The Second Epistle of Paul to the
THESSALONIANS
Opening Considerations
1
Greeting
1 Paul, Silvanus and Timothy,* to the congregation† of the Thessalonians in God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ.‡
Commendation and encouragement
3 We are obligated to always give thanks to God about you, brothers, and properly so, because your faith is really growing, and the love of each and every one of you towards each other keeps increasing; 4 so that we ourselves boast about you among God's congregations, referring to your steadfastness and faith in the midst of all your persecutions, and the tribulations that you are enduring§ 5 —the above is evidence that God's judgment is right,* to the end that you be considered worthy† of the Kingdom of God, on behalf of which you are actually suffering; 6 since to God it is right to pay back affliction to those who are afflicting you‡ 7 and rest (along with us) to you who are being afflicted,§ at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels in blazing fire,* 8 inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,† 9 who will pay a penalty: everlasting ruin,‡ away from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might, 10 whenever He comes to be glorified by His saints,§ yes to be marveled at by all who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed);* in that Day.†
A model prayer
11 To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of the calling‡ and fulfill§ with power every desire of usefulness and work of faith,* 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ† may be glorified in you,‡ and you in Him,§ according to the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.*
* 1:1 Paul gives recognition to the junior members of the team. † 1:1 The first image that the term ‘church’ evokes in the minds of many is that of a building; what is in view here is a group of people, and a very particular group of people. ‡ 1:2 To the ‘western’ mind the repetition of the full form, “God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ,” may seem unnecessary, if not stylistically poor, but this letter was written by a Hebrew. § 1:4 Paul boasts of their steadfastness and faith. Evidently the believers in Thessalonica were passing through tough times—the adversity caused their faith to grow and their love for each other to increase. This equation appears to be a norm within the Kingdom of God. * 1:5 Presumably God's judgment in choosing them (see 2:13 below). † 1:5 Wait a minute! If salvation is by grace, where does ‘being worthy’ come in? Well, again we are faced with the paradox of the coexistence of God's sovereignty and human responsibility. “God's judgment” = sovereignty; suffering to be “considered worthy” = responsibility. The gift of life in Christ is indeed free; we do not deserve it and cannot buy it or earn it. To live for Christ costs everything, and not a few have backed out. ‡ 1:6 Payday is coming; those who mistreated God's people are not going to like it. § 1:7 There is a rest for the people of God (Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4), but the full realization of that rest comes only when we are glorified. * 1:7 The syntax allows “in blazing fire” to go either with the angels or the vengeance; it seemed more natural to me to put the phrase with the angels—in that event the “revelation” will be an impressive sight. † 1:8 It is clearly implied that they could have known God and could have obeyed the Gospel; if they had no way of knowing and never ever heard, “vengeance” would seem to be too strong. So what about the millions of individuals born into cultures where no representative of the Creator has ever gone? Romans 1:18-25 makes clear that all have the light of creation. Since all human knowledge is based on the principle of cause and effect, any rational creature must conclude that there has to be a sufficient Cause for the marvelous creation he sees all around. Each one is also born with a conscience. No doubt anyone who responds correctly to the light of creation will receive more light. That said, however, one gains the impression that there will be degrees of punishment, according to the amount of light rejected. Perhaps 40% of the Greek manuscripts omit “Christ” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). ‡ 1:9 The lost do not cease to exist; they are eternally separated from the Source of all good; they are condemned to never achieve/realize their potential—everlasting ruin. That said, however, it is presumably the case that those who hate God would react to “the face of the Lord” and “the glory of His might” as being intolerable torture, worse even than hellfire. § 1:10 There is a stark contrast between the saved and the lost: the saved will rejoice and glory in Christ's presence; the lost will be excluded from it, a basic ingredient in the ruin. If we have emotions, it is because God had them first—He will enjoy being glorified and marveled at. * 1:10 Paul includes them in that sanctified throng (and takes a little personal credit). † 1:10 Verses 3-10 form a single sentence in the Greek Text, which is why I followed suit. ‡ 1:11 I suppose that “the calling” here is to have an active part in bringing about God's Kingdom in their context; as they are counted worthy, God will work with them to introduce goodness and works of faith into that context. § 1:11 God does the fulfilling. * 1:11 The declared objective of the prayer in verse 11 is given in verse 12: “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you”; so it would be in God's own interest to aid any desire on our part to be useful and to do works of power with a view to that glory. † 1:12 Perhaps 55% of the Greek manuscripts omit “Christ” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). I follow the best line of transmission. ‡ 1:12 Note that the point of the manifestations of God's power is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; and they do add force and credibility to our Message. § 1:12 When we glorify the Lord there is reciprocation. * 1:12 I take “our God and Lord, Jesus Christ” to be the best rendering of the precise turn of phrase here.