2 Thessalonians 1.11b-The Content of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy's Intercessory Prayer Request for the Thessalonians
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday July 1, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 1:11b-The Content of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Intercessory Prayer Request for the Thessalonians
Lesson # 18
2 Thessalonians 1:11 For which purpose, each one of us make it our habit of always occupying ourselves with praying on behalf of each and every one of you that our God would consider each of you worthy with reference to His effectual call. Specifically, that He would by means of power accomplish this gracious purpose in its entirety, namely, acts characterized as divine goodness, that is, every work produced by faith. (My translation)
This first assertion in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 that the purpose for which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy made it their habit of always occupying themselves with prayer on behalf of the Thessalonians was the extraordinary growth of their post-justification faith, divine-love and perseverance in the midst of great persecution is followed by two hina (ἵνα) direct object clauses.
The first of these two direct object clauses speaks of God the Father considering the Thessalonians worthy with reference to the Father’s effectual call.
The second explains the first and speaks of the Father accomplishing by means of His power this gracious purpose of effectually calling them in its entirety.
He defines this gracious purpose as acts characterized as divine goodness, which he in turn defines as accomplished by every work produced by the Thessalonians’ post-justification faith in the gospel.
The Father will perform this act of considering each member of the Thessalonian Christian community as worthy of His effectual call of them when they are presented to Him by His Son, Jesus Christ after the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church which takes places immediately after the rapture of the church.
They will be called “overcomers” and will be presented to the Father in the throne room of heaven by the Lord Jesus Christ who will reward them at the Bema Seat for their faithfulness.
Revelation 3:5 The one who conquers will be dressed like them in white clothing, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, but will declare his name before my Father and before his angels. (NET)
Now, in the first hina direct object clause in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, the noun klēsis (κλῆσις), “effectual call” refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit which unites the sinner to Christ according to the Father’s gracious purpose in election.
It does not refer to the “call of God,” which is related to “common grace” meaning grace given to all sinners by God in the form of being exposed to the gospel.
In other words, it does not refer to the “invitation” to receive the gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Rather, it refers to those sinners who have responded to the divine invitation or call of God when they were presented the gospel and have exercised faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Therefore, this “effectual call” refers to the “effective evocation” of faith through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit who united the believer to Christ according to the Father’s electing him to privilege and His gracious eternal purpose and predetermined plan.
It refers to not only the Father’s invitation to salvation for the sinner through the presentation of the gospel by the Holy Spirit, but it also refers to the sinner’s acceptance of this invitation by faith and which invitation originates from eternity past.
So therefore, in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, the noun klēsis (κλῆσις) is referring to the Thessalonians’ conversion to Christianity or in other words, the moment of justification.
The word “effectual” is used of that which produces the effect desired or intended or a decisive result.
Thus, the Father’s calling of the Thessalonians produced the effect He desired, or intended from them and the decisive result, namely, to deliver them from enslavement to sin, Satan, condemnation from the Law, spiritual and physical death as well as eternal condemnation.
Therefore, the noun klēsis refers to the Father’s “effectual call” to trust in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and which invitation originated from eternity past and is thus directly related to the Christian’s election.
By responding in faith, they manifested in time that they have been elected to privilege by God. God who is omniscient looked down the corridors of time and saw that the Christian would trust in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and had prepared in advance a plan for them and elected to privilege these justified sinners.
Therefore, when the Christian placed his or her trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, he or she was manifesting the fact that they have been elected to privilege by the Father.
He did not coerce the Christian’s volition by electing them but rather elected them to privilege when He saw through His omniscience that they would believe in His Son.
The second hina (ἵνα) direct object clause speaks of the Father accomplishing His gracious purpose, which Paul defines as acts characterized as divine goodness.
The noun eudokia (εὐδοκία), “gracious purpose” refers to the Father’s gracious purpose for effectually calling the Thessalonians.
Consequently, it speaks of that which pleases the Father, which in our context is that the Thessalonians perform that which is characterized as divine goodness.
Therefore, this word speaks of the Father’s will for the Thessalonians, which is that they perform acts of divine good.
The adjective pas (πᾶς) modifies this word and expresses an attributive relation to it expressing the idea of the Thessalonians accomplishing the Father’s gracious purpose for which He effectually called the Thessalonians “in its entirety.”
The noun agathōsynē (ἀγαθωσύνη) contains the figure of metonymy which means that goodness is put for acts of goodness on the part of the Thessalonian Christian community.
Therefore, this noun describes the acts of divine good performed by the Thessalonians as being characterized by moral excellence in the sense that these actions are characterized as being benevolent or benefiting others.
This second hina (ἵνα) direct object clause is modified by the prepositional phase en dynamei (ἐν δυνάμει), “by means of power” which indicates that divine omnipotence is the means by which the Father accomplishes His gracious purpose and which purpose Paul defines as acts characterized as divine goodness.
It also indicates that the Father’s omnipotence is the means by which He accomplishes every work through the Thessalonian Christian community and which work is produced by the Thessalonians’ post-justification faith in the gospel.
Now, in 2 Thessalonians 1:11, the expression ergon pisteōs (ἔργον πίστεως), “every work produced by faith” explains the first hina direct object clause which we noted speaks of the Father accomplishing in its entirety by means of His power His gracious purpose for which He effectually called the Thessalonians.
As we noted, this gracious purpose is defined as performing acts which are characterized by divine goodness.
The noun ergon (ἒργον), “work” refers to actions performed by the Christian while in fellowship with God and are produced by the Holy Spirit through the child of God when they exercise faith in the Word of God.
This faith results in obedience to the will of the Father, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God.
It speaks of the works or actions that the Holy Spirit performs through the Christian as a result of the Christian’s obedience to the commands and prohibitions in the Word of God, which are inspired by the Holy Spirit.
This word pistis (πίστις) is modified by the adjective pas (πᾶς), which is expressing the idea of the Father accomplishing by means of His divine omnipotence “every” work produced by the Thessalonians’ post-justification faith in the gospel.
The noun pistis (πίστις), “produced by faith” does not refer to justifying faith but rather the Thessalonian’s post-justification faith in the Word of God.
This is indicated by the fact that Paul associates their faith with work, which pertains to their Christian service.
The noun pistis functions as a genitive of production indicating that the Thessalonians’ godly work or service was produced by their faith in the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God, which was communicated to them by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
The Thessalonians’ post-justification faith in the gospel appropriates the omnipotence of God, which in turn enables God to accomplish in its entirety His gracious purpose of effectually calling the Thessalonians and which purpose is to perform acts of divine goodness or in other words, acts of divine good.
Therefore, Paul is teaching in 2 Thessalonians 1:11 that he, Silvanus and Timothy made it their habit of always interceding in prayer to the Father on behalf of the Thessalonians in order that God might continue to manifest His power in the lives of the Thessalonians by means of the Thessalonians’ post-justification of the gospel and which faith appropriates the power of God.
This continued faith in the gospel by the Thessalonians would accomplish the Father’s gracious purpose of effectually calling them at their justification and which gracious purpose is to perform acts of divine goodness on behalf of the Christian and non-Christian communities.
The Thessalonians’ post-justification faith in the gospel would produce these acts of divine goodness, i.e. acts of divine good.
Consequently, this would result in the Father considering the Thessalonians worthy of His effectually calling them at their justification.