2 Thessalonians chapter 1, lessun 1

Everything we know about God, we find in the Bible. If you think you have a divine revelation of God but you can’t find it in the Bible… don’t buy into it. The greatest event in human history is about to unfold and many are not ready for it. It is what my Dad and his generation lived for…it is the Second Coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2 Thess chapter 1 Read this chapter
We are about to embark or rather re-embark on a
journey into the future starting at the church house in early September, a continuation into the letters of the Apostle Paul that he wrote to the church he had planted in Thessalonica. This is a preview. Please remember this is a layman’s view point.
As you read the first chapter of 2nd. Thessalonians, you are made aware of the fact that the Apostle Paul is directing the attention of the Thessalonians to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the theme, this is the subject of this second letter or epistle to this particular church as well as for our attention in the day in which we live. This theme of Christ’s second coming is more relevant today than ever before….that is obvious. Approximately 2000 years have passed since he wrote these epistles and as the old song says, “I’m nearer home than I was yesterday.”
Sometimes in Bible study you have to read between the lines a little bit. While the truth of God’s Word is inerrant and was inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit, it was penned by human beings, men and women just like you and me. And they each have a unique style of their own. And often something may be implied and we do not see it but someone else does see it. That is what study rather than just reading does, it brings things out into the open as you dig into this Word.
I said all of that to say this, there is apparently or so it seems, certain expressions or wording by Paul in his first letter of which the folks at Thessalonica misinterpreted. I am referring to this portion of Paul’s letter found in chapter 2 of the second letter and verse 2 that states “ not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled , either by spirit (small “s”) or by word or letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.” They had assumed from Paul’s first letter that the rapture had already taken place and it caused them to be shaken in mind and troubled and wouldn’t we be troubled if we were convinced that Jesus had already come and taken His church and we were not included? Paul had told them in his first letter that of the times AND SEASONS there was no need to write them. He explained how the order of the resurrection worked. Somehow in all of this , they assumed that the Day of the Lord had already come Here in ch. 2 he warns against that kind of unrest caused by this kind of teaching. In our day it is date setting even though Jesus told us that no man knows the day or the hour.
So we are at that point we must needs look at ch. 1, Paul’s greetings and his salutation to the saints there in Thessalonica. It is a familiar Pauline greeting, in fact it is a familiar apostolic greeting that was also used by others and I refer to Peter, it is one he uses often as well and it indeed is a blessing invoked upon all who read these epistles, “grace and peace.” “Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” what better greeting and consequent blessing could you receive than His grace and peace imparted unto you?
In the next verses 3&4, we see the apostle giving thanks for these dear people. That blessing is in God our Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is for the church. It is not this unsettledness that is caused by setting dates.
“ We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters”(RSV)…WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE THANKFUL FOR GOD’S CHILDREN, our brothers and sisters, amen? There is a bond that transcends color and race when we meet a new believer and a blessing comes with it. When I say a “new “ believer I mean someone we have never met before, new to us. Someone of different origin perhaps, different nationality, different culture, perhaps a different color skin. God is a God of variety and we can be thankful for that. And Paul was telling the Thessalonians, he was thankful for their faith. Read verse 3 again. Their faith was growing, their love abounding and that
was the reason for thanksgiving in the apostle’s heart.
He commends them, telling how he is all the time boasting about them among the churches of God and here is where faith works The Bible says “Faith works through love and we see it in action in these opening verses of chapter1. Read verse 4. Their faith showed itself strong in persecutions and afflictions that they were enduring, and that is where we really need faith…we need to have that steadfastness that Paul refers to here. It was so evident in the lives of these Christians in Thessalonica.
The word steadfastness is translated in the Amplified Bible as
“ unflinching endurance and patience.” That is steadfast…unflinching endurance, think about it, if you had been in Thessalonica in Paul’s day and enduring persecution for His name sake, trials… on every hand and you face it unflinchingly. Put yourself in their place.

And you face it and you endure it with patience. Remember these words from the Apostle James ch. 1 verse 2, I believe it is… brethren, count it all joy when you face divers temptations, verse 3, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience”
The trying of your faith works…..it works patience and James talks about asking without wavering…reminds you of the words of Jesus when He was praying in the garden and the disciples fell asleep, “could you not stay with Me one hour? He was facing the cross …and He did so unflinchingly….unflinching endurance and patience…can we say that when we are facing our struggles?
If we could grasp what the Word says about faith, it would revolutionize our thinking and our entire outlook on everything we do or say about God. It would change our lives, we would go from a hum drum mediocre existence to a life in the Spirit of God that is full of joy unspeakable and full of glory and I don’t think that any one of us has arrived there yet. Look at what it says in the Amplified bible reading in Hebrews 11:1-3…Now faith is(note present tense verb “is”…NOW FAITH IS (it is now or it is never,) not some time in the distant future…faith is now! “Now faith is…the assurance( the confirmation, the title deed) of the things (we) hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. VERSE 2. For by faith----trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report. Verse 3. By faith we understand that the worlds[ during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the Word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things that are visible.” Isn’t that powerful? If we could see Faith like that what a difference we would make in our world.
And Paul says . “your faith groweth exceedingly” thank God for growing faith. How can we survive during persecutions and tribulations? Peter says it is a trial of faith. Look at what he says
1st. Peter 1:7… that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, NKJV
The trial or testing of our faith is much more precious than gold
Because gold, precious metal that it is will perish but real faith when it is tried will stand the test. Is there a mountain in your way? Remember God’s word to Zerubbabel? For it is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord…this mountain shall come down
Enough for this blog. To be cont’d.