Sunday, 15 December 2024

Unpacking 2 Thessalonians: Chapter 1

 

The second letter to the Thessalonian Church, was written approximately 6-8 weeks after the first, although mainly attributed to Paul it was actually a collaborative writing between Paul and his two traveling missionary companions, Silvanus (sometimes known as Silas) and Paul’s young protegé, Timothy. This is evidenced in the very first verse of the letter which, in the manner of the day, opens by identifying the writer/s first and then identifying to whom the letter is written. In this case the Thessalonian Church.

Note: In the body on this article the verses from 2 Thessalonians 1 are in italics, the explanation of the verse/s follows in straight text with additional scriptures shown in bold italics.

Greeting

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.


When we are in fellowship with each other let us never forget to extend God’s love, grace, mercy and peace to each other in His name! Let us do this in all our dealings with each other, after all we are His children, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ – God’s family! Let’s live worthy of our calling.

Thanksgiving for Faith and Perseverance

3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,

In verse 3 the writers state that they are ‘bound’ to thank God for them always. The word bound is transliterated form the Greek word ‘opheiló (pronounced o-fay'-lo) and its expanded meaning is: To owe, to be indebted, to be obligated to and ought to do.

This is something we ought to be doing today as a Church, giving thanks to God for our brothers and sisters in Christ as our faith and love grows in the goodness of God! Just as Christ loves His Church! Let’s imitate Christ in every way!

Romans 8:29 (NKJV)
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (AMP)
Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NKJV)
Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,

In verse 4 Paul, Silas and Timothy take pride in the fact that the Thessalonian Church are bringing glory to Jesus in the way they are living. They have remained patient and faithful all through the persecutions and tribulations that they have faced.

This is a great lesson that we, today’s Church, should learn and grab hold of as we see evil increase in the world around us. Through persecutions today’s believer should have the same patience and faith as the Thessalonians. Without faith it is impossible to please God. We need to look heavenward and rejoice as our redemption draws near.

It is no coincidence that patience and faithfulness are two facets of the fruit of the Spirit. Today we, as born-again Christians, need the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of our lives. It is the Holy Spirit that leads us in the truth of God’s Word! Jesus has much more to tell us through the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the Word to us, both corporately and individually!

Luke 21:28 (AMP)
Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] your redemption is drawing near.”

Hebrews 11:6 (AMP)
But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.

John 14:26 (AMP)
But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.

5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;

In verse 5 the writers tell us that the persecutions and trials we suffer are manifest evidence of God’s righteous judgement so that we may be considered worthy of His kingdom, worthy of having Jesus as our Saviour, worthy of His calling!

It is only in Christ Jesus that a Christian can overcome the world and overcome trials and tribulations. Our peace is found only in Jesus! Let’s be a Church and a Christian that holds steadfastly to the teachings of the Word and our faith in Christ Jesus alone.

John 16:33 (NKJV)
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

We live in a fallen World but because we have Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we are no longer of this world, we are new creations purchased out of the world by His blood.

John 17:17 (NKJV)
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

As children of God, we are joint heirs with Christ in His suffering so that we may also be glorified together with Him! We must live our lives worthy of the gospel.

Romans 8:16-18 (NKJV)
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

As the Book of James tells us we should consider our trials and sufferings as joy as enduring faithfully through our sufferings produces endurance that will lead us into spiritual maturity and inner peace, the peace of Christ that is beyond our understanding!

James 1:2-4 (AMP)
2 Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. 3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.

Philippians 4:7 (AMP)
And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].

6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

In verse 6 we are told because of the righteousness of God those who trouble us will be repaid with tribulation by God, they will reap what they sow! And in verse 7 we are given the assurance that we will have rest with the Lord when He is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels when He returns.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming - God’s Final Judgment and Glory
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

In verses 8-10 we get a stunning reality check about the second coming of Christ and the glorification of those that know Him – believers, and the severity of God’s final judgement on those that do not know Christ – unbelievers!

The judgement of the unbeliever is described in terms of fire and vengeance, and they will be punished with everlasting destruction which is eternity in Hell where they will be in constant torment!

Revelation 14:11 (NKJV)
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Praying for the Church
11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Since the Thessalonian Church was enduring persecution and tribulation, they needed prayer. Here, Paul and his companions recognise the need to pray for others and assured the Thessalonian Church that they are always praying for them. We too need always to pray for each other!

God gives Christians both as individuals and as a corporate Church a high calling! This calling is to be conformed to His image and to bring glory, honour and praise to His name. In this way we will see Him glorified in us at His coming. As Paul and his companions pray that the Thessalonians may be counted worthy of this calling so must we, today’s Church, be like minded and pray for each other to be worthy of His calling.

It is only by God’s grace that the name Jesus can by glorified in us! Are you living your life in a manner that is worthy of your calling and salvation in Christ Jesus?

When we, today’s Church, are living our lives in full compliance to His Word and are continually being filled with and led by the Holy Spirit in everything we do and say, only then will we bring glory to Him and be glorified at His coming!

Life application for today’s believers

1. Always give thanks to God for our brothers and sisters in Christ especially for those that lead us by God’s calling.

2. Live in a manner that will bring glory to Jesus in everything you do and say and in the way you conduct your relationships with each other – your brothers and sisters in Christ.

3. Be patient and faithful when you go through trials and tribulations – testing times.

4. Allow trials and tribulations to build perseverance in you in Chrit Jesus.

5. Rest in the peace and knowledge that God will bring judgement to those that persecute you. No unrepentant sinner will escape God’s judgement and punishment.

6. Always pray for each other!

Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
In the name of Jesus I pray that in the power of the Holy Spirit that you would help me to live my life in a manner that is worthy of your calling. I pray that you would help me to keep my Christian walk blameless and to have an ever repentant heart. Help me Lord to be a blessing to my brothers and sisters in Christ and to put the needs of others before my own. Amen

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!



Jesus the Name above all names!


Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself. My word is flawed the Bible is not!

Sunday, 1 December 2024

What is Holiness?

 

Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)

The two verses above from Hebrews 12 command us, as born again Christians, to do a number of specific things, and very powerful and important things they are for us to do throughout our Christian walk! They are:

1.  Make every effort to live in peace with everyone.
2.  Be holy as without holiness no one will see the Lord.
3.  See to it that we don't fall short of the grace of God.
4.  So that no bitter root will grow in us and cause trouble and defile others!

Now, number 2 on the list is the glue that holds our Christian walk together with the leading of the Holy Spirit. "Be holy as without holiness no one will see the Lord" is a key foundation on which we are to live our lives as true born again believers in Christ Jesus. After all, as the scripture says, if we do not have holiness we will not see the Lord!

But.......

What is holiness?

In the verses below we can see that it has always been God’s intention for His people to be holy because He is holy. The Lord tells us to consecrate ourselves and be holy.

To consecrate oneself means to dedicate oneself to a higher purpose, for a Christian today this means our purpose is to dedicate ourselves to God through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the Father's will and the works he has predestined us to do in Christ Jesus and walk in them. 

This is NOT salvation by works as we are saved by Gods grace alone! It is the works that God has prepared for us to do because we are saved!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NKJV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The Apostle Peter quoted Leviticus 11:44 in 1 Peter 1:15-16 and thus we know without a shadow of doubt that this instruction still applies to Christians today!

Lev 11:44 (NIV)
I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The Apostle Paul also tells us that we are called to live a holy life because it is His purpose for us through the grace we receive in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 1:9
He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.

God call us to be a holy Church!

Holiness is a characteristic of who God is, and as such holiness should be of paramount importance to us as believers, because without it we will never see God!

Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Before we can look at what the Bible teaches on being holy, let’s first understand what the word 'holy' means from the original Greek text of the New Testament.

Holiness in the verse above is from the Greek word ‘hagiotes’ meaning holiness or sanctity. Hagiotes is derived from the Greek adjective ‘hagios’ which means set apart (for God) for the specific purpose of being holy and sacred.

From this we can safely conclude that God expects us, as Christians, to set ourselves apart to be holy to Him. In fact, Hebrews 12:14 above states quite emphatically that the we won’t see the Lord unless we pursue holiness.

Also, as we endeavour to pursue holiness, we will experience a measure of pain as He chastises us for our own good, through the process of dying to self. That is giving up our old sinful lives and embracing the new creation we are converted to in Christ Jesus. We must all leave our sinful past behind!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Nevertheless, this chastising process will yield within us the peaceable fruit of holiness and righteousness in Christ Jesus. God disciplines the ones He loves - we, the Church, His children!

Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”

Hebrews 12:9-11 (NLT)
9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

In other words, that which is holy belongs to God, and conversely whatever belongs to God is holy. We are sanctified and "set apart for a holy use or purpose" by God, and to find out what our use and purpose is in Christ Jesus we need to live life in the Spirit as it is the Holy Spirit that gives us revelation and guidance in the truth of the Word. In this way our lives and our lifestyles will bring glory to Jesus.

John 16:13-15 (NKJV)
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Christ in me, the hope of glory, be holy as He is holy!

Colossians 1:26-27 (AMP)
26 that is, the mystery which was hidden [from angels and mankind] for ages and generations, but has now been revealed to His saints (God’s people). 27 God [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the] glory.

God has selected us to be His servants and has called us to come out of this world, to be different and separate from the rest of the world. Jesus said,

John 17:14-16 (NIV)
14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

The Christian must live in this present evil world, but his life must he different from the lives of the other people that are in the world – who are not born-again, who do not know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. In other words, our lives and the way and manner in which we live, must reflect God’s holiness

We, as born again believers in Christ Jesus, must come out from any of this world's ways that are sinful and evil out from the religious and spiritual "Babylon" that is this the whole world so that we will not share in their sins.

Revelation 18:4 (NIV)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“‘Come out of her (the world), my people,’[Jer 51:45)
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

Making such a distinction and living by it is one of the many ways that God's true servants are different from the rest of the world.

Instead of being immersed in the lawless and sinful ways of the world, we should put our thoughts on better things:

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This scripture makes is very clear that we should avoid filling our minds with entertainment that is sinful: void of (God’s) love, lustful, sexually illicit or that is filled with murder, hatred, evil and all other such things.

We often justify our sinful actions by saying things like: "It’s only a song — it's only make-believe, it's only a movie, that’s who I am."

On the contrary, the Bible says this:

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We cannot call ourselves Christians and continue to walk in the ways of the world – we must walk in the way of the Spirit (be holy)! Christians need to be different from the rest of this world — to say no to sin, to evil and to wrong things as it is written:

2 Corinthians 7:1 (NLT)
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

God accepts as as we are but once we become born again he doesn't want us to stay in our sinful old self! He wants us to change and be conformed to the image of His Son - our Saviour, Lord and King - Jesus!

We will continue to be holy if we live a life of holiness. That is the way of obedience and conformity with God's ways and His Word. That is living life in the Spirit.

God wants a glorious Church without spot or blemish. Jesus gave his life for the Church in order to make her holy:

Ephesians 5:26-27 (NIV)
26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless

Prayer
Dear Father
In the name of Jesus I pray that you would continually fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to be holy just as you are holy. Amen!


To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself. My word is flawed the Bible is not!