The Hope of the Gospel (Conclusion)

 And now we have reached the end of our study. As Paul usually does, at the end of these letters we find a final benediction, a farewell and a prayer for the people to whom he wrote. In 1 Thessalonians, it follows directly after the passage we looked at in our previous article,

(1 Thessalonians 5:23-28) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us.  Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

In 2 Thessalonians, I want to look at a few verses from the beginning of chapter 3 which are not technically the final benediction of the letter, parallel what Paul says in the benediction of 1 Thessalonians.

(2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, 16-18) Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ... 

Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

These two passages parallel each other nicely. First, both passages have Paul's request for prayer. In 1 Thessalonians 5:25, Paul says simply: “Brethren, pray for us.” This is a point I've talked about several times before. Paul was an apostle, a man who had already served God for many years and had accomplished and suffered many things for God. And yet he still recognized that he needed prayer. In one sense, you would think that Paul was far ahead (spiritually speaking) of the new converts in Thessalonica. And yet he requested them to pray for him.

During the Last Supper, Jesus told Peter that Satan was mounting an attack against him. And we have these words of Jesus to Peter and Peter's response: “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:32-33) From Peter's answer, it seems as if he felt that he didn't need anyone, even Jesus to pray for him. Certainly, you don't get the feeling that he was asking Jesus to pray for him. And yet we know how that turned out. Peter definitely needed prayer. But what is interesting is that in a sense, Jesus' prayer was answered. Peter's faith faltered, but it didn't fail—not in the long run, anyway. He sinned, but he did come back. He was converted and he did go on to strengthen his brethren.

But the point for the moment is that we all need prayer. Peter, a disciple who had spent three years with Jesus, needed it. Paul who had served Christ for even longer needed it. And so there is no shame now in admitting that we need it.

Paul says almost exactly the same thing in 2 Thessalonians. Robertson says this can be translated, “keep on praying.” Perhaps this is a follow-up to 1 Thessalonians. He knew they had begun praying for him with his previous request, but he is now asking them to keep on praying. 

But in 2 Thessalonians, he expands on his request; he asks them to pray specifically “that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.” Paul wanted the gospel to move forward unimpeded; that there would be no dams or roadblocks in its way. Adam Clarke thinks Paul is thinking of an athlete running a race. He wanted the gospel to sprint down the track without anything to get in the way or slow it down. A racer runs to win a prize. And the gospel runs for a purpose as well; to reach its consummation of being heard and listened to.

Here in the conclusion we link back to the past of the letter. This is one of the first things Paul said in this letter: “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5) The word of the Lord had reached the Thessalonians. (Though whether you call that a smooth journey or not is up to debate.) And it had been glorified among them. They had heard it; believed it; been changed by it. These two epistles exist solely because the Thessalonians had received God's word. And now Paul's prayer was that the gospel would have the same success elsewhere.

Paul was most likely at Corinth when he wrote these letters. And some think that it was the situation in Corinth that particularly led Paul to write these words. Notice how he continues in verse 2: he wants them to pray “that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.” He was praying concerning opposition; the prayer to be 'delivered' or rescued is not necessarily metaphorical. Paul faced real danger in his work. He had spoken to the Thessalonians about persecution, but he had also faced his own share of persecution.

Acts 18:5-6 tells of an event that probably took place between the writing of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”

The Jews opposed Paul so much that he was forced to leave the synagogue and begin preaching in a private house. A few verses later, Jesus appeared to Paul in a vision with this message: “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10) The fact that Christ appeared to Paul with this message of encouragement suggests that there was a real danger. Paul really was facing a scary situation that required this message of fear not. This becomes more clear later, when the Jews accused Paul before the Roman governor.

In other words, when Paul prayed for deliverance from wicked men it was a real problem. These are the kinds of obstacles he was praying for God to remove or workaround. Those who do not live by faith will often try to provide obstacles in the path of the just who do live by faith.

Paul prays for deliverance not just from the wicked but the unreasonable. Some translations give this as “perverse” or “wrong-headed.” They are people who cannot or will not see the truth, who refuse to admit their own mistakes. This definitely seems a good picture of many of the people—especially among the Jews—who opposed the gospel in Paul's day.

But the word can also be translated 'disorderly' or 'unmanageable.' Clarke thinks that the unreasonable are a separate group to the 'wicked' and refers to those within the church—to men who, though Christians, end up creating problems for the gospel by their stubbornness or idleness. You may remember that there were problems with such people in Thessalonica as Paul addressed earlier. This would also seem to apply to a lot of the Corinthian church as we see it in 1 Corinthians. Clarke goes on to suggest that 'all men have not faith' does not mean 'not everyone believes the gospel', but rather not that not all men are faithful; not all men (even within the church) are dependable and reliable. 

Whether or not that was Paul's meaning, it is true that there are times when Christians, for one reason or another, cause obstacles to the gospel. Paul does not ask the Thessalonians to pray down death and destruction on them; merely that he would be delivered from them; that the gospel would not be slowed down and hindered by such men.

So we see that Paul wanted the Thessalonians to pray for him. But both of these passages also contain a second element: Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians. At least, in 1 Thessalonians it is put in the form of a prayer. In 2 Thessalonians, it is more of an assurance that such a prayer will be answered. But we are considering them together.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Paul assures them that God is faithful and that He will establish them and keep them from evil. To me, the picture here is of something like a fortress—something firm and unshakeable, protected from the attacks of the enemy. 

Some think this refers to the physical attacks on the church by their human enemies. But this seems unlikely; God never promised to protect his church from such attacks, at least not in one sense. When Paul assures them of God's faithfulness to keep them from evil, this seems to mean the corruption of evil; that God would keep them from giving in to evil. Some even think this refers specifically to Satan; that this refers to God's power to protect His people from the schemes and temptations which Satan would use to trip them up.

This makes sense as in the next verse, Paul assures them that he has confidence that they will continue walking in the right way; in the way he had taught them.  Notice his words in verse 4: “We have confidence in the Lord touching you.”  The NET Bible translates it: “We are confident about you in the Lord.” This seems to represent the dual nature of Paul's confidence—he had confidence that the Thessalonians had faith in God and that God would be faithful to the Thessalonians. As long as these two links held, there was no reason for fear. This was the ground of Paul's hope for these people.

Paul had confidence that they would keep following the commands he had given them. The word 'command' is sometimes a military word. You might say that Paul had given them their marching orders and they were still marching along, following them. And if they did keep following that path, that God would lead them into love. (This is verse 5). 

In Romans 5, Paul spoke of the work that God does in the heart of the Christian. There he is looking specifically at people who are facing opposition and trouble, as the Thessalonians were. Paul said that such problems could lead ultimately to hope (as hope in the theme of the Thessalonian letters.) And he adds this conclusion: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5) Love is the heart of Christianity; it is the great treasure to which God's map is leading us.

Besides love, they would also find patience or endurance—the patience they needed to face the problems that they endured; whether specifically persecution or the more general problems that face all Christians. The KJV has “the patient waiting for Christ.” This fits with the theme of the Thessalonians; the idea of being faithful and remaining prepared, as the faithful servant waited for the coming of his master.

However, most commentators interpret this, not as patience FOR Christ but the patience OF Christ. If we look at the life of Jesus, we see it was a life of patience, of endurance—of facing difficult situations and troubles. These are all the more striking in Jesus' case given that, technically, He never had to endure any of them. We often have to endure things because we have no choice; He did have a choice. That is the patience of Christ. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2) And as Christians, that patience can be ours. We can have the patience of Christ active in our own lives as we face our own problems and difficulties.

That is Paul's prayer for the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians (even though, as I said, it isn't exactly put in the form of a prayer)--that they would be established, kept from sin, faithful and obedient, filled with love and patience.

Now look at 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which contains many of the same ideas. Paul is appealing to God, asking that his readers be established.

Specifically, Paul appeals to 'the very God of peace.' Why would Paul specifically bring up this idea of peace here? We can't say for sure, but Paul was a Jew, and (as I understand it) the Jewish idea of peace is something more than simply tranquility. The idea includes wholeness or stability. A nation 'at peace' is not simply a nation that is not actively at war. It is a healthy nation, a nation in a good state without major problems within or without. 

So to say that God is the God of peace is to say that He is the source of peace—not merely of tranquility or mental endurance, but of all spiritual health, of all soundness and wholeness. If that was Paul's thought, it fits in very well with the rest of the verse.

Paul prays for several things in this passage. The main word here is 'sanctify.' This is a form of the same word we looked at back in 1 Thessalonians 4, where Paul said that it was God's will for us to be holy. But there, Paul was dealing with one specific aspect of holiness. Here we have something more general.

Look at the next word. Paul prays that they would be sanctified wholly, that is, completely; entirely. Robertson says this means: “the whole of each of you, every part of each of you... qualitatively rather than quantitatively.” Clarke translates it: “To all intents and purposes.” This complete or entire nature of the prayer is seen in the rest of the verse, where Paul prays specifically for their whole spirit and soul and body—that is, for the totality of their being.

He prays that they would be preserved blameless. Robertson says this word means “complete in all its parts”--that is, with no lack or fault to be blamed. 

So both of these passages have this same general idea. Paul is praying that God will establish the Thessalonians and keep them wholly holy and blameless, filled with love and patience.

We should note one thing in passing. According to Beacon, the form of the verb “sanctify” in this verse implies an action completed at a specific point in time. Though there is a general process of growth throughout all the Christian life, it seems that Paul is thinking of a specific event or experience. This parallels something we saw back when we studied Romans; there Paul pictured an experience by which the Christian could move into a state of purity and victory. It seems very possible that Paul is describing the same thing here.

But obviously what Paul is picturing here is something very dramatic and far-reaching. If we are to see this as an order, we have to say that it is a tall order. How is something of this scale spiritually even possible? How could the Thessalonians—how can we—be holy and established and prepared for Christ's return?

That is the third thing both of these passages have: an assurance of God's faithful. “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” It is God who calls us to live such a life and it is God who makes it possible to live such a life.  The appeal in 2 Thessalonians 3:3 begins with the assurance that “The Lord is faithful.” This is more significant because in the verse just before this, Paul had been speaking of men who are not faithful. There are people in the world who make promises they never intend to keep; there are people who do intend to keep their promises but fail. All men have not faith, but God is faithful. God will keep His promises. And that reality is the foundation of everything. One of the keywords of Thessalonians is hope, but the basis of that hope is our faith in God's word and God's faithfulness in keeping His word. And part of that word He keeps is to fill us with love.

And that leads us to the fourth thing these passages have in common: I don't know exactly what to call it; for lack of a better word, both of these passages speak about community. 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Paul gives this blessing: “Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.” This is Paul's prayer for these people. Whether peace here means simply mental calm or has the greater idea of spiritual health, it is a natural prayer. But it could be the term 'peace' has another idea. We know that there were internal conflicts within the Thessalonian church. Perhaps this idea of peace always by all means also means peace with one another. Whether or not that is Paul's meaning, the rest of the verse: “The Lord be with you all” does have a communal aspect. Paul's desire was that God would be with them all; not just some of them but all of them.

This is also seen in 1 Thessalonians. In 5:26, Paul tells them to greet all the brethren with a holy kiss—a sign of friendship and affection. He wanted them to be a family. But we have a fascinating comment in verse 27, where Paul lays down a serious charge, almost in the form of an oath, commanding his letter to be read unto all the brethren.

Why is this verse here? We don't know what prompted Paul to add this; whether he had any ground for fearing that something else might happen. But the point is clear—what Paul had to say—what God was saying through Paul—the hope of the gospel which is the theme of the letter, it is for all Christians, for all the church. In many cults and secret societies, there are some facts and ideas that are only known to those who have advanced very far in the religion; those newer or lower in the hierarchy must be content with less than the whole of their teaching. But the Christian gospel is for all people. It is open and public. Not that some may not understand it better than others, but it is community property; it belongs to all of us.

As a side note, in 2 Thessalonians 3:17, we have another interesting addition, where Paul makes a point of adding his own signature, so to speak, the letter. This is something we have mentioned before; Paul did this in most of his letters.

But remember that 2 Thessalonians was written specifically because there was confusion concerning eschatology. And remember what Paul said about that confusion: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2) Paul references the possibility of a “letter as from us.” It is possible that there was a forged letter from Paul circulating in the church. And so to make sure that everyone knew this was genuine, he added his own signature.

Paul wanted to make sure that his readers received the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Finally, both letters end with an almost identical benediction; a benediction that is similar to most of Paul's letters. “The grace of Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”