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2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

April 25, 2021

1Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3We 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. 4Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

5All 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.  6God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7and 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. 

8He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might  10on 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.

11With 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 is a separate, second letter from Paul to the Thessalonian Christians. Often it is helpful to gain an informed overview of the whole letter in advance. It allows us to understand how the smaller passages we study are connected to one another and to the broader context of the letter. The link below will take you to a 7 minute video overview of 2 Thessalonians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbPBDKOn1cc

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2

  1. Compare this introduction to this second letter to the church in Thessalonica to the introduction to the first letter. What phrases and ideas do you see repeated? What meaning (if any) do you draw from this?

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

  1. What two things about the Thessalonian believers is Paul specifically thankful for in verse three? Do a quick personal assessment: how are you doing in those two areas? Share with us a little bit about your self-assessment in those two areas.
  2. In verse four, Paul references the persecutions and trials the believers are experiencing. What two traits does Paul commend them for?

  3. In what area of your life are faith and perseverance especially necessary right now?

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:5-7

  1. Verses six and seven tell us that because God is just, He will do two things. What are those two things? Which of those two things seems most important to you? Why?

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10

  1. What questions do these verses raise for you? What similarities and differences do you see between them and 1 Thessalonians 4-5?

  2. For you personally, how important is it to have a clear sense of how the ‘end times’ will play out? Why?

Read 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

  1. Based on this passage, how do we become worthy of His calling? How does our desire for goodness come to fruition? How is our sanctification (the process by which God sets us apart to become more and more like Jesus) a partnership? What is our part? What is God’s part?

  2. What would it look like for “the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be glorified in you”?