The Hope of the Gospel (This, Therefore...)

 

As I stated at the beginning of our study, we can divide the Thessalonian letters into three general sections. First, we studied the part of these letters that looked to the past—to Paul's ministry at Thessalonica and the Thessalonians' response to the gospel. Then we looked at the future—at Christ's second coming, and at the rise of the antichrist. We also looked at other events in the future, but now I want to draw us back to Thessalonians.

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul pictured a time of great apostasy and the rise of a powerful enemy to God's work. He described how many people would be deceived and led into destruction by this figure. It was a dark picture, even if Paul was sure of God's ultimate victory. But it is against and in contrast to that dark picture of sin, deception, and destruction, that we have this passage: 

(2 Thessalonians 2:13-17) But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

In the context of 2 Thessalonians, this passage serves as a contrast and application for the passage it follows. We saw a vision of multitudes being led astray by the antichrist, but here Paul reminds us that not all will be deceived. There are some, like the Christians at Thessalonica, who have chosen the truth instead of lies. And therefore there is hope for them (and for any like them) who will remain faithful to the truth.

And in the greater context of these letters as a whole, this passage serves as a summary and a transition, tying the past and the future together to the present. The Christian's past faith and future hope should lead to a change in life here in the present. I labeled this section “this, therefore.” That's probably a poor way of wording it, but what I mean is in this section Paul lays out the Christian's condition and turns it into an injunction; that we ought to live in a certain way in light of the truths we have seen thus far.

But also, beyond all this, this section is a moment of worship. It begins with a statement of thanksgiving and ends with a prayer. This section not only links the various parts of Thessalonians; it also links Paul, his readers, and God. After all the debate and confusion surrounding eschatology, Paul brings the whole issue back into focus—what really matters in all this is God and our relationship to Him. That is the crux of everything.

As I said, this section begins with a word of thanksgiving. This is a point I've mentioned before, but thanksgiving is one of the main themes of these letters—over and over, we have Paul offering up words of thanksgiving. Gratitude was an integral part of Paul's life. But in Thessalonians, it is almost always gratitude specifically for the Christians of Thessalonica. In one sense, you could say that Paul only cared about God. But that did not stop him from caring deeply about other people. And he cared deeply for the Thessalonians; there was a real affection between Paul and these people. But not only did Paul love them, but God loved them; they were “brethren beloved of the Lord.” Paul, his readers, and God were bound together in a web of love; they were part of a common family.

With some of these sections of Paul's letters—the sections that are more directly personal—it can be hard to see an application to us. Paul and his original readers are long dead, so what do their particular feelings have to do with us? As we will see later, the message here is for all Christians. But I do think there might be a more general moral here, as well. Many of the problems we face in life come from other people; I suspect a vast majority of them. And as Christians, even our fellow Christians can be a source of frustration or hassle. And perhaps, amid our annoyance, we should remember to give thanks, even for those who cause such problems.

Now, remember that I said this section seems to stand in a deliberate contrast to the previous one. There Paul was describing the antichrist and, specifically, those who would follow him. In 2 Thessalonians 2:12 Paul gives a final word about these people: “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” We have a picture of the wicked: they didn't believe the truth, they had pleasure in sin, and therefore in the end they would be destroyed. In stark contrast, we have Christians like those in Thessalonica, who had a belief in the truth, who were made holy through the Spirit, and who were chosen to salvation. 

We have two paths here; one which leads to damnation, the other which leads to salvation. (As we've mentioned before, in the church today we tend to use the word 'salvation' to mean the point at which a person becomes a Christian; in the New Testament, the word more often refers to the entire Christian journey; here it seems specifically to mean the consummation of that journey.) One path involves doubt and sin; the other is based on belief and sanctification. 

And the Thessalonian Christians were on the path to glory. They had heard the gospel through Paul and had believed it and therefore were on the path that leads to “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul was giving thanks for this reality, the reality that there were Christians who were on this path; even if the forces of evil had corrupted many, some were still uncorrupted. There were still knees who had never kneeled to Baal. And while this message is specifically for the Thessalonians, this would hold true for all Christians. That is what it means to be a Christian—to have received the gospel through faith and, therefore, be on this path to glory

However, though the Thessalonians were on this path, it wasn't something they had created or obtained on their own efforts. They were on this road, but they hadn't paved the road. They were sailors in the ship of faith, but they weren't the shipmakers. Look at what Paul says—it was God who had chosen them from the beginning. God had marked out this path. It was God's Spirit that made a spiritual change possible. It was even God (working through Paul) who had called them, who had given them the opportunity to become Christians in the first place.

Here Paul's focus is on the fact that God had chosen and called these Christians. But I do not believe that this means that God had rejected and refused to call those who were lost. Those that Paul had described earlier, those who were lost through their unbelief, could have been among this group, they could have been among the chosen and the called if they had answered the call in faith.

Why do I believe that? Partly because of other scriptures, but partly because of what Paul says in verse 15: “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions.” The Thessalonians may have been on the right path, but that didn't guarantee that they would reach their destination. They had received the truth—both from the preaching of Paul and from his writings—but they had to hold on to that truth. Paul says to 'stand fast;' to remain unmoved, to hold their ground, not move away from their position. Because, remember, there was exactly that danger. Consider what we know about this church. We know there were those on the outside who were putting pressure on them to reject the gospel. And we know there were those within the church who were spreading exaggerations and false ideas concerning eschatology. They had problems both without and within that were inclined to make them move from the truth. That was why Paul encouraged them to stand fast in the truth; to remain on the right path.

That is the command, but with it comes an encouragement. Verses 16-17 are a consolation in the form of a prayer. Paul is calling upon God to help believers. The command: “Therefore, stand fast” has almost a military flavor; the picture might be that of a soldier fighting to hold a fort. But in this battle, we are not alone.

Paul offers a prayer to God—to Christ and to the Father. The basis of this prayer is the fact that God has given us His love, His eternal consolation, and good hope through grace. 'Love' is self-explanatory and we have already talked about hope extensively. But we should note this world 'consolation'; other translations give it 'comfort' or 'encouragement.' Beacon Bible Commentary says: “The meaning is encouragement and strengthening more than comfort in the ordinary English sense.” God doesn't just make us feel better about our situation but gives us the power to face it.

God has given us love, comfort, and hope. And therefore, on that basis, Paul asks for God to give us comfort and establishment. The word translated “comfort” in verse 17 is the same as “consolation” in the previous verse. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I think the idea is that while God has, in general, given His people an everlasting consolation, there is a need for that consolation to be applied to the heart of a given Christian at a given time. God, in a sense, gave man bread for all time in the first week of creation by establishing the natural order; but we still must pray every day: 'Give us this day our daily bread.' And that is true in spiritual matters as well.

Paul prays for their comfort and he prays that they would be established in doctrine and good works. Paul knew that the Thessalonians had become Christians in the past, and he had hope for their glorification in the future. But all that leads to a prayer that they would live in a certain way in the present; that they would have solid doctrine and virtuous lives. That was what he prayed to God for them to have.

And as I said earlier, this applies not just to the Christians in Thessalonica but all Christians. We should never think that our religious experiences in the past are an excuse to sit back and relax. We should never think that our eschatological hopes in the future remove our duties and responsibilities right now.

There is a common cliché of positive thinking that one ought to 'live in the moment.' The truth is that we all are living in the moment, whether we like it or not. The present moment is our dwelling place and, for the Christian, it must become a holy tabernacle. The past and the future are really most important when they inform our present decisions. This is the basis for everything else in the Thessalonian letters. Given what God has done in the past and all that God has promised to do in the future, then how should we live now?