This is the second letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. According to what we know about Paul’s timeline including his visit, arrival in Thessalonica, his exit, his first letter and second letter all happened in a very short time.
Instead of us saying this is Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians we can better say that is the team’s second letter. The team was Paul, Silas and Timothy. All three of them had their signatures on both letters to the Thessalonians and all three of them were vital to this church forming and growing.
As a reminder this is what we said in the introduction to 1 Thessalonians: “Right from the beginning we find Paul along with Silas and Timothy writing to the church at Thessalonica. Acts chapter 17 talks about how the three of them were there in Thessalonica. It says they were there for three sabbaths and there is some evidence they were there for more than three weeks because in Paul's letter to the Philippian church he states they sent him aid more than once while he was at Thessalonica (Philippians 4:16).
Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:1-2)
The two letters to the Thessalonians begin identically, and the only difference is that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is added an additional time in the opening verses of 2 Thessalonians.
Thanking God
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. (2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)
There is a lot to thank God for. As he mentioned in his first letter Paul, Silas and Timothy were thanking God for them because their faith was ringing out to the whole region. Now they are thanking God because the fellowship of love they have for one another is increasing.
The team is thanking God and singing the praises of this great church and how they are still an example to other believers regarding their perseverance in Thessalonica. The church was started in persecution. The team had to get out of there because of persecution. Just because they left it would not mean the locals were not still under fire from those that oppose the faith in Jesus Christ.
Counted Worthy
All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. (2 Thessalonians 1:5)
Those who are being persecuted need to keep the perspective as to why it is worth it to suffer. It is worth it because Jesus is worthy. It is worth it because God is on his throne. It is worth suffering because in the end God is going to make right all the wrongs they suffer for righteousness’s sake.
Everyone faces the judgement of God. That is why it is worth it to remain faithful. We are going to face different types of persecution and different degrees of persecution, but those who are faithful will be persecuted and when you are faithful you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
The justice of God
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-7)
If you are suffering persecution, you will get relief. The promise of relief in suffering is taken by faith because it is not immediate. It will happen when the Lord comes in blazing fire.
All this means that the Thessalonians do not need to take up retribution or revenge. They can turn the other cheek and leave the pay back to God. He will give the pay back, but it is not always going to be in the here and now.
Maybe you have watched the videos that are about “instant Karma.” I just watched one where a road rage extremist unloads on a cyclist in Russia. Then the road rage bully’s two friends get out to help punish the cyclist who did something small to upset them. Then a vehicle comes behind them and honks.
Two of the men turn their rage on the honking vehicle and begin to attack it. Bad move. Inside that vehicle is a dignitary. Behind that vehicle is an armed escort. The road rage bullies are on the ground in handcuffs held at gunpoint and forcefully put into the vehicles taken to custody. What a moment of payback for the helpless cyclist. It makes for a good video, but this is not what the Bible promises to us when we are persecuted. The pay back, in the form of the judgement of God is not promised until the second coming of Jesus.
The Judgement of God
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10)
God will punish the persecutors. But keep in mind Paul was a persecutor too. He was saved by the grace of God. These persecutors can escape the coming judgment by repentance and faith in Christ. I suspect some of them did. They had to see the changed lives of those they were persecuting and the Christlike response of the Thessalonian believers to the persecution.
When Jesus comes again, some will be judged to everlasting destruction and others will marvel at the glory of God. That includes us who have been saved by grace through faith. This includes all the believers at Thessalonica, and this includes all of us who have believed.
The name of Jesus be Glorified.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this 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. (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
There is a lot that Paul, Silas and Timothy have laid out in the opening of this letter. Because of the serious nature they pray constantly for these new and faithful believers to remain worthy. I have friends in Asia that are undergoing severe persecution. It is like the pages of 2 Thessalonians. They are faithful and we rejoice. Also, we must pray for them that they remain worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ.
We must pray that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in them.
Join me in praying for them now:
Dear Father, I thank you for your grace of giving us salvation in Jesus Christ. I thank you for those who have believed in you and our counted worthy of the kingdom of God. I pray for those who are suffering so much right now. May you be glorified in them Lord Jesus. As you are glorified in their faithfulness may many more turn to Christ. Amen.
