2 Thessalonians - Chapter 1
1-5:
(A church to be proud of)
Many churches take pride in things which show what they believe makes them special. These things are varied, from the size of the membership, the size of the buildings, the size of their bank account, the wealth and status of their members, their influence in their community, their political clout, their music, their entertainment, or any number of other claims to fame.
Based upon any or all of these factors we see in churches today, the church at Thessalonica had nothing close to these things going for it. Yet, the chosen vessel of God, Paul begins his second letter giving his thanks for this church and its members and telling them that he speaks proudly of this assembly among the churches of God.
Only in the 2nd letter to this church does Paul find no reason to identify himself with a title, such as apostle, bond servant or slave, as he has in all of his other writings. We might take from this fact that there were no serious challenges to his authority inside the assembly (although some were seen from the outside), and this makes the letters seem more endearing and intimate.
Paul, Timothy, and Silas had founded the church on his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9) and their success there enraged the Jews.
Paul had received a good report from Timothy on this church but also had heard that some were still confused about the Day of the Lord perhaps stirred up by false teachers who were saying that the Day was upon them and some believers had even stopped their work, becoming idle foolishly.
Paul's work now was to reinforce his earlier teaching and to provide specific lessons as to what must occur before the Day of the Lord brought wrath. He was still very encouraged about the church for five clear reasons:
Genuine conversion - These Christians are in true personal, spiritual, and eternal union with the Lord.
Increasing faith – A possible translation of the “faith groweth exceedingly” phrase in verse 3 might also be “increased beyond measure”.
Growing love – In the first letter (3:12) Paul had prayed that the church's love would increase and abound. To his great joy, Timothy reported that it had indeed.
Persevering hope – Their spiritual growth has demonstrated their faithfulness even in the instances of persecution.
Kingdom attitude – In contrast to so many man centered churches today, this church was God centered, seeking first His kingdom and righteousness.
6-10:
(The Vengeance of the Lord Jesus)
The second coming of our Lord will be the climax of all of human history. We remember that His first coming was in humility and in the willingness to be a servant. His second coming will be a return in victory to establish His dominion over all things inside the creation.
Paul strongly assures the church that those who had troubled them and tried to divert their devotion would be repaid with tribulation from God. He teaches that Jesus will return with His mighty angels (a literal translation is His angels of power). We should remember the words of Moses (Deut 33:2) that described God coming with ten thousand of His saints and lightning flashed from his right hand. In Psalm 68:17 David wrote of the chariots of God being twenty thousand, and thousands of angels. This is the image Paul wanted to portray to these believers.
The teaching is that when He comes, He will bring sweet relief to believers and bitter retribution for those who have not believed. Isaiah 45:20-25 and Ezekiel 33:17-20 both show how just will be the vengeance of the Lord when His wrath appears.
11-12
(Praying for the Right Things)
The true goal of prayer is not demanding things from God but rather finding His will for our lives as we remain here to serve Him. Paul now goes to the Lord in prayer for these believers seeking only the right things for them that will be the result of God honoring the Apostle's request because it is within His will for this young church.
Notice the three things Paul specifically prays for and let's recall the strong teaching of James 5:16 that tells us that “... the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Worthiness – Paul prayed that the Thessalonians would prove worthy in practice through the sanctification by the Holy Spirit that they would walk in a manner worthy of the Lord's calling.
Fulfillment – Paul prays that God would fulfill every noble and righteous desire of their hearts.
Power – Paul knew that these believers were already bearing spiritual fruit and yet he wanted their work of faith to increase in power so there would even be more righteous deeds.
Paul purpose was not just for these members but more that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in their lives. This should be the ultimate desire of every believer, whether young in the faith or strongly mature in the faith. We should recall the words of Jesus himself on this matter in John 12:26:
“...if any man serve me, him will my Father honor”.