Appreciation and Exhortation (2 Thess. 2:13-16)

Paul here indicates the importance of consistent appreciation of other believers when he states that one of the obligations that he and his friends Silas and Timothy had was to give thanks to God for the faithful believers in Thessalonica. The reason in their case was obvious because, as he goes on to say, the Thessalonians had been converted through the gospel ministry of Paul and his friends when in the city a few months previously. Paul spells out what has happened to the Thessalonians, which is a reminder that our thanksgiving should be intelligent from a spiritual point of view.

The description of believers

The first thing that we can observe about the description is Paul’s desire to focus on the Trinity. He writes that the Thessalonians were loved by the Lord Jesus, chosen by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit. Obviously, he could have said different things in connection to each of the divine Persons, but the point to observe is that he brought each of them into his description. No doubt, he is stressing to the Thessalonians that they should never forget that each of the persons of the Trinity was and is and will be interested in them.

As far as the Lord Jesus is concerned, the detail mentioned is that he loves his people. He showed his love for them by going to the cross in order to pay the penalty for their sins. And he shows his love for them by continuing to represent them in heaven. That may be a reason why he is mentioned first here. In addition, he shows his love by leading them as the Good Shepherd through this life.

The Father is described as the one who chose his people. We know from elsewhere that this choice is an eternal one. He did not choose them because he knew that they would believe the gospel; instead they believe the gospel because he chose them. Of course, it is not possible for us to understand why he chose them, mainly for the reason that he has not told us why he did. All we can say is that his plan is the expression of his infinite and infallible wisdom.

There is a translation issue in this phrase. One rendering is to use the phrase ‘from the beginning’. The problem of this translation is ‘beginning of what’. Does it refer to the beginning of time at creation, or does it refer to before time, or does it refer to the beginning of the gospel? Each of these options would be true, but which one is meant? If it refers to the last option, that of the beginning of the gospel, it would not be that different in meaning from the alternative translation, which is ‘as firstfruits’. If it should be ‘firstfruits’, then Paul has mentioned not only the fact that they were chosen to be saved, but also that the particular time was chosen when they would be saved. Firstfruits is a reference to the religious practice in Israel of presenting to God some of the harvest as a sample of the whole of the harvest, and this idea is used by Paul on several occasions, which is why scholars prefer this translation. Since the firstfruits were a guarantee that eventually there would be a harvest, Paul is saying that he regarded the Thessalonians as evidence that God intended to save others, perhaps in Thessalonica, but also elsewhere.

Of course, whether that rendering is the right one or not, we can still make a valid deduction, which is to realise that the Father’s choice included when he thought it best for us to be saved. We might wish to have been converted in a period when the gospel was more popular. But just as the Thessalonians were chosen to serve in a particular period, so we have been chosen to serve today where we are in God’s providence.

The Holy Spirit is here said to be the sanctifier of his people. Sanctification normally refers to the lifelong process that a believer experiences after conversion. In reality, there are three possible meanings of sanctification. There is definitive (initial) sanctification, there is progressive sanctification, and there is perfect sanctification. The first describes conversion, the second describes ongoing development in holiness, and the third describes what happens when we die (‘made perfect in holiness’, says our catechism).

Here the focus of sanctification is on what happens at conversion, when a sinner believes the truth. The Holy Spirit indwells that sinner and sets him apart to God. That sinner has become a saint, one who is the possession of God, which of course is a very blessed position. This is an unchanging position. Of course, we should realise that the first will result in the other two taking place.

The declaration

Paul refers to his message in two ways: first, he says it is the truth and, second, he says that it is the gospel. We could say that ‘truth’ indicates its reliability and ‘gospel’ points to its positivity. After all, a message can be true but not be good news. In fact, it is possible to mention biblical truths and not declare the gospel. It is true that we are sinners, but if all I do when speaking to someone is mention that he is a sinner then I have not communicated the gospel to him.

Paul elsewhere tells us what the gospel is. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: ‘For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.’ So we can see that the gospel is about what Jesus has done – his death, burial and resurrection. That has to be the truth we pass on to others if we want to be regarded as speaking God’s message of good news. Obviously, a great deal could be said about each of them, but here is one aspect of each: the cross is where Jesus made atonement for the sins of his people, the burial is about authenticating that Jesus actually died, and the resurrection is about authority that Jesus has over the living and the dead.

The fact that the message is good news reminds us also of the effect it should have upon us when we hear it. This good news is connected to joy, to happiness, to delight, in what God’s grace has achieved and provided. The effect of the gospel is salvation, and if salvation does not make us joyful we need to ask if we have been converted. Repeatedly, the Bible stresses that the consequence of receiving salvation is great joy. Joy is not a silly grin, but it is resident in a heart that is satisfied with Jesus.

The destiny

Paul is not content to focus only on what salvation has brought to the Thessalonians. Instead, he wants them to look ahead and grasp the amazing destiny that they have, which is to ‘obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Paul has referred already to this possibility several times in this letter, which suggests that he realised that his readers were having difficulty taking it on board. From one point of view, that is not surprising because the prospect is so wonderful; from another point of view, it is surprising because the prospect was part of the gospel truth that they declared in Thessalonica.  

While it is not possible to explain in detail what this means, we can say that here we have a reference to the fact that believers are joint-heirs with Jesus. He will share with them what his inheritance is. I would suggest that one way by which we can consider the glory of Jesus is to look at it through the three offices that he has, those of prophet, priest and king.

As prophet, he will be the eternal Teacher of his people, and all the teaching that will be given about God will come in the context of the inheritance given to Jesus. He will teach us about God and his plans. As priest, Jesus will lead the praise of God given by angels and his people for ever. They will watch him and join in with him as he declares the name of the Father to his brethren; they will participate in the experience of glory as they discover the wonders connected to praising God, which is why they were created and redeemed. And as king, he will rule over them in kindness and love, ensuring that their obedience to him will be pleasant and satisfying; and in a way that we cannot yet understand they will be kings as well, ruling with him over the new creation.

The glory that Jesus has he possesses because it his reward for his giving of himself on the cross in obedience to the Father’s will. As far as his people are concerned, it has been purchased for them by that same action on the cross – it cost him everything, but for them it is free. Moreover, this glory for each of them will be personal even as their sanctification is personal – their individuality will remain. We can also say that the possession of this state of glory is permanent – they cannot lose it and no one has the power to take it from them. And in a manner that we cannot describe they will partake of it with Jesus as they are with him and behold him for ever (I suppose we could say that each person in Britain has the glory of the sun for themselves even although everyone else is also receiving its benefits. In a far higher sense, this will be the case in glory.

Of course, there is a sense in which all we can do is illustrate the life of the world to come. We are like someone trying to describe a country he has never seen. So all he can do is depict through illustrations with which he is familiar. The one thing we do know about the heavenly experience is that it will be far greater, far more satisfying, far more wonderful than we can grasp in this life. But we should remind ourselves that we are called to it.

The duty

What is required of those who enjoy the blessings of the gospel and who can look ahead to the glory to come? Paul makes it clear in verse 15 that they are called to be faithful. But what are they to be faithful to? Paul makes it very clear that Christians are to remain faithful to the teachings of the apostles. When he mentions traditions, he does not have in mind human customs. Instead, traditions is way of describing his teaching, and he reminds them that there was only two ways by which they could have received it. One was by direct verbal teaching by Paul and his colleagues and the other was by a personal letter from them. We have that teaching in the New Testament.

How do they remain faithful? Paul uses two physical actions to picture what he has in mind. They are to stand firm, which means that they are not to let another person move them away from what they had been told, and they were to hold tightly to what they had been taught, no matter who it was that was trying to take those teachings away. Faithfulness requires tenacity to adhere to what God wants, which means that failing to do so is unfaithfulness.

Who are liable to make us unfaithful? People, when they advocate wrong beliefs and practices. They may not be unbelievers. Instead they may be believers. In the early church, Peter once led believers in Galatia astray. Most of the New Testament letters refer to believers who got it wrong. Today we can be led astray by what people say in books or on DVDs or on blogs. 

Application

James Denney has said that in these verses there is ‘a system of theology in miniature’, because they state that our salvation ‘originates in a divine choice, is wrought out by divine power, is made effective through a divine message, and will be perfected in divine glory.’ So if we grasp the contents of this set of verses, we will be aware of a framework into which we can look at life.

It is possible for someone to deduce, ‘I have made a profession of faith. It does not matter what I believe because I am safe forever. But it does matter because a determination to adhere to his teachings reveals what we think of the glory of Jesus.