2 Thessalonians 3 Verses 1 to 5 Praying for Others October 9, 2022

2 Thessalonians 3 Verses 1 to 5 Praying for Others October 9, 2022

Class Presentation Notes AAAA

Background Scripture:

· Hebrews 7:25 (NASB) 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

· 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (NASB) 11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Main Idea: There is great power in prayer intercession for our pastors and others.

Study Aim: We need to pray for God’s will for those that God places in our lives.

Create Interest:

· Any mariner will tell you that the best way to keep from getting seasick is to keep your eyes on the horizon. When everything is shifting around you, you must find something stable on which to fix your eyes. The same principle applies when living out our faith. If there is anything certain about our lives, it is that our lives are uncertain. In the midst of our uncertain world, we need something certain on which to fix our eyes. As Paul demonstrates in his prayer for the Thessalonians, our certainty comes from the grace and love of “our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father” (2:16).

· Because Paul recognized the impossibility for the Thessalonians to live out their faith in their own strength, he prays for their ongoing encouragement and increasing stability. He identifies both the Lord Jesus and God the Father as the source of this encouragement and stability. Noticeably absent from his prayer are requests for God to lift their burdens or to judge their detractors. He instead prays specifically for God to “encourage” their hearts and “strengthen” them in “every good work and word.” In 3:5 Paul adds to this request by praying specifically for God to “direct [their] hearts to God’s love and Christ’s endurance.”

· Paul basically had two specific prayer requests for the Thessalonians.

o First, he prayed for their ongoing spiritual productivity. In this regard he asked for God’s intervention in their lives, not to remove any of their burdens, but to bring them encouragement.

o Second, he prayed for their ongoing spiritual growth. Such growth would be evident by their increasing love for God and their ability to endure suffering by following in Jesus’ footsteps (3:5).

· Hence, Paul’s desire for this young church was for them to be diligent in their service for God and deepening in their walk with God.

o For those in spiritual leadership, we can find no more appropriate example of how to pray for your people.[1]

o As believers under the leadership of our staff, I pray we will learn a valuable lesson from Paul here that we can apply to our prayer life.

Lesson in Historical Context:

· Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians from the city of Corinth in AD 52. This dating makes the letters of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, likely written just a few months apart, among the earliest writings of the New Testament.

· Paul had been in Thessalonica earlier, but he didn’t stay long due to Jewish opposition (Acts 17:1–10). The intent of his letters was to help the infant congregation understand his teachings more accurately in his absence. The church in Thessalonica would then be more resistant to heresy.

· False teachings in the first century had many faces, some more dangerous than others. One particularly dangerous heresy that threatened the church’s survival was Judaizing. It was related to the church’s emergence from Judaism and separation from the synagogue. Many early Christians were Jews, and some of them saw Christianity as the next step of the Jewish faith—a sort of super-Judaism. Such teachers believed that all aspects of the Jewish law applied to the church, even to believers of Gentile background. This included circumcision for the males and adherence to Jewish food laws for every Christian. The error of Judaizing was a belief that salvation required keeping such laws.[2]

· When Paul wrote his letters to the New Testament churches, he invariably asked the recipients to pray for him. The saints at Corinth were reminded that their prayers helped him through times of difficulty (‘you also helping together in prayer for us’, 2 Cor. 1:11), and were asked to exercise a ministry which would be invaluable to Paul as he served his Master, the value of which would only be truly revealed in eternity. The church in Rome was asked to pray with the apostle (‘that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me’) that he would be free from persecution and that his ministry would be a blessing to the Christians in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:30–31). The Thessalonian believers were also encouraged to pray for Paul. As he ended his first epistle, he requested, ‘Brethren, pray for us’ (1 Thes. 5:25).

· Now in 2 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul again asks for prayer for himself, feeling conscious of his need of help in the ministry and in facing dangers while engaged in the Lord’s work. We can see that he knew the value of believing prayer. In fact, he longed for such prayer, and asked for it. Paul was Christ’s servant fulfilling his calling, but he was still only a man saved by grace and therefore unable to achieve anything for God without the aid of the Holy Spirit. He made this plain to the Corinthians when he wrote to them, ‘God has chosen the foolish things … the weak things … the base things of the world and the things which are despised’ (1 Cor. 1:27–28). Paul requested much prayer that God’s anointing would rest upon him.[3]

· The main section of the letter of 2 Thessalonians has been completed. This passage, so far as we know, begins the final words ever written to the church by Paul. In the final words, two subjects jump to the forefront immediately: prayer and the Lord’s faithfulness.

o The request for prayer (vv. 1–2).

o The Lord’s faithfulness to the believer (vv. 3–5).

· There was the request for prayer. The believers at Thessalonica were suffering severe persecution and all kinds of trouble. This was one of the reasons Paul was writing to the church: to comfort and encourage them to continue on for Christ. But remember: Paul was in Corinth, and he too was suffering all kinds of trouble, including persecution. He needed the presence and power of the Lord as much as anyone. As John Walvoord says:

o Paul, too, was having his difficulties. The task committed to Paul was a very lonely one: to go from place to place, frequently coming into a strange city where not one person would welcome him. He was not entertained in the best hotel, nor was there any honorarium for him in recognition of his services. He had to find his own way, arrange for his public meetings, and somehow try to bear a testimony for Christ. Apart from fellowship with the Lord, it was a very difficult and solitary task and one in which there were many discouragements.

§ John F. Walvoord (May 1, 1910 – December 20, 2002) was a Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986., one of evangelicalism’s most prominent 20th century leaders, was a man of remarkable depth and breadth. Though best known for his encyclopedic grasp of Bible prophecy, he was also a man who understood and taught the core of Christian theology with unusual clarity and conviction.

· The specific trouble at Corinth was persecution. The Jewish religionists attacked Paul and dragged him before the civil authorities. However, the case was dismissed because it was a religious matter. Paul was allowed to continue his preaching mission, but apparently the Jewish religionists continued their opposition, stirring up whatever trouble they could.

· The apostle set forth four fundamental and obvious desires he had of the Thessalonians:

o that they would pray for him,

o that they would trust the Lord,

o that they would obey his divinely revealed teaching,

o that they would grow spiritually.[4]

Bible Study:

2 Thessalonians 3:1 (NASB) 1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;

· The “finally” in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 indicates that Paul is now transitioning to some concluding remarks—and in Paul’s letters this usually means he’s ending the letter with some practical exhortations that flow from his doctrinal instruction. Before launching into some specific, timely admonitions in 3:6–15, Paul deals with some timeless principles that govern the vital relationship between shepherds and their flocks (3:1–5).

· Now, you don’t need to be a minister or a church member for long to recognize that relationships between pastors and flocks aren’t always as serene as the typical pastoral scene of a lush, green countryside dotted with fluffy, white sheep and a vast blue sky painted with puffy, white clouds. The truth is, sheep sometimes stray, nip at each other, wander from the fold, and make life miserable for the shepherd. And shepherds sometimes neglect their duties, leaving the sheep unprotected, failing to feed and nurture them.

· In 3:1–5, Paul shares some ways to address the sometimes-trying shepherd-sheep relationships. Some of these relate to the shepherd’s responsibilities (3:1–3), some to the flock’s (3:3–5). When all of these cords are woven together, they form a strong cable that binds a congregation in unity.[5]

· Finally, brethren, pray for us. That is, for Paul, Silas, and Timothy, then engaged in arduous labors at Corinth. This request for the prayers of Christians is one which Paul often makes; 1 Thess. 5:25.

· That the word of the Lord will spread rapidly. That is, the Gospel.

o In figurative language the word of the Lord is pictured as a runner speeding on to success and triumph (cf. Ps. 147:15; Acts 12:24; 13:48; 19:20).

· Will spread rapidly. So also, the from the Greek word, trechō.

o The literal understanding of trechō is evident in the Gospels: of a possessed man who ran and fell at Jesus’ feet (Mark 5:6);of the soldiers at the cross who ran to offer Jesus vinegar (Matthew 27:48); of the women who ran from the empty tomb of Jesus as they hurried to give the angel’s message that Jesus had risen (Matthew 28:8); and of Peter and John who ran to the tomb (John 20:4). In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke used it of the father who ran to meet his lost son (15:20).

o Paul, emphasizing that salvation is not the consequence of human effort but a free gift of God, wrote, “So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy” (Romans 9:16). Paul also used trechō in connection with the ongoing Christian life which he compared to the athletic running event. Just as an athlete runs to win the prize, so too, the Christian must exert every effort to finish the race and win the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24–26; cf. Hebrews 12:1).

o Paul described his preaching and ministry in terms of “running” (Galatians 2:2; Philippians 2:16). He asserted that he had not “runin vain.”

o Paul also prayed in 2 Thessalonians (3:1) that the word of the Lord might have “free course” and that it might thereby increase (cf. Acts 6:7)[6]

§ The idea is, that it (the Word) might meet with no obstruction, but that it might be carried abroad with the rapidity of a racer out of whose way every hindrance was removed. The gospel would spread rapidly in the earth if all the obstructions which men have put in its way were removed; and that they may be removed should be one of the constant subjects of prayer.

· In the idea of the Word being glorified, there may be the thought both of the recognition of its glorious qualities and the manifestation of its power in transforming lives. The success of the gospel in Thessalonica (cf. 1 Thess. 1:1–10) provides the example. Those who, like the Thessalonians, know God’s power in personal experience are best qualified to pray such a prayer.

o Here is a large and bold petition which every Christian heart should echo. The great need of our day is that the transforming Word of the Lord may, through the incomparable opportunities which modern media offer, speed on its mission of world evangelism. Preached and taught in the Spirit, and saturated with prayer, the Word of the Lord will triumph now, as then.[7]

· As it did also with you. It is evident from this that Paul met with some obstructions in preaching the gospel where he was then laboring. What they were, he mentions in the next verse. He was then at Corinth (see the Lesson in Historical Context), and the history in the Acts of the Apostles informs us of the difficulties which he had to encounter there; see Acts 18.[8]

Thought to Soak On:

· Believers should always be praying for the ministers and teachers of the gospel—that the Word of God might have a free course as it is preached and taught. And they should pray every day for every preacher and teacher they know.

· Think for a moment: What would happen if the believers of a single church prayed often every day for their minister and teachers?

o One thing is known: God could not sit still, for He would know that those believers were as sincere and genuine as they could be.

o He would know that they desperately wanted to reach their community for Christ.[9]

2 Thessalonians 3:2 (NASB) 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.

· The second prayer request is for deliverance from evil and wicked men. As we examine Paul’s words in 3:1, 2, we will understand the purpose of prayer. Paul tells us to pray for two things: 1) the success of the word of the Lord, and 2) deliverance from wickedness.

o First, he tells us to pray that the word of the Lord will “speed ahead and be honored.” The Greek construction here reads, “pray for us … that the word of the Lord should run ahead and be honored.” The picture is of the gospel itself running forward and accomplishing that which God intended. We are called to pray that God’s Word will accomplish what God intends it to accomplish. Our prayer must line up with God’s purpose.

· This prayer is along the same lines as what Paul said in chapter 2. Remember that Paul described an evil scenario there regarding the man of lawlessness and the wicked deception that would take place. Wicked and evil men were going to rise up and tempt the church with false teaching; so Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to stand firm, resting in the power of God. Now he asked them to pray for him, that he, too, would be delivered from wicked and evil men. Paul had given them an example of this prayer in 2:16, 17, and now he asked them to pray as he did.

· These two aspects of Paul’s prayer should inform our prayers as well. In other words, our prayers should look like Paul’s prayers.

o First, we should pray that God’s will would be done, that the word of God will be successful.

o Second, we ought to pray that we do not fall into temptation, but that God will deliver us from evil and wickedness so that we will stand firm and persevere.

o This should sound familiar—it has a pattern similar to the Lord’s Prayer. So what are we doing in prayer? Prayer is designed to get us in line with God’s plan and God’s will and God’s kingdom. Prayer puts us in the right place with God. Prayer is not about changing God and his plan. Prayer is about changing us and getting us in line with God’s plan and God’s will.

· You might be wondering where this comes from in our passage. Why would I say that prayer is not about changing God’s plan but is about changing us? Notice the very next phrase in verse 3: “But the Lord is faithful.” I found it odd that Paul put this right in the middle of these verses. Paul wants us to pray for two things—that the word of God would spread and that we would persevere in the face of evil. Then he writes, “the Lord is faithful.”

· What is the Lord faithful to do? Is he faithful to change events so they fit our desires and wishes? Not at all. Let’s keep reading: “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” The Lord is faithful to answer prayer that is in line with His will because He changes us. He will establish us in the faith. He will guard us against the evil one. The Lord is faithful to accomplish His plan, and prayer is designed to draw us into that plan and to conform us to God’s will. When we pray, we are asking God’s will to be done in our lives as it is done in Heaven. Prayer is getting in line with God’s will.

o I think that Paul’s words right here might provide us one of the clearest definitions of prayer in the entire Bible. What does prayer do?

§ Prayer establishes us and guards us against the evil one. God has designed prayer to function in such a way that it accomplishes that purpose as we seek God and ask for his protection and blessing.[10]

· Since such “evil and wicked” persons existed, rejection and opposition were an inevitable experience for any evangelist. If the message would not be honored, at least the messenger might be spared. Ridicule, physical punishment, or imprisonment (cf. 2 Cor 6:3–10) were not just unpleasant. They could rob the evangelist of the opportunity to spread the gospel. Thus, Paul’s prayer for deliverance from evil men was an extension of his prayer that the gospel might go forward unhindered (cf. Acts 28:31).

· Finally, believers need to be reminded that they do not face opposition in their own strength. They meet the opposition of the faithless assured that “the Lord is faithful”.[11]

Thoughts to Soak On:

· Here is a large and bold petition which every Christian heart should echo. The great need of our day is that the transforming Word of the Lord may, through the incomparable opportunities which modern media offer, speed on its mission of world evangelism. Preached and taught in the Spirit, and saturated with prayer, the Word of the Lord will triumph now, as then.[12]

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NASB) 3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

· From commenting on human unbelief, Paul turns to exalt God’s faithfulness—we understand the Lord of this passage to be God the Father is intended here: God can be relied upon. He will not let his people down.

· As Paul thinks of God’s faithfulness, he also thinks of the needs of the Thessalonians—Paul’s heart was ever that of a pastor. God, he says, will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. In the Greek, this is not simply a statement, it describes God. He is characteristically the one who will strengthen … and protect (for stērizō, “to strengthen,” cf. 2:17; 1 Thess. 3:13).

· The second half of this description is an assurance that God does not leave us to fend for ourselves but is there to protect us.

o The thought is akin to the petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “deliver us from the evil one

o On that basis we accept the niv/nasb noting the implication that the Evil One stands behind the activities of “the wicked and evil men” of verse 2 and recalling Paul’s earlier reference to “the secret power of lawlessness (which) is already at work” (2:7). The prayer is for deliverance from that satanic power.[13]

Thoughts to Soak On:

· Yes, indeed! We are on the winning side! Paul mentions the Lord and His purposes. They are twofold. He intends to ground His own and to guard His own: “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil” (3:3). Paul looks away from the dangers that he himself had so often faced and comes back to consider the dangers that the Thessalonians were facing. The Lord would give them both stability and protection. “The Lord is faithful,” he reminds them.

God does not exempt His people from the natural disasters and ills of life. He does not promise immunity from dislike, discrimination, detention, and even death. What He does promise is that He will temper the wind to the shorn lamb. He will not allow Satan to go beyond a certain line that He Himself draws with an unerring hand (Job 1:12; 1 Cor. 10:13). Moreover, He promises to make a way of escape, and often that escape is a result of His own sufficient grace (2 Cor. 12:7–10.))[14]

2 Thessalonians 3:4 (NASB) 4 We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command.

· Paul is resting his confidence in the Lord, and he is saying that this gives him confidence also in the Thessalonians.

o Because God is faithful and perfects that which He begins in those who trust him (see Phil. 1:6), Paul knows that he can rely on the Thessalonians. He is confident that they are obedient to what he commands and that they will continue to be obedient. He does not say what these commands are, and some connect them with the obligation to pray for the missionaries (v. 1).But much more probably he is leading up to the commands of verses 6ff. (notice the repetition of command in v. 6).[15]

§ 2 Thessalonians 3:6 (NASB) 6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

· Paul concentrates next on the Lord and His people: “And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that you both do and will do the things which we command you” (3:4). Paul’s confidence was not misplaced. It was in the Lord.

o That’s where Job’s confidence was. Disaster after disaster had rolled over him in a series of tidal waves. They were utterly senseless so far as he could see. His friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—had each come to sit and stare. Each of them had said his first piece, more or less accusing Job of secret sin. Job had answered them argument for argument. Zophar had been particularly brutal. “Wisdom will die with you,” Job said sarcastically. Then, reaffirming his faith, he cried, “Though he slays me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). His confidence was in the Lord.

o Moses’ confidence was in the Lord. The children of Israel had marched out of Egypt only to find themselves trapped. The waters of the Red Sea rolled before them, barring their way. The Egyptian army was behind them, marching to avenge the devastation of their land and the death of their firstborn sons. The Israelites were in a panic. The forward look was hopeless; the backward look was terrifying. They quite forgot the upward look. Then Moses spoke: “Stand still,” he said, “and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod. 14:13). He had hardly finished speaking when the ominous Shechinah cloud moved from before them to stand between them and the foe.

· It is no vain thing to have confidence in the Lord. Paul, as much as he loved the Thessalonian believers, did not place his trust and confidence in them; he had confidence in the Lord.” This was not because of his apostolic authority—he never felt the need to threaten that with them, as he sometimes did with others—but because he had confidence in the Lord regarding them. After all, they were the Lord’s people, not his.[16]

· Paul is confident, that the Thessalonians will continue to live in the way that he has taught them, incredible though it may seem that a group who a few months ago had never thought of living a Christian lifestyle should continue to do so.

o What they need, if they are to be able to sustain this life, is, once more, the rooting of their hearts and lives, not in any human pressure, not in any agenda from another human being, but in the love of God and the patience of the Messiah. Go on focusing heart and mind on Jesus himself, Paul says, and as you meditate on his patience, and his strength under suffering, something of that patience will be given to you.

§ As that happens, you will know God’s love surrounding you and enabling you to live the next day, week and month to his glory. Christian living without prayer and meditation can indeed sometimes seem like trying to run in a dream. We all need to learn the secrets of how the word of the Lord and the love of God can be set free to run their course and bring glory to God, in our lives and in his world.[17]

2 Thessalonians 3:5 (NASB) 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

· He makes a short prayer for them, v. 5. It is a prayer for spiritual blessings. Two things of the greatest importance the apostle prays for:

o That their hearts may be brought into the love of God, to be in love with God as the most excellent and amiable Being, the best of all beings; and this is not only most reasonable and necessary in order to our happiness butis our happiness itself; it is a great part of the happiness of heaven itself, where this love shall be made perfect.

§ We can never attain to this unless God by His grace directs our hearts aright, for our love is apt to go astray after other things. Note, we sustain a great deal of damage by misplacing our affections; it is our sin and our misery that we place our affections upon wrong objects. If God directs our love aright upon himself, the rest of the affections will thereby be rectified.

o That a steadfastness of Christ may be joined with this love of God.

o There is no true love of God without faith in Jesus Christ. We must wait for Christ, which supposes our faith in him, that we believe he came once in flesh and will come again in glory: and we must expect this second coming of Christ, and be careful to get ready for it;

§ there must be a patient waiting,

§ enduring with courage and

§ constancy all that we may meet with in the meantime:

📷 we have need of patience, and

📷 need of divine grace to exercise Christian patience, the patience of Christ (as some read the word), patience for Christ’s sake and after Christ’s example.[18]

· We hold that the meaning of agapē is subjective love (i.e. having the lover in view) and here, therefore, that it is God’s love for His own, which is indeed Paul’s normal usage. It could be no other, for the wish is that they should be directed into it. Kelly says it is that we may know the reality of divine love experientially, (John 17:23, 26; 1 John 4:16, 17). Such love generates response in us (1 John 4:19), a thought so adequately expressed by the poet:

“I love Thee, Lord, yet ‘tis no love of mine

That goeth forth to that great heart of Thine.

‘Tis Thine own love which Thou hast given me

Returning back, O loving Lord to Thee.

Oh! help me Lord, to take by grace divine,

Yet more and more of that great love of Thine:

That day by day my heart may give to Thee

A deeper love and growing constantly.”

· Steadfastness of Christ: We take the same view (the subjective genitive) of “the patience of (the) Christ”. Patience is hupomonē, and it does not refer to the patience He showed here as the perfect Servant, humbling as that perfect pattern is to the heart, but rather that which makes the inner man leap in response—His patient waiting now for the full fruit of His “labor for the Bride”. As she waits, so does He; He has waited these 2,000 years in infinite patience and love, hence the cry “How long?” is stayed in affectionate response.

o Thus the verse envisages for these suffering saints a circle of love and patience born of communion with the Father and the Son, divine communications flowing back in responsive love; the prayer of John 17 sealed in grateful hearts.

· For the Lord (the Lord Jesus Christ) to grant this prayerful wish will give that resource from the heart of the Father and the Son which will make the command which follows a labor of love and give the patience of hope a quality which the Thessalonians had never before known; their patience a sweet savor of Christ to God and their love for Christ such as their hearts yearned to have. Such is our resource too.[19]

Thoughts to soak on:

· And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God. So direct your hearts that you may love God And into the patient waiting for Christ. Marg., patience of Christ. The marginal reading is in accordance with the Greek and seems best to express the apostle’s meaning.

· The prayer of the apostle was, that they might have the love of God in their hearts, and “the patience of Christ;” that is, the same patience which Christ evinced in his trials.

o They were then suffering affliction and persecution.

o They needed patience, that they might endure their trials in a proper manner.

o It was natural for the apostle to refer them to the Savior, the great example of patience, and to pray that they might have the same which he had.

§ That it does not mean that they were to wait patiently for the appearing of Christ, as our translation seems to imply, is quite clear, because the apostle had just been showing them that he would not appear until after a long series of events had occurred.[20]

Let us wrap up this lesson with neat little bow in a statement submitted by Warren Wiersbe:

· What a tremendous power the believer has in prayer! Though Satan is at work in the world, we can still pray to God and see Him answer. Paul’s request was that they pray for his ministry of the Word.

o The only way to counteract Satan’s lies is to share the truth of the Word of God.

o The Word is living (Heb. 4:12), and Paul desires to see it “run freely” (v. 1)throughout the world. Where the Word is ignored, Paul yearns to see it glorified.

o The Word did have free course among the believers at Thessalonica and was being glorified because they received it and believed it (1 Thes. 2:13; 2 Thes. 2:13).

· He also prayed that God’s servants might be delivered from wicked men. Wherever we take the Gospel, Satan will raise up unreasonable (perverse) and evil men to oppose us (see Acts 18:1–12). These unbelievers oppose the Word itself and even those who would give out the Word!

o We cannot trust men, but we can trust our faithful God. “He is faithful” (see v. 3) is the watchword of the steadfast Christian.

· Believers need to be patient as they pray and give out the Word. God is able to give us this patience as we grow in our love for Christ.

o The steward who became impatient as he waited for his Lord had trouble with his heart and obedience (Matt. 24:42–51).

o Paul tells us to love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). Where there is love, there will be patience and hope.[21]

Questions to Ponder:

· In our study of Job, the most important thing we learned was to trust God with all our heart, mind, and soul…Forsaking All I Trust Him.

o For one of my class members, the Job study was his last before appearing before Christ, receiving a glorified body completely healed of his cancer and recognizing his loved ones gone before him.

o He grew to love God more deeply than ever before and was eager each week to get our notes to study and grow more.

§ How do you react to that story and how does it compare to your own.

§ As we have learned the importance of intercessory pray and patience in this lesson, what are your thoughts about prayer that you would share with the class?

· What are some ways we can overcome pessimism with “confidence in the Lord”?[22]

· In what ways can we be more effective in prayer for one another?

[1] Mark Howell et al., Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2015), 2 Th 2:16–3:5. [2]Charles R. Boatman, Cheryl Frey, and Mark S. Krause, “Walk in Love,” in The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2018–2019, ed. Ronald L. Nickelson, vol. 25 (Colorado Springs, CO: Standard Publishing, 2018), 162–163. [3] Ian McNaughton, Opening up 2 Thessalonians, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 61–62. [4] John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 & 2 Thessalonians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 2002), 291–292. [5]Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, vol. 10, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2016), 147. [6]Thoralf Gilbrant, “Τρέχω,” The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary, The Complete Biblical Library (WORDsearch, 1991). [7]Arnold E. Airhart, “The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians,”in Galatians through Philemon, Beacon Bible Commentary (Beacon Hill Press, 2020), 2 Th 3:1–5. [8]Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: I Thessalonians to Philemon, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 96. [9]Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1 Thessalonians–Philemon, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible (Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2006), 102-103. [10]James H. Grant Jr., 1 & 2 Thessalonians: The Hope of Salvation, ed. R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 191–192. [11] D. Michael Martin, 1, 2 Thessalonians, vol. 33, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 263–265. [12]Arnold E. Airhart, “The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians,”in Galatians through Philemon, Beacon Bible Commentary (Beacon Hill Press, 2020), 2 Th 3:1–5. [13]David J. Williams, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 141–142. [14]John Phillips, Exploring 1 & 2 Thessalonians: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), 2 Th 3:3–4. [15]Leon Morris, 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 13, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984), 139–140. [16]John Phillips, Exploring 1 & 2 Thessalonians: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), 2 Th 3:3–4. [17] Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 154–155. [18]Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume(Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2349. [19]Thomas W. Smith, “2 Thessalonians,” in 1 Thessalonians to Titus, What the Bible Teaches (John Ritchie, 2000), 134. [20] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: I Thessalonians to Philemon, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 98. [21] Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 613–614. [22]Charles R. Boatman, Cheryl Frey, and Mark S. Krause, “Walk in Love,” in The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2018–2019, ed. Ronald L. Nickelson, vol. 25 (Colorado Springs, CO: Standard Publishing, 2018), 164.