Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace…”
Who has loved us
The love of both the Son and the Father is the motivation behind our consolation and hope. Jesus loved us enough to go to the cross for us (Galatians 2:20). God the Father loved us to the extent that He sent His Son to the cross (John 3:16). God loves us whether we are carnal or spiritual. He loves us when we’re discouraged.
Paul wanted the Thessalonians to know that God loved them. They may not feel loved due to their persecution but it is true nevertheless. It is a matter of belief in God’s Word, not an issue of feeling. We know God loves us because God says it in His Word. We know it, no matter how defeated, how discouraged or how handicapped we might be. Trust in God’s Word in the face of difficulty shows spiritual maturity.
Principle:
We know God loves us because the Bible says so.
Application:
How do we know that God loves us? Because He said it in His Word. Trusting in what God says in His Word is what separates men from boys spiritually. People who operate strictly by their feelings will end up dreadfully bewildered because they will never know for sure if God loves them. They measure everything by their emotions. The only sure way we can know whether God loves us is by faith.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Neither can we can know that God loves us by our intelligence or reason. If we look at the world around us, there is very little evidence that God is a God of love. There is pain, confusion and mystery everywhere. The only way we can know God loves us is that He says it in His Word. God knows what you are bearing right now and He cares (1 Peter 5:7).
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace…“
Paul breaks forth in a benediction in verses 16 and 17. He prays that the Thessalonians would have sustaining grace during their troubles.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ
Paul addresses his prayer to two members of the Trinity.
Himself,
The word “Himself” is emphatic in the Greek. The Lord Jesus Christ [full title] will guarantee by His very own might, as contrasted to our frailty, the effectiveness of our prayer.
and our God and Father,
Paul views both the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father operating as one in sustaining the Thessalonians.
Principle:
The Son and the Father team up to answer prayer.
Application:
Both the Son and the Father answer prayer. The Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father personally guarantee to answer prayer.
No one can know “God” as “Father” unless he is born into God’s family. Otherwise, he is an outsider. God is our Creator by physical birth but not our Father. When we are born the second time by spiritual birth, He then becomes our Father.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).
The universal brotherhood of man is a lie. There are two supernatural fathers. One is God the Father and the other is “your father the devil.”
“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:44-45).
Have you been born into the family of God?
“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (John 3:7).
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle“
whether by word or our epistle
The Word of God is something transmitted to Christians whether by oral or written means. Christians get stability and perseverance in their faith either from the teaching of Scripture or from reading the Scriptures themselves. Whether it is sitting in church receiving oral teaching from your pastor or at home reading the Word, hold onto these practices.
Before the Holy Spirit completed the canon [the list of books that belong in the Bible], God gave certain prophets the ability to know the contents of Scripture before it was written. Before the New Testament was completed, certain prophets communicated the truth of the New Testament orally. People could confirm their authenticity by the miracles they performed. When the Holy Spirit completed the canon, there was no need for any further oral transmission of New Testament revelation.
Many cults and distortions of genuine Christianity have come on the scene today because of not holding on to the unadulterated Word of God. The only trustworthy teaching that we can trust is the Word of God. We cannot trust modern day prophets or anyone who speaks from their own authority.
“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3 ).
Principle:
There is an onus upon the believer to rightly divide the Word of God.
Application:
Christians who are serious about the Word of God uphold apostolic tradition. No Christian is able to stand in his Christian life without constant application of the principles of Scripture to experience. Christians who leave the principles of the Word of God head for instability in their convictions and in their walk with the Lord. They will be weak in their Christian life.
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
Many formerly stable Christians fall for satanic lies. There are more fakers in religion than in business. God’s people are so naive and gullible that they are susceptible to every spiritual disease that spreads across Christendom. Satan quickly sweeps them into error and they are lost to the cause of Christ.
All cultic fakers use the Bible. They quote the Bible but they take it out of context. They do not rightly divide the Word making the distinctions necessary to correctly understand it. We must study the Bible in its context, line upon line, to be faithful to what it says.
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
God holds us accountable for what we hear. He also holds us accountable for what we believe. God expects us to rightly discern the truth after having heard the faithful exposition of His Word.
All of us know more than we convert into our lives. Our lives are always in the process of catching up to what we know. There is a danger in simply learning principles without translating truth into experience. Either error is wrong.
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle“
which you were taught,
Christians will remain spiritual babies if they do not submit to the sound teaching of God’s Word. Spiritual pigmies fill churches today because 1) they do not get solid teaching in the pulpit or 2) they have little interest in what God says to them through His Word.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers [one gift in the Greek], for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” (Ephesians 4:11-12).
“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6-7)
“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach…” (1 Timothy 3:2).
“Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine [teaching]” (1 Timothy 5:17 ).
“But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:23-26).
Principle:
Christians suffer arrested spiritual development because they do not present themselves to solid Bible teaching.
Application:
Many Christians suffer arrested spiritual development. They do not apply the principles of God’s Word to their experience. Whether your problems are spiritual, domestic or financial, you can address them by God’s Word. It may take time. It will take growth in maturity. If you expose yourself to God’s Word, it will change your attitude and actions.
Growth in God’s principles for life cannot be hit and miss. You must daily expose yourself to the line-upon-line, precept-upon-precept study of the unadulterated Word of God.
“…as newborn babes, desire the pure [unadulterated] milk of the word, that you may grow thereby…” (1 Peter 2:2 ).
The Word of God will give us an apparatus for living. However, if we try to grow by a “do-it-yourself-kit,” we will never mature in Christ. We may develop some skills in life but these will not enable us to deal with spiritual battles.
“How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:9-11).
It is not enough to learn facts about the Bible. It is critical to learn the principles of the Word. If we learn principles, we will be able to apply them to our experiences. Principles transcend isolated information. Only the Holy Spirit can impress these principles on our hearts.
Principles come from teaching, not from exhortation. An exhortation is a challenge to do a specific thing. Principles show you how to appropriate God’s way of handling that specific thing.
We get these principles from sitting under a pastor who faithfully exposes God’s Word for what it actually says. This kind of pastor understands overarching principles of life that will govern the spiritual life of the people in his congregation. God wrote three books to pastors [1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (the pastorals)]. The key word in all three of those epistles is “teach,” sometimes translated “doctrine.” It is doctrine that forms solid principles for living.
One of the reasons why there are so many spiritual pigmies in evangelicalism today is that Christians do not know doctrine. If they do not know doctrine, they will lack discernment. The lack of discernment gets many people into spiritual hot water. They fall for much of the cultic teaching in evangelical circles today. They cannot identify error because they do not recognize truth! Everything sounds good to everyone.
We live in a day of syncretism where all truth is one big glob of grease. We cannot distinguish truth from error. “It sounds good to me. What’s wrong with that teaching? It’s spiritual isn’t it?”
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle“
the traditions
The word “traditions” is something handed down or over. The idea is transmission of truth, the institutions of truth, the teaching of the apostles (1 Corinthians 11:2,23; 15:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6). This is not the tradition of men but the content that Paul and his gospel team taught when they were in Thessalonica. The team handed over divine truth to the Thessalonians for their possession and protection.
“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions [instructions] just as I delivered them to you” (1 Corinthians 11:2 ).
Principle:
Christians should be diligent to keep their spiritual moorings.
Application:
Are you getting looser with your theology? Is syncretism taking hold of you? Has the idea of tolerance-at-all-costs seized your soul as an all-encompassing approach to life? If it has, then you are headed for spiritual doom, not eternal doom, but spiritual destruction in your life.
The principle of this verse demands that we stand fast and hold fast to God’s Word, not loosen our grasp of it. If you abandon your Bible-based beliefs, you will head into spiritual distortion or at least spiritual immaturity. Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of Moody Church, years ago used to make this statement about interpretations about the Bible, “If it’s new, it’s not true, and if it’s true, it’s not new.”
“…holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (Titus 1:9).
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13).
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle“
and hold
The word “hold” carries the ideas of to be strong or mighty, to prevail, to hold on to something. Our context indicates that “hold” refers to holding on to the transmission of truth from the apostles.
Principle:
It is not enough to know truth; we must hold on to it.
Application:
When it comes to the teaching of God’s Word, it is not enough to put it into our minds. We must hold on to it. “Don’t let truth go,” Paul says. The idea is that we hold on to the teaching of truth to such an extent that it possesses or apprehends us. We must master the Word if we are going to be strong in the faith.
“But hold fast what you have till I come” (Revelation 2:25).
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).
Few Christians take stands on truth today. The reason is that they probably have little stability in the Word themselves (Ephesians 4:14). Those with greater convictions about God’s Word take greater stands. They can be firm about what they believe.
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle“
Therefore,
The “therefore” draws an inference from Paul’s arguments for stability throughout this chapter (2:2). This is the punch line–”stand fast and hold the traditions.” Both of these terms relate to stability. The doctrines of future things do not cause Christians to become inert in their Christian lives. Far from it. Prophecy always leads to practical incentives for Christian living.
The word “therefore” is very strong in the Greek, drawn from two Greek words. There is both inference and exhortation implied in this word. Although the Thessalonians are not in the Day of the Lord, they are nonetheless living under the possibility of satanic deception. The only thing that gives us stability against supernatural deception is the Word of God.
brethren,
Paul once again uses the term “brethren.” He wants to remind them of their common heritage in Christ because of their tendency to move to instability. If they stick with their commonality in the Word, they will maintain their stability.
stand fast
The idea of “stand fast” is to take a firm stand on something (1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:8), to be steadfast. Here it is to take a firm stand on the Word of God. Without spiritual stability, Christians will sink into the quicksand of the prevailing human philosophy.
Paul argued from verse 2 the importance of spiritual stability. He shows them how not to be “shaken in mind or troubled.”
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1 ).
Principle:
Christians are to take their stand on the Bible so they will not yield to the prevailing philosophies around them.
Application:
Christians today live in a very unstable environment. In Christian circles, people pass off their ideas as God’s thoughts. This is satanic deception. Thousands of true believers have bought into satanic lies. Many pseudo pressures lead them into these ideas. Just because many other Christians fall for this, why should you?
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“…to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ“
for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ
The third basis of Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving is that Christians will share in the eternal glory of Christ. The word “obtaining” is literally a making around. It denotes obtaining our salvation in its completeness by God’s call through the gospel. Since Jesus acquired our salvation, He gets the glory. He acquired our salvation at great cost. This is why He should receive great glory.
The gospel obtains eternal glory for the Christian as well. Christians will obtain that glory through Christ. It is by God’s grace that we get glory. We will share in the glory of Christ’s victory in His Second Coming [not the Rapture].
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:16-18).
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2 ).
Principle:
Believers have a grand and glorious future because God will bathe them in His very own glory.
Application:
The Christian has a glory in time and a glory in eternity. The glory in time is in progressively becoming more like the Lord Jesus.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory [progressive sanctification], just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The glory in eternity never fades. It is eternal (1 Peter 5:10). God will clothe us with the wonder of His character, plan and actions. This glory transcends the glory of time.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
In the eternal glory, God will take away believers’ sin capacity. They will never face temptation again. Our bodies will never submit to cancer or any other illness. No one will ever enter depression again.
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“…to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ“
by our gospel,
God calls the Thessalonians to Himself by the gospel that Paul’s team preached to them over a year ago. The gospel in essence is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). Verse 13 speaks of God’s election and this verse speaks to how God brings His election into reality in time.
Principle:
God calls people to Himself by the gospel.
Application:
Every time people hear the gospel, he hears the voice of God calling them to Himself. Satan tries to blind them to the truth. He says, “Don’t believe that. You are a good person; you go to church.” There is always supernatural opposition to the gospel.
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
God calls people to Himself by the gospel. If people land in hell, it is because they ran every red light God put in their path. God calls us by the gospel. God wants each and every person to have eternal life.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
The word “gospel” means good news. The worse the sinner, the better the news! God will save you whether you are religious or not, whether you are a good person or not, whether you are cultured or not.
Read Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
“…to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ“
to which
The “which” here refers to the word “salvation” of the previous verse.
He called you
Verse 13 says that God “chose” us. This verse says that He “called” us (Romans 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:9, 23,24; Galatians 1:15,16; Philippians 3:13,14; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 2:9; 5:10). God “called” us [past tense].
The gospel flies in the face of the prevailing philosophy of the world. It does not make any sense to those without Christ. They cannot understand why people need salvation.
“…but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks [Gentiles] foolishness…” (1 Corinthians 1:23).
God has a purpose and program for each child of His. He providentially organized His program from eternity. He has not overlooked any detail of your life. He arranged every thing that happens to you and every person you meet.
“…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Principle:
Christians hold the high privilege of representing King Jesus on earth, so they should carry the dignity of being children of God.
Application:
The Christian has a high and heavenly calling. It is a high privilege to represent the King, to be a child of the King. That is why we do not think or act like those who do not know Christ. We hold a high privilege. We carry a dignity by our association with King Jesus.
Some things are beneath the dignity of the child of the King. We choose not to indulge in certain things, not because they are wrong, but because they are simply beneath the dignity of someone who represents the Lord of lords.
