2 Thessalonians 2.13a-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Regularly Gave Thanks to the Father for the Thessalonians
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 16, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 2:13a-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Regularly Gave Thanks to the Father for the Thessalonians
Lesson # 39
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But now, each one of us are obligated to always make it our habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each and every one of you brothers and sisters, who are divinely loved by the one and only Lord. For this God for His own glory chose each one of you as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth. (My translation)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul addresses each member of the Thessalonian Christian community as “brothers and sisters.”
He also describes them as “divinely loved by the one and only Lord.”
In this verse, he informs them that he, Silvanus and Timothy are obligated to always make it their habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each one of them.
He then gives them the reason that this is the case by asserting that God for His own glory chose each one of them as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth.
The contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:13 stands in contrast to the previous epexegetical statement recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:12, which describes the unregenerate, unrepentant individuals who will worship the Antichrist as God in the flesh during the seventieth week of Daniel.
They are described in this verse as not having believed the truth about Jesus Christ as communicated in the gospel but rather have delighted in that which is characterized by a distinguishable unrighteousness.
The latter is referring to the various types of miracles and wonders the Antichrist will perform which will deceive unregenerate humanity into believing that he is God in the flesh.
Therefore, the contrast is between the people who will worship Antichrist as God in the flesh and are thus not saved and the Thessalonians who are saved because they believed in the truth about Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection which is communicated in the gospel.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 also marks a transition in Second Thessalonians since this verse marks a transition from the statements recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and the statements recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14.
The former addresses the Thessalonians’ relationship to the eschatological day of the Lord.
Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is marking a transition from Paul giving the Thessalonians assurance that they will not be experiencing the wrath of the Lamb during the eschatological day of the Lord to the apostle giving them assurance of their eternal salvation.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 is not the first time that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy inform the Thessalonian Christian community that they regularly gave thanks to the Father for each one of them during their corporate prayer meetings since they also inform them of this in 2 Thessalonians 1:3.
In fact, the former echoes the latter with respect to the fact that they thanked God for them all the time.
The reasons given in each of these verses as to why they gave thanks for them regularly are different.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 Each of us is under obligation to always make it our habit of always giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each one of you brothers and sisters because it is appropriate for your faith is growing to an extraordinary degree. Correspondingly, the divine-love of each and every one of you is increasing to a considerable degree for one another. (My translation)
Now, like 1 Thessalonians 1:4 and 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Paul informs the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 that he, Silvanus and Timothy were under obligation to always make it their habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each and every one of them.
In this statement, he uses the term adelphos, “brothers and sisters” which he employs many times in First and Second Thessalonians to describe the Thessalonian Christian community (1 Thess. 1:4; 2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:2, 7; 4:1, 6, 10, 13; 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25, 26, 27).
Here in Second Thessalonians, he has used the word twice already to describe them (cf. 2 Thess. 1:3; 2:1).
He goes on to use it six more times in this epistle including here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 (cf. 2:15; 3:1, 6, 13, 15).
Now, in all these verses, the noun adelphos, “brothers and sisters” indicates that the Thessalonians were Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s spiritual brothers and sisters.
It describes them as Christians or in other words, it describes them as having been declared justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and thus regenerated by the Spirit.
It denotes that Paul, Silvanus, Timothy and the Thessalonian Christian community are related to each other and the Lord Jesus Christ through regeneration.
Therefore, this term emphasizes the equality of those sinners declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior (cf. Gal. 3:26-28; Col. 3:11).
This term appears 15 times in First Thessalonians (2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13, 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25) and seven times in Second Thessalonians (1:3; 2:1, 13, 15; 3:1, 6, 13).
This word functions as a vocative of simple address expressing the fact that this verse is a solemn statement regarding the Thessalonians, which expresses Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Spirit inspired conviction and deep love and concern for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
However, unlike 2 Thessalonians 1:3, but like 1 Thessalonians 1:4, Paul describes the Thessalonian Christian community here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 as those ēgapēmenoi hypo kyriou (ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ κυρίου), “who are divinely loved by the Lord.”
This participial expression indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ is the personal agency who loved the Thessalonians.
He manifested His love for them by voluntarily suffering a substitutionary spiritual and physical death on the cross for each and every one of them in order to redeem them out of the slave market sin, as well to reconcile them to God and propitiate the Father’s holiness (cf. Rom. 5:6-8; 1 John 3:11; 4:7-5-2).
The verb agapaō speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ manifesting His attribute of love on behalf of the Thessalonian Christian community.
He demonstrated His love when He voluntarily suffered a substitutionary spiritual and physical death on the cross for each one of them in order to redeem and reconcile them to God and propitiate the Father’s holiness.
It is ascribing to the Thessalonians the attribute of being loved by the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is serving to describe the Thessalonian Christian community as being divinely-loved by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, He manifested this love when He voluntarily suffered a substitutionary spiritual and physical death on the cross in order to redeem them out of the slave market of sin, reconcile them to God and propitiate the Father’s holiness, which demands that sin and sinners be judged.
Now, as was the case in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul solemnly asserts that he, Silvanus and Timothy were under obligation to always make it their habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each and every member of Thessalonian Christian community.
The personal pronoun egō, “each one of us” not only refers to Paul, Silvanus and Timothy as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense, emphasizing no exceptions.
The distributive sense is expressing the love and concern each of these men had for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
It is also expressing their conviction that the Father chose the Thessalonians as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth.
Corresponding to this the genitive second person plural form of the personal pronoun su, “each and every one of you” not only refers to the Thessalonian Christian community as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
Like the distributive sense of the first person plural form of the personal pronoun egō, the distributive sense of this personal pronoun su is expressing Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s love and concern for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
It is also expressing their conviction that the Father chose the Thessalonians as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3 and 2:13, the verb eucharisteō is expressing the idea that these three men expressed their gratitude to the Father in prayer for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
However, the reasons for this are different.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3, the reason given is that the Thessalonian’s post-justification faith in the gospel was growing to an extraordinary degree and their divine love for each other was increasing to a considerable degree.
However, here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the reason they give for thanking the Father for them is that Father chose them as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth.
So therefore, like 1 Thessalonians 1:2 and 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 also mentions one of the characteristics of a productive prayer life, namely thanksgiving (Matt 15:36; 26:27; Mark 8:6; 14:23; Luke 22:17-19; John 6:11; 23; 11:41; Acts 27:35; 28:15; Rom. 1:8; 7:25; 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:24; Eph. 5:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; Phlp. 1:3-4; 4:6; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2:13).