2 Thessalonians 1:1-4

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.  Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Lord is at work in the lives of His children.  It is important that we understand this and respond correctly to His work in and through our lives.  The reality is that the way He works is often very different from how we might expect or even prefer that He work.  Many times, He conforms us to the image of Christ through suffering and persecution.  Failure to understand and appreciate this can leave us discouraged or angry.  We need to be intentional about understanding the ways the Lord is working in our lives.

 

BLESSINGS FROM GOD: Salvation through Christ places us into a relationship with God whereby He becomes our Father.  Because of this unique relationship with God, we receive blessings from God.  Those blessings are too numerous to count, but Paul makes mention of two of the most precious: grace and peace.  God is gracious.  The only reason any person on the planet has been or will be saved from their sin is the grace of God.  None of us earn salvation nor could we ever be worthy of it.  It is only by God’s grace that any man can be saved.  Mankind, in general, and every person, individually, has rebelled against God and is, in essence, at war with God.  This reality fills the heart of man with turmoil, anxiety, anger, fear, and sadness.  The only source of peace is found in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  God graciously offers to forgive our sin and bless us with peace if we place our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for sin.  

 

THANKSGIVING TO GOD: Paul expresses his thanksgiving to God for the lives of his brothers in Christ from Thessalonica.  The reason for this thanksgiving is because of their growth in faith and love.  The only proper response to the blessings of God’s grace and peace is faith and love.  Paul is thankful that this church has responded to God’s blessings correctly.  Faith and love should always be growing in the hearts of those who have genuinely responded to God’s grace and peace.  As we grow in our knowledge of God we will inevitably grow in our recognition of His glory and holiness.  The more we understand His holiness, the more evident and astounding His grace becomes.  The only reason a holy God would forgive sinful man is grace.  The more we grow in our understanding of His holiness, the more evident His grace becomes, the result of which is growth in our faith.  That faith results in having peace with God and experiencing the peace of God which is the perfect context in which love for God and others will increase.   

 

PERSECUTION FOR GOD: Unfortunately, most people have not responded to God’s grace and peace with faith and love.  Therefore, believers live in a context of suffering and persecution.  Those who reject God’s gracious gift of Jesus and refuse to make peace with God through faith in Christ; continue to be at war with God.  However, it is very hard to win, or even wage war against a sovereign and transcendent God.  The only way to attempt this exercise in futility is to attack other people who have placed their faith in Christ.  The call upon our lives is for us to be steadfast in our faith in the face of persecution.  The ultimate demonstration of the steadfastness of our faith is our love.  We are not to respond to suffering and persecution with doubt, but with a growing faith that deepens our love for God and even our love for those who are persecuting us.    

 

APPLICATION:  Praise God for His grace and rejoice in the peace with which we have been blessed.  Grow in faith and love through an increased knowledge of Him and intimacy with Him.  Stand firm in the face of persecution by trusting in God’s sovereign control and demonstrating the love of God to everyone.

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