2 Thessalonians chapter 1

Paul greets the believers in Thessaloniki. He says their suffering has value for everyone. He describes the triumphal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 


 

GREETINGS

 

VERSE 1. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. For his second missionary journey, Paul the apostle recruited Silvanus and Timothy to be his coworkers. Read more »

 

VERSE 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

VERSE 3. We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of each and every one of you towards one another abounds,

always give thanks to God for you. Paul and his missionary companions felt they must always be thanking God for the believers in Thessaloniki.

your faith grows exceedingly. Their faith was growing wonderfully! For many people, their faith is not necessarily growing. Rather, it is sort of static. It stays the same. How about you? Is your faith growing?

love … abounds. The love they had for each other never stopped growing.

 

VERSE 4. so that we ourselves boast about you in the assemblies of God for your perseverance and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which you endure.

we ourselves boast about you. Paul and his missionary companions took special pride in the believers in Thessaloniki. They were exceptional.

It is a very special thing when the discipler can boast about his or her disciples!

in the assemblies of God. That is, “in the churches.”

 

THEIR SUFFERING HAS VALUE FOR EVERYONE

 

VERSE 5. This is an obvious sign of the righteous judgment of God, to the end that you may be counted worthy of God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer.

that you may be counted worthy. Paul sees value in their hardships. They are being purified.

However, many of us Christians are NOT able to see value in our own suffering. Most of us imagine suffering is a punishment.

God’s Kingdom, for which you also suffer. Their sufferings have a beneficial effect for the overall kingdom of God. The benefits are not just for themselves, but rather for the entire church.

 

VERSE 6. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay affliction to those who afflict you,

repay … those who afflict you. Those who have been abusing them will not get away with it. Their days are coming to an end. In the fullness of time, they will reap what they have sown.

 

THE TRIUMPHAL RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

 

VERSE 7. and to give relief to you who are afflicted with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire,

when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven. This is speaking of the triumphal return of Jesus Christ in glory at the end of time.

with his mighty angels. At his triumphal return in glory, the LORD Jesus Christ will be accompanied by ALL the angels. How many is that? Read more »

in flaming fire. When Jesus returns in glory, he will appear in flaming fire. We are not aware of this being mentioned in any other Scripture passage.

 

VERSE 8. punishing those who don’t know God, and to those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus,

to those who don’t know God. Jesus Christ will impose a penalty on all who do not know God.

What will that penalty be? We speculate that it will be that they will continue to not know God.

After all,  eternal life is knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ. Do you know them? Do you have a love-relationship with them? Read more »

those who don’t obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. These are people who refuse to accept the Good News of our Lord Jesus.

 

VERSE 9. who will pay the penalty: eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

eternal destruction from the face of the Lord. They will be eternally lost. But what does that mean?

from the glory of his might. They will be excluded from the presence of the Lord. To be lost is to be separated from Jesus Christ.

These people will not know Jesus Christ, and (perhaps) never will. To not know Jesus Christ is a sad thing.

 

VERSE 10. when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

when he comes … to be glorified in his saints. The triggering event for all these things is Christ’s triumphal return in glory at the end of time.

our testimony to you was believed. Paul had led these people to faith in Jesus Christ.

 

VERSE 11. To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire of goodness and work of faith with power,

we also pray always for you. We at Explore the Faith pray these things for you as well!

 

VERSE 12. that the name of our Lord Jesus† may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 


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2 THESSALONIANS

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03

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