“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…“
because
Paul now gives the grounds for the gospel team’s thanksgiving. He uses two words for the growth of the Thessalonians “grows exceedingly” and “abounds.” The essential reason behind Paul’s thanks is growth.
your faith grows exceedingly,
The words “grows exceedingly” comes from two words: to increase or grow and beyond measure. This is the only time this word occurs in the New Testament. Our faith can grow internally, as the organic growth of a tree. It also can grow exceedingly. Not only had their faith grown, but it flourished. Our faith should never level off at some plateau and become stationary. Our faith is never static; it either grows or shrinks in size. It never remains the same.
“…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit…” (Jude 20).
Principle:
The faith of some Christians grows much faster than the faith of others.
Application:
There are two aspects to our faith: 1) saving faith, 2) dynamic or forceful faith. Each Christian has saving faith but not every Christian radiates forceful faith.
The amount of faith differs with each believer. Every Christian has the same quality of saving faith but not the same quantity of dynamic faith. The faith of some Christians is the same as when they became Christians. They have not grown in their faith at all. There are little development and modest progress in their faith.
“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’” (Luke 17:5 ).
The more we understand the principles of God’s Word and apply them to our experience, the greater our faith grows. We should increase our spiritual capacity like we increase our mental capacity. Faith is like a muscle. The more we exercise it the more it develops. If we neglect our faith, it will atrophy and get weaker.
There is such a thing as “great faith.” We can have little faith (Matthew 6:28-30), medium faith, or great faith.
“When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” (Luke 7:9).
There is a great difference between those who believe that God can change their lives and those who do not. Do you believe that God will work to change the members of your family? Do you believe that God will use you to win many for Christ? We need more people like Abraham, who was “strong in faith.”
“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
