2 Thessalonians 3

7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.

These verses helped me to imagine Apostle Paul, Silas, Timothy and others working night and day, laboring & toiling with one goal in mind.  With the desire to see the Thessalonians growing in their newly found faith, these amazing church planters worked hard with their hands.  They thought about the future when the Thessalonians will be on their own trying to live out the gospel and these leaders wanted to model for them that as Christians we should be hard working people who can be financially independent instead of being idle & fleshly where they become a burden for others.  Maybe there were some people who were idle in the society or within the church Apostle Paul was concerned about and he gave this warning to the Thessalonians.  These leaders had the “rights” to not work and receive financial support as they sacrificed so much and came all the way, working hard to share the gospel with the church and teaching God’s Word.   But instead of thinking about their “rights,” their mind was on how to leave them with a model to follow that will help their spiritual growth.   Not just in this text, but no matter what part of life we look at on Apostle Paul’s life, one thing that comes out shining is his “love” for all the churches.  His heart is filled with concerns and desires for the churches, his life is filled with prayers for the churches.

In contrast, the thoughts of my “rights” surface in my heart so readily and so often occupy my heart.  This is especially true at the end of the day when I’m tired or when I’m focused on my needs or when I am focused on the things that I have to do.   I’ve noticed that when I am focused on people and their needs and am concerned over them, my mind is not thinking about my rights.  Surely, “loving people” is the only way to free ourselves from our excessive greed that focuses on our “rights.”  I realize that I also can be idle even though I am working hard and fully independent.  Being idle can be a state of mind where we are allowing our minds to wander wherever they want to go and this would surely be something that Apostle Paul wants to warn the church about as well.  Apostle Paul worked hard night and day, laboring & toiling and his heart was not idle.  Instead his heart was filled with people, thinking about their need for a model to follow, thinking about how they can grow in their faith and finish the race that they have begun.   In the same way, I want to commit my thought life to be not idle but to be thinking about people and their needs.

——————————

Submitted by Sara Hong, Gracepoint Berkeley

Why was it important for Apostle Paul to consider himself an example, even in mundane character issues such as diligence?  How might our own character issues be important in bearing faithful witness to God?

It was important for Apostle Paul to consider himself as an example, because he was intensely aware of his calling as God’s servant and shepherd for God’s people.  He knew that every aspect of his life was closely connected to those of other believers, and consequently guarded his behavior (in even mundane character issues such as diligence) in order that as an apostle of God, he would set the right example for newer believers to follow.  He was especially careful to embody what he preached to others because, as he says elsewhere, “I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:27).  Although I may be tempted to make the excuse that my character issues are not that crucial in how I bear faithful witness to God, it’s clear from Paul’s example that it is very important.  My commitment to the people God has placed in my life does not leave me room to make excuses for my sin or character issues.

What are some character issues need to grow in, and what specific steps do I need to take?

Some character issues I need to grow in are my people-pleasing tendencies and my desire for emotional comfort.  As a middle child, I grew up constantly trying to smooth things over, and I wanted to appear to be someone who brought peace to relationships; I just wanted to avoid conflicts at all costs, because they made me feel too uncomfortable.  This is a very worldly and superficial way to think, and it is especially dangerous in the context of ministry, since the Bible makes clear that we should speak the truth in love and urge people to leave sin.  I need to heed the words that Jeremiah spoke to the priests of his time, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).  The Bible reserves the harshest rebukes for people who have the title of being some kind of a spiritual leader, but who do not share God’s heart to bring them to repentance.  I need to ask myself, am I someone who is satisfied with “band-aid solutions” and soothe people with words of peace when there is no peace?  I need to repent for how I dishonor the high standards of God when I don’t correct, rebuke, or exhort people to greater obedience.  Some specific steps I need to take in are the following: when I see someone do something questionable or unloving, bring it up with that person right away and point it out; be committed to the principle of speaking the truth in love so that in all things, we can grow up into him who is the head, Jesus Christ; take ownership over everyone, rather than just people who are directly with me, and be alert to their behavior.  Finally, I cannot have the strength or perseverance to follow through with these things unless I’m constantly praying about this humanistic tendency within me, and seeing how it harms my relationship with God and harms the precious people God has placed in my life.

Why does Apostle Paul seem to be making such a big issue out of ‘idleness’?  How can one be ‘idle’ and a ‘busybody’ at the same time, especially in spiritual matters?

Apostle Paul seems to be making a big issue of ‘idleness’ because such people “are not busy; they are busybodies.”  Some people had quit their jobs in anticipation of Christ’s return, and Paul writes to the Thessalonian church to clarify that this is not something to be emulated or praised, since they’re being destructive to the church.  The apostles had great reason to believe in the imminent return of the Lord, but they didn’t allow themselves to relax in any way.  Instead, they worked hard among them and gave up their right to be financially supported by the church.  Someone can be “idle” and a “busybody” at the same time when they’re failing to take ownership over their own responsibilities.  This involves not just earning the bread that they eat through diligent hard work, but the spiritual diligence of being faithful to the Word of God and prayer.  As our entire church gears up for the busyness of fall outreach in a few weeks, this is an especially pertinent warning to heed for myself.  I need to prioritize my time in God’s Word and prayer all the more and, in this way, not become a mere busybody.

“Paul’s request reminds us that we never reach a place in our Christian maturity or service where we progress beyond the need of prayer. Prayer remains essential to the life and work of all believers, not as a ritual, but as an honest interaction of longing and trust with our Lord. Prayer that agrees with Christ’s will always result in divine empowerment. We are foolish if we assume that the work of God can be carried forward without prayer.”^[1]

vv.6-10 “The second section moves to a topic which had arisen previously in 1 Thes. 4:11–12; 5:14. It makes clear that the problem of certain members of the church living in idleness off the generosity of others went back to the time when the church was founded (10). Evidently there were people who were living on the poverty line and relied on the gifts of the richer people. The belief that the day of the Lord had come may have encouraged their attitude. This way of life was giving the church a bad name, and therefore Paul speaks out strongly against it. V 6 begins with a sharp command (cf. 1 Thes. 4:11), backed up by the authority of the Lord, that the church members must avoid those whose conduct is unworthy. The latter are not to be deprived of their place in the church, but there is to be a certain distancing from them so that they recognize that their conduct is not acceptable or in accord with the established teaching of the church handed on by Paul (1 Thes. 4:1–2). That teaching was illustrated concretely in the way of life of Paul and his fellow-missionaries whose conduct is here put forward as an example to follow. The missionaries did not live in a disorderly or idle manner (cf. 5:14 note), and they had not therefore needed to receive gifts of food from people in the church. (niv without paying for it suggests that they did pay for it. More likely Paul means that they did not ask for or receive free gifts of food from the church but went to the shops and bought what they needed.) It should be needless to say that this does not mean that the missionaries rigidly refused to accept hospitality when they were offered it. Rather, they had worked hard to avoid being a nuisance to other people (cf. 1 Thes. 2:9). This was despite the fact that Paul believed strongly and taught that churches had an obligation to provide for their teachers (1 Thes. 2:6b; 1 Cor. 9:4–6, 14; Gal. 6:6). For the sake of the situation in Thessalonica Paul gave up this privilege. There were thus more reasons than one why Paul worked with his hands while carrying on his missionary work. His example matched the instructions which he gave (the tense used suggests ‘repeatedly’). Although the command has the form of an instruction to the well-off not to give to the idle hungry people, it is primarily meant as a warning to the latter. It is worth repeating that the proverb-type saying applies to people who are unwilling to work, not to those who have no opportunity, and is therefore not an argument against welfare provision for the unemployed.”^[2]

vv.11-12 “The niv brings out well the deliberate play on words not busy … [but] busybodies. Instead of working themselves, they were keeping other people back from their work. They are very sharply commanded—again on the authority of the Lord—to avoid being nuisances to other people (niv, settle down; cf. 1 Thes. 4:11), and to work hard so as to be able to buy what they need.” ^[3]

v.13 “Then by contrast Paul addresses the rest of the church and, despite the danger of their being taken advantage of by the idlers, tells them not to tire of doing what is right (cf. Gal. 6:9). In this context it must mean that they are not to give up on caring for the needy even if sometimes people take advantage of them.”^[4]

vv:14-15 “Paul commands that those who disregard his instructions must be dealt with by the community. But they are to be dealt with not as enemies but as brothers. The discipline given by a man who contemptuously looks down upon the sinner and speaks to hurt may terrify and wound but it seldom amends. It is more likely to produce resentment than reformation. When Christian discipline is necessary it is to be given as by a brother to a brother, not in anger, still less in contempt but always in love.”^[5]

^[2] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (2 Th 3:1–16). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

^[3] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (2 Th 3:1–16). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

^[4] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (2 Th 3:1–16). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

^[5] The letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. 2000 (W. Barclay, lecturer in the University of Glasgow, Ed.) (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The Daily study Bible series, Rev. ed. (219). Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.

Satan is often depicted as the great deceiver, and particularly in the last days, he will be actively at work in steering people away from the truth of the Gospel through all sorts of counterfeit means.  What examples of counterfeit expectations are prevalent in today’s society that steer people away from the truth (e.g. basis of happiness, promise of satisfaction, etc.)?

-Pursue my happiness because I deserve to be happy. Be true to myself. I should love myself. Trust myself, depend on myself.

-No one should impose their beliefs on me. No one should tell me what to do. I alone determine my life.

-Materialism and consumerism. Buy things that make me happy.

-Find happiness in romantic relationships through casual dating. Satisfy our lust, need for security and self-worth by engaging in relationships with people of the opposite gender. Forget marriage and commitment, which seem too archaic and boring for our modern society.

-Take care of myself and my family. Secure my children’s future and make sure they are on the fastrack to acceptance from a top-notch university.

-Life is unpredictable so I need to protect myself and my family financially. I need to make more money, be savvy with my investments, and build walls of protection around myself.

-Build my self-esteem, self-image. Change my image depending on who I need to impress and what I want to obtain.

-Satisfy my ambition by pursuing the highest achievement possible in academics and career. Then I will receive the respect I deserve.

-Life is unpredictable, resources are limited. I have enough problems of my own to worry about. I don’t have any room for anyone else’s problems.

Why is the truth found in the Gospel forfeited so readily today?

The truth found in the gospel is to acknowledge God and live a life of love, sacrifice, and self-denial, taking up my cross daily to follow Jesus. This truth is so readily forfeited today because I live in a world that upholds naturalism, individualism, and exalts and worships the self. The gospel truth dethrones the self and places God back on the throne of our lives. The gospel truth acknowledges the most fundamental truth that God is the Creator of heaven and earth. God created me, breathed life into me, and every day my life is sustained by nothing of my own doing, but everything that God has provided….the air I breathe, my basic needs of water, food, shelter, beauty of creation all around me, relationships with other people, and the proper functioning of my body/mind/heart, my very own life. Instead of giving thanks to God, in today’s society, we have rejected God who created us, we worship created and man-made things, and live to please our own desires and appetites.

As a Christian I forfeit the gospel truth when my life revolves around me, and my Christian commitment wavers depending on my life circumstances. It was easy to make commitments to God when I was young and had little worries.  However, as I get older and experience setbacks, personal moral failures, health problems, difficulties at work, mundane life with child-rearing and endless house chores, disappointments and difficulties in ministry, hurt in relationships, my natural instinct is to try to control my present life and fear the future. My instinct is to hoard my time and energy, use my resources to fix my problems, focus on myself and become anxious and stressed. I start to view Christian life as how God can benefit me and improve my life, instead of how I ought to acknowledge and worship God. I complain and demand God to give me the life that I want, rather than to serve Him with the life He’s given me. I want God to take away problems, pains and hurts rather than to learn through them that God is sovereign and have greater faith. I worry and become anxious as if God cannot be trusted with my life and the lives of people I love. The gospel truth is that I am made for God, and God is worthy of my whole life regardless of the circumstances. And when I acknowledge this truth and live to please God, I actually experience wholeness, peace, and joy.

Another way that the gospel truth is forfeited is when I am confronted of sin in my life and I reject the truth about myself. Instead of humbly acknowledging my sinfulness, examining my own heart and repenting, I become defensive, give other explanations/excuses, blame others, and engage in other ways to deflect the truth. I fluctuate back and forth between feeling justified by my excuses and a sense of self-pity and self-loathing. My sinful pride and ego refuses to die and demands to be soothed and comforted. The result is that the Word of God, correction, and wisdom is rejected.

How can I guard myself so that I will not end up ‘delighting in wickedness’ (v.12)?

v. 10 They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

v. 13 …from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

I can guard myself by strengthening my belief in and love of the truth by surrounding myself with people who speak the truth to me, not people who tell me what I want to hear and comfort me. I need leaders who are older and wiser in Christian life to guide me and tell me the truth about myself. I need to be committed to hearing this truth and trusting that this is a loving thing they are doing for me by telling me the truth about myself. Instead of deflecting the truth, I commit to reflecting on the truth, examining my heart and values, letting it sink in, and asking God to forgive me and do this sanctifying work of the Spirit in my life.

v. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

I can guard myself by standing firm and holding to the teachings passed down to me. How do I listen to messages, Bible studies, prayer meetings, and other teachings I receive? Paul commands the Thessalonians to “hold to the teachings passed on to [them].” Instead of passively listening to messages and forgetting them afterwards, I need to listen with the intention of holding onto them so that I can stand firm in my faith. Paul repeats this command to stand firm many times in his letters because there are many obstacles and it is not easy to do. I live in a society with values that forfeit the gospel truth. I am a sinner and my default is to reject truth that makes me uncomfortable. I am well-trained in mental gymnastics and emotional maneuvers that deflect truth. So, when I listen to the messages and bible studies, I have to be alert. I have to do honest assessment of my life, and apply the messages to my life.

—————————

Submitted by Hyunjung Yu, Gracepoint Berkeley

Some examples of the counterfeits that steer people away from the truth are the fallen standards of morality/rejection of moral standards (nobody’s perfect vs. the truth that I am a sinner), the notion of science/naturalism as superior as absolute (it cannot be trusted unless it’s proven scientifically vs. the truth that there is a spiritual world), people’s disconnect and neglect of the inner world and focusing too much on the exterior world ( I need to focus on my academics, job and goals vs. the truth that I really need is the grace and forgiveness of God)

Why is the truth found in the Gospel forfeited so readily today? The gospel is easily steered away because the society emphasizes and focuses so much on the things that are seen whereas the Gospel’s promise and assurance lies in the unseen and to our generation who are engrossed in the visually-enriched, shallow culture and media, the unseen, non-immediate isn’t really a priority . Another reason is because of foolishness of people living as if death is a far and distant reality in their life and the promises of the Gospel don’t seem that attractive. Even for those who are concerned about the spiritual world and death, they still steer away from the Gospel because living by the Gospel goes against the grain of their desires for wealth, ambition, pleasures etc.  The Gospel is forfeited by believers who want to create a more attractive version of it by watering it down and giving them false hopes that they can gain wealth and pleasures through it.

How can I guard myself so that I will not end up ‘believe the lie’ (v.11) or ‘delighting in wickedness’ (v.12)? 2Thess 2 talks a lot about the power of the lies and counterfeit signs and how believing in them ends up in delighting in wickedness and condemnation. How does one end up being deceived and believing in lies? Is it just because the distractions of the world and the devils schemes (power of the delusion, Satan’s miracles, and the lawless one’s secret power) are so overwhelming that there’s no way to reject these lies? 2Thess 2 says that ultimately people believe in lies(v.11) because they refuse to love and believe the truth (V.10, 12). I think it’s very true in my life as well. I believe in lies when I am too lazy to examine my sinful thoughts and beliefs and lose the chance of repenting and replace them with the thoughts and ways of God. I end up reinforcing these lies when I don’t confess them because of my pride and turn away from people who can correct and instruct me. I become deluded when I reject the truth that is harsh and want to remain in the soothing and comforting thoughts about myself and my life. But on the other hand, there are so many channels/tools through which I can live a life of truth and avoid delighting in wickedness. I have been taught by my leaders and other Christians not to merely accept the expectations, tradition or norms and lies of this world but to always bring biblical discernment to it. If I have the willingness to embrace the truth, I also have the powerful tools like the Word of God, prayer and an abundant source of truth and wisdom in God’s community. I have people whom I can receive help from through confession and correction in avoiding wicked thoughts and deeds. I can also be motivated by the promise and sobering warning in God’s Word that He will reveal all that is lawless and wicked at the proper time and that though the wrong may seem right in this day and age, ultimately He is in control and will make things right.

So far, so good. But at this point we begin to encounter difficulties, not so much because of what Paul said, but because of what he did not say. That is, in communicating with the Thessalonians, Paul took for granted information that both he and they already knew, and consequently he did not spell it out in his letter. No doubt his meaning was clear to his readers. But because he did not spell out certain critical details, his meaning is not clear to his later readers. The passage, therefore, presents a major obstacle: How does one bridge between the original meaning and contemporary significance when the original meaning at some points cannot be determined? [1]

Framing the question in this way (i.e., in terms of what we don’t know) may not be the most effective way to approach the task of bridging contexts. Rather than worry initially about the information we lack, it may be more productive first to focus on the information we do have and what we do know about the meaning of the passage, which is considerable.

(1) To begin with, even though we do not know the cause or source of the Thessalonians’ (mis)understanding of the Day of the Lord (nor, so it seems, did Paul; cf. 2:2), we do have a good idea of what the problem was: Apparently some of the Thessalonians thought that the “Day of the Lord” had already arrived. While unusual, this view is not without parallels today (e.g., Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ’s coming occurred on October 1, 1914, but that it was invisible rather than public and involved a change of location in heaven) — though in Christian circles, one is unlikely to encounter this view. Instead of arguments among Christians today about whether the Day of the Lord has already come, one is much more likely to encounter arguments about when it will come.

(2) Paul’s answer is relatively straightforward: The “day of the Lord” and “our being gathered to him” will not come until after certain other things happen. These things (which could be two sequential items, but more likely are components of a single complex event) are “the rebellion” and the revealing of “the man of lawlessness” (2:3). What is interesting about this answer is that in speaking to the Thessalonians’ uncertainty about whether the Day had come, Paul speaks directly to the question of when it will come. Thus even though the issue in Thessalonica is different from the dominant question today, Paul’s answer speaks to both.

(3) Although Paul says nothing more about the first item (the rebellion), he does say a fair amount about the character and activity (though not the identity) of the “man of lawlessness.” From the description given — a lawless individual doing the deceptive work of Satan, who not only opposes God but actually seeks to push God aside and exalt himself in God’s place — it is clear that Paul has in mind the same figure referred to in 1 John 2:18 as the “antichrist” and in Revelation 13 as the “beast.”

Thus, to summarize the key elements in (2) and (3), Paul lays out a clear sequence of events. First comes the “rebellion” and the appearance of “the man of lawlessness,” and then the return (parousia) of the genuine Christ and the gathering up of believers to be with him.

(4) An important implication can be drawn from what Paul says here about the sequence of events: Believers ought to be prepared to experience persecution and distress for the sake of the gospel during the time of the rebellion and Antichrist’s appearing. Indeed, believers ought to be prepared to experience such things even before the appearance of the Antichrist, because, as Paul points out in 2:7, “the secret power of lawlessness is already at work.” This explains (at least in part) why Paul took it for granted that believers “would be persecuted” (1 Thess. 3:4) — a truth that the Thessalonians certainly were ready and able to confirm in light of their own experience. To put the matter a bit differently, the “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) for which we wait is not, as some contend, a “rapture” or escape from persecution. Rather it is, as Titus 2:13 makes clear, “the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” — an appearing that will bring vindication and relief to God’s people in the midst of persecution (2 Thess. 1:5 – 10; 2:8).

(5) The mention of vindication brings us to an important point Paul makes in this passage, one that is even clearer than what he says about the sequence and timing of events: in the end, Jesus wins (2:8). In the midst of all the details about the man of lawlessness and his activities, we must not miss what Paul says about the lawless one’s ultimate fate. Paul first hints at this in 2:3, where he describes him as a “man doomed to destruction,” and he states his point clearly in 2:8: Jesus will “overthrow” and “destroy” him. Despite his strenuous efforts to deceive and mislead, despite “counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” of all sorts, despite his efforts to proclaim himself God over all, the man of lawlessness will eventually fail. The outcome of the struggle between Christ and Antichrist is certain beyond any shadow of doubt: in the end, Jesus wins! [2]

A broader perspective. I. H. Marshall makes an important observation with regard to 2:12.

The effect of v. 12 is to generalise to some extent what Paul has been saying. We do not have to wait until the point when we can, as it were, identify the arrival of the final climax of evil in order to see the outworking of the divine process of judgment. It is true at all times that sin consists in delighting in what is wrong. … It follows that the primary significance of the passage is not that we should be trying to calculate whether or not the End is near but that we should be concerned about the moral and spiritual issues which are involved.

In other words, Paul’s final generalizing comment returns the focus from the future to the present: Our fate then will be determined by how we respond to the truth of the gospel now. [3]

vv.11-12 “On the basis of verse 11, God is sometimes charged with deceiving people. But verse 10 sets the critical context: ‘They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth … For this reason’ they experience delusion. As in Rm 1:24–25 (‘God delivered them over … They exchanged the truth of God for a lie’), so here: The delusions certain people experience reflect God’s response to a prior decision on their part.”^[4]

v.13 “Salvation is always the result of the active grace of God. No one earns it on the basis of works or beliefs. Salvation is the result of God’s choice to make salvation available. Yet the fact that God chooses is not presented as an act that limits the availability of salvation. There is no direct statement in the New Testament to the effect that the option of salvation is unavailable to certain persons or that God has chosen some for damnation. But sadly, the passage overall gives ample evidence that some people will choose not to avail themselves of God’s salvation.”^[5]

[2] Holmes, Michael W. “Bridging Contexts” In The NIV Application Commentary: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By Michael W. Holmes, 237-243. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998.

[3] Holmes, Michael W. “Bridging Contexts” In The NIV Application Commentary: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By Michael W. Holmes, 237-243. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998.

^[4] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1796). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

^[5] Martin, D. M. (2001). Vol. 33: 1, 2 Thessalonians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (251–252). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Reflect on the fact that “God is just.”  How should this reality affect the way I deal with suffering, persecution, trouble, etc?

Many times, when people face suffering or difficulties, their initial response is whether God is there or why is He allowing this to happen. However, as seen from this passage, when Christians face suffering, persecution or trouble, we can rest assured that God is in control, that He will “pay back trouble to those who trouble you” and “give relief to you who are troubled” (v. 6). For me, I haven’t really gone to the extent of suffering or being persecuted much, but even in the face of little suffering, I can begin to doubt God’s goodness or think Christian life is hard. However, as a Christian, I should know that suffering is a natural part of Christian life, as seen in Jesus’ life and Apostle Paul’s ministry. Many times, I like to please people around me and avoid uncomfortable situations. But this attitude stems from my self-absorbed and self-preserving attitude, and ultimately lack of trust that God is sovereign and that He is in control. From this passage, I see how I need to do my best in following God and I shouldn’t care too much of how the world views me, and I should leave the rest to God.

Is this motivating me to live a life worthy of his calling?

In this passage, Apostle Paul connects the fact of suffering with the phrases of “worthy of the kingdom of God” (v. 5) and “worthy of his calling” (v. 11). As part of the Taiwan mission team members, some of us were able to go to a Youth Missions Conference this past week,

Gracepoint Hsinchu at Youth Missions Conference

and I was challenged by all the stories of the “great cloud of witnesses” throughout the history of missionaries in the world and in Taiwan. When I think of “being worthy,” many times, I can think of being able to bring many people to Christ or being competent, etc. But at the conference, a speaker shared about Robert Morrison (missionary to China) and Adoniram Judson (missionary to Burma), who received much persecution and ridicule throughout their lifetime. At the end of their lives, they only had a handful of converts and they did not see the fruits of their labor. However, it was their obedience to following Christ’s example to the cross and their trust in God’s sovereignty that led them to give their lives fully to God’s kingdom. Eventually, only after their deaths did their fruits of labor in terms
of translating the first Chinese Bible and the first Burmese Bible impact so many people. All these missionaries’ lives reaffirmed this passage that being worthy of God’s kingdom is a life that is fully trusting and obedient to God. Now, serving in Taiwan, I pray that I may let this truth sink in: that it’s not “how effective” I can be as a minister or “how much I can do,” but how obedient I am to God’s commands, how much I trust Him, how much I embrace suffering that would make me worthy of His calling.

—————————————

Submitted by Jisup Hong

O. What does Apostle Paul boast about among the churches?

About the Thessalonians’ perseverance and faith, and those in the context of all the persecutions and trials they are enduring.

A. What is the picture that emerges of the Thessalonian church based on what was written about faith and love, and now perseverance and faith?

Here is a church that is growing in faith and love for each other, but the context that they are in is persecution.  It is not like out of a great abundance of good things happening, or happy circumstances, or success, they are growing in faith and love—but in the midst of trial and persecution.  So perhaps this is why in v.3 it is faith and love, but it v.4 it is faith and perseverance—because there is something there that in the midst of persecution and trials, that their love for one another is increasing—rather than each of them turning to their own interests, trying to take care first of their own problems.  Wouldn’t then love be decreasing?  So what Apostle Paul is so proud of them for is that although they are being persecuted, yet they are holding onto their faith—in the gospel—and they are living it out more and more—their love for each other is increasing.  So then, this is something that Apostle Paul can point to among God’s churches to say, this is how you should be.

A. Why does Apostle Paul boast?

Interesting that in Gal 6:14? he said, may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…  Well, one thing, he is certainly not boasting about himself or about how he is better than someone else.  His boast here is about the Thessalonians’ perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials they are enduring…  perhaps then this is what he cherishes and delights in—perhaps this is what it looks like when you boast in the cross of Christ, rather than yourself.  This is what the cross of Christ, what Jesus did for us, is doing—it has made these people—the Thessalonians, into brothers—and made the into such people that even in the midst of persecutions and trials, they are enduring, and not only so, but their faith is growing—their appreciation for the cross is growing—and their love for one another is increasing.  How great is what Jesus did for us on the cross!!

P. What are some points of application for me?

Well, it means that I cannot use difficulties in my life as an excuse as to why I am not increasing in loving the particular people that God has placed in my life—because, in fact, difficulties, persecutions, and trials—this is the very context in which God calls me to love people in.  This is what brings glory to God.  My context is that I am a graduate student, way behind in my thesis for various reasons, that I am raising a small child, that modern life is busy with commuting, daycare, email, cellphones, etc., that I keep getting sick, and that my responsibilities given my age and stage in life often challenge the limits of my character and life skills, that I minister to people who are also stressed and busy, attend school where most of the people I work with regularly are hostile to the gospel, etc.  Still, all this is quite far from the persecutions and trials that people of the early church experienced, and that many Christians throughout the world today contend with.  Indeed if I think I have an excuse, then I am deluded.

I also need to be careful not to fool myself into thinking that I love people just because I have feelings or sentiments for people even though I do not engage in love acts toward specific people such that they might not even know that I had such feelings or sentiments—it is very clear here, that love must be concrete and specific, based on the very precise wording here, which is unnecessary if a kind of general “love” were sufficient—or at least I don’t know that it would evoke thanksgiving like here.

I also need to see that the love I have for people and care about whether the love that those I am responsible for have for others is increasing.  There is a huge temptation to just settle—here is my scope of people—a circle of people with me in the center—and to be satisfied there, which is really in a sense to say that since my needs are met, I don’t need to do more.  That seems to be quite self-centered, which is not the way of the cross of Jesus.  Even if there are only few people that I have love for—that should be increasing, so that sooner or later it should spill over onto others, and it ought to be Jesus, and not me, deciding when is enough.  What Apostle Paul actually says here is quite challenging, love that every one of them has for each other—the scope is their whole church.

Once again, I realize that an actual church, a body of real people who are in the same place—that is how the gospel is lived out.  You can talk about loving people all you want, but you have to ask, where are the people?  Who are the people?  Apostle Paul doesn’t say—“because your love for humanity is increasing,” he doesn’t say, “because your love for all believers everywhere.”  Not that Apostle Paul has something against loving people outside your church, but if I think that I love all believers everywhere, but there are not many concrete people that I actually show love to at my own church—based on what he writes here, it seems like he might think that was empty talk rather than an inspiring love.

“Consequently (NIV ‘therefore’) Paul reports two more reasons why he gives thanks and ‘boasts’ (cf. 1 Thess. 2:19) to other congregations about the Thessalonians. These are the ‘perseverance’ (cf. 3:5; also 1 Thess. 1:3, ‘endurance inspired by hope’) and ‘faith’ (primarily in the sense of ‘trust,’ but perhaps also a bit of the sense of ‘faithfulness’) that they have demonstrated. In short, the Thessalonian brothers and sisters have become for Paul an exemplary model of enduring Christian commitment under difficult conditions.”

vv.5-10: “These verses are not a digression. Rather, they are an elaboration that addresses one of the great hopes the apostle had for the church—that they would persevere. Paul encouraged their perseverance by pointing out its end result as well as the end result of opposition to the faith. God is just. Ultimately he will reward the faithful and punish the wicked. So Paul encouraged the church to persevere by praising their faithfulness to date (v. 4) and by reminding them of the outcome of genuine and persistent faith. The faithful ‘will be counted worthy of the kingdom’ (v. 5) at the parousia [the return of Jesus Christ]. Their persecutors, on the other hand, ‘will be punished with everlasting destruction’ (v. 9).”^[1]

vv.7-9: “Essentially, hell is separation from God’s presence. For those who refuse God’s grace and influence in their lives, He gives them what they want—no experience of God.” ^[2]

v.11: “‘With this in mind’ has no clear antecedent. The neuter pronoun ‘this’ probably looks back to the preceding passage as a whole and the Thessalonians’ salvation and perseverance through persecution. The apparent disjunction between vv. 11–12 and what precedes is caused in part by a temporal shift. Verses 5–10 deal with God’s future judgment, while vv. 11–12 primarily return attention (as in vv. 3–4) back to the believers’ current Christian life. Thus the ‘this’ that Paul had ‘in mind’ probably was the Thessalonians’ perseverance until and participation in the future glory of the day of the Lord (vv. 5–10). Mindful of achieving that goal, he prayed for the character of their current Christian lives. Even as God had called them, so they must live as people worthy of his kingdom, anticipating its full and final coming (cf. 1 Thess 2:12).”^[3]

^[2] Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (1795). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

^[3] Martin, D. M. (2001). Vol. 33: 1, 2 Thessalonians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (216). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.