2 Thessalonians · chapter 1 of 3
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2 Thessalonians 1 greets the church in Thessalonica and thanks God that its faith is growing and its love abounding despite persecution. Paul affirms that God is just: he will repay affliction to those who afflict them and give relief to them when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his angels. The chapter ends with the prayer that God make them worthy of his calling and that the name of Jesus be glorified in them.
A few months after the first letter, Paul writes again to the Thessalonians, who were still suffering and had received confusing reports about the day of the Lord. The first chapter offers concrete comfort: their perseverance is a sign that God is at work in them, and God's justice, though delayed, is certain.
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy greet the church of the Thessalonians, in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, with grace and peace. They then say they ought always to give thanks to God for them, as is right, because their faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of them is increasing. For that reason the missionaries boast about them among the churches of God, for their steadfastness and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions they endure.
This is evidence of God's righteous judgment, that they may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which they are also suffering. It is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict them, and to give relief to them and to the missionaries when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and marveled at among all who have believed.
To this end Paul prays always for them, that God may make them worthy of his calling and fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in them, and they in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul gives thanks because their faith is growing abundantly and the love of each one for the others is increasing. Living faith does not stand still: it grows, and its fruit is concrete love within the community.
It is just for God to repay affliction to those who afflict believers and to give relief to the afflicted when the Lord Jesus is revealed. This is a promise of justice resting on God's character, not a license for personal revenge.
Paul prays that God make them worthy of his calling and fulfill in them every desire for good and every work of faith, so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in them. All of it happens by grace: the worthiness and the works come from God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Because their faith is growing abundantly and the love of each one is increasing. — 2 Thessalonians 1:3
Answer: The Thessalonians' steadfastness and faith in all their persecutions and afflictions. — 2 Thessalonians 1:4
Answer: Repay affliction to those who afflict believers and give relief to the afflicted. — 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7
Answer: With his mighty angels, in flaming fire. — 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8
Answer: Those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. — 2 Thessalonians 1:8
Answer: That God make them worthy of his calling and fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith. — 2 Thessalonians 1:11
The Thessalonians were suffering persecution, and Paul does not promise it will vanish soon, but that God is just and their perseverance has meaning. For a small group it is a chance to think about brothers and sisters who suffer for their faith today and pray for them, and to examine whether our own difficulties make us grow in faith and love or harden us.
It also frees us from taking justice into our own hands. Paul leaves judgment to God and asks believers to keep growing in love. A good practice is to write a prayer for someone who has hurt us, handing the matter to God and asking that his name be glorified in our response.
Paul ends the chapter with the prayer that the Thessalonians' lives glorify Jesus. In chapter 2 he addresses the concern that was alarming the church: some were saying that the day of the Lord had already come.
Paul speaks of an everlasting destruction away from the Lord's presence for those who reject the gospel. Christians understand the phrase in different ways: some speak of unending conscious punishment and others of a final destruction; all agree it is a real and permanent separation from God and that the gospel is the hope offered.
No. Paul says perseverance is evidence of God's righteous judgment and that they are worthy of the kingdom, but in verse 11 he makes clear that it is God who makes them worthy. Suffering does not buy salvation; it shows that God's grace is at work in them.