Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
Truth to Learn
Paul didn’t make personal demands, even when he could have.
Behind the Words
The words “did we seek” are from the Greek verb dzēteō, which means “to seek after” or “to try to find.”
“Glory” is translated from doxa, which is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “to think” or “to recognize.” Doxa refers to favorable thought or opinion. In a secondary sense it means “reputation, praise, honor, or splendor.”
The first occurrence of the word “from” is translated from ex, meaning “out of.” What Paul is saying is that he and his associates did not try to extract praise out of others; they did not manipulate the thoughts of others to receive recognition.
The words “when we might have” are translated from dunamai, meaning “to have the ability or power."
“Made demands” is the translation of baros, which refers to “a weight, a load, or a burden.” So, a literal translation of this portion of the current verse would be, “having the ability to be burdensome.”
Meaning Explained
This is now a third defense given against the accusations that apparently had been leveled against Paul and his co-workers. The first two were that they didn’t minister to the Thessalonians simply to make people feel good, and they didn’t use flattering words and false praises to endear people to themselves or their message.
In today’s verse he says that they didn’t try to manipulate people to draw praise out of them. Their ministry was not about personal glory or recognition. Paul’s ever present goal in his life was to bring praise to God. In fact, later in verse thirteen, he tells them that it wasn’t his own message that he delivered to them, it was the word of God.
He now makes an interesting comment to the Christians in Thessalonica. He says, in effect, “We had every right to be a burden to you, to make demands of you, because we are apostles of Christ, but we didn’t do so.” There are some who think this is a reference to the fact that the apostles didn’t expect financial support from the Thessalonians while they were ministering there. Verse nine seems to support this belief. Others, including Calvin, believed he is saying that the apostles could have used their authority to demand unqualified obedience from those to whom they ministered, but they didn’t. Paul had similar things to say to the Corinthian Christians in 1Corinthians 9:8-15.
One final note on this verse, notice that Paul uses the word apostles (plural). This implies that Paul believed that at least Silvanus and possibly Timothy were also apostles of Christ.
Application
Some people within the church seem to expect to receive recognition or praise for the work they do. That’s not why Paul worked as hard as he did, and we shouldn’t either. We should all put as much effort into our ministries as we possibly can, not expecting anything in return. Instead, let’s serve Him so that God will get all the glory and all the praise.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved