One day more on Paul’s prayer in 2 Thess. 2:16-17: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” The last point of this benediction is that God and Jesus would establish our hearts in every good work and word. This morning, let’s remind ourselves of the close relationship between our hearts and our work and word. Jesus hinted at this close relationship between our hearts and our work and word when He said, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery...” (Mark 7:21). He shows us that our heart is the source of our thoughts and words and actions. Also, Paul commands Christians to do “the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6) and become “obedient from the heart” (Rom. 6:17). This assumes that true obedience comes from the heart, which loves God and submits itself to God’s sovereign authority.
Read MoreThe prayer we are reflecting on is, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thess. 2:16-17). Yesterday, we talked about how God comforts us with eternal comfort. Today, let’s talk about God’s gift of good hope. This expression, “good hope,” is somewhat new to us. We are more familiar with “a living hope” (1 Pet. 1:3), “our blessed hope” (Tit. 2:13), “a better hope” (Heb. 7:9), etc. The adjective, “good,” has such a wide range of meanings that it is hard to pin down what Paul meant by it. But it is also very likely that he wants us to apply its meaning in all of its richness to this particular use.
Read MoreThe prayer we are reflecting on is, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thess. 2:16-17). Yesterday, we revisited the familiar titles of Jesus and God and viewed their redemptive significance. Today, we want to reflect on the actual benediction Paul pronounces on them: he prays that our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father would comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Read MoreThe prayer we will be reflecting on today is, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (2 Thess. 2:16-17). This is a prayer of benediction. Benedictions are not directly addressed to God. But they still look to God to bring to fruition all their good words. In this benediction, Paul mentions “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father.” We are familiar with these titles—maybe too familiar. John Gill reminds us of their significance in this way: “...it is ‘our Lord Jesus Christ himself’ who is prayed unto; who is our Lord, not by creation only, in which sense he is Lord of all, but by redemption.... [‘and God our Father’,] not by creation, but by adoption, and as it is in his power, he has a heart to give, and will give good things unto his children....”
Read MoreThe prayer we are considering is, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so 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” (2 Thess. 1:11-12). Today, let’s focus on the petition, “...may [God] fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power....”
Read MorePaul prays that God would make the Thessalonians worthy of His calling (v. 11). This is a consistent theme in the New Testament: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called...” (Eph. 4:1); “...walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10). The logic behind these words is familiar enough to us; it governs much of the way we approach our roles and responsibilities and what we expect of others regarding their roles and responsibilities. When we accept a position of authority and influence, we are mindful of the expectations we must meet in terms of our job performance and ethical/professional standard, which are demanded of the position. That a scandal involving a pastor, teacher, lawmaker, or any kind of public figure, triggers a social outrage shows that there are certain expectations we place on people: everyone, who holds a position (whether it is formal, like a lawmaker, or informal, like a parent), is expected to conduct himself/herself in a manner worthy of that role.
Read MoreThe pray we will consider now is, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so 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” (2 Thess. 1:11-12). What prompted Paul to offer up this prayer? What was “this end,” to which he prayed this prayer for the Thessalonians? He just finished talking about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, “when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed” (1:10). This reminds us that the focus of our Christian life is not this present age but the age to come. This doesn’t mean that we don’t care about this present age or this world. It is hard to ignore it when we are living in it. Rather, it means that the manner of our life in this present age and our interaction with this world is determined by the inevitability of the age to come.
Read More“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing” (1:3). This is one of Paul’s prayers we are considering. Yesterday, we observed two things about this prayer: 1) Paul gave thanks for people; 2) Paul gave thanks for their growing faith. Today, we will observe one more important point: Paul gave thanks for their increasing love for one another.
Read MoreWe are moving on to 2 Thessalonians and we begin with a short prayer: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing” (1:3). I hope you see a pattern developing: what it is for which Paul gives thanks. In this prayer, he gives thanks to God for the Thessalonians’ faith and love. Let us make three short observations about his prayer of thanksgiving.
Read MoreToday, we will finish our reflection on Paul’s prayer in 1 Thess. 5:23-24: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” Paul prays that God would sanctify us completely. Then he prays that our whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until Christ’s return. This raises an interesting question, doesn’t it? Is Paul saying that we are made up of three parts—spirit and soul and body? I’m sure many of you are familiar with the idea that we are made up of two parts—soul and body. That’s what Jesus suggested when He said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). There is actually a theological debate on this, though a minor one. Those who believe that man is made up of three parts—spirit, soul, and body—are called trichotomists. Those who believe that man is made up of just two parts—soul (or, spirit) and body—are called dichotomists. Which one are you? Do you believe in dichotomy or trichotomy?
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