June 26, 2022
The Source of Glory
2 Thessalonians 1

The Title of the Sermon is “The Source of Glory.”

The first letter seemed to excite the church too much. The second seems to tamp down some of their ill placed excitement that Jesus was about to return any minute in their lives. This second letter is intended to calm them down a bit and help focus them on the day to day as well as give them some more details regarding the end times. (Nicoll)

In these two earliest letters to the Thessalonians which Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote and gave great care to point the church’s attention to many details of the Second Coming. In this, the first chapter of 2 Thessalonians, there stands out two groups of people; objects of both of the deepest dread and the highest beauty. Which one will you be? Lets find out.

READ: 2 Thessalonians 1

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• The ministry team continues to write to and encourage the Thessalonians.
• They needed it!
• Paul and company reminded them they were IN God and in Jesus.
  • Think about the security that that brings.
• Three names for Jesus used.
  • Lord speaks to his position. Jesus speaks to His humanity. Christ speaks to His Deity and uniqueness.
    • Lord (or Master)
    • English, Jesus >> Greek, Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) >> Aramaic, ישוע (Yēšū) >> Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ‎ (Yēšū́a, = English “Joshua”) >> traced back to ancient word 𐤉𐤔𐤏‎ (y-š-ʕ, “to deliver, save”).¹
      • Jesus = God saves or God delivers! Amen
  • Christ = Anointed (“Messiah” in Hebrew)

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, COMMENT
- We see Paul and company’s reiteration that they "ought to give thanks for them…therefore we still do >> 1 Thess. 1:2-3.
- reasons
1. because your faith is growing abundantly,
- In some of the letters from Paul, we see churches in decline, but not so with the church at Thessalonian church. (cf. Excell)
- abundantly (1x in the NT) = ὑπεραυξάνω, hooper-ox-an-O (phonic) = to “increase above measure” (LSJ; cf. Constable)
- Their faith was filling their church and spilling out into the community.
- They were a faith factory.
2. and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
- Love was increasing. Neighbor as themselves >> servants >> slaves of others.
- Aren’t you grateful for people who are getting the Christian life so you and I have these examples?

4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

• They needed the overflowing faith and growing love… They were suffering in two ways: persecution and afflictions
• The writers commended the church for another Christian virtue: look at it v.4 = “steadfast” even though they were getting pressure from varied sources.
  • steadfast = cheerful (or hopeful) endurance (Strong’s);
  • Thayer’s Lexicon: the characteristic of a [Christian] who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings.
• One must already be prepared to stand in the fire. How? steadfastness and faith.

FAITH

• Saving faith ✝
• Then there is a continuing Christian faith, that is what the church had.
• Some we have been seeing over and over is summed up in Hebrews 11:1-3.
  • 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
    • Hope here >> with the greatest hope never leaving heaven and our life with God.
  • 11:2, “For by it [it is faith] the people of old received their commendation.”
    • Commended by God … Rewarded by God. … e.g., Moses & Elijah
    • Future rewards depends on your willingness to respond to like in faith.
  • 11:3, "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
    • ex nihilo
    • Believing by having confidence in what God is doing in all creation.
      • The Creator, The All Powerful God explains why He is long-suffering with sinful man as the Thessalonian church was.
      • 2 Peter 3:9, “The LORD is not slow in regard to the promise, as some count slowness, but is long-suffering to us, not intending any to be lost, but all to come to conversion.” (LSV)
      • Romans 2:4, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (ESV)
    • God is doing His thing in the world, and He is long-suffering with humankind.
    • Truth be told: we don’t mind God being patient with us in our sin. But we often really don’t like Him being patient with others in their sin.
    • We want to pick up them stones. PAUSE

verse 5 This [that is their persecutions and afflictions that they were enduring] 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—

• The church was enduring persecutions and afflictions (some tribulation) = lit. a pressing, pressing together, pressure; metph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits (Blueletter, Lexicon; cf. Lightfoot, 99)
• Look at v 5 again: their persecutions and afflictions was “evidence of God’s righteous judgement.”
  • they were living God’s righteous judgment. WOW!
  • “evidence” = manifest token
    • Manifest = plain, open, clearly visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding token of God’s righteous judgement.
    • token
    • what was the purpose of these evidential tokens?
    • that they “may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God”
      - Arcade games
      - We are counted worth and God places His testing tokens of suffering into our lives to see if we will respond as Christ did by His power.
    • Make no mistake, the idea of being counted worthy is tied to the test of suffering in our passage.²
    • These test show us where we are at. God knows our heart and mind. He knew the disciples would scatter; He knew Peter would deny Him three times. The tests proved to them that they were not where they thought they were.
      • How are our tests going?
• The Thessalonian church was passing their tests.
  • The church was living a life the ministry team wanted to commend them for. The church was living a life they hoped God would commend them for.
• These passed test like all passed test carry good results:
  • Peter taught the Church, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
  • Paul later taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:12a “If we endure, we will also reign with him.”

ILLUSTRATION

• Who suffered well in the Bible?
  • Joseph.
• That’s why we know about them.

APPLICATION

• Let’s have buy in instead of buying out of what God has explained to us regarding suffering.
• This whole life is an exam. Your exam. Records are being kept of how we are responding in every situation.
  • Every word, thought, deed with its corresponding motive will be evaluated.
• God uses pressure to test the quality of our character.
• Without actual suffering how would God test long-suffering, patience, hope? Suffering is the test.

TRANSITION
We continue to see that the Thessalonian church was suffering well; not let’s look to when God’s vengeance will be poured out on the persecutors.

• verse 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.

  • God was using wickedness to test the church, but there will be payback.
  • Here, Paul and company take time, and unusually so, to welcome God’s judgment on the persecuting unbelievers.
  • The glory of God is partially due to their judgment. (cf., Excell)
    • Look at the scene: w/ angels, verse 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on the enemies of the Church.
  • What was the name of their sin here? The sin of not obeying the gospel. (cf., Sutcliffe)
    • It implies that they could and should have but chose poorly.
    • Creation’s witness is part of the gospel. Romans 10:18 references Psalm 19:1-4. >> Psalm 25:14 >> One must respond to the revelation they have been given.

• In these days a direct attack is made upon the doctrine of the Atonement. Men cannot bear substitution. They gnash their teeth at the thought of the Lamb of God bearing the sin of man. (Spurgeon)

• Instead man makes his own religions in his image.

  • Bill make his own religion; Chuck makes his own religion.
  • Mind you he doesn’t call it “Chuckanity.”
  • Billions of Chucks

• The church could have lashed out as the world does at their persecutors who had not been obedient to the gospel. They could have stood in judgment of them and punished them the best they could.

• But it is not it’s not our job to judge the unbelievers. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13a, For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.

• There is doctrine here that is explained in various ways. I usually use the idea of delayed gratification.

  • In that doctrine, The Bride learns to be the bride and let the Husband take care of the wicked.
  • The Bride is instructed to take the long view—the hope view regarding the wicked.
  • The Bride learns to let the Husband fight her battles.
  • The Bride learns to be patience … trust … have faith. That is the Church’s call in God.

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
- Here we see God’s grand terror. (cf., Sutcliffe)
- Psalms 50:3, Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest (what we might call a hurricane).

ILLUSTRATION
Movie Adrift
In the 80s a man and woman were hired to sale an ocean yacht to California from Tahiti.

APPLICATION

• Romans 12:19, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
• Deuteronomy 32:34-36, “‘Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries? Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’ For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
• With Jesus’ return comes the accountability we hope for, the perfect vengeance of God.

TRANSITION
We see the hurricane of God for those who do not obey the gospel. What about us?

10b to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

• Many have lived life avoiding of even the thought of God; the others have lived the entirety of their lives waiting to see Him. (cf. MacLaren)
• "What a Day! What a marvelous Day!
• “in” preposition jumped out
  • Passive voice. The subject is the recipient of the action.
• “to be glorified in his saints.” —His image bearers.

ILLUSTRATION

• Candlelight service—no! Sun, moon, stars … Glowing saints marveling at our Lord. Him having placed His glory in us and we reflecting His glory back to Him.
• These will be the most exciting times for the Church!

WHY? 10b “because our testimony to you was believed.” They obeyed the gospel.

• Cruciality—the hinge or pivot point in a subject. The subject material is arranged so that it turns around one thing or event.
• They who ‘believed’; poor, trembling, struggling, fainting souls, that here on earth, in the midst of many doubts and temptations, clasped His hand; and howsoever tremulously, yet truly put their trust in Him, these are they in whom He shall ‘be wondered at.’ (MacLaren)
• Ephesians 3:10, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

SOME OF THOSE HOURS AS DESCRIBED BY DANIEL

• Daniel 7:9-10a, “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power,

• “to this end” = the prayers for the church were rooted in the Second Coming and their appropriate responses.
• That God would make worthy = God does the work!
• Look at what they were to do in the middle of verse 11:
  • They were to RESOLVE! = Lit. will, choice (Strong’s and Thayer’s) or object of desire (LSJ)
  • This word is found in no secular writing that survived antiquity.
  • It’s only in the Bible
  • Resolve What? To do the good and EVERY WORK OF FAITH
  • Again … By God’s power.
• MacLaren said, “we are summoned to a life of self-crucifixion, of subjection of the flesh, of aspiration after God, of holy living according to the pattern that was showed us in Him. We are summoned here and now to a life of purity and righteousness and self-sacrifice.” (MacLaren)

To what end?

• 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• Nicoll said, “Christ’s reputation is in our hands. Men judge of Him by us.”

APPLICATION

• The goal of the Christian life is the same now as on that Day.
• We need to have inner resolve and hope to glorify God in all we do. To reflect His beauty. To fight the right ways for His kingdom and honor.
• We need to continue to live our lives the way Jesus has told us to do it. SERMON ON THE MOUNT stuff!
• But also remember this: on that Day we shall have complete success by “His wondrous working power”!

Notes

¹ Cf “Ἰησοῦς.” See Wiktionary. For a good explanation for why is Jesus’ name “Jesus” see, Got Questions’s “If His name was Yeshua, why do we call Him Jesus?”, https://www.gotquestions.org/Yeshua-Jesus.html.

² See the Scripture study on suffering here:
https://aimdiscipleship.org/suffer-verses.html. See the section titled “Benefits of Suffering Well” then the sub-section titled “Worthy / Privilege.”

Bibliography and Works Cited

NOTE: Please see the following web-page for most of the works cited: https://insidecrosspoint.org/sermons/2022/june/bibliography.html. Works cited on this web-page correspond to the verses they are are grouped or outlined with.

Other Works Cited

Hiebert, D. Edmond. The Thessalonian Epistles. Chicago: Moody Press, 1971. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf.

Hodges, Zane C. Grace in Eclipse. Redencion Viva, 1981.

Lightfoot, J. B. Notes on the Epistles of St. Paul. Reprint ed., Alpha Publications, n.d. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf.

Moffatt, James. “The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians.” In The Expositor’s Greek Testament. 4 (1910):3-54. 4th ed. Edited by W. Robertson Nicoll. London: 5 vols. Hodder and Stoughton, 1900-12. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf.

Spurgeon, Charles. “The Foundation of Our Faith.” Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

Thomas, Robert L. , “1 Thessalonians,” in Ephesians-Philemon, vol. 11 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 230; Charles A. Wanamaker, The Epistles to the Thessalonians, p. 7; Kenneth G. Hanna, From Gospels to Glory, pp. 313-14. Referenced in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 1 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf, 2.