Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 1:12a-The First Purpose of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Intercessory Prayer for the Thessalonians

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 12 in order that the one and only name of our Lord Jesus would be greatly honored because of each and every one of you. Correspondingly, each and every one of you would be greatly honored because of Him because of the grace originating from our God as well as from the Lord Jesus Christ. (My translation)

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 completes the thanksgiving section of Second Thessalonians which begins the body of this letter.

This section is divided into three parts.

The first part appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 and commends the Thessalonians’ for their post-justification in the midst of persecution.

The second appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 and serves to comfort and assure the Thessalonians that God will judge their persecutors.

The third part is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and contains Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer for the Thessalonians (1:11-12).

2 Thessalonians 1:11 presents the content of this intercessory prayer and 2 Thessalonians 1:12 presents the two-fold purpose of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

In our study of 2 Thessalonians 1:11, we noted that this verse begins with the assertion that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy made it their habit of always being occupied with interceding in prayer to the Father on behalf of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

We also noted that the prepositional phrase eis ho (εἰς ὃ), “for which purpose” is modifying this statement and is pointing back to Paul’s statements in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, thus making 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 parenthetical.

Therefore, this indicates that the extraordinary growth of the post-justification faith and divine-love of the Thessalonian Christian community and perseverance in the midst of great persecution was the purpose for which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy made it their habit of always occupying themselves with praying on behalf of the Thessalonian Christian community.

In other words, the spiritual growth of the Thessalonians in the midst of great adversity prompted them to pray for the Thessalonians.

Now, here in 2 Thessalonians 1:12, Paul asserts that the purpose for which he, Silvanus and Timothy prayed to the Father for these things was that the name of the Lord Jesus would be greatly honored because of each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

He then asserts that correspondingly that the Thessalonians would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.

Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 1:12 asserts that the purpose for which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s interceded in prayer to the Father on behalf of the Thessalonians is two-fold.

First, the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified or greatly honored because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

Secondly, each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.

The noun onoma (ὄνομα), “the name” has a five-fold sense:

(1) It signifies the “personality” of the Lord distinguishing Him from the heathen gods.

(2) It signifies the “character” of the Lord representing who He is as the unique theanthropic person in creation, the God-man.

(3) It signifies the Lord’s “work” in creation and for the salvation of sinful humanity through His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

(4) It signifies the “reputation” of the Lord before the human race as the Creator and Redeemer of the human race.

(5) It signifies the “authority” of the Lord Jesus over the church and over every human being, angel and all of creation as a result of being the Creator.

The verb endoxazomai (ἐνδοξάζομαι) expresses the idea of the name of the Lord Jesus being glorified or greatly honored because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

It is modified by the prepositional phrase en hymin (ἐν ὑμῖν), which is causal indicating that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community is the reason why the Lord Jesus will be glorified or greatly honored.

In other words, the Lord Jesus will be glorified or greatly honored “because of” each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.

The Lord will be greatly honored because of them because they remained faithful to the gospel about Him.

He will be greatly honored because the Thessalonians were considered worthy of the Father effectually calling them because they habitually appropriated by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.

These events in Jesus life manifested the omnipotence of God, and which events delivered sinners from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, the sin nature, personal sins, spiritual and physical death.

This deliverance is appropriated by faith at justification through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.

This power which delivered the Thessalonians from these things at their justification is also appropriated by faith after their justification when they appropriated by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ.

This post-justification faith enabled them to experience this deliverance.

Therefore, because the Thessalonians appropriated by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in order to experience this deliverance He provided them, the Lord Jesus would be greatly honored by the elect angels and the church.

The Lord Jesus Christ will be greatly honored in the presence of the Father when He presents each faithful member of the Thessalonian Christian community to Him in the throne room of God in the third heaven after rewarding them at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church for faithful service to Him.

At that time, the Lord will be greatly honored because the Thessalonians were considered by the Father as worthy of His effectual call of them.

They will be considered worthy because they produced works which were divine in quality and character as a result of appropriating by faith their union and identification with Him in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand.

Consequently, this fulfilled the Father’s gracious purpose for effectually calling them at their justification.

The Lord Jesus Christ will be greatly honored by not only the elect angels but also each member of the church including the Thessalonian Christian community.

He will be greatly honored in a five-fold sense because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community: (1) The elect angels and each member of the church will greatly esteem His personality which distinguishes Him from the heathen gods. (2) They will greatly esteem His divine character, nature and attributes. (3) They will greatly esteem His life, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father on their behalf which provided them their so great salvation enabled them to receive rewards for faithful service. (4) They will greatly esteem His reputation before the angels and mankind as the Creator, Savior and Redeemer of creation and every moral rational creature. (5) They will greatly esteem His authority over them as head of the church and over every human being, angel and all of creation as the Creator of the church and the human and angelic races.