Table of Contents
Introduction
Persecuted or Punished (2 Thessalonians 1)
1)Background
2)Commends Their Spiritual Growth (1:3-4)
3)Kingdoms In Conflict (1:5-10)
4)God's Glory Here and Now (1:11-12)
5)Principle
Everyone will be judged.
6)Judgment
7)Applications
In what ways is God making you worthy of His calling?
What actions or attitudes do you need to change out of concern for Jesus' glory and the honor of his name?
Received or Deceived (2 Thessalonians 2)
1)The Deception (2:1-3a)
2)The Antithesis of Truth (2:3b-12)
Rebellion vs Obedience
The Lawless One vs the Obedient Son
Exalts Himself vs Is Exalted By Nature
Claims to Be God vs Is God
This is Nothing New (2:5-7)
Killed vs Raised to Life
Comes in Satan's Power vs Comes in God's Power
False Signs vs True Signs
Deceiver vs Reveals God's Truth
His Believers Condemned vs Christ's Believers Pardoned
3)The Beloved (2:13-17)
4)Principle
The best way to avoid what is false is to know the truth.
5)Applications
How well do you love the truth? How does that love manifest itself?
Who do you know that is deceived? What are you willing to do to reach them with the truth of the gospel?
Occupied or Preoccupied (2 Thessalonians 3)
1)God's Direction For His Work (3:1-5)
2)Be Occupied (3:6-15)
The Idle (3:6-8)
The Example (3:9-12)
The Directive (3:13-15)
3)Principle
Christians are to make good use of their time as they await Christ's return
4)Applications
What idle tendencies do you have and how can you fight against them?
What good things are you getting tired of doing and what do you need to do to gain new strength?
Conclusion
Introduction
Preseason training to prepare for the regular season.
Fire drills when no fires to prepare for evacuation.
Lifeboat practice before the ship starts to sink (e.g., Costa Concordia)
Persecuted or Punished (2 Thessalonians 1)
1)Background
From Corinth. Perhaps a year after the first letter. In response to a misunderstanding regarding eschatology. Either they misunderstood Paul's first letter, or someone was teaching falsely from Paul's teaching, or someone was claiming to have Paul's teaching an introducing incorrect doctrine.
Paul commends what is good and corrects what is false. He refers often to what he had taught when he was there. He want to point out that he is not contradicting past teaching, but reinforcing the revelation of Christ that he brought earlier.
2)Commends Their Spiritual Growth (1:3-4)
Recall 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10 where Paul encourages them to grow in their love, faith, and practice. The idea that the Christian walk should evidence an increase in godliness and never stagnate.
And Paul is pleased to announce to them what he has been told by first hand account regarding this young church.
They not only are increasing in faith and love, but they are doing so in the face of extreme challenges. Paul again points out the affliction that he knows is happening their and that it is doing nothing to decrease the effectiveness of the gospel. In fact, it is fuel for a deeper faith in these believers.
3)Kingdoms In Conflict (1:5-10)
The Thessalonians suffer persecution thus showing to which kingdom they belong.
1: 5 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—
Think about this:
You never see an unbeliever persecuted by other unbelievers for not believing the gospel.
But you do see believers persecuted by unbelievers for their claim regarding the truth of God's word.
Though part of God's kingdom, they suffer under members of Satan's kingdom.
They are not to retaliate or see vengeance, their King will do that in His time.
When the kingdom of God is consummated, believers will no longer suffer, but unbelievers will suffer the wages of sin.
1:6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
The Thessalonians will enter into God's eternal kingdom and be glorified and Christ (their King) glorified in them.
But their enemies (the enemies of God and His Christ) will be separated from God's presence and suffer eternal destruction.
1:9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
10 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.
This is a stark contrast between two kingdoms. The battle is being waged against the people of God's kingdom during our temporal sojourn. But one day the tables will be turned. The temporal will be no more. Satan's kingdom will end, but God's kingdom will never end.
Members of each kingdom will dwell eternally – either in God's kingdom or separated unto eternal destruction.
Paul's intention is not to give the Thessalonians the mindset to endure hardship with the comfort that their enemies will one day be destroyed. They are not to delight in the enemy's eventual demise. Instead, this reality should serve as a motivation to share the truth with enemies of the cross.
4)God's Glory Here and Now (1:11-12)
We can never live in order to become worthy of God's salvation. But we who are saved should certainly desire to live worthy of the salvation we have already received when we were called.
Believers should have a resolve for good. Desiring to do good for the sake of our Lord. This is a natural outpouring of a life that is lived in faith by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I say natural to mean it is God's nature but not our natural human bent as fallen creatures. But when a fallen creature such as myself, by faith lives according to God's will, then something supernatural must be at work in me – God himself working through me.
And when this happens, God's people should not claim glory, but glory in the fact that Jesus himself is glorified through us.
5)Principle
Everyone will be judged.
6)Judgment
No scales. No weighing good vs evil.
Only the standard of perfection will be used. God demands righteousness but there is none righteous, no not one.
Believers: evaluated on what they did with what they were given and rewarded accordingly.
7)Applications
In what ways is God making you worthy of His calling?
What actions or attitudes do you need to change out of concern for Jesus' glory and the honor of his name?
Received or Deceived (2 Thessalonians 2)
When a counterfeiter wants to copy a $1000 bill, he doesn't try to find another counterfeit to copy. He wants to copy the real thing. Ideally, he would like to have access to real plates. But short of real plates, he will try to discover all the details of the real bill so that the one he creates will seem flawless to the untrained eye (and hand).
1)The Deception (2:1-3a)
2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,
2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
3 Let no one deceive you in any way.
2)The Antithesis of Truth (2:3b-12)
Rebellion vs Obedience
2:3b talks about a rebellion that will precede the Lord's return (or day of the Lord).
Certainly there has been rebellion since the fall of mankind and there will continue to be rebellion until Christ returns.
In 2 Timothy Paul writes:
3: 1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
Whereas believers are called to a life of obedience to their master, this rebellion shows a bent that is counter to the things of God. A desire to please self rather than their Creator.
The Lawless One vs the Obedient Son
This lawless one is counter to everything of God. He is characterized as the exact opposite of Christ himself who came and perfectly fulfilled the Law. In fact their was nothing deficient whatsoever in Jesus Christ.
Exalts Himself vs Is Exalted By Nature
He will exalt himself – make claims about his own greatness. Given what Paul wrote to Timothy (see above) this will appeal greatly to a rebellious people.
And don't we see this type of thing even in our day. People gravitate toward those who portray what man sees as great. We love eloquent speaking no matter what the words are . Image is what drives much of our world. And one who can project an image of self-exaltation will fit well with those seeking someone they can believe in.
But Jesus is by definition the exalted One. He existed eternally as the exalted God.
And in his humanity, he became a servant, obedient to the point of death. Therefore God has highly exalted him (Philippians 2).
Claims to Be God vs Is God
This lawless one will set himself up as a god. But Jesus is God. He needs to make no claims to who he is in reality. (John 1)
This is Nothing New (2:5-7)
None of this was new to the Thessalonian church. Apparently Paul had told them what to expect. He even expect them to understand what the restraint is that is keeping these last things from occurring (even though we don't know).
But in verse 7, he points out something else that is also not new. All throughout history, from the fall of man, the mystery of lawlessness has been at work.
It is the enemies mission to deceive as many as he can. And if he could do that with sinless people, such as Adam and Eve, how much easier it is in a fallen world!
Killed vs Raised to Life
This lawless one will meet his ultimate end when Jesus literally blows him away. Just one word from Jesus will bring this charlatan to his end. In fact no word is necessary. Jesus is the sustainer of life.
Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In contrast to the lawless one, Jesus died but was raised the third day, thus showing the acceptability of his work on the cross as well as his own power over death.
Comes in Satan's Power vs Comes in God's Power
As opposed to Jesus who came in the power of God to accomplish the will of God, the lawless one will come in the power of the god of this world to accomplish his will.
False Signs vs True Signs
Counterfeit signs and wonders will marvel the deceived. But Jesus ministry had none of that. All the works he did were very good and no one could dispute the validity and amazing nature of each one. Jesus miracles served to validate his person and ministry as well as to fulfill Scripture.
The lawless one will unwittingly fulfill what was foretold about him but to his own demise.
Deceiver vs Reveals God's Truth
The lawless one will teach what is false and the masses will flock to his message.
The truth of the gospel goes out. It proclaims the truth of God's provision for man's greatest need. Yet few come to receive it.
His Believers Condemned vs Christ's Believers Pardoned
Those who flock to this deceiver’s “gospel” will find themselves facing eternal condemnation.
But those who receive the true gospel will find its truth realized in the end when the full grasp of their pardon is made clear to them.
3)The Beloved (2:13-17)
In contrast to those who will receive the delusion, believers are secure in their position with God.
God was the initiator of our salvation. In verse 13 Paul tells the Thessalonians that they were chosen by God.
They did not deserve salvation and they certainly could never earn it. In fact, all humanity deserves condemnation. It is only be the grace and mercy of God that anyone is saved from the wrath to come.
And so those chosen by God receive a sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. And enabling to believe. A discernment of sin and recognition of the gospel's provision.
God uses the message of the gospel brought by human vessels, but He is the one who opens the eyes of the spiritually blind and gives them the faith to believe.
That's why our work in sharing the gospel is very simply being true to the word and never should we try and vary the message of the gospel. Because it is not the eloquence of the speaker or the convincing nature in which it is presented.
It is the work of God, through His word, by the power of the Holy Spirit that brings salvation.
Obtaining the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ (vs 14) speaks of our salvation. Jesus was gloried on the cross. He revealed the glory of God by dying for sinners. He made possible the revitalization of that glory through the image of God in man. And ultimately, we will one day perfectly glorify Him in his presence for all eternity.
4)Principle
The best way to avoid what is false is to know the truth.
5)Applications
How well do you love the truth? How does that love manifest itself?
Who do you know that is deceived? What are you willing to do to reach them with the truth of the gospel?
Occupied or Preoccupied (2 Thessalonians 3)
Often, when we think of people praying for others, we think of spiritual leaders praying for those under their leadership. That certainly is the case and we've seen Paul mention that he, Timothy, and Silas pray often for this young church. But those in leadership also need the prayers of those of us whom they shepherd.
You and I should always be about praying for our pastors and priests. We need to lift them up that they remain true to God and His word and that they sense His direction and receive His wisdom.
I know my parents have been praying for me for years. Now, every time I talk with them, they tell me they pray for me every day as they do all their kids. Only recently, shamefully, have I begun to ask them what I can be praying for them.
1)God's Direction For His Work (3:1-5)
Paul desires a harvest of souls. But he also realizes that that will not happen apart from a work of God in the lives of the lost.
He also realizes that God uses the prayers of His people to empower his workers and accomplish his will. It's all about God, but we are privileged to share in the work through prayer.
How seriously do you take your prayer life? Do you prayer regularly for your children to grow in their love and faith in the Lord?
I wonder what our kids would think if we asked them to pray for us in those areas we want to see God's victory. Some of our kids would probably be shocked. But after the shock wears off, they might experience both the vulnerability of their father and the joy of seeing God answer prayer.
Paul asks them to pray that the gospel has the same effect on Paul's hearers as it did on the Thessalonians. And who better to give this A.S.K. than to the recipients of God's grace.
He also asks for prayer that they may be delivered from wicked and evil men. Paul is not asking this so he can avoid suffering, but so the gospel is not impeded.
Remember Acts 18 where they were brought before Gallio because of those who opposed the gospel? Paul does not want anything to sidetrack spread of the gospel through him.
2)Be Occupied (3:6-15)
The next several verses deal with the believer's responsibility while he remains on earth. We were not called to just take up space but instead to be occupied while we await Christ's return.
The Idle (3:6-8)
Paul must have encountered the tendency toward idleness in some of the Thessalonians when he was there. It was something he mentioned in the first letter, but was not only heard by him, but apparently something he had been eyewitness to.
3:6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.
He must have felt compelled to live a certain way when with them since he makes such a point of that in these two books. Not only did they not want to be a burden, but they also wanted to set a good example that could be imitated.
The Example (3:9-12)
Paul is not making a statement (in 9-12) that those whose calling is ministry should also make a living from some other occupation. Sometimes that is necessary. But most times the full-time minister should be making his living from that work.
But they had gone above and beyond in order to set the tone of being occupied. They spent themselves so that they could be a living example to follow.
Those who don't have anything to do will often find themselves meddling in other people's business. The very thing he had warned against in the first letter. And busybodies are very quick to tell you how to do your job without offering to help. They have gained a whole lot of theory, but it primarily exists in the vacuum of their own minds and seldom yields benefit in the practical world.
The Directive (3:13-15)
This command Paul gives seem quite vague: do not grow weary in doing good. And I believe he did that intentionally. He didn't need to give some exhaustive list of what they should be doing. We tend to get a bit rote when that happens.
Instead, he gives a very broad and all-encompassing command. Anything that is good is what you should be doing. And don't get tired of it.
3)Principle
Christians are to make good use of their time as they await Christ's return
4)Applications
What idle tendencies do you have and how can you fight against them?
What good things are you getting tired of doing and what do you need to do to gain new strength?
Conclusion
When the ship is on the reef, there's no time to practice rescue maneuvers. Now is the time to be prepared. First, to make sure you are prepared to stand before a righteous judge. Are you righteous?
Then to stand before that judge and account for what you have done. Are you doing all that you can for him now? Time is running out!
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