A GROWING CHURCH (2 Thessalonians 1:1-5)
INTRODUCTION:
As we begin our study of 2nd Thessalonians this morning, we will see the Thessalonian church highly commended by Paul as he gives thanks to God for them. These opening verses give several reasons for Paul thankfulness and boasting about them. Paul again mentions his companions who were with him when the church in Thessalonica was founded, but Paul is the inspired author of both of the letters to the Thessalonian church. You will remember that Silvanus or Silas and Timothy had aided Paul in the founding of this church, and Timothy had returned after they had been forced to leave, to encourage the church and to report back to Paul how the church was doing since their departure. Timothy had brought back a good report along with some questions with which the church was struggling, which prompted Paul’s first letter to them. Silas and Timothy were with Paul in Corinth when he penned the first letter to the church. This second letter was written a few months later and seems to have been prompted by a further report about the situation in Thessalonica. The source of this report is unknown, but the contents of the report can be deduced from the issues Paul writes about in this letter. First, the persecution of the church had intensified, and Paul encouraged them to endure. Second, even though Paul had written concerning the Rapture and the Day of the Lord in his first letter, they were still confused concerning both. False teachers had prompted this confusion when they produced a forged letter that they claimed was from Paul that agreed with their claim that the Day of the Lord had already arrived. Paul responds to these claims. Third, because of these false claims some in the church had stopped working, believing that Jesus would return very soon, and they were becoming a burden to the rest of the congregation who were supporting them. In response, Paul rebukes them for their laziness and instructs them to work and provide for their own needs. Paul opens this letter with praise and thanksgiving for the report on the strong spiritual character of the church. A church that Paul could be proud of as they continued to grow in faith, love, and hope. Let’s pray and then get into our passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to 2nd Thessalonians 1:1-5, our passage for this morning. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
2nd Thessalonians 1:1-5,
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” (2 Thessalonians 1:1–5, NASB95)[1]
SALUTATION (2nd Thessalonians 1:1-2)
Paul opens this second letter announcing that it is from himself and Silas or in Greek, Silvanus, and Timothy. Paul then addresses the letter to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine the joy the believers would have had in hearing from Paul again and in Paul identifying them as “the church” in Thessalonica. They were the people who had been called out by God, they were God’s outpost in Thessalonica. Paul does not just call them the church, but the church that is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This little word “in” emphasizes the believers’ eternal life that is found in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s address identifies that this church belongs to God and is filled with those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. The only difference in this greeting from that in his first letter is the addition of the pronoun “our.” By writing God our Father Paul emphasizes the God is the Father of all believers, of all who have put their faith in His only Son, and His death and resurrection on our behalf. By speaking of them being in God our Father was a reminder of the Father’s care and concern for the church undergoing intense persecution.
When Paul speaks of our being in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, he is speaking of that personal, spiritual, and eternal union with God. Scripture clearly teaches that those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus “become partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Peter 1:4b, NASB95)[2] in which we share eternal life with God through faith and identification with His Son. Paul put it this way in Galatians 2:20, ““I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NASB95)[3] Out of that union flows grace and peace. The two wonderful words which sum up the gospel. Remember that grace is God’s unmerited favor to sinners, giving us what we do not deserve, and peace is the result of that unmerited favor. No wonder these two words appear in the greetings of all of Paul’s epistles. The source of grace and peace is the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. After Paul’s opening salutation he launches into thanksgiving for this church, thanksgiving that is prompted by God’s answers to Paul and his companions’ prayers for this church.
THANKSGIVING (2nd Thessalonians 1:3)
Paul, Silas, and Timothy give thanks to God for the Thessalonian believers. Paul writes, “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;” (2 Thessalonians 1:3, NASB95)[4] The Greek word translated “ought” refers to a deep obligation, debt, or responsibility. Paul and his companions had prayed for some specific things for the Thessalonian believers, because God had answered these prayers Paul was bound to give thanks for what God was doing in the lives of the Thessalonian believers. Paul understood that God alone deserved all of his gratitude, because it was God’s grace alone that made the Thessalonians what they were in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul had prayed in 1st Thessalonians 3:10-13, “…as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith? Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10–13, NASB95)[5] Paul had prayed that their faith would increase, that their love would grow and that they would be made ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
As Paul begins to give thanks to God it is for these prayers that God has answered. Not in the way Paul envisioned it, he had prayed that they might have a part in completing what was lacking in their faith, that the Lord would open a way for them to come and minister to them again. But God did answer his prayer, and Paul is most thankful to God because the faith of the Thessalonians was greatly enlarged. This phrase “greatly enlarged” could also be translated as “increased beyond measure” or “grown beyond what could be expected.” Paul’s heart must having been bursting with joy in knowing that God was doing what he had prayed in the lives of these believers as they grew more and more in their faith.
Their faith had grown even in the face of intensifying persecution, but it also grew because of the persecution. Persecution purifies the church; it destroys false faith. Jesus when He explained the parable of the soils to His disciples made this clear. Jesus said in Matthew 13:20-21, “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matthew 13:20–21, NASB95)[6] True or genuine faith, however, is indestructible, because the Lord Jesus will not allow it to be destroyed. In warning Peter, Jesus said in Luke 22:31, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;” (Luke 22:31, NASB95)[7] Peter’s faith was to be severely shaken before the night was over, but it would not be destroyed because Jesus went on to say in the next verse in Luke 22:32, “…but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32, NASB95)[8] Persecution strengthens a person’s faith because it compels them to depend upon God. This greater dependence on the Lord increases our knowledge of Him, which in turn increases our ability to trust Him. James declared in the beginning of his epistle in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, NASB95)[9] Peter encouraged the suffering believers in 1st Peter 5:10, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10, NASB95)[10] Paul thanked God for the Thessalonians’ increasing faith, that even in suffering their faith had grown and had shown that it was genuine.
Paul was not only thankful to God for their growing faith, but he was also thankful for the love of each one of them toward one another that was growing ever greater. Paul had commended them in his first letter for their love for one another, but had also prayed that their love would increase, and he was thankful to God that this prayer also had been answered and their love towards one another was growing ever greater. Despite the persecution that they were suffering their love for one another continued to increase as they cared for and served one another. The love that Paul spoke of was that true selfless and sacrificial service that marks true believers. Jesus had spoken of this love when he said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35, NASB95)[11] The Thessalonians had taken this commandment and practiced it and sought to love one another as the Lord Jesus Christ had loved them and gave Himself up for them by suffering God’s wrath against sin of the cross and paying the full penalty for their sin by dying for them. Increasing faith in God and love for one another are essential elements of the redeemed, and to Paul’s immense joy these were both increasing in the church in Thessalonica and Paul thanked God and gave all the praise and glory to Him.
BOASTING (2nd Thessalonians 1:4)
Paul informed the church that he was so thankful to God for them that he was speaking proudly of them among the churches of God. This phrase “speaking proudly” is literally “boasting.” Not only was he boasting because of their greatly enlarged faith and their ever-increasing love, but also because of their perseverance and faith in the midst of all the persecutions and afflictions. The word translated “perseverance” refers to a patient, courageous enduring of trouble. The Greek word means “remaining under” or sustaining hope under difficulty. It is not a grim waiting but a joyful hoping. The word faith here carries the idea of faithfulness. Persecution is hostility from enemies of the gospel and afflictions is the suffering resulting from persecution or the general afflictions that are the result of the fall. Paul was proud of these believers because they had a proper perspective on suffering and so suffered with hope. Paul wants us to understand this in his opening verses to help us get a proper perspective on suffering. We have already looked at the parable of the soils that Jesus told in Matthew 13. Jesus explained that the seed that fell on the rocky soil and the seed that falls among the thorns do not produce fruit and He gave two reasons: trials (which can refer to tribulation and persecution) and temptations (which can refer to the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches). These trials and temptations can draw us away from the gospel. The gospel may sound good, but the trials and temptations cause many to walk away, proving they did not have genuine faith. This was not the Thessalonians, they were like the seed that fell in the good soil, and they were producing fruit in abundance, and Paul commended them for their perseverance and faithfulness.
A PROPER PERSPECTIVE (2nd Thessalonians 1:5)
Because of the persecution and afflictions that the Thessalonians were enduring, Paul focuses in verse five on the area of suffering, an area where Christians are often tempted to give up. If we are to persevere and not turn away from Jesus when we suffer then we must have a right perspective on suffering and trials. If we are honest with ourselves, we often see suffering as a negative situation or even as a judgment from God for our failure or sin. When we see suffering in that light, we are not looking at it with a biblical perspective. Paul is going to help us get the right or biblical perspective on suffering. He writes in verse 5, “This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5, NASB95)[12] This phrase “plain indication” could also be translated “evidence.” This is how the ESV translates it, “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—” (2 Thessalonians 1:5, ESV)[13]
We must understand some of the words that Paul uses here. What is the “judgment” he is speaking about, and what “evidence” should this be for us? Some biblical scholars believe that this refers to a future judgment, but if we read it carefully it reads more like a present judgment of God. Paul writes, “This is evidence…” in the present tense. First, before going any further we must understand what this term “judgment” means. When you hear the word judgment what does that bring to mind? For most I would guess that we think of something negative. Judgment is not something that we desire in our life because we view it as a negative thing. Let’s move beyond that perspective to a proper understanding of judgment. Consider for a moment what a judge actually does. He passes judgment. What is the result of that judgment? Sometimes it is a guilty verdict, and the person being judged is sent to jail or punished. That is certainly negative, but is judgment always negative? Not at all. Sometimes the judge will pass a verdict of not guilty. That judgment is positive, righteous, and releasing. The judgment of God is similar because His judgment has both aspects to it. God’s judgment is always righteous and just and it can be freeing and releasing, but it also can be condemning and painful and ultimately full of wrath. Next week we will look at God’s judgment on those who do not know God and have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul has expressed his thankfulness to God for the Thessalonians growing faith in God, for their increasing love for one another and their steadfast hope in the face of persecution and afflictions. He then explains that their steadfast faithfulness in the midst of persecution and afflictions is “evidence of the righteous judgment of God.” In other words, their current suffering is evidence that God has judged rightly, and they are indeed His people, His children.
This is the exact opposite of what we think when we are suffering. More often our immediate reaction to suffering and trials is that God is angry with us, that God is paying us back for something. When we go through trials or hardships in life, we are immediately inclined to think that God is angry. I know this is true in my life, but this is the wrong perspective. Paul wants us to think differently. If we continue to trust God through our trials and afflictions, then that perseverance of faith in those trials is evidence that God’s judgment has been passed upon us and we are a part of His kingdom.
I believe that Paul is teaching us a present experience of judgment in the life of the believer. This present experience of judgment in the life of a believer will be consummated when Christ returns for the church, but it seems to me that Paul is describing a judgment that is intruding into history. We must describe the final judgment as having an “already” and a “not yet” aspect to it, in the same way that God’s kingdom has an “already” and a “not yet” aspect to it. God’s judgment began at the cross, but that judgment continues throughout history, and will be complete at His second coming. The point the Paul is making here is the significance of a present judgment.
If Paul is saying that we have been judged by God and declared righteous, and our suffering is evidence of being worthy of God’s kingdom, then that view should completely and drastically change our perspective of suffering. In the midst of trials, we should have a different perspective. Instead of giving up, we continue to trust the Lord in those trials, and the result will be that we will grow in faith, our love for one another will increase and we will remain steadfast in hope. But for this to happen, we must believe that God is for us.
This was modeled for us by the Thessalonian believers, they were steadfast and faithful in suffering. People were attacking them for the gospel, the world they knew before Christ was coming apart. But in the face of those trials, they continued to trust Jesus. That steadfast perseverance was evidence of the righteous judgment of God on those Christians. God called them; God granted them grace. Their faith was growing, their love was increasing, and they were remaining steadfast and faithful in the midst of suffering. That was the evidence that they were worthy of God’s kingdom. The same is true for us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ. Judgment has been passed, and we have been declared righteous. This judgment, although it will be fully realized for us when Christ returns for the church, is bound up in history. Whatever we face in the days, weeks, months, or years ahead, we can face with the confidence that God knows what He is doing. In the midst of the suffering, God is demonstrating that we are worthy of His kingdom.
If you believe this, your perspective on sufferings and trials will change. Instead of viewing them as signs of God’s anger, we can look at them as evidence of God’s grace, demonstrating that we are worthy of the kingdom. Look at the verse again. “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—” (2 Thessalonians 1:5, ESV)[14] The key to this verse is what “this” refers to. As I understand it, “this” refers to our being steadfast and faithful in the face of persecution and trial and suffering. Our faithfulness, our steadfastness makes us worthy of the kingdom because we have been judged righteous and this proves that righteous judgment. To read this as a future judgment does not make good sense of the passage.
CONCLUSION:
As I close this morning, I want you to understand that God has designed suffering to work for us and not against us. He has designed it to change us, to consume our dross and refine our gold. He will supply His all-sufficient grace through the fiery trials of life, and those trials are actually evidence that God is for us and not against us. This is very important for our Christian life. If we view suffering as a part of being in the kingdom of God, if we see our afflictions as a part of a just process, then we will see trials as part of the work of God in our lives. Our trials are a judgment, but that judgment is not negative. God is not angry with us. His judgment is good, and He has justified us, declaring us righteous and forgiven, demonstrating that we are worthy of His kingdom.
If we view suffering in this way, then we view suffering through the lens of the gospel because God poured out His wrath against sin upon Jesus Christ on the cross. All our sins were nailed to the cross. Not part of them—all of them. All of God’s wrath against sin was poured out upon Christ on the cross. Not part of it—all of it. So whatever suffering we experience now, what circumstances or trials we may be going through, whatever affliction is weighing on us, those things are not God’s wrath against sin.
The only way Paul could make a statement like the one he does in verse 5 is because Jesus died on the cross for our condemnation. When we suffer for our faith by faith, trusting God, then we can be confident that God is on our side, that He loves us, and that He knows what He is doing beyond our ability to see. It is all because of the Gospel. The gospel should drastically transform our views of suffering.
The Thessalonian believers got it. Their perspective on suffering was corrected by the cross. They were pressing on and picking up their cross to follow Jesus. In those actions, they were being counted worthy of the kingdom; they were proving the genuineness of their faith. What about you?
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation. (Emphasis mine)
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[14]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.