2 Thessalonians 1:1-2
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, believe it or not, I’m not preaching a Christmas sermon today. I think I got it all out of my system. I drank eggnog and listened to Malikileekeemaka until I got sick. I’m done with Christmas for another year.
So, once again, I was left with the question of what to preach next. And for those who have been with us for a number of years, you generally know how I make that decision. I have a plan. I started preaching 19 years ago this month, in the gospel of Matthew. Then we looked at Mark, Luke, and John’s gospels, considering only the stories in their gospels that were unique to their gospels. Then we started in Acts. And the plan from there was to preach in Acts until we came to a point where an epistle, or letter, was written to one of the churches, or to an individual. So, we stopped early in Acts to study the epistle of James. Then we went back to Acts. Then, after a few chapters, we went to Galatians, because at that point in the story of the church, Paul wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia. And most recently, we left the story of Acts to study the 1st epistle to the church in Thessalonica.
And because Paul described the church in Thessalonica as a church to be emulated, I preached through the 1st letter to Thessalonica under the title; The church as it is supposed to be. Remember that? A people of encouragement, clarity, self-sacrifice, joy, purity, work, unity, growth. It was a book that really gave us great insight into what church is supposed to be and do.
So, now, after we’ve completed 1st Thessalonians, where do we go next? Well, the obvious choice is 2nd Thessalonians. It’s obvious because it’s next on the list. But it is also obvious because it appears that Paul wrote 2nd Thessalonians very close on the heels of 1st Thessalonians.
We’ll get more into that back story as we go along. But before we jump into the book, I wanted to talk to you about it’s theme. I’m titling the theme of this book; 3 Debilitating Conditions in the Church.
In the church at Thessalonica there were three Conditions that if found in any church can drain that church of its power and effectiveness. You can look at any church in the past, or in our present world, and if they are losing their umph, it is for one, or more of these three reasons.
To put it another way, churches that are dead or dying, get that way for one of these three reasons.
Let’s make it a little more personal. If it feels like your Christian walk, your relationship with God, your Spiritual vigor is dried up; it is for one of these three reasons.
So, just as the first letter to the church in Thessalonica showed us what the ideal church is supposed to be, the second letter warns about conditions that can shrivel up the life of even the best of churches.
Are you ready to hear what those three conditions are?
Discouragement, Deception, and Disobedience
There’s your outline for the second letter to the church in Thessalonica.
We’re going to look extensively over the next weeks, at all three. And how relevant is this to what we are going through today in our church, our lives, our country? How many of you feel like somebody punctured your spiritual tires? How many of you feel like you have a hitch in your get along? Well, this epistle is for you. It offers comfort for the discouraged, clarification for the deceived, and correction for the disobedient.
Let us pray.
Before we get into the meat of these verses, I am going to describe the situation of the church of Thessalonica, and look at Paul’s greeting.
I. The church in Thessalonica
Very shortly let’s remember the story of the church at Thessalonica. Paul went to Thessalonica on his 2nd missionary journey. As usual, upon arriving in this the capital of Greece, he went to the Jewish tabernacle to tell the gospel message to the Jews, and the God fearers among the Gentiles.
When he did this, over the course of 3 weeks, many Jews and Gentiles believed. But an opposition party also formed. And this group, formed a mob, and took some of the Christian converts, one named Jason in particular, before the city officials, and managed to have Paul, Silas, and Timothy evicted from the city.
Paul, Silas and Timothy went on to another town; Berea. But the opposition party followed them to Berea and caused trouble for them in that town. So, the believers in Berea encouraged Paul to move on. But Silas and Timothy stayed behind. Later Silas went back to Philippi to check on that church and Timothy went back to Thessalonica to check on them.
Paul went on to Athens, and then Corinth. Then, while Paul was in Corinth, Silas and Timothy rejoined him and brought good reports from both Philippi and Thessalonica. That was when Paul wrote his first letter back to Thessalonica.
Now, that brings us to the second letter. When was it written? There are different opinions about that, but Paul was in Corinth for 18 months, so there was plenty of time for him to send 2 letters back to Thessalonica. So, after he sent the 1st letter, it is possible that the person who carried the letter came back with word about how the church continued to do.
And so, Paul writes the second letter addressing 3 issues; discouragement, deception, and disobedience.
So, that’s our summary of the background of this letter.
So, let’s summarize shortly Paul’s greeting in chapter 1, verses 1 and 2.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This letter is coming from Paul and his missionary companions. Silvanus, or Silas, was most like Paul between Silas and Timothy. He was probably about Paul’s age, he was Jewish and a Roman citizen, like Paul. He was a faithful help, even being jailed together with Paul in Philippi. Timothy was the young man among the three. Paul met him when he went to Derbe and Lystra. His mother was Jewish, and his father was Greek. After Paul had him circumcised, Timothy joined them on the mission. Paul calls him his “son in the faith.”
So, that’s our introductory stuff. Now we are going to look at the 3 debilitating conditions of the church; and the first of them is discouragement.
I. Discouragement
Where do I get the notion that the believers at Thessalonica are discouraged or have reason to be discouraged?
Paul describes their condition in chapter 1.
4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and [a]tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest[b] evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
Then in chapter 2,
2: 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled,
3: 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men;
13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
The picture painted by our understanding of the circumstances in Thessalonica is one of persecution, which can lead to discouragement. Their church started with persecution. Paul was only there for 3 weeks when he was forced to leave town. There was the threat of mob violence. Some of the believers were dragged in front of the city magistrates and accused of violating Roman law by promoting Jesus as king instead of Ceasar. And remember that some of the believers, Jason and others, had to front some money, like a bail bond, to secure their own freedom. And even after Paul, Silas and Timothy left, their enemies followed them to the next town, Berea, and drove them out of there.
Can you imagine being a Christian in that town? Can you imagine what the mood of our church would be if the pastors had to leave town, and several members had been arrested and only released after posting a bond? I have to wonder if we would survive as a church. And I know that those would be some very disheartening circumstances.
What else might they have endured? Some may have lost their income sources because they became connected to the Christian movement. Some may have had family who disowned them. Others may still have been under threat of imprisonment if they continued to tell others about their faith.
It would be tempting to just give up and shut up.
And that kind of discouragement is the 1st condition that can syphon the power right out of a church. And it’s not just Christian persecution that can brings despair. Illness, pain, death, failure, economic hardship, fractured relationships, all contribute. We can get to a place where it feels as though nothing will bring us out of that pit.
I read about a man in that kind of deep funk.
In 1835 a man visited a doctor in Florence, Italy. He was filled with anxiety and exhausted from lack of sleep. He couldn't eat, and he avoided his friends. The doctor examined him and found that he was in prime physical condition. Concluding that his patient needed to have a good time, the physician told him about a circus in town and its star performer, a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night he had the people rolling in the aisles. "You must go and see him," the doctor advised. "Grimaldi is the world's funniest clown. He'll make you laugh and cure your sadness." "No," replied the despairing man, "he can't help me. you see, I am Grimaldi!"
Source Unknown.
So, back to Paul’s description of their condition in chapter 1. The church of Thessalonica was described as enduring persecutions and [a]tribulations and suffering for the kingdom of God.
They are described as “troubled” in verse 7, “shaken in mind” in chapter 2 verse 2. In chapter three it states that unreasonable and wicked men are trying to harm them. And because of all this we have the first debilitating condition in the church. Chapter 3, verse 13, Paul has to say to some of them; “don’t grow weary in doing good.”
It seems that some may have begun to grow weary of doing good. They were tempted to say, “What’s the use, all I’ve gotten in return for it is suffering.” That thought reminds me of Job in the Old Testament, whose children were all killed, his wealth lost in a day, and he contracted a painful disease. And do you remember what his wife said to him in his pitiable state?
Job 2:9 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? [a]Curse God and die!”
She was saying, “Aren’t you weary of doing good? What has it gotten you? I know you are angry with God, because I am. Just say it and let Him finish you off, and put you out of your misery.
Our lives can feel like that.
Now, I could spend an entire sermon describing conditions that cause despair. But I don’t need to. You know what they are. But the beauty of Paul’s letter is not that he analyzes the despair of the Thessalonians under a microscope and helps them to tap into all the deep-seated angst. No, the beauty of the letter is that he offers comfort. And that’s what we are going to begin looking at today.
And what Paul does is to draw their attention away from all the negative things happening, and to point out what they are gaining during those negatives. That really is how we come out of despair isn’t it? We have to look at things from a different perspective. We have to look at things from a Christian perspective, not the world’s perspective.
Frankly, I don’t know how people in this world keep putting one foot in front of the other each day.
There is a relationship which makes life complete. Without that relationship, there is a void, a vacuum in life. Many people, even those who are well-known, can attest to that void.
For example, H.G. Wells, famous historian and philosopher, said at age 61: "I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether." The poet Byron said, "My days are in yellow leaf, the flowers and fruits of life are gone, the worm and the canker, and the grief are mine alone." The literary genius Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation."
Ralph Barton, one of the top cartoonists of the nations, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: "I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day."
Morning Glory, May 29, 1993.
But, as a believer, your perspective can be different. You have three things to keep your eyes on, that can alleviate the grief of despair; Past growth, Future glory, and Present grace.
A. Past Growth
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and [a]tribulations that you endure,
Paul is reminding them of all that God has done in them up to that point. He still acknowledges that they are enduring persecutions and tribulations, but the are growing spiritually in the midst of it. And it’s not just a little growth. “Your faith grows exceedingly.”
1. Your faith grows exceedingly.
It is increasing exceedingly.
The expression, "to grow abundantly," contains the Greek word hyperauxanei, a word used to describe the rapid growth of babies and plants.
2. The love of everyone of you abounds toward each other.
Your love is growing. Not just growing, it is abounding. And it’s not just abounding toward a select few of your choicest friends in the church, everyone’s love is abounding toward each other. No one is excluded. No one falls by the wayside. Nobody quit coming to church without everyone asking, “Where’s Joe?” He hasn’t been here. We need to find out. We can’t let him fall through the cracks.”
3. We boast about your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations.
“patience” is defined as persevering during trying times; it is the “what” behind what you do during trials. You keep going. You don’t give up.
“faith” is defined as “trust in God.” It is the “why” behind why you keep going.
You see, many people in this world endure persecution and tribulation. Some of them give up. Many keep going. And they keep going for a myriad of reasons; pride, fear of the alternative, desire for revenge. But the unique attribute of the believer is that they keep going because of faith; trust in God.
And the Thessalonians kept going, and they continued to trust God, so much so that Paul. Silas and Timothy, boasted about them to other churches.
So, during troubling times, consider what God has brought you through in the past.
B. Future Glory
Now he switches his focus from what God did in them in the past, to what they can expect in the future.
5 which is manifest[b] evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with [c]tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
You know, I don’t know about you, but the return of the Lord has become more real to me today than at any previous point in my life. I don’t know if any of you ever ran across this. When I was a young man I found a parody Christian newspaper. Parody is not the best word. Somebody made a newspaper, as though it were being published during the Tribulation. It talked about all the things that are prophesied about that time as though they were happening right now.
At the time I read that pretend newspaper, it all seemed so unreal and fantastic. But today it doesn’t. Today we hear things in the news that make us immediately think of the return of Christ and the end times.
Now, Paul could have jumped into all of the frightening coming events of the end, but remember, he is encouraging a people who are tempted to give up on being good. “Don’t grow weary in being good.” So, first he tells them to remember their past growth. Now he jumps to their “future glory.”
He is shifting their focus from their present circumstances to their future glory in the Kingdom of God. Paul directs their minds to the end game. When the Kingdom of God comes in it’s fulness two things happen that are an encouragement to persecuted believers; the righteous are abundantly rewarded, and evil is punished.
It’s the same kind of desire you would have if you were unjustly beaten and thrown in prison. You look for the day when the truth comes out, you are released and vindicated, and those who cruelly and unjustly did this to you are unveiled and themselves punished.
1. The righteous are abundantly rewarded.
that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God,
7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe,
Let’s look at a few phrases from this passage.
Counted worthy, given rest, Christ glorified in us
These are three encouraging words about the future glory of the righteous. They will be counted worthy. There’s coming a day when your “doing good” will be noticed.
That is probably one of the things that can be disheartening for believers. One of the things that tempt them to be weary in well-doing. Nobody noticed. They are like the widow who dropped her 2 mites into the temple offering. It was all she had, and she gave it for God’s service. And it would be easy for her to become discouraged later, because later her stomach is empty. Those 2 mites could have gotten her a little food. So, what did it accomplish for her to give them to the temple work? What she gave was a miniscule amount of money. It couldn’t really help the work of the temple much. And now, she is hungry. She walked into the temple with her 2 mites a destitute widow. She gave away her 2 mites, and now she leaves the temple 2 mites poorer and still a destitute widow. Did God even know that she gave it? But we know that the Lord Jesus did notice.
And Paul says that someone is keeping count. Someone is watching how you live. And one day you will be counted worthy.
And you will be given rest.
Isn’t that exactly what the Christians in Thessalonica would desire? Rest. When suffering comes, rest goes. Your body is restless because of pain. Your mind is restless in searching for solutions and waiting for what evil comes next. And your spirit is restless trying to navigate your understanding of God who is allowing your suffering.
But when the Kingdom comes in it’s fulness, you mind will be renewed, your body healed, and your spirit made whole. You will be able to rest in the Lord.
You may say, “Preacher, what good is future rest?” I’d like some rest for my body, mind and spirit now.” I think God gives us that sometimes as a present grace. Times of refreshing. Times when we let go of the anxiety and place our trust in God. That’s a good thing to pray for people who are going through a very difficult time. Pray that God will give them some rest. A break away from the distress.
Matthew 11: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Mark 6:31 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Counted worthy, given rest, Christ glorified in us
Christ glorified in us
10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe,
When I first read this, I read it like this; let me paraphrase. When Jesus comes, the saints will finally get the praise they are due for their work and suffering for Christ. The picture I painted in my head was of Jesus returning and walking around among the raptured and resurrected saints and saying to each, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
And I do believe that will happen, and that will be glorious, and it is a comforting thought while we endure suffering.
But I don’t think that is what Paul is describing here. He says, “when He comes…to be glorified in His saints and admired among all who believe.” The key to the interpretation to me is the word for “in” (in the saints) and the word for “among” (among all those who believe.)
Actually, the words for “in” and “among” are the same word in Greek. So, a better translation would be
“ when He comes, … to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all those who [d]believe,”
Or you could translate it
“ when He comes, … to be glorified among His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe,”
I like that one better. Why? Because I don’t think Paul is encouraging the Thessalonian Christians in their suffering by saying, “Jesus will praise you one day. He sees.”
Instead, I think Paul is saying that when Jesus returns, we are going to be so overwhelmed by His glory, that all our suffering will be washed to the back of our minds, and our minds and mouths will just be filled with His praises. At that moment, we will know, we will be known, we will understand the answers and the reasons for all suffering. It will be clear, and so all that will remain on our lips is praise for our Lord.
“ when He comes, … to be glorified among His saints and to be admired among all those who [d]believe,”
And there is something very comforting about that thought. So, the future glory is a comfort because the righteous will be rewarded. But
2. Evil is punished.
Look at the verses again.
5 which is manifest[b] evidence of the righteous judgment of God,
6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with [c]tribulation those who trouble you,
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Paul was saying that there will come a day when the people who were persecuting the Thessalonian Christians will be punished with an everlasting destruction.
Is this supposed to be comforting to us? Yes and no.
Christians walk a fine line here. On the one hand, we, with God, desire that everyone would come to repentance. We know that vengeance belongs to God. We know that we are to be ready to forgive, to have Jesus Spirit in us saying, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they do.” We are to have Stephen’s spirit that said about those who stoned him, “Lord don’t lay this sin to their charge.”
But, on the other hand, we agree with the 24 elders of the book of Revelation who say,
“We give
You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
Because You have taken Your
great power and reigned.
18 The nations were angry, and Your [h]wrath
has come,
And the time of the dead,
that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your
servants the prophets and the saints,
And should destroy those who
destroy the earth.”
How do we join those two feelings in our minds? I think it is done like this. We pray for and desire repentance and forgiveness for the individual wicked. But we desire and look for God’s judgment on the generic wicked.
It is never our place to harbor vengeful feelings toward an individual. Now, that’s different than agreeing with justice being done. An individual, in their heart may forgive a killer who took their family member, and that is good, but that does not absolve the person of their guilt and their just punishment.
But, in my heart, for example, I long for the day when unrepentant evil will be finally punished, and our righteous Lord will be exalted. Let me repeat, I would glory in the knowledge that a whole prison of evil people came to faith in Christ. But I also am in agreement with the Word, that unrepentant evil people will get their just punishment at Jesus’ return. It’s a fine line.
Past growth, future glory,
C. Present Grace
11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul reassures them during their suffering that the grace of God is at work, presently in their lives. When you are in pain, that pain can be relieved by remembering the past, it can also be relieved by meditating on the future. But most of us, when we are in pain, want something now. Look at what Paul says to comfort them.
1. We are praying for you.
Well, that’s nice Paul. How many times have we heard those words spoken to us, or we’ve spoken them to others and if felt empty? “We’re praying for you.”
Those words have become empty in many contexts for a number of reasons. First, they are often spoken, but not often fulfilled. I say I will pray, but I don’t. The second reason they have become empty is because our prayers are often empty of content. “We’re praying for you.” Well, what are you praying for? Lots of times we are told about things happening in people’s lives, and it’s a mess. It’s like a pastor I once heard talking about marriage counseling. He said it was like trying to unscramble an egg. Think about it a second. Remember Jesus talking to the woman at the well? In the conversation we learn that she has been married 5 times and is now living with a 6th man who is not her husband. Now, the Samaritan woman at the well gets saved, right? I wish we knew the rest of the story. Let’s put it this way, if you were her Christian counselor, what would you say she should do to be obedient to the Word of God? Which man should she be with? Or should she be with none? How would you pray for her?
That’s what often happens in our prayer lives. We figure out what we want, or what we think is best, and that’s what we pray for. But I want you to notice something about Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonian Christians; there are no specifics here. He doesn’t pray that the persecution stop. He doesn’t pray that anyone be released from prison. He doesn’t pray that they find a job or that their money problems disappear. Look at what he prays.
That God will fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power.
That the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you.
According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at those, because they describe Paul praying for God’s present grace in the lives of the believers in Thessalonica.
1. That God will fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power.
That God will “fill up”
NASB: To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will consider you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power,
So, what is Paul praying for? That any desire they have that is genuinely good, that God would fulfill that and that any work they did that came out of genuine faith with be bolstered with God’s power.
Look what else he prayed.
2. That the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you.
Well, how was that going to happen? By their freedom from jail? By their getting a job? Or by their dying for Christ or continuing to patiently endure persecution? We don’t know. And Paul doesn’t presume to know. It’s like he is praying, “Lord, I don’t know what you want, I just pray that whatever You choose to do, You will be glorified.”
3. According to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he prays it all “according to grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” In other words, he is praying for God’s undeserved favor to go to the Thessalonians.
And we can be assured that
this prayer was answered affirmatively. God reached out to the Thessalonian Christians with grace. He crafted their circumstances to work out for their greater good, and His glory.