The Productive Prayer Life of Paul-1 Thessalonians 1:2-4, 3:11-13 and 5:23-24

1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 asserts that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy thanked the Father in prayer for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

1 Thessalonians 1:2 We make it our habit of always giving thanks to the one and only God (the Father) on behalf of each and every one of you because we constantly make it our practice of bringing each and every one of you into remembrance during our prayers. 3 Specifically, because we make it our habit of remembering in the presence of God, our Father, your work, which was produced by your faith, as well as your labor, which was motivated by your divine-love and also your perseverance which was produced by your confident expectation of blessing from our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Furthermore, because each one of us possesses the conviction He elected each and every one of you to privilege brothers and sisters, divinely loved by the one and only God (who is the Father). (My translation)

1 Thessalonians 1:3 identifies specifically what these Paul, Silvanus and Timothy remembered about the Thessalonians which caused or prompted them to always give thanks to the Father for them during their prayer meetings.

This verse asserts that they did so because they made it their habit of remembering in the presence of the Father their work, which was produced by their faith, as well as their labor, which was motivated by their divine-love and in addition their perseverance which was produced by their confident expectation of receiving blessing from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, 1 Thessalonians 1:4 presents the second reason why Paul, Silvanus and Timothy gave thanks to the Father for the Thessalonians by asserting that these three men possessed the conviction God the Father elected each and every one of the Thessalonians to privilege.

This means that before the foundation of the world God the Father elected each member of the Thessalonian Christian community to the privilege of possessing and experiencing an eternal relationship and fellowship with Himself and with the Son and the Spirit.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now, may He Himself, namely, God, specifically, our Father as well as our Lord Jesus guide our journey into the presence of each and every one of you. (My translation)

1 Thessalonians 3:11 does not record the act of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy praying to the Father and the Son but rather it simply records the content of what these three men asked the Father to do for them.

This is indicated by the fact that the Lord Jesus Himself and the other writers of the New Testament all taught that all prayer is to be addressed to the Father and not the Lord Jesus (John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rom. 8:15; Eph. 3:14; 5:20; Col. 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 1:6).

Furthermore, notice that this request is for both the Father and the Lord Jesus to guide Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s journey into the presence of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community and not the act of these three men praying to both the Father and the Son.

There is a big difference between the act of praying and the content what is requested in prayer. They are not one in the same.

Therefore, 1 Thessalonians 3:11 is merely communicating to the Thessalonians what these men prayed to the Father for in Jesus name and is expressing to the Thessalonians their great desire to them again.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 On the other hand, may the one and only Lord cause each and every one of you to increase, and not only this but to excel with regards to the practice of that which is divine-love for the benefit of one another as well as for the benefit of every person just as each of us also does for the benefit of each and every one of you. (My translation)

Now, here in 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul writes that he, Silvanus and Timothy not only prayed for themselves but also the Thessalonians.

Specifically, they prayed to the Father that the Lord Jesus would cause each member of the Thessalonian Christian community to increase, indeed, to excel with regards to that which is divine-love for the benefit of each other as well as the non-Christian just as each of them does for the benefit of the Thessalonians.

The noun agapē, “that which is divine-love” contains the figure of metonymy which means that the love of God is put for the exercise or the practice of this love and is used of the love of God manifested in the lives of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

1 Thessalonians 3:13 The purpose of which is to strengthen the hearts of each one of you to be uncensurable with respect to holiness in the presence of the one and only God, namely, our Father at our Lord Jesus’ arrival with each and every one of His saints. (My translation)

Now, 1 Thessalonians 3:13 indicates that the purpose for which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy wanted the Lord Jesus to cause the Thessalonians to increase and excel with regards to that which is divine-love for the benefit of one another and the non-Christian was so that their hearts would be strengthened.

The Thessalonians’ faith would be strengthened by Paul and Silvanus and Timothy communicating the gospel to them after their justification with regards to the person and work of Jesus Christ as well as their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father (cf. Rom. 10:17).

This would cause the Thessalonians to become stronger in their faith and stabilized in their relationship with God and consequently, this would produce greater obedience and consequently, greater spiritual growth.

The purpose for which the Thessalonians’ hearts were to be strengthened was so that they would be uncensurable in the sense that they would be “free from official reprimand, free from censure” in the presence of the Father or in other words, Paul wants to present them to the Father as being free from official reprimand, free from censure.

By remaining faithful to Paul’s apostolic teaching, they will not be officially reprimanded at the Bema Seat.

“Holiness” is the quality of being personally dedicated to God either by being set apart, by being morally pure or by being devoted to God and here it is used in relation to the sanctification of the Thessalonians and specifically, it speaks of the Thessalonians experiencing their sanctification through the practice of divine-love.

This is indicated by the fact that Paul would not pray for positional sanctification because this took place the moment the Thessalonians were declared justified by the Father when they trusted in His one and only Son Jesus Christ as their Savior or in other words, their positional sanctification took place at their conversion.

He would not pray for their sanctification in a perfective sense since this will take place at the rapture or resurrection of the church when they receive their resurrection bodies.

He does however want them to experience their sanctification through the practice of God’s love when interacting with one another and the non-Christian.

When Paul speaks of the Thessalonians experiencing their sanctification, it is through the practice of God’s love because in 1 Thessalonians 4:6-7 Paul associates holiness with not violating the rights of one’s brother or taking advantage of them, which speaks of the practice of love when interacting with one’s fellow-believer.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now, may the one and only God Himself, who produces a peace which is divine in quality and character, cause each and every one of you to be sanctified completely. Correspondingly, may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at our Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival. (My translation)

1 Thessalonians 5:23 contains two requests which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy presented to the Father on behalf of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community while interceding in prayer for them.

The first request asked the one and only God Himself, who produces a peace which is divine in quality and character, to cause each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community to be sanctified completely.

The second corresponds to the first and asked the Father that the entire spirit, soul and body of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community be kept blameless at the Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival at the rapture.

The reference to peace in this first request refers to the peace of God which the Father produces within the soul of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community through the personal agency of the Holy Spirit.

It also speaks of the peace of God which the Father produces through the personal agency of the Holy Spirit when each member of the Thessalonian Christian community interacts with each other.

The Spirit accomplishes this when the Thessalonians obey the Spirit inspired commands and prohibitions which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonians in this epistle.

The first is related to the final stage of sanctification when the church age believer receives their resurrection body which completes the third and final stage of their sanctification and the second is related to the second stage of sanctification, which is experiential sanctification.

The second request asks the Father that the entire spirit, soul and body of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 The one who does effectually call each and every one of you does possess the characteristic of being faithful, who will in fact certainly cause these things to be accomplished. (My translation)

Paul is emphasizing with the Thessalonians here in 1 Thessalonians 5:24 that that God the Father who does effectually call them is faithful and which faithfulness is manifested by the Father completing their salvation and keeping them blameless at the rapture.

It emphasizes with the Thessalonians that their experiential sanctification which is mentioned in the second assertion in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is totally dependent upon the Father’s faithfulness to His promises and not them.

It also emphasizes with the Thessalonians that their perfective sanctification which is mentioned in the first assertion in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is totally dependent upon the Father’s faithfulness to His promises and not them.