II Thessalonians 2
Warning against false signs of coming of Jesusverses 1-4
Now we beseech you – brethren – by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and by our gathering together unto HIM
That you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled
neither by spirit – nor by word – nor by letter as from us
as that the day of the Christ is at hand
Let no man deceive you by any means – FOR that day shall not come
except there come a falling away first
and that man of sin be revealed – the son of perdition
Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God
or that is worshiped
So that he as God sits in the temple of God
showing himself that he is God
Rise of man of sinverses 5-7
Remember you not – that – when I was yet with you
I told you these things?
AND now you know what withholds that he might
be revealed in his time
For the mystery of iniquity does already work
ONLY HE [Holy Spirit] who now lets (restrains) will let (restrain)
until HE [Holy Spirit] be taken out of the way
Man of sin doing work of Satanverses 8-12
AND then shall that Wicked [Antichrist] be revealed
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of HIS mouth
and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming
Even him – whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
in them that perish
Because they received not the love of the truth
that they might be saved
AND for this cause God shall send them strong delusion
that they should believe a lie
that they might be damned who believed not the truth
but had pleasure in unrighteousness
Paul is thankful for believers in Thessalonicaverses 13-14
BUT we are bound to give thanks always to God for you – brethren
beloved of the Lord – BECAUSE God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth
Whereunto HE called you by our gospel
to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ
Paul wants them to hold to his teachingsverse 15
THEREFORE brethren – stand fast
and hold the traditions which you have been taught
whether by word or our epistle
Doxologyverses 16-17
Now our Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF
and God even our Father – which hath love us
and has given us everlasting consolation
and good hope through grace
Comfort your hearts and stablish you in every
good word and work
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (4531 “shaken” [saleuo] means to waver, to disturb, stir up, agitate the mind or overthrow)
DEVOTION: The Christians in the church at Thessalonica were disturbed by someone sending a letter teaching that they had missed the rapture of the Church. They were left behind. They were concerned about this and therefore Paul sent them this letter to encourage them to realize that the LORD had not sounded the trumpet yet for the Christians to come and meet HIM in the air.
Paul instructed them in the facts related to the calling up of the saints to heaven before the Tribulation would happen. There had to be a falling away from the LORD. There had to be the man of sin revealed. The man of sin is the Antichrist. This wicked one is given power by Satan to work signs and wonders to deceive people into believing in him rather than the LORD.
Paul didn’t want them to waver because of their present circumstances. They were being persecuted for their faith. They thought it might be the start of the Tribulation. Paul told them that they were wrong.
They were disturbed. Paul was writing to inform them that thy were sanctified by the Holy Spirit. They were called of God to service. They were given instruction by Paul concerning the end times. They were loved by the LORD. They were encouraged by the LORD. They were comforted by the LORD. They were established by their service to HIM.
Our enemy likes to cause us to waver in our trust in the LORD. Our enemy sends many false preachers into our world to cause confusion. There were many false teachers in Paul’s day and there are many today. These men like to agitate Christians into believing false doctrine.
There are many churches that have strayed from the truth of the Word of God. The return of Christ is one area that they like to predict dates or predict events concerning. Christ is coming at any time but HE has not come for the second time yet.
There is the work of the Holy Spirit that hinders the coming of the Wicked one or the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit is the ONE who is restraining that day through HIS ministry in the church. When the church is caught up to be with the LORD, there will be a new day arriving for the earth. The man of sin will be revealed and there will be 144,000 Jewish men sealed by the Holy Spirit to witness to the world during the seven years of Tribulation here on earth.
Are we watching and praying for the sound of HIS trumpet? Are you ready to meet HIM in the air? It could be today!!! Praise HIS name.
Be prepared for the LORD to sound the trumpet and call you into HIS presence in the air. HE is going to call all those who are true believers.
CHALLENGE: Work as if it is going to happen today. Witness as if it is going to happen today. Pray for revival!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way. (2722 “lets” [katecho] means restrains, hold fast to, to prevent, to hinder, control, or keep secure)
DEVOTION: I have been taught and believe that the ONE who restrains the lawless one is the Holy Spirit. We are living in an age of Grace where the Holy Spirit indwells believers for a lifetime. Once someone becomes a genuine believer HE/SHE is indwelt with the Holy Spirit until they die. HE works in their life to cause them to grow in their knowledge of Jesus Christ. HE wants everyone to mature. HE corrects those who are disobedient.
Now HE also is thought to be the ONE WHO restrains the work of Satan until the time when the LORD takes those who are members of the TRUE church are taken up to heaven in the Rapture. Once this takes place the beginning of the Tribulation happens and for seven years this earth goes through a time of judgment of God.
The book of Revelation gives us more information regarding this time period to show that there are still witnesses for the LORD but mainly from the Jewish community that has finally realized that the Messiah has come. This seven year time period has been called the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” It has been used to complete the seventieth week of Daniel.
There needs to further study in this area by each one receiving the devotional. We need to understand what the Bible teaches regarding the Second Coming of Christ and what happens before it and after it.
It is my belief that those who are true members of the church universal will be taken out of this world before the wrath of God is poured out during those seven years.
There are many in our local churches who think they are saved but are just taking up space in the pews and showing by their words and actions that they have no genuine interest in making Jesus LORD of their life and serving HIM faithfully.
CHALLENGE: We need to set an example of what a genuine believer looks like in our daily walk with the LORD with the help of the Holy Spirit.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (539 “deceivableness” [apate] means to mislead, causing someone to believe an untruth, trick, or deception)
DEVOTION: Our enemy is smart. He knows what tricks to play on us to deceive us into believing that we are OK with God. He tells you that you can pray, attend church, be a member of a church, give to church and be baptized and that is all you need to do. Once you leave the church building your life is your own to do with as you please. He even has pastors/priests who will tell you that you can sin as much as you want because God has forgiven you. Each week some of them even say “your sins are forgiven.”
The problem is that is not what the Bible teaches. It is not any of those works that save you. It is only a personal commitment to Jesus Christ through the confession of your sin and obedience to HIS teachings that show that your faith is genuine. There has to be a LOVE of the TRUTH of the Word of God in our hearts and obedience in our life.
Going through the motions will not change our heart. We know if we are genuinely in love with Christ. We hear HIM speak to us through HIS Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We want to serve HIM with our whole heart, soul and body.
We know when we are faking a relationship with Christ. HE speaks to us in the silence regarding our relationship with HIM. HE is knocking on the door of your heart. You have to let HIM come in.
CHALLENGE: A genuine believer will do what is stated in the first paragraph out of love not duty. Giving to the LORD is a “thank” offering for all HE has done for us.
: 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (3862 “traditions” [paradosis] means ordinance, that which is delivered, substance of a teaching, body of precepts, transmission of doctrine, or handed down)
DEVOTION: Now we can get into trouble when we use the word “tradition” in our world. There are “traditions” in our churches that were never taught by the Apostles. Some people hold to the “traditions” of the local church like they were Biblical traditions. This is wrong.
The traditions of the elders of the Jewish faith were not to be held to as well. The Pharisees added to the teachings of the Old Testament to the point that they had about 365 negative commands that were to be followed by those who were to be in good standing with the Jewish church. Christ fought against these manmade traditions that the Pharisees put on the common people but didn’t obey themselves. Many of these traditions were made to cause the leaders to get rich while the others became poor.
Now Paul informs the members of the church in Thessalonica that their teachings were to be followed. The reason for this command is because there were false teachers who came in to tell them that the day of the LORD had passed and they were left behind. This was a real concern for the people and caused them to doubt their faith. Paul encouraged them to believe what he had taught them either by his preaching or by his writing to them regarding the basic beliefs of the church.
Today we have some people coming into the church teaching false doctrine and saying that it is what has been around for a long time. They are changing the teachings of the Word of God concerning what is considered sin.
These false teachers want to change our understanding of sexual sins, importance of babies in the womb, the concept of God being masculine and other major doctrines of Scripture. Watch out for the drift from sound doctrine to false doctrine. It has been happening since the beginning of time but seems to be coming to a head here in this country and around the world.
CHALLENGE: Know the difference between good tradition and bad tradition and false doctrine and true doctrine. This only happens with a daily meditation in the Word of God. The enemy is working hard to discredit the teachings of the Word of God. Don’t let him!!!
:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which has loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. (3870 “consolation,” “comfort” [parakaleo] means 1 to call to one’s side, call for, summon. 2 to address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc. 2a to admonish, exhort. 2b to beg, entreat, beseech. 2b1 to strive to appease by entreaty. 2c to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to comfort. 2c1 to receive consolation, be comforted. 2d to encourage, strengthen. 2e exhorting and comforting and encouraging. 2f to instruct, teach. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship].)
DEVOTION: Have you ever been in a situation where you just needed someone to come alongside you and encourage you? Maybe you were dealing with a health problem, or maybe you had been laid off at your job, or maybe you were having problems with your spouse or a child. Wasn’t it refreshing when someone came along and gave you a loving hug to let you know that you were not all alone?
Paul loves to write about God’s comforter, even as John loves to write about the Comforter (Holy Spirit). Both men knew how badly we needed God’s comfort in our lives. What is the purpose of comfort for the believer? It is to be able to encourage someone who is going through difficulty to see God’s plan and help in what is going on with them. God is the one who comforts us so that we will turn around and comfort others around us (2 Corinthians 1:2-3). The church is to be made up of broken people who help each other deal with the suffering that we all go through in this life.
Furthermore, it is the Word of God that comforts us, as well as being obedient to Him in our walk with the Lord and in our speech. What we forget when we go through suffering as believers is that people are looking at our response. Do we use that as an opportunity to reach out to those who are also going through suffering, or do we develop an inward focus and persist in asking God, “Why me?” By reaching out to others in a similar situation as ours, we can open up conversations about why it is that we have the hope that we do.
CHALLENGE: Who would the Lord have you comfort right now? Ask Him to show you the name of one person that you can call or visit today who needs some encouragement and comfort in their Christian life. (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Epistleverse 15
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Give thanks to God alwaysverse 13
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Temple of Godverse 4
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Gospelverse 14
Word verse 15
Epistleverse 15
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)>
Godverses 4, 11, 13, 16
Temple of Godverse 4
God sent strong delusionverse 11
Fatherverse 16
God –even our Fatherverse 16
Loved believersverse 16
Given believers everlasting consolationverse 16
Given believers good hopeverse 16
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Lordverses 1, 8, 13, 14, 16
Jesus verses 1, 14, 16
Christverses 1, 2, 14, 16
Lord Jesus Christverses 1, 14, 16
Day of Christ verse 2
Lord will consume wicked oneverse 8
Brightness of HIS comingverse 8
Beloved of the Lordverse 13
Chosen believers from beginningverse 13
Glory of Lord Jesus Christverse 14
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
HE who now lets will letverse 7
Spiritverse 13
Sanctification of the Spiritverse 13
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Wicked (one) [Satan]verse 8
Destroyed by coming of LORDverse 8
Satanverse 9
Working of Satanverses 9, 10
Power
Signs
Lying wonders
Deceivableness
Unrighteousness
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Shaken in mindverse 2
Troubledverse 2
Deceiveverse 3
Falling awayverse 3
Sinverse 3
Man of sin [Antichrist]verse 3
Son of Perditionverse 3
Exalts himselfverse 4
False worshipverse 4
False prophet revealed in his timeverse 6
Mystery of iniquityverse 7
Wickedverse 8
Signs and lying wondersverse 9
Deceivableness of unrighteousnessverse 10
Receive not love of truthverse 10
Delusionverse 11
Believe a lieverse 11
Damnedverse 12
Believe not the truthverse 12
Pleasure in unrighteousnessverse 12
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Not shaken in mindverse 2
Not troubled (spirit, word or letter)verse 2
Savedverse 10
Believed the truthverse 12
Thanksverse 13
Beloved of the Lordverse 13
Chosenverse 13
Salvationverse 13
Sanctificationverse 13
Belief of the truthverse 13
Calledverse 14
Obtaining of gloryverse 14
Stand fastverse 15
Hold the traditionsverse 15
Lovedverse 16
Everlasting consolationverse 16
Good hopeverse 16
Graceverse 16
Comfortverse 17
Stablish in every good word and workverse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Brethrenverses 1, 13, 15
Gathering togetherverse 1
Teachings of Paulverse 5
Gospelverse 14
Hold the traditions taught by word and epistleverse 15
Last Things (Future Events)
Coming of our Lord Jesus Christverse 1
Day of Christverse 2
Man of sin revealedverse 3
Man of sin opposes and exalts himselfverse 4
Man of sin worshipedverse 4
Man of sin sits in temple of Godverse 4
Man of sin thinks he is Godverse 4
Perishverse 10
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QUOTES regarding passage
13 Paul is thankful that God chose some to believe the truth and to be delivered from delusion and from divine judgment. He and his co-workers can rejoice in looking forward to salvation for themselves and their converts, an anticipation drastically different from the outlook for those awaiting perdition (cf. v. 10). The salvation viewed from its human side in 1:3ff. is now seen as an undertaking of God.
For Paul to address these “brothers” as those “loved by the Lord” (cf. 1 Thess 1:4) is appropriate, because God chose them to be saved. “From the beginning” refers to their pretemporal election (cf. 1 Thess 1:4). Paul usually places God’s prior choice of men to salvation (v. 13) alongside their historical call (v. 14; cf. Rom 8:30) (Hendriksen, p. 188). This salvation is what will elude those who refuse to love the truth (v. 10). It entails present benefits and also future deliverance from the doom that will befall the lost at Christ’s return (cf. 1:6, 8, 9; 2:8–12). God’s choice operates in the realm of belief in the truth and of the Spirit’s sanctifying work. The role of the Spirit in sanctification looms large for Paul (Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11, 12; 1 Thess 4:7, 8) as it does for Peter (1 Peter 1:2) (Best, pp. 314, 315). The sphere of God’s choice of believers for salvation is also marked by its faith-in-truth emphasis. Belief in the truth is the means of the beginning and continuing relationships of salvation (cf. vv. 10–12). (Thomas, R. L. (1981). 2 Thessalonians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, pp. 328–329). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
See 1:3 for same beginning. Beloved of the Lord (ἠγαπημενοι ὑπο κυριου [ēgapēmenoi hupo kuriou]). Perfect passive participle of ἀγαπαω [agapaō] with ὑπο [hupo] and the ablative as in 1 Thess. 1:4, only here κυριου [kuriou] instead of θεου [theou], the Lord Jesus rather than God the Father. Because that God chose you (ὁτι εἱλατο ὑμας ὁ θεος [hoti heilato humas ho theos]). First aorist middle indicative of αἱρεω [haireō], to take, old verb, but uncompounded only in N. T. here, Phil. 1:22; Heb. 11:25, and here only in sense of choose, that being usually ἐξαιρεομαι [exaireomai] or προοριζω [proorizō]. From the beginning (ἀπʼ ἀρχης [ap’ archēs]). Probably the correct text (Aleph D L) and not ἀπαρχην [aparchēn] (first fruits, B G P), though here alone in Paul’s writings and a hard reading, the eternal choice or purpose of God (1 Cor. 2:7; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9), while ἀπαρχην [aparchēn] is a favourite idea with Paul (1 Cor. 15:20, 23; 16:15; Rom. 8:23; 11:16; 16:5). Unto salvation (εἰς σωτηριαν [eis sōtērian]). The ultimate goal, final salvation. In sanctification of the Spirit (ἐν ἁγιασμῳ πνευματος [en hagiasmōi pneumatos]). Subjective genitive πνευματος [pneumatos], sanctification wrought by the Holy Spirit. And belief of the truth (και πιστει ἀληθειας [kai pistei alētheias]). Objective genitive ἀληθειας [alētheias], belief in the truth. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (2 Th 2:13). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
2:13. In contrast to the unbelievers just mentioned, the Thessalonians were a source of joy to the apostles. Paul felt a strong obligation to thank God on their behalf continually. They were his brothers (cf. vv. 1, 15) and sisters in the faith, loved by the Lord though hated and persecuted by their godless neighbors.
The reason for the apostle’s joy and gratitude to God was His choice of the Thessalonian believers for eternal salvation. From the beginning (cf. “before the Creation of the world,” Eph. 1:4) God chose (heilato, past tense of aireō, “to take or pick,” used only here and in Phil. 1:22) them, not on the basis of their love for Him or any merit on their part, but because of His love for them (cf. 1 Thes. 1:4). Paul consistently taught that the initiative in salvation comes from God, not man. The means God uses to effect salvation is the work of His Holy Spirit who sets aside chosen individuals for lives of holiness and separation from sin (cf. John 16:7–11). The Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, and baptizes Christians into the body of Christ. The human aspect of salvation is belief in the truth of the gospel. The Holy Spirit then uses the Word of God to purify the believer’s life (John 17:17).
That God chooses to save some though He loves all men should lead believers to thank God for His grace on behalf of the elect. (Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 721). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
God loved them (v. 13a). Whatever God does for the lost world springs from His eternal love. We must never conceive of His great plan of salvation as an impersonal machine. His salvation is rooted and grounded in His love (John 3:16). God proved this love at the cross where Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world (Rom. 5:8).
God chose them (v. 13b). It is not love alone that saves us, for God loves the whole world, and yet the whole world is not saved. Love reveals itself in grace and mercy. God in His grace gives us through Christ what we do not deserve, and God in His mercy does not give what we do deserve—but He gave that to Christ! We dare not explain away God’s election of sinners (1 Thes. 1:4; Eph. 1:4; 1 Peter 1:2).
God set them apart (v. 13c). The word sanctify means “to set apart.” There is a progressive sanctification that makes us more like Jesus Christ (1 Thes. 5:23). But the sanctification Paul mentioned here refers to the Spirit’s work in leading the unbeliever to faith in Christ. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:2). It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to the sinner (John 16:7–11). Though I did not realize it at the time, as I look back I can see how the Spirit led in bringing me to faith in Christ; and this is the experience of every believer.
God called them (v. 14). The same God who ordained the end (salvation) also ordained the means to the end (“belief of the truth”). The person who says, “God already has His elect, so there is no need for us to pray, witness, and send out missionaries” does not understand divine election. The greatest encouragement to evangelism is the knowledge that God has His people who have been prepared to respond to His Word (read Acts 18:1–11).
In order for God to fulfill His eternal plan, He sent Paul, Silas, and Timothy to Thessalonica to preach the Word of God. What was ordained in eternity was accomplished in time. God used human instruments to bring the Gospel to the lost; and by trusting Christ, these people proved their “election of God” (1 Thes. 1:4). The call of God went out to the whole city, but it was effective only in those who believed the truth and trusted Christ.
It is dangerous to engage in idle speculation about divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Both are taught in the Bible. We know that “salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9), and that lost sinners can never save themselves. We must admit that there are mysteries to our salvation; but we can rejoice that there are certainties on which we can rest. We must not use the doctrine of election to divide the church or disturb the weak, but to glorify the Lord.
God gave them glory (v. 14b). What began in eternity past reaches its climax in eternity future: we share in the glory of God (John 17:24; Rom. 8:29–30). What begins with grace always leads to glory. This is quite a contrast to the future assigned to the lost (2 Thes. 1:8–10). Believers already possess God’s glory within (John 17:22; note the past tense in Rom. 8:30—“glorified”). We are awaiting Christ’s return, and then the glory shall be revealed (Rom. 8:17–19; 2 Thes. 1:10).
When sinners believe God’s truth, God saves them. When they believe Satan’s lie, and reject the love of the truth, they cannot be saved (2 Thes. 2:10–12). Being neutral about God’s truth is a dangerous thing. It has tragic eternal consequences. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 200–201). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
2:13, 14 salvation … sanctification. Just as there were specific elements in the character of the Antichrist (vv. 10–12), so there are characteristics of the saved. In these two verses, Paul swept through the features of salvation, noting that believers are “beloved by the Lord,” chosen for salvation from eternity past (cf. Rev 13:8; 17:8), set apart from sin by the Spirit, and called to eternal glory, i.e., the sharing of the very “glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul’s main point in this section was to remind the Thessalonians that there was no need to be agitated or troubled (v. 2) thinking they had missed the rapture and thus were in the Day of the Lord judgment. They were destined for glory, not judgment and would not be included with those deceived and judged in that Day. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Th 2:13). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Looking down through the ages God foreknew all who would ever put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He chose them to be conformed to Christ. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you need never worry about your election. The very fact that you are a believer, redeemed by Christ, assures you that you are among the elect of God. (Ironside, H. A. (1947). Addresses on the First and Second Epistles of Thessalonians (p. 103). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
Ver. 13. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, &c.] Lest the saints should be discouraged by the above account of antichrist, and his followers, and fear they should be left to the same deceptions, and damnation be their portion; the apostle being persuaded better things of them, gives their character, and represents their case in a quite different light; and signifies, that he and his fellow-ministers were under obligation to be continually thankful to God for what he had done for them; for as God is the father of mercies, whether spiritual or temporal, thanks are to be given to him; and saints are not only to bless his name for what they themselves receive from him, but for what others enjoy also, and that continually; because spiritual blessings, especially such as are afterwards instanced in, are permanent and durable, yea, everlasting: the characters which shew them to be different from the followers of antichrist, are, brethren, beloved of the Lord or of God, as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read: they were the brethren of Christ, being the dear children of God, horn of him, and belonging to his family, and of the apostles, and of one another, being of the household of faith; and they were beloved by God the father, as the instances of their election to salvation by him, and their vocation to eternal glory, shew; and by the Lord Jesus Christ, who had wrought out for them the salvation they were chosen to; and by the Lord the Spirit, by whom they were regenerated, called, sanctified, and brought to the belief of the truth; and since they had interest in the everlasting love of the three divine Persons, there was no danger of their falling away and perishing. The reason of the apostle’s thanksgiving for the persons thus described is, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to saltation; which is to be understood, not of an election of them, as a nation, for they were not a nation, only a part of one; nor of them as a church, for they were not so from the beginning; nor to the outward means of grace, the ministry of the word and ordinances, for the choice is unto salvation; nor to any office, for they were not all officers in the church, only some; nor does it intend effectual vocation, for that is distinguished from it in the following verse; but an eternal appointment of persons to grace and glory: and this is an act of God the father, in Christ, from eternity; and which arises from his sovereign good will and pleasure, and is an instance of his free grace and favour, for the glorifying of himself; and is irrespective of the faith, holiness, and good works of men; all which are the fruits and effects, and not the motives, conditions, or causes of electing grace. This act is the leading one to all other blessings of grace, as justification, adoption, vocation, and glorification, and is certain and immutable in itself, and in its effects. The date of it is from the beginning: not from the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel to them, and the sense be, that, as soon as the Gospel was preached, they believed, and God chose them; for what was there remarkable in them, that this should be peculiarly observed of them? The Bereans are said to be more noble than they were: nor from the beginning of their vocation, for predestination or election precedes vocation; see Rom. 8:30 nor from the beginning of time, or of the creation of the world, but before the world began, even from eternity; and in such sense the phrase is used in Prov. 8:23 and that it is the sense of it here, is manifest from Eph. 1:4 where this choice is said to be before the foundation of the world. The end to which men, by this act, are chosen, is salvation: not temporal, though the elect of God are appointed to many temporal, salvations and deliverances, and which they enjoy both before and after conversion; yet salvation here designs the salvation of the soul, though not exclusive of the body, a spiritual and an eternal salvation, salvation by Jesus Christ, as is expressed in 1 Thess. 5:9 and the same decree that appoints men to salvation, appoints Christ to be the Saviour of them; and there is salvation in and by no other. The means through which this choice is made, are through sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the truth by sanctification is meant, not any thing external, as reformation of life, obedience to the law, or outward submission to Gospel ordinances; but internal holiness, which lies in a principle of spiritual life in the soul, and in a principle of spiritual light in the understanding; in a flexion of the will to the will of God, and the way of salvation by Christ; in a settlement of the affections on divine and spiritual things, and in an implantation of all grace in the heart; and is called the sanctification of the spirit, partly from the spirit or soul of man being the principal seat of it, and chiefly from the spirit of God being the author of it; and this being a means fixed in the decree of election to salvation, shews that holiness is not the cause of election, yet is certain by it, and is necessary to salvation; and that the doctrine of election is no licentious doctrine, since it provides for and secures true and real holiness. Truth designs either the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the truth of types and promises, and the substance of the truth of the Gospel, in whom it lies, and by whom it comes; or the Gospel itself, which comes from the God of truth, lies in the Scriptures of truth, is dictated and directed into by the spirit of truth; the sum of it is Christ the truth, and has nothing in it but truth. The belief or faith of this intends, not an historical faith, or a mere assent to truth; but a cordial embracing of it, a receiving of the love of the truth, a feeling of the power of it unto salvation, and a believing in Christ, the substance of it; which is a seeing of him spiritually, and a going out of the soul to him in acts of hope, reliance, trust, and dependence; and this being also a means settled in the choice of men to salvation, makes it appear, that faith is no cause of election, but the effect of it; that it is necessary to salvation, and therefore appointed as a means; that it is certain to the elect by it, and that they therefore cannot be finally and totally deceived, or be carried away with the error of the wicked, or with the deceiveableness of unrighteousness with which antichrist works. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 260–261). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
a. The Sovereignty of God (2:13a–b)
“God is still on the throne.” He is Lord and sovereign, and His purposes are all “yea and amen” in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20). “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren,” Paul says (2:13a). We can almost hear the audible sigh of relief as the apostle returns from a contemplation of the dark days of the foretold Antichrist and from a consideration of the consummation of human unbelief in a belief most vile. He thinks once more of his dear converts away there in Thessalonica. Them? In the Great Tribulation? No, indeed! Thank God, indeed! There was something for which to be thankful. That dark world of hatred and horror is not for us.
Some years ago, I was in London and while there visited Madam Tussaud’s, the famous wax museum. I moved around the main hall and made nodding acquaintance with a dozen English kings. There was William the Conqueror and Henry VIII and his wives. There was the current queen and members of the royal family. There, too, was Churchill, Ghandi, and a few American presidents, along with celebrities from the world of entertainment. It was all bright lights, sparkling jewelry, and rich costumes.
But there was an underworld. I went down to the Chamber of Horrors. There the lights were low, just the faintest glow. The place looked like a dungeon with a guillotine towering over all. The atmosphere was chilling. Horrors were everywhere. In the eerie atmosphere, one could rub shoulders with murderers who have made history. Some of them were depicted in the very act of dismembering a victim. Some looked beastly and ferocious. Others looked astonishingly sane. At one point, I turned a corner and almost ran into Charles Manson, the demoniacal American mass murderer, who was able to hypnotize others into, doing for him, dark deeds of crime. Crippin was there, too, and the Brides of the Bath murderer, and others of the same dreadful ilk.
I wondered what it would be like to be locked in for the night, alone and in the dark. For an imaginative person, it would indeed be a chamber of horrors. Even with the dim lights glowing and people milling around, it seemed, after a while, that this grisly underworld was the whole world, a world gone mad, a world of cruelty and crime, a world of sinister shapes and suggestive shadows, a gloomy suburb of hell. I found myself looking at my watch. I did not want to be accidentally locked in there.
Then I went through a door or two and stepped back into a world of sunshine and stability, a world of traffic lights and double-decker buses and benevolent policemen. After all, that dark, dungeon world was no home of mine. I belonged to another world far away on another shore. That Chamber of Horrors was still there, but it had no claim upon me. One step and I came back from the past to the present. How thankful I was!
“But ye, brethren!” With one step, Paul came back from the nightmare future, from the Antichrist’s very real Chamber of Horrors, to the present. He came back to a chosen people, a throne of grace, and a world where salvation and sanctification of the Spirit was still possible and still available to all.
There was also something about which to be thoughtful: “because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2:13b). They would never believe the lie; they had believed the truth. The “salvation” in focus here is almost certainly salvation (deliverance) from the Antichrist and the coming delusion, just as in the first epistle the salvation (deliverance), in connection with the Rapture, is salvation from the wrath of God to be poured out upon this planet (1 Thess. 5:9).
God’s electing process takes place in eternity—“from the beginning” (see John 8:44). God Himself has chosen this for His people that they, those who believe in this age, members of the mystical body of Christ, shall escape the coming storm. Our sanctification by the Holy Spirit ensures it. Our belief in Him who is the Truth guarantees our escape from him who is the Lie.
Some people use such verses as this to bolster belief in mistaken ideas about the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God, they maintain, is exercised arbitrarily and independently of human powers of choice.
God is God. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He is God over all, blessed forevermore. He is sovereign Lord of the universe. He is eternal, uncreated, and self-existent. It is impossible for Him ever to be mistaken, deceived, or thwarted. He has complete knowledge of all of the data in the universe. He knows everything there is to know, including the names of all of those who, in the process of time, accept Christ as Savior, in all dispensations and under all conditions.
God is God. He cannot violate His own character. He is absolutely holy. He is also the very essence and source of all love. When God created other wills in the universe besides His own, He sovereignly limited Himself, within certain parameters known and controlled only by Himself, and determined by the character, calling, and capacity of those created beings. All of the factors implied by the existence of such wills, including the possibility that they might be used in defiance of His will, were foreknown to Him. In other words, God has set up certain rules by and within which these other wills can operate. He has to respect those wills otherwise, in the case of the human race, for instance, he would not have created people but puppets.
C. S. Lewis reminds us that omnipotence does not mean that God can do what is fundamentally impossible. “We can attribute miracles to God,” he says, “but not nonsense.” God cannot give a creature a will of its own and, at the same time, withhold free will from that creature. God cannot do two mutually exclusive things at the same time.[3] We can’t have it both ways. Either God has created other wills in the universe, or He hasn’t. If He has, He can certainly control them without violating them.
For instance, a novice plays a game of chess with a chess master. The pieces are put on the board. Each has a measure of sovereignty over the board. Within the rules of the game, each has the power of choice and the right to decide which moves to make. The game proceeds, but after half a dozen moves, the chess master announces that the game is over. Not once did he violate his opponent’s power of choice. However, his mastery of the game and his sovereignty over the board was such that he could overrule the other’s moves.
Thus, God allows us to make our choices in life, but He overrules them. All other wills can function properly only when they cooperate with the will of God. When they are set up in opposition to God’s will, they create confusion. God is quite able to take all of those factors into account and ensure that, in the end, all ministers to His glory and to His eternal purpose. Nor does He ever violate other wills to do so.
God will not violate the human will. But, by the same token, neither will He allow Satan to violate it. Satan can tempt, but he cannot compel; he can persuade, but he cannot push; and he can entice, but he cannot force. He could persuade Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, but he could not push it down her throat.
This is equally true of salvation. The human will is active in the decision to accept or reject God’s magnanimous offer of salvation. The Holy Spirit never forces us. He convicts but does not compel. He has thousands of ways to speak, enlighten, and “strive,” but He never makes the decision for us. He woos but does not ravish. In the end, the decision is ours. We can say, “I will,” or “I won’t,” to the gospel call. He can and does quicken but can be and sometimes is quenched.
In the end, God endorses the decisions we make. He does not send people to hell; they send themselves. A person says, “I will not accept Christ.” God finally says, “Your will be done. Live forever without Him.”
An example of God’s moral judgment of His people is seen in the history of Israel. When the people heard the report of ten of the spies and discovered that giants were in the Promised Land, they cried, “Would God that we had died in.… Egypt! or … in this wilderness!” (Num. 14:2). They had now provoked God ten times (Num. 14:22), and God answered their prayer and endorsed their choice: “Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness …” (Num. 14:28–29).
God, in His omniscience, has anticipated all of this. We dwell in three tenses of time, but God dwells in the eternal present. He describes Himself as I AM. Thus, the moment He chose me was the same moment I chose Christ. Past, present, and future are human phenomena. God transcends time. He knows the end from the beginning. He is able to choose, elect, and predestinate because the future is all foreknown to Him (1 Peter 1:2).
God does not preordain certain people to be saved and certain people to be lost. God’s ability to elect is based on His foreknowledge (1 Peter 1:2). There is the moral factor, too. His decisions are in keeping with His omniscience and His righteousness. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham asked when pleading for Sodom (Gen. 18:25). Of course, God always does what is right. He is righteous, just, and holy. Moreover, He is a God of love. All He does is in keeping with His infinite compassion and love. His purpose in predestinating people is wholly benevolent. He wants all of His own to be like His well-beloved Son.
b. The Salvation of God (2:13c–d)
The believer is chosen by God to be set apart for Himself. Separation and sanctification are two sides of the same coin. Sanctification is accomplished by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling the believer. The necessary prerequisite is “belief of the truth.” This is not only a matter of the mind and heart. It is ultimately a matter of the will. Jesus said to the unbelievers of His day, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine …” (John 7:17). (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring 1 & 2 Thessalonians: An Expository Commentary (2 Th 2:13a–d). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Religion today is not transforming people; rather it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society; it is descending to society’s own level, and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smilingly accepting its surrender. –A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
Aceldama
“And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.” (Acts 1:19)
Never was a tract of land more fittingly named than Aceldama, an Aramaic word meaning “field of blood,” for it had been purchased with blood money, “the price of blood” (Matthew 27:6). The purchaser had been Judas (through the “executors” of his estate, as it were, following his suicide), but the blood he sold, to acquire the price of the field, he had deemed “innocent blood.”
The miserable 30 shekels of silver that consummated this transaction was the price of a slave in ancient Israel (Exodus 21:32), but this slave was none other than God incarnate, so the 30 pieces of silver—the price set by the religious leaders of Israel—was the price for the sale of God.
The prophet Zechariah, more than 500 years before, had acted out a prophecy of these strange events: “So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver…a goodly price that I was prised at of them” (Zechariah 11:12-13). Next, according to both prophecy and fulfillment, this blood money was cast down in the temple and then used to buy the potter’s field (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:5, 7-8).
These and many other such details in these accounts constitute a remarkable type and fulfillment of prophecy, and thus a testimony of both divine inspiration and divine foreordination. But, more than that, it is a striking picture of the price of our salvation, for the “field of blood” typifies that great field is the world (Matthew 13:38) and Christ is the man who, searching for “treasure hid in a field…selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” (Matthew 13:44). All that He had—the very blood of His life—was willingly shed that we, dead in sins and hidden in the world, might be “purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). (HMM, The institute for Creation Research)
EVANGELISM AND SANCTIFICATION
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
John 17:18
Our Lord’s disciples are to be sent to evangelize the world. How are they to do it? What is the first thing to consider? You notice what our Lord puts first: It is sanctification: “Sanctify them, for the work needs to be done in them before it can ever be done in the world.”
There is nothing that appalls me so much as the almost incredible way in which Christian people seem to ignore entirely the teaching of the Scriptures with regard to methods of evangelism. In the Scriptures from beginning to end, the emphasis is on the messenger, not his external methods. It is on his character and his being and on his relationship to God.
Take the case of Gideon. A mighty enemy army was facing the children of Israel, and at first Gideon collected an army of thirty-two thousand people. Then God began to reduce them until in the end there were only three hundred. God in effect said to Gideon, “I am not going to do this through the great army of thirty-two thousand, but in My way.” So He sent them out, not with great armaments, but with pitchers with lamps inside them, along with trumpets to blow. And with that ridiculous equipment they conquered the army of the enemy.
That is God’s way. God has always done His greatest works through remnants. If there is one doctrine that runs through the Scriptures more prominently than any other, it is the doctrine of the remnant. How often God has done everything with just one man. Do you remember the story in 1 Samuel 14 of Jonathan and his armor-bearer? They did not spend their time arguing about the condition of the enemy. One man, with his armor-bearer, trusting in the living God, could conquer an entire army!
A Thought to Ponder: God has always done His greatest works through remnants.
(From Sanctified Through the Truth, p. 22-23, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Christians have forgiveness of sin—an eternal inheritance.
INSIGHT Most Christians need to re-identify who they are. We still see ourselves as mere human beings, children of the age with the albatross of the world hanging around our necks. That is who we once were, but are no longer. We have been adopted by God and are now His children. We are newly created in Him in holiness and righteousness. We have been given an inheritance in heaven that includes wealth and power. We have been changed; we are no longer what we were. When that truth “sinks in,” we begin to act like who we really are rather than who we were (Quiet Walk)
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