1 Thessalonians 2:11
“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children,”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →Paul cared for each believer personally, like a father urging, comforting, and instructing his own children.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 2:11 Mean?
Earlier Paul compared himself to a nursing mother; now he takes up the image of a father. He 'exhorted' (urged them onward), 'comforted' (came alongside the discouraged), and 'charged' (solemnly instructed), and he did this not to a faceless crowd but to 'every one of you.' His care was personal, reaching individuals one by one.
A good father knows his children are not all alike, so he adapts his words, encouraging one, steadying another, exhorting a third. Paul ministered the same way, with the patient, particular love of a parent. The mother image spoke of tenderness; the father image adds direction and challenge, the calling of children toward maturity. Together they show a leadership that is both gentle and strong. No one in Thessalonica was merely a face in the assembly to Paul; each was a son or daughter he longed to see grow up into the fullness of Christ.