2 Thessalonians 1.12c-The Grace Originating from God and the Lord Jesus Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday August 5, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 1:12c-The Grace Originating from God and the Lord Jesus Christ
Lesson # 21
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.
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.
2 Thessalonians 1:12 comes to an end with the prepositional phrase kata tēn charin tou theou hēmōn kai kyriou Iēsou Christou (κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “because of the grace originating from our God as well as the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This prepositional phrase is expressing the idea that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be greatly honored because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community because of the grace originating from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is also expressing the idea that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus because of the grace originating from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, Paul is asserting that the grace originating from the Father and the Son is the reason why the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would be greatly honored because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
Correspondingly, he is also asserting that the grace originating from the Father and the Son is the reason why each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.
Now, let’s break down break down or tease out these two statements.
As we noted earlier, the name of the Lord Jesus would be greatly honored because the Thessalonians performed good works, which were divine in quality and character.
These works would be accomplished with the Father, Son and Spirit’s omnipotence.
They were able to perform good works, which were divine in quality and character because they appropriated the omnipotence of God.
They appropriated the omnipotence of God by appropriating by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
This would result in the Thessalonians being considered worthy by the Father with reference to His effectual, which took place at their justification.
This would also fulfill the Father’s gracious purpose for effectually calling them at their justification.
Consequently, they would be considered by the Father as worthy of His kingdom.
Specifically, they would be considered worthy by the Father to reign in a position of authority in Son Jesus Christ’s millennial government.
This union and identification with Jesus Christ is based upon the grace of God and the Lord Jesus because they received this union and identification as a gift through the baptism of the Spirit at justification when they trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Their rewards at the Bema Seat and the Father greatly honoring them by giving them positions of authority in His Son Jesus Christ’s millennial government is also based upon the grace of God because they would receive these things because they appropriated by faith this union and identification, which as we noted, they received in the first place as a gift at justification.
They would be rewarded and greatly honored by the Father giving them positions in His Son’s millennial government because the omnipotence of God which they appropriated by faith enabled to them merit rewards in the first place.
In other words, the Thessalonians appropriated the grace of God by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior at their justification.
They also appropriated the grace of God by exercising faith in the gospel after their justification when they appropriated their union and identification with Jesus Christ which was given to them as a gift at their justification through the baptism of the Spirit.
Therefore, this is why Paul asserts with the second statement that the grace originating from the Father and the Son is the reason why each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.
They would be greatly honored because they appropriated by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ which we noted was received as gift by them at justification.
Appropriating by faith this union and identification enabled them to receive rewards at the Bema Seat and consequently, the Father greatly honoring them by giving them positions of authority in His Son’s millennial government.
The noun charis (χάρις), “the grace” refers to God the Father’s grace policy.
Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross.
It is God treating the sinner in a manner that they don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God.
Grace means that God saved us and blessed us despite ourselves and not according to anything that we do but rather saved us and blessed us because of the merits of Christ and His work on the Cross.
It excludes any human merit in salvation and blessing (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and gives the Creator all the credit and the creature none.
By means of faith, we accept the grace of God, which is a non-meritorious system of perception, which is in total accord with the grace of God.
Grace and faith are totally compatible with each other and inseparable (1 Tim. 1:14) and complement one another (Rom. 4:16; Eph. 2:8).
Grace, faith, and salvation are all the gift of God and totally exclude all human works and ability (Eph. 2:8-9).
Now, notice that this prepositional phrase kata tēn charin tou theou hēmōn kai kyriou Iēsou Christou (κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “because of the grace originating from our God as well as the Lord Jesus Christ” which brings to an end 2 Thessalonians 1:12 is teaching that grace not only originates from the Father but also from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The latter’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father on behalf of all mankind manifested the grace of the Father.
These events in the life of the Lord Jesus enabled the Father to offer unmerited blessings to sinners based upon the merits of His Son’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand.