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II Thessalonians
Paul wrote this on his third missionary journey from Corinth in 51 AD. It is about 3 types of orientation. Mental attitude orientation, time orientation (eschatology), and functional orientation (subject - prayer). It concludes with the advancement to the maximum level of spiritual maturity.
As background information . . . there were legalists who were carrying forged letters saying the letters were from Paul and others. They were attempting to mislead the Thessalonians. The letters said that they were "in the Tribulation" already. Because of the adversities they were going through at the time, they believed the deception. Paul wrote this epistle to set them straight.
I and II Thessalonians are both Eschatological (future matters) - these were Paul's first letters.
On the third missionary journey, Paul wrote Galatians, I and II Corinthians and Romans. These epistles are generally characterized by the doctrine of Soteriology (salvation). In the first Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The subject was Christology {study of Christ}. Then he wrote in his second imprisonment I and II Timothy and Titus. The subject was Ecclesiology (doctrine of the Church).
Chapter
1
{Salutation
- verses 1-2}
1~~Paul,
and
Silvanus {Silas is his nickname},
and
Timotheus {Timothy} . . .
unto
the church
of
the Thessalonians to your advantage . . .
in
the sphere of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
{Note: Three types of authority here. Paul is universal authority as an Apostle. Silas has delegated authorit from Paul. And, Timothy represents local authority as a pastor-teacher.}
2~~Grace
[charis] unto you
and
peace/'inner happiness' [eirene]
from
the ultimate source of God our Father
and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
[Note: At the time the New Testament was written, the Church consisted primarily of Jews - all who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. However, the Church was divided into two camps. The "Grace Crowd" understood that Jesus fulfilled the Law and now we were under a "Higher Law". Paul and Barnabas headed this group. The other group wanted to stay UNDER the Mosaic Law. They "corrected" Paul's grace message by following him around and telling the Gentiles that in order to truly be saved, you must ALSO follow the Mosaic Law and, as is brought out in the book of Galatians, you must be circumcised to be saved. "Grace", in its technical meaning, is "all that God permits Himself to do for us 'as a result' of the One Work of Jesus Christ on the Cross."]
[Note: Paul habitually FIRST reminded believers of God's Plan we call "Grace". Then he would move on to remind us of the result of Grace - expressed by the Greek word "eirene". "Eirene" means "peace". There are a number of types of peace.
The most common meaning of peace is the "absence of war". If this is the meaning here, then who are the combatants? When man sinned, he "revolted" or "warred" against God. It was Jesus' Work on the cross that resolved this war. So, the first sense of peace here, is the peace between God and man restore as a result of the Work of Christ on the cross.
The second form of peace, is "inner-peace". As a believer grows in spiritual maturity, he comes to understand that he relies on God. This realization results in an inner-peace . . . a great internal calmness and happiness. Who can stand against God? So, if you rely on God, why worry? Believers start to "rest in their faith" or "Faith Rest". They become relaxed, confident, happy, and calm. The mature believer can be recognized by his calmness in most situations and his self-control and clear thinking under stressful situations.]
{Prosperity
verse}
3~~We
are obligated
to
give thanks to The God concerning you,
brethren,
[members of the Family of God]
as
it is fitting/worthy
{when contacting a mature believer}
because
"that which is believed by you" [pistis]
grows
exceedingly . . .
{pistis also means "faith" - here doctrine in the soul
probably the most accurate use}
and
the 'impersonal love' [agape]
of
every one of you all
toward
each other of the same kind [allelon] . . .
overflows.
{Adversity
verse}
4~~With
the result that we ourselves
{Paul and other believers}
recognize
in you a job well done [kauchaomai]
{means 'glory in something done' - here it means
to rejoice and recognize a job well done} . . .
as
well as in the churches of God
on
behalf of your "patient endurance"/
"patient
frame of mind" [hupomone]
{means to place your faith in God and endure
whatever your circumstances - adversity in view here}
even
your faith [pistis]
{faith rest applied - first having faith and then relying on
"that which is believed" - faith being applied}
in
all your persecutions [diogmos]
-
to your advantage -
{you grow in maturity from the testing}
and
tribulations/'mental persecutions' [thlipsis]
that
you endure
[again
and again].
[Note: Please keep in mind what was going on when this was written in circa 53 AD. The Romans were in power. They were persecuting, torturing, and burning Christians like it was nothing. These are not minor hard times the Thessalonians are enduring.]
5~~
"Evidence [endeigma]
{Their Faith Rest Attitude is seen on the outside
but it comes from the inside - their inner life}
of
the righteous [dikaios]
act
of judging [krisis]
by
The God"
for
the purpose that
you
may be counted worthy
{according to divine standards}
of
the kingdom of God [basileia theos]
{kingdom of priests}
"on
behalf of which"/"as a substitute for" [huper]
you
also suffer.
[Note:
The Thessalonians are mature believers. They are applying
the
doctrine in their souls to endure the terrible persecutions they
are
innocently experiencing. This is part of the God's process. It
gives
Him the opportunity to demonstrate to all in Heaven and on Earth
that "His Grace is sufficient" for all mature believers. Paul
was
so mature, his test was administered directly by Satan - see
II
Corinthians 12:7-9 .]
{Note:
Verses 6-7a combine into an 'Eschatological conditional
clause'.
Verse 6 is the protasis. The first 1/2 of verse 7 is the
apodosis.
The rest of verse 7 actually goes with verse 8.}
6-7a~~If
it be so
-
and it is -
a
judicious thing
from
the immediate source of God
to
recompense to them who trouble you 7a~~
then
to you
{mature believers using faith rest in times of trouble}
who
are receiving pressures/adversities . . .
relax
[anesis]
in
times of pressure
with
us
{no one faced more pressures than Paul and
he used the Faith Rest Technique}.
[Note:
Those who persecute God's Family will receive back to themselves
just compensation for their actions. God is the Judge and the
Administer of retribution. Leave it in His Hands! Nothing is more
confusing to someone persecuting you than for you to not retaliate.
They keep waiting for the hammer to drop from YOU. Instead the hammer
is in God's hand!]
{One
long sentence - 2nd Advent (NOT rapture that comes earlier) -
this is the description of the "Baptism of Fire"}
7b-10~~When
the Lord Jesus
shall
be making an appearance [apokalupsis]
[becomes manifest - revealed]
from
heaven
accompanied
by His mighty angels . . . 8~~
in
a fire burning . . .
constantly
exercising
'punitive
justice/recompense' [ekdikesis]
[when humans do "ekdikesis" it is called vengeance - when
applied to God it is "perfect recompense"]
on
them
who
know not God
[would include unbelievers and believers operating on human
viewpoint - meaning they are not mature . . . they do not
know and apply Divine Doctrine to experience and here are
persecuting fellow believers]
and
"do not listen to the knock and open the door to"
[hupakouo - used for a doorman who hears the knock on the
door but refuses to answer - they hear the gospel of Jesus
but reject Him - they reject the Father and the Son - they
are unbelievers]
the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 9~~
who
{both groups}
shall
be punished with justice
with
everlasting destruction [olethros]
from
the ultimate source of the face to face presence of Lord
[means that unbelievers will go into the Lake of Fire and
forever will not be permitted into the presence of the Lord -
once they die without believing there is no recovery]
and
from the glory [doxa]
of
His "inner endowed power" [ischus] 10~~
[they will never experience the benefits of having
doctrine resident in their souls - the inner-happiness
of Faith Resting]
on
the occasion of His coming {second advent} . . .
to
receive glory
"accompanied
with" [en]
His
saints
{church age believers return with Christ} . . .
and
to be adored
by
all them
who
believe
(because
our
"communication
[of the gospel]"/testimony
[marturion]
among
you was believed)
in
that day.
[Note: This is the description of the Second Advent of Christ. This occurs at the END of the Tribulation. He will return all the way to the Earth with His angels and with Church Age believers who are now also in Resurrection Bodies.
Jesus will remove unbelievers from the Earth all by Himself and we will observe. This always happens when a new civilization begins. It happened at the Garden of Eden, with the Noah Generation flood, and now the Millennial reign of Christ will begin with believers only.
Finally, this verse tells us that Paul understood that his writings would be preserved and there would be believers at the 2nd Advent "because of his communication to the Thessalonians" was going to be preserved and believed by those alive in that day.]
{Functional
orientation}
11~~For
this purpose,
also
we pray at all times [pantote]
{iterative - at points in time}
concerning
you {the Thessalonians}:
that
our [mutual] God
"would
esteem you worthy"
[axioo humas axioo - aorist active subjunctive - at a point
in time maybe you will be esteemed by God of "worthy' -
only those who are imputed with His Righeousness can
be worthy - so this means to be a believer]
of
His Calling [klesis],
and
"fill" [pleroo - to fill up a deficiency]
[GAP grace apparatus for perception -take
in doctrine and more doctrine and become a mature believer]
all
the benevolance/"good will"/delight [pas eudokia]
[possible
in]
"the
on-going process of His Divine Goodness" [agathosune]
[the suffix "sune" indicates an "ongoing process"]
and
the "Divine Good Production" [ergon]
[ergon is either "work" when generated by the viewpoint of the
flesh (human viewpoint) or "Divine Good Production" when
produced under the energy of the Spirit]
of
faith/"that which is believed"/doctrine [pistis]
by
"demonstrated power" [dunamis]
[dunamis is demonstrated power from the power inside - it
is the Divine Good Production made manifest that is evident
from watching the actions of a mature beleiver].
12~~With
the purpose that
the
name/person/reputation [onoma]
of
our Lord Jesus Christ
[He BELONGS to us! He is "our" Lord! (And we belong to Him)]
may
be adorned with glory {edoxazo}
by/in
[en] you NOW
[Your actions reflect on Him - so use His Viewpoint and
bring glory to Him!]
and
you by/in [en] Him
according
to the norm or standard [kata]
of
the grace [charis]
of
our God
[He also BELONGS to us - He is OUR God (And we also belong
to Him) - and Grace is the name of His plan for us]
and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
[all members of the Godhead think alike. The Plan of Grace
belongs to all of Them equally]
[Note: Edoxazo does mean "invested" or "adorned" with glory. It is in the 'ingressive aorist tense'. This means "NOW". This refers to your potential to glorify Christ in time! He will be glorified forever in eternity future, but you can bring glory to Him in time by filling up your cup and applying what you have learned to ALL your experiences in life. You tell people you are a follower of Christ. What you do then refects what they think of Him!]
{Note: When you take in doctrine and take in doctrine and advance to Super Grace status, then you have a 'cup in your soul' that holds lots of doctrine so that 'My cup runs over'. Then you are a Mature Believer. When you are in fellowship and from your free will decide to apply His Viewpoint to all you do, then that is Divine Good Production that He produces . . . Divine good . . . then Christ is glorified in time.}
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