2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

Intro (v1-v2)

The first letter to the Thessalonians had given rise to some questions, which leads us to this second letter by Paul attempting to answer some of these questions as well as address any other issues, perhaps reported back from the messenger who delivered the 1st epistle.

There was (1. A letter going around, supposed to have been from Paul (not true) claiming that Christ had already come for the church, therefore the world was currently in the judgement ‘day of the LORD’. The persecutions these Christians were experiencing only furthered their concern that this deceitful report may be true. Paul attempts to comfort them by reassuring them that our gathering together unto Him is yet future, and that the ‘day of the LORD’ has certain forerunners which must take place first, (man of sin, great falling away) (2 Thess.2.1-3)

(2. Report of lazy Christians, who maybe even quit their jobs because of the false letter going around. Believing if the LORD’s coming was so near they might as well stop working and wait for HIM, this meant others were burdened by their idleness, having to pick up slack and support. This needed to be corrected, which Paul also undertakes in this letter.

2 Thessalonians 1:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here are the same 3 men mentioned in 1 Thess.

Again, the Lord Jesus Christ given a place of equality there along with God our Father.

Grace and Peace, both gifts to the believer through faith in Christ.

Suffering Helps us Grow (v3-v5)

Promptly following the greeting, Paul begins praising God for the work He was accomplishing in these Thessalonian Christians. Many times others can see the spiritual work and improvement going on in the midst of our trials when we ourselves cannot. Paul could see what God was doing in them, through the suffering and persecution.

And so his first response was praise, as ours should be as well. We see this in our friend Job, in spite of his pain, he stated “Blessed be the name of the LORD!”

2 Thessalonians 1:3–5 KJV 1900

3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; 4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

Paul’s first giving of thanks may have served as a reminder to them, that all this was not in vain, rather, through the hard times, ‘your faith grows exceedingly’.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, an easy life can lead to a shallow faith. Shall we turn to all the scriptures reminding us of the PURPOSE BEHIND TRIALS??

Look @ Joseph’s life, the book of Job, James 1.2-4, 1 Peter 1.6-9, 1 Peter 4.12-19,

We can read of the ‘heroes of the faith’ chapter in Hebrews 11, and we can conclude in the same that those men and women did not reach the point of strong faith because their lives were easy!

Paul had prayed that the faith of these believers would be perfected back in 1 Thess. 3.10, now we see Paul praising God for answering prayer.

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” wrote the Latin church father Tertullian.

It’s amazing how we can almost see that satan and his devices, as well as wicked men, try to stop the church and message of the gospel through persecution, and yet God being so awesome, causes the opposite to happen, tremendous growth of the church and like a wildfire, the gospel spreading even more.

This is proof of Jesus’ words, that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church. If you remember back in the book of acts, when the religious leaders sought to quiet the disciples, instructing them to no longer preach in the name of Jesus, one of them, having some wisdom, pulled the others aside and said; ‘guys, if this whole movement is of men, don’t worry, because it will come to nothing… but, if it is of God, be careful, for you will find yourself fighting against God”

And here we are, some 2000 years later!!!

We see in the latter of v3 that on top of their faith growing, their love was abounding as well. Some of the most intimate relationships can get, in my opinion, is through SUFFERING TOGETHER…

These shared in having family forsake them, zealous Jews persecute them, others mock, etc. because of their faith, yet great is their reward and for all who would follow in their steps, as Jesus stated;

Mark 10:29–30 KJV 1900

29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Referring to the tribulations they were enduring, Paul says...

2 Thessalonians 1:5 KJV 1900

5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

When Paul said that they should be counted “worthy of the kingdom” (v. 5), he is not suggesting that they could earn a place in heaven by their own merit. “Worthy” describes fitness, not merit. God fits us through suffering for the glory that lies ahead. Suffering and glory cannot be separated (Matt. 5:10–12; 1 Peter 4:12–14; 5:1). Our suffering here today is but preparation for the glory yet to be revealed (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:16–18).

Suffering Prepares us for Glory (v6-v10)

2 Thessalonians 1:6 KJV 1900

6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

Steadfastness in suffering is a testimony to the lost world. It may seem that God is not judging the sins of the world, but this is not true. If we walk in unbelief, we will get discouraged, thinking that God is not vindicating His own (see Ps. 73 and Habakkuk), but God is preparing judgment for the wicked. Knowing this, we can rest in confidence.

God will “recompense” judgment; that is, He will mete out to the wicked in the same measure and kind that they have meted out to Christians. Pharaoh drowned the babies of Israel, and God drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. Judas betrayed Jesus to be hanged on a tree, and Judas went out and hanged himself. Saul tried to slay David with a sword, and was slain with a sword himself. Sinners reap what they sow.

God’s attribute of being a righteous judge may perhaps be one of the most overlooked. Truly, in righteousness, He will pay judgement to the wicked, and also rest to the believers..

2 Thessalonians 1:7 KJV 1900

7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

This judgement time is referring to the 2nd coming, not the rapture, for judgement does not accompany the rapture

2 Thessalonians 1:8–9 KJV 1900

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

in Acts 17.30 we see that God commands all men everywhere to repentance, NOW is the time of God’s grace, because He is longsuffering, not wishing that any would perish but all would come to this repentance (2 Peter 3.9)

Sometimes some people get all worked up when coming across these scriptures, God taking vengeance in flaming fire, eternally, on the wicked, how could He do that? ‘That’s not nice’ Not realizing that God has been mercifully longsuffering for some 2000 years now, extending grace to all men through the gospel.

God is righteous and just, therefore demands that sin be punished. Instead of asking how could God eternally punish men, we ought to ask how could God forgive wicked men? Praise God there’s even 1 way, and that was at the cross! Romans 3.26 declares God as just and the justifier to them that believe… how could any ‘god’ in any religion provide a way to forgive men of their sin without ‘overlooking’ it and therefore compromising the trait of truly just and righteous that God should have??

It is ONLY at the cross, where God’s justice and mercy meet between the 2 outstretched arms of our Lord Jesus Christ, that any man can be reconciled to God, for NO man can come to the Father but through Me, said Jesus.

Unfortunately, not all will obey the gospel as we see there in v9.

v9 has one of Paul’s most clear statements of the duration of the punishment of the wicked, it will be just as the duration of the glory of Jesus Christ, eternal. We also see what makes hell hell, the statement “from the presence of the Lord”, opposite of what makes heaven heaven.

2 Thessalonians 1:10 KJV 1900

10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

The saints refer to those that believe the testimony Paul and the other apostles preached, the testimony of Jesus Christ, the gospel. Such hope should strengthen any believer going through any persecution from unbelievers.

We can see all over the scriptures, questions from the prophets that go like this; ‘how long o Lord, will the wicked prosper?’

If the sinful world seems to be winning the battle today, we can rest in faith, knowing that they will lose the battle tomorrow.

Suffering Glorifies Christ (v11-v12)

Therefore, this hope that we believers have should propel us forward, living lives worthy of this high calling, we seen back there in v10 that on that day Christ will be glorified in us in a very climactic way, yet presently, everyday leading up to this event, we ought to be walking in a way that glorifies Christ.

Scripture consistently teaches that what God has already done for the believer is the basis, the root, then followed by the appeals to live lives worthy of our high calling. Christians do not live holy lives to obtain salvation, I say it again, Christians do not live holy lives to OBTAIN salvation, but because WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN GRANTED SALVATION as a free gift of the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 KJV 1900

11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 12 That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What should Christians who are in the will of God do when they go through painful testing and trial? They should: (1) thank God for His salvation and that He is with them; (2) surrender to the will of God without complaining; (3) ask God to give wisdom to understand His will; (4) watch for opportunities to witness and glorify God in the situation; (5) wait patiently until God’s purposes have been fulfilled. Of course, if we are out of the will of God and trouble comes (and it will!), we must accept His chastening hand. For the Lord chastens whom He loves, as a father does his children.

BENEDICTION

Matthew 5:10–16 KJV 1900

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

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