Above image from www.wednesdayintheword.com/ephesians-resources/
Key word in this chapter is FAITH: verses 2, 5, 6 and 10.
Ronald Ward: The chain of events which puts this chapter in focus was as follows:
- Paul left Silas and
Timothy at
- On arriving in
- They did so at once,
and Timothy was sent back
to Thessalonica (1
Thessalonians 3:1-12).
- Silas was sent to
another part of
- Paul left
- Both Silas and Timothy joined Paul
at
- This epistle was written shortly after the
reunion of the three in
- Acts
- We sent Timothy:
- Paul had the
highest confidence in Timothy, his young protégé, who was like a son to
him:
- Philippians
2:19-24: If the
Lord Jesus is willing, I
hope to send Timothy to you soon for
a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting
along. I have no one
else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the
others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus
Christ. But you know how Timothy
has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in
preaching the Good News. I
hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to
happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself
will come to see you soon.
- Strengthen ...
encourage:
- Paul sent Timothy
to strengthen (sterizo) and encourage (parakaleo) them, to bolster their faith in the
face of persecution. "Sterizo" was used of
stabilizing an existing structure and came to be used of strengthening
and stabilizing the believers.
- A Christian
never stands still - he
is either growing in the Lord or he will be losing ground. There is a
growth from reading/studying
God's Words and also a growth that comes from facing problems and
overcoming them with the Word of God.
- After winning
someone to Christ, we must not just abandon them. We should now be
helping them to grow in their relationship with Christ. Much of Paul's
ministry was given to strengthening and encouraging believers:
- Acts
- Acts 15:32: Then Judas and Silas,
both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and
strengthening their faith.
- Acts 15:41: Then he traveled
throughout
- Acts 18:23: After spending some time
in
- Co-worker (Greek sunergos):
- 1 Corinthians
3:8-9: The one who
plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose.
And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.
And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
- Shaken:
- Without a good
understanding of the truth concerning the place of suffering in the life
of the believer, we are in great danger of being shaken in our faith.
That is the danger of "prosperity gospel" preachers who teach
that it is God’s will for you to be prosperous (materially) and that
wealth is a sign of God's grace and favor - as long as you send them
money.
- Troubles is the same Greek word as
"afflictions" or "tribulations".
- Destined for such
troubles:
- Tribulation and
persecution are a normal part of the Christian life. Christians in
- John Hendershot - Pains in Persecution: "Christians in
- Fay Voshel in
the American Thinker: "President Obama summed up the Christian-hating left’s views
of people of faith when
in 2008, he categorized working-class voters in the following way:
"[I]t's not surprising, then, that they get bitter, they cling to guns or
religion or antipathy
to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade
sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” For Obama, as well as
for nearly all the left, people of faith are the inhibitors of
“progress,” and they deserve being caricatured as Bible-thumpers, and
therefore ignorant, uneducated, backward hicks and rednecks. As Chris Matthews recently suggested, Christians, particularly
conservative evangelical Christians, have
no place in American politics. “If you’re a politician and
believe in God first, that’s all good. Just don’t run for
government office, run for church office,” he tweeted."
- Franklin Graham: "I believe we're going to
see persecution in this country. We've already seen many laws that have been passed
that restrict our freedom as Christians. I believe it's going to get worse,
and we see no question gaining influence in
- Ironside:
"Christians should expect to suffer afflictions in this world.
Yet when trouble and sorrow come, how often Christians wonder if they
have made a mistake. They wonder whether God has actually forgiven their
sins. They wonder if they are really born again. But hear the word of the
apostle: “Verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we
should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know”
(3:4). Our Lord Jesus said to His disciples before He went away, “These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”
(John
- Pliny the Elder:
"It was in
Thessalonica that the first Gentiles were killed in the
- Christians are
destined to suffer tribulation for their faith. Apparently, the Thessalonian believers were
surprised by the unrelenting persecution:
- Matthew
5:10-12: God blesses
those who are persecuted for doing right, for the
- Mark
- John 15:20: Do you remember what I told
you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me,
naturally they will persecute you. And
if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.
- Romans 5:3-5: We can rejoice, too, when we run
into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop
endurance. And endurance
develops strength of character, and character strengthens
our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has
given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
- Romans 8:17-18: And since we are his
children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs
of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his
suffering. Yet what
we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us
later.
- 1
Thessalonians 1:6: So
you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this
way, you imitated both us and the Lord.
- 2 Timothy 3:12: Yes, and everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
- 1 Peter
4:12-13: Dear
friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery
trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening
to you. Instead, be very glad - for these
trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you
will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to
all the world.
- James 1:2-4: Dear brothers and
sisters, when
troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great
joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance
has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully
developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
- Troubles:
- In Jesus' parable
of the seed and soils in Matthew 13, He described the way that some fall away when
tribulation or persecution arises because
of the Word. Jesus said when troubles arises, not if troubles comes. The Christian's faith will be
tested. Paul knew this and warned the Thessalonians.
- Matthew
13:20-21: The seed on the rocky
soil represents those
who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots,
they don’t last long. They fall
away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s
word.
- Notice they
don't have deep roots. This was what Paul feared about the Thessalonian
believers since he'd been with them such a short time and had not been able to teach
them in depth. This is why Bible study is so important - to send
down deep roots into the Word.
- Bear it no
longer:
- Paul feared that
the new faith of the Thessalonian believers might crumble one opposition
began, so he sent Timothy to both check on them and to help them grow and
mature in Christ.
- Some will make a
Christian profession without genuine repentance and implicit faith in
Christ and not be truly saved. We have seen many go through our Bible
studies and we known that some proclaimed their faith in Christ, but as
time went on, their life styles and actions showed otherwise! We should
follow Paul's advice to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves to see if
your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that
Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine
faith.
- The tempter:
- Though the Jews
were the immediate actors in those transactions, yet the apostle regarded
them as being under the direction of Satan, and as accomplishing his purposes.
He was, therefore, the real author of the persecutions which had been
excited.
- Satan tempted
(tested) Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) and tempts Christians (1 Corinthians 7:5)
and tested Job. If Satan had succeeded in tempting the Thessalonians to
abandon their newfound faith, Paul's missionary work would have been
fruitless.
Above image from www.middletownbiblechurch.org- Matthew 4:3: During that time the devil
came and said to him, “If you
are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
- Luke 22:31-32:“Simon,
Simon, Satan has asked
to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you,
Simon, that your faith
should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again,
strengthen your brothers.”
- Acts
- 2 Corinthians
2:11: so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil
schemes.
- Ephesians
4:26-27: And “don’t
sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you
are still angry, for anger
gives a foothold to the devil.
- Ephesians 6:11: Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be
able to stand firm
against all strategies of the devil.
- 2 Timothy 2:26: Then they will come to their
senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held
captive by him to do whatever he wants.
- Hebrews 2:14: Because God’s children are
human beings - made of flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and
blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break
the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
- Just returned:
- Paul must have
written this letter to the Thessalonian believers just as soon as he
heard Timothy's report. He must have been greatly relieved.
- FAITH and love:
- Faith is not based
on simply blindly hoping for something without any assurance of finding
help. That is called "existentialism" termed a "leap into
the dark." It is not a "leap into the dark!" Biblical
faith is based on God's word and His absolute promises to us. God has
told us what to do.
- Now, what is it
that pleases God? What one quality of life is essential to please God?
Faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. A life of
expectation that the God who lives in you will manifest his life through
you is the kind of life that pleases God. It isn't a life of your
efforts, struggling to live up to a standard that you've imposed upon
yourself, or someone else has imposed upon you. It is a life in which you
are constantly dependent upon the one who indwells you, to keep you able
to do and to be what you ought to be.
- Calvin on faith
and love: "In
these two words he states concisely the
sum total of godliness. All who aim at this double mark are beyond
the danger of error for the whole of their life."
- Galatians 2:16: Yet we know that a person is made right with
God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have
believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in
Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be
made right with God by obeying the law.”
- Galatians 5:6: For when we place our faith in
Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being
uncircumcised. What is important is faith
expressing itself in love.
- 1 Corinthians
16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith.
Be courageous. Be strong.
- Colossians 1:4: For we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people,
- 2 Thessalonians
1:3: Dear
brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
- 1 Timothy 1:5: The purpose of my
instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a
clear conscience, and genuine faith.
- Philemon 1:5: because I keep hearing about your
faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people.
- Hebrews 11:6: And it is impossible to
please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must
believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
- Encouraged
- Encouragement has a
two-fold emphasis: to comfort or reassure and to challenge or admonish. Discouragement tears down;
Encouragement builds up. The question is "Are you an
encourager or a discourager?" Encouragers
build up with their words. Discouragers criticize and tear down. An
Encourager sets a godly example that brings
others to Christ or helps others grow in their faith. Discouragers
direct people away from Christ by the way they live (negative,
unfruitful, unholy, selfish, critical, uncommitted lives).
- Dean Haun, president Tennessee Baptist Convention:
"Examine the words “encourage” and “discourage” and you will
discover that both have Greek prefixes that precede the word “courage”.
“En” means “to put into” and “dis” means “to take out of.” If you are “encouraged” it
means that something or someone has put courage into you. If you are
“discouraged” it means something or someone has taken courage out of you.
Literally, discouragement is a loss of strength! Everyone is vulnerable
to it. Some are overwhelmed by it."
- Spurgeon: "Never is the servant of God so full of
delight as when he sees that the Holy Spirit is visiting his hearers,
making them to know the Lord, and confirming them in that heavenly
knowledge. On the other hand, if God does not bless the word of his
servants it is like death to them. To
be preaching and to have no blessing makes them heavy of heart: the
chariot-wheels are taken off, and they drag heavily along: they seem to
have no power nor liberty."
- Acts 20:1-2: When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers
and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for
- Romans 15:4-6: Such things were written
in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope
and encouragement as we
wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience
and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other,
as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join
together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Colossians 4:8: I have sent him to you
for this very purpose - to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.
- 1 Thessalonians
5:11: So encourage each other and build each other up,
just as you are already doing.
- Hebrews 3:13 NIV: But encourage one another
daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be
hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
- Hebrews 10:24-25: Let us think of ways to
motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not
neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another,
especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
- Albert Barnes:
"This is equivalent to saying, ‘My life and comfort depend on your
stability in the faith, and your correct Christian walk.'"
- Standing firm (Greek steko):
- Steko means "to stand
firm...persevere...to hold one's ground" (Thayer's Greek-English
Lexicon).
- The word
translated “standing firm” (steko) described a Roman
military formation in which the soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder and
back to back with their shields up and their spears outward. It was the strongest possible
defensive position. The word was also used of a soldier who defended his
position at all costs, even to the point of sacrificing his own life. To stand firm means to hold
your ground regardless of the danger or the opposition. Figuratively,
it means to hold fast to a belief, a conviction, or a principle without compromise,
regardless of personal cost. (from "The Bottom Line (Philippians
- Paul is saying
that firmness and stability in Christ is what life is all about. Paul
refers to this truth in Philippians
1:21: For to me,
living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. Paul saw his life in Christ
as an investment in serving Him by ministering to others. His life was
centered on Christ, even through persecution and affliction. This is what
is meant when he says we really live, knowing that "you are
standing firm in the Lord."
- Romans 5:2: Because of our faith,
Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and
we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
- Galatians 5:1 (KJV): Stand fast therefore in the
liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free , and be not entangled again
with the yoke of bondage.
- Ephesians
6:11-14: Put on all of
God’s armor so
that you will be able to
stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the
unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil
spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s
armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you
will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt
of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.
- 1 Corinthians
16:13: Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith.
Be courageous. Be strong.
- Philippians
1:27: Only conduct
yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I
come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel; Don’t be intimidated in any
way by your enemies. This
will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you
are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not
only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering
for him. We are in
this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and
you know that I am still in the midst of it.
- Philippians 4:1
(NIV): Therefore, my
beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord , my beloved.
- 2 Thessalonians
2:15: With all these
things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the
teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
- We thank God for
you:
- Ironside: "Every real soul-winner
knows something of the meaning of those words. When we have the privilege of
bringing sinners to Christ, it cheers the heart, but what a joy it is to
learn afterward that they are maintaining a bright, consistent testimony!
Likewise Paul’s soul was refreshed and exuberant when he received the
good news about the Thessalonian believers. Paul opened his heart to the
Thessalonians. Preaching the gospel was not merely a profession. He did
not go to a town, hold a series of meetings, and forget his converts when
he moved on to another town. He
carried his converts in his heart and
always hoped to return to give them additional instruction in the faith
and lead them farther along in the ways of Christ. He remembered them in
prayer “night and day” (1
Thessalonians
- Enter God's
presence:
- Gary
Ballard (Seek God
Ministries) The Presence of God: "Salvation through Jesus
Christ gives us the right to enter into God’s presence. Confession
and repentance of our sins prepares us to enter into His presence.
Thanksgiving unto God takes us in the gate and by praise we enter into
His court. But it
is love that unites us with Him. (1 John
- Ephesians 3:12: Because of Christ and
our faith in him, we can
now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.
- Hebrews 4:16: So let us come boldly to the
throne of our gracious God. There
we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need
it most.
- Hebrews
10:19-22: And so,
dear brothers and sisters, we
can boldly enter heaven's
- James 4:8: Come close to God, and
God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners;
purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the
world.
- Night and day we
pray:
- This verse gives
us insight into Paul's life as a
man of prayer. Night and day, he prayed on behalf of the
Thessalonians that he might be able to see them. This was not for his own
selfish interest but rather that he might perfect that which was lacking
in their faith.
- You are where
you are today because somebody prayed for you. Somebody prayed and you came to
Christ. Somebody prayed and you were healed. Somebody prayed and you
didn’t give up. Somebody prayed and you made the right decision. Somebody
prayed and you experienced God’s power. No
one knows how much sin and sorrow we’ve been saved from because somebody
prayed for us.
- S. D. Gordon: "The greatest thing anyone can do
for God and man is to pray. It is not the only thing, but it is the chief thing. The
great people of the earth today are the people
who pray - not those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they
believe in prayer; nor those who can explain about prayer; but those who take time to pray."
- Earnestly:
- Do you have anyone
in your life that you are praying for "earnestly?" Is it any
wonder that Paul's ministry was effective?
- Gaps:
- Since Paul had to
leave hurriedly (Acts
- Kretzmann: "The Thessalonians were
still in need of
instruction of exhortation, of intercession; for no Christians attain
to complete perfection in this life. The fundamental outlines of the
truth were in their possession, but it was necessary to fill out
these outlines, to supply the details, to
make them perfectly fitted to every good word and work."
- Bruce: "There were important
areas in which they required further instruction. What some of those
areas were may be gathered from the subject matter of 4:1-5:22. Since it
was not likely that in the near future there would be an opportunity to
give the Thessalonians the necessary instruction face to face, it was
given in the next part of the letter."
- See you again:
- This prayer was answered about five years
later: Acts 20:1-2: When
the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them.
Then he said good-bye and left
for
(11) May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.
- Bring:
- Bengel: "It is a remarkable proof
of the unity of the Father and Son, that in the Greek here, and in 2
Thessalonians 2:16-17, the
verb is singular, implying that the
subject, the Father and Son, are but one in essential Being, not in
mere unity of will."
- Love ... and for
all people:
- We and they are to
love not only other believers, but even those who are persecuting us as
well. This is part of our witness to show the love of Christ to the
world.
- Matthew 5:46-48: If you love only those who
love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do
that much. If you are
kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are
to be perfect,
even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
- John 13:35: Your love for one another
will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
- 1 Thessalonians
4:9-10: But we don’t
need to write to you about the importance
of loving each other, for God
himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love
for all the believers
throughout
- 1 John 4:20: If someone says, “I love
God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love
people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?
- Grow ... overflow:
- One of the major
topics of 1 Thessalonians is to abound,
grow, excel in love and walk.
- 2 Peter 1:5-11: In view of all this, make every effort to respond
to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and
moral excellence with knowledge,
and knowledge with self-control,
and self-control with patient
endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness
with brotherly affection,
and brotherly affection with love
for everyone. The
more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in
your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in
this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been
cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you
really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things,
and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- Strong:
- Nothing reveals
our true condition like difficulty, setbacks, opposition, defeat,
illness, sorrow, grief and hardship. Most of us can be strong while life
is good, but when trouble
comes, all the inner flaws are likely to be revealed. Nowhere will
your heart be on clearer display than in the trials of life.
- Blameless:
- "Blameless"
does not mean "sinless" and is not about being
perfect. That is impossible. It
means that no one can accuse the person of living in known sin and that
his life is not offensive to others.
- Paul’s praying
that “they achieve
everything that God wants them to achieve.” I hope and pray that is
true of you and me too.
- Some teach that
Jesus just died for our sins past-tense, and the rest is up to us. No, Jesus died for ALL of your
sins, even the ones you will commit in the future.
- Holy:
- Holiness is
about living our lives for God. It is about living in obedience of
what He commands us to. It becomes part of every aspect of our life."
Holiness and blameless” go together. If we commit and dedicate
ourselves to serve God, we become “blameless” as we focus our lives upon
serving God and this all of our sins are taken away.
- We are going to
stand in the presence of Christ, at the
Bema Seat, and our
lives will be evaluated. This is when our ministry will be tested by
God, and revealed for what it really was. Our holiness in Christ is not
in question, but the outworking of that holiness is in question. This
is Paul's concern for the Thessalonians. He wants the Thessalonians to
live out their holiness so that they may be established "blameless"
at the Bema Seat, in the presence of Christ.
- Colossians 1:22: Yet now he has reconciled you
to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result,
he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as
you stand before him without a single fault.
- 1 Thessalonians
5:23: Now may the
God of peace make you
holy in every way, and may your
whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ
comes again.
- Comes again (Greek parousia):
- Parousia - means "presence" or
"arrival" of persons or things. It designated the royal visit of an
emperor, king, a governor, ruler or famous person.
- John F.
Walvoord: "Many
Bible teachers teach, as does the writer, that the Lord is coming for
His church at any time. We believe in the imminent return of Christ,
that 1 Thessalonians 4 is going to be fulfilled, that the dead in Christ are
going to arise, and that living
Christians will be translated without dying into the presence of God.
We further believe that after
this event there will take place a great time of trouble in the world,
predicted by Daniel and Christ Himself, culminating in the great
tribulation. We believe that at
the end of the great tribulation Christ is coming back in power and glory
from heaven with the saints and with the holy angels and that He will
establish His righteous government on the earth as predicted many times
in the Bible, which will last, according to Revelation 20, for one
thousand years and ultimately will be followed by the eternal state after
the judgment of the great white throne."
- John F.
Walvoord: "There
are at least three great words in the New Testament used to express the
truth about the coming of the Lord: epiphaneia,
apokalupsis, and parousia. Epiphaneia simply speaks of His appearing,
that is, that we are going to see Him. We are told also that when Christ
comes to set up His kingdom on the earth every eye will see Him.
- There is another
word (apokalupsis) translated revelation. It is the word
used for the name of the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation
of Jesus Christ in the sense of the revelation of His glory. When Christ
came the first time He came in humiliation. His glory was veiled
except on the Mount of Transfiguration and perhaps in the Garden of
Gethsemane. In the latter place, when those who came to take Him
asked if He was Jesus and He said “I am,” they all fell before Him to the
ground, apparently struck down by a momentary flash of the glory and
authority of Christ. For the most part, however, His glory was veiled
even after His resurrection. When
He comes the second time we will see Him in His glory and this will be a
revelation.
The word that is found here in 1 Thessalonians
What does this word coming or presence mean here in Thessalonians? When someone is coming, we also speak of his presence. For instance, a visiting preacher might be welcomed with the words,” We are happy for the coming of the Reverend John Doe.” What would be meant by that? How he came would not be important; the point would be that he is here. What is meant is that we are glad for his presence. His coming was just the means to the end. Even in English we use the term coming in the sense of presence. That is precisely the thought here. But when are we going to be in the presence of the Father?
According to Scripture, Christians are going to meet Christ in the air. We are going to be present with Him at that moment. After we meet Him in the air, He will take us home to glory to be in the presence of the Father and the holy angels. After that we are coming back to the earth with Christ. This word coming here may not refer specifically to the coming of Christ with His saints to the earth, but rather the coming to heaven when they will be in the presence of the Father. That is the same thought considered in 2:19, “in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming,” literally,” before our Lord Jesus Christ in his presence.” In - Here Paul's
concern was that the
Thessalonians would be ready to give a good account of themselves to the
Lord, not just that they would be ready for His arrival.
- Parousia is a primary them of 1 & 2
Thessalonians:
- 1 Corinthians
15:23: But
there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first
of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
- 2 Corinthians
1:14: even if you
don’t understand us now. Then on
the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same
way we are proud of you.
- Philippians
2:16: Hold
firmly to the word of life; then, on
the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race
in vain and that my
work was not useless.
- 1
Thessalonians 2:19: After
all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and
crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is
you!
- 1
Thessalonians 4:15: We
tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of
those who have died.
- 1
Thessalonians 5:23: Now
may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole
spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus
Christ comes again.
- 2
Thessalonians 2:1: Now,
dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and
how we will be gathered to meet him
- 2
Thessalonians 2:8: Then
the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill
him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his
coming.
- 2
Thessalonians 1:7-10: And
God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears
from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire,
bringing judgment
on those who don’t know God and
on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will
be punished with
eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day,
he will receive glory from his holy people - praise from all who
believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about
him.
- 1 John 2:28: And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with
Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not
shrink back from him in shame.
Holy people (Greek - hagios):
- Morris: "It is best to understand
the 'holy ones' as all those bright beings who will make up His train be
they angels or the saints who have gone before."
- Steve Lewis of
- Zechariah 14:5: You will flee through this
valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did
from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of
- The trials that come our way can work to
mature us and are a test
of our faith or to defeat us. The way we handle the trials in our life
shows where we are in our relationship with the Lord and in our faith.
Folks often doubt their salvation and wonder where they stand with the
Lord. They can easily know this is by their actions. As Paul states
in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves to see if
your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that
Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine
faith.
NOTES:
- Unless otherwise
noted, the scripture version used is the New Living
Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
- Disclaimer: Source material for this study
has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I
have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1thessaloniansstudy.blogspot.com/2015/08/1-thessalonians-references.html
- Index to all our
studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/
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