusted with the gospel that she may convey it to the world. The trust of the gospel carries with it the obligation of undertaking missionary enterprises.
1. The trust of the gospel must be discharged to the approval of God. It is his trust. He will call the stewards to account. Their aim, therefore, must be, not to please men, but "God which proveth our hearts. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 4. So we speak. God had given them the…
4. So we speak. God had given them the gospel as a trust. They were “stewards of the mysteries of God.” They spoke as those faithful to a trust, seeking to please God instead of men.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain but even as we have been approved of God…
but even as we have been approved of God to be intrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts . [Instead of preaching the old falsehoods which had so long pleased the wicked of Thessalonica, Paul had come as a trustee of God commissioned to preach the gospel, and he had preached it realizing his accountability as to the trust imposed upon him.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:4 In the ancient world, those entrusted with a…
2:4 In the ancient world, those entrusted with a public office had to be tested and approved. The Thessalonians (2:3) and God served as two witnesses to the purity of Paul’s motives.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.