God's Power, Provision and Purpose: 2 Thess Lesson 9

CTW – Ephesians 3:14-4:3

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

God’s Power, Provision, and Purpose

 We will conclude our verse by verse study of chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians this morning and will move on to chapter 3 next week. We have been in this chapter for several weeks. We have read it several times. Stand together with me as we read this chapter one more time. Read 2 Thess. 2.

 Having just read this chapter to you, I want to remind you of the direction, flow, and progress we find in this chapter. Paul wrote chapter 2 to address issues that had been created by a false message or letter that asserted that the day of the Lord had already come. The result was that the Thessalonians were quickly shaken from their composure. They were disturbed by this message. So Paul begins the chapter by pointing to the problem. But he concludes the chapter by reminding the people of what was truly important. That is, that God had loved them, and given them eternal comfort and good hope by grace, and that He would comfort and strengthen them in every good work and word.

 Most commentators see these words as a benediction. There will be another benediction at the end of the letter. This would be a benediction relating to these first two chapters. Chapter 1 was written to encourage these Christians who were enduring persecutions and afflictions because of their faith. Christians who endure persecution and affliction have the hope of Christ’s return as a source of comfort and encouragement, but these Christians had been misled by a message that the day of the Lord had already happened. Whether it is persecution and affliction, or confusion and chaos from teaching that is not right, this benediction reminds us of what is important. Nothing that happens, and nothing that shakes us from our composure or disturbs us can change who is in control. This benediction reminds us who is in control. God is on His throne. Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father have it all under control. Nothing can change what He has done for us. And if we focus on who He is and what He has done, we will receive comfort and strength to stay the course.

 This is the outline we find for these two verses today. We find God as the source of power in troubling circumstances. We find what God has provided. He has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace. Finally, we will see the purpose for which He has given these provisions. He wants us to be comforted and strengthened for every good work and word. So we have a simple outline for today. We have the power, the provision, and the purpose.

 Persecution and afflictions are troubling. If the reason for hope is removed in the midst of these kinds of trouble, the Christian can become shaken from his or her composure. So Paul addresses the issue by recounting the truth he had given to them when he was with them earlier. He told them not to be deceived. He told them about the apostasy and the man of lawlessness and what he was going to do. He informed them that this one is restrained for now. He tells them how it ends. The Lord will slay him with the breath of His mouth.

 But in the meantime, this one is coming in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness. He deceives many who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. God sends a deluding influence on those who do not believe so they will believe what is false.

 From all that Paul told the Thessalonians in chapter 2, we don’t have all the answers concerning things to come. We don’t know with 100% certainty exactly what will happen. Some people think they do, and that is ok, I guess. I don’t have that much confidence regarding all the details of how things will play out in the end. Here is what we know from this study. The Thessalonians didn’t know either. This is why they were shaken from their composure and disturbed and had been deceived. Paul shared what he could to comfort them. He gave them some details about things to come. He certainly doesn’t answer all our questions in this passage. But he does do something very important. Paul concludes this discussion about that which shook them up with a reminder of the things that will settle them down.

 This has been his focus from verse 13 on. Listen, if you struggle with fear about the future, or if you are afraid that persecution will come to us some day, or if you are confused about end times, or if you are easily shaken from your composure regarding your faith in Christ, you would do well to immerse yourself into the truth of verses 13-17. There is no more comforting, encouraging, assuring, faith enhancing truth than the reality that you are brethren beloved by the Lord, and that God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. You need to remember always that it was for this salvation that He called you through the gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you really get this, you can stand firm and hold to the traditions, the truth which you have been taught.

 And if those truths of verses 13-15 are true of you, so are the truths of verses 16-17. Paul writes this benediction in the form of a prayer, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father…comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” That is the request. And Paul always prayed for that which was God’s will. And if we ask what we know is according to the will of God, we know we have what we ask. Paul is asking God to do what he knows God will do.

 We can go from being shaken from our composure and disturbed and deceived, to comforted and strengthened in our hearts in every good work and word. How do we know we can get there? Because, the source of this comfort and strength of heart comes from Him who is omnipotent. He is the power that makes it happen. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, these comfort and strengthen our hearts in every good work and word.

 There is a theological observation to be made here. The Apostle Paul was trained extensively in the schools of rabbinical thought. He was a very learned Jewish scholar. At the heart of his theology was the understanding that there is one God. He knew the first commandment that we are to have no other gods before Him. Yet here, Paul writes of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, with “Himself” being in the emphatic position, and lists God our Father second. This is blasphemy for the Jews, and it would be blasphemous for everyone, were it not for the fact that Jesus is God.

 This is a powerful testimony to the divinity of Christ. Paul is not just putting God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ together in the same sentence. Paul puts Jesus first. No godly Jewish scholar would ever put anyone before God who was not, in fact, God Himself. Paul understood that there was one God, who eternally existed in three distinct persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This is further reflected in the fact that in the Greek Paul uses the singular reflexive verbs for “loved” and “given.” Singular verbs require a singular noun. Paul lists two as One, Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father.

 We can and should be comforted and strengthened in our hearts for every good work and word because God is the power that makes it happen. He is the cause. He is the power source. We should not think that if He loved us from eternity past, and chose us and called us to salvation, He will not also comfort and strengthen our hearts in every good work and word. After all, it is God who works in you both to will and work for His good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13) He who began the good work will perfect it until the day of Christ. (Phil. 1:7) This is the Omnipotent One who exercises the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. (Eph. 1:19) He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we could ask or think. (Eph. 3:20)

 One of the reasons we know that God can do what Paul prays for here is the fact that He has already done so much. He is the power who has made provision for us. He provides. His provision began with His love. It is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father who has loved us. For God so loved us that He gave us His Son to come and demonstrate that love through the sacrifice of Himself as an offering for sin. Jesus loved as a man while on earth and He loves us still from His throne in heaven. John 13:1, when Jesus knew His time of suffering was at hand, John writes, “having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” He loves us to the end as well.

 Why does Paul emphasize the provision of God’s love and the love of Christ in this context? We may have some questions about end times. We may have concerns about the way things will play out before Jesus comes. One thing we don’t have to question is the love of Christ. The certainty of God’s love gives comfort and strength to our hearts so we can and will remain faithful to the end. Because Christ loved His own who were in the world to the end, we know He will love us to the end.

 God loved us while we were His enemies. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ.” (Eph. 2:4-5) Because we were beloved by the Lord, He chose us from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and love of the truth. Nothing will separate us from His love, not tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. (Rom. 8:35) 

 The hostility of our world against the righteous and hatred for the truth may intensify. The tumult of our world and the trouble caused by man’s rebellion against God and God’s people may abound. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand. No matter how bad it gets, or how difficult it may become for us, the world’s fury will never exceed God’s love for us. No sorrow, no suffering, no trial, no affliction can ever be greater than the love of God for His children. Let this provision comfort and strengthen your heart in ever good work and word.

 Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father has also given us eternal comfort. Notice that this does not say temporary comfort. It is designated as eternal comfort. The troubles are temporary, the comfort is eternal. Our momentary light affliction is just that. It is momentary and it is light, compared to the comfort. The word “comfort” is “paraklesis” in the Greek. The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter because His name comes from the Greek word translated “comfort.” His name literally means “one called along side to help.” Because the Holy Spirit has been given to all those who are truly redeemed, and because He is the eternal Spirit of God, His comfort will be eternal comfort.

 Because of the provision of eternal comfort we also have good hope. There are some kinds of hope that aren’t as good as the hope God provides. This word “hope” is “elpis” in the Greek and it describes the desire for something good coupled with the confident expectation of receiving what has been promised. This isn’t the “hope so” kind of hope that we might have when something looks like it might not be working in our favor. We can face a life threatening diagnosis from the doctor with a “hope so” hope that every person can have. Or, we can face that same diagnosis with good hope. This good hope is the confident expectation that we will receive what we have been promised from God. No trial, no trouble, no persecution or affliction can erase what is provided from God in the form of good hope.

 There is such a thing as false hope. Those poor souls on the Titanic had a false hope. They had been told that the ship was unsinkable. False hope is not good hope. The hope God gives is good hope because the source of this hope is good. Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father give us this good hope. It is good hope because the giver of this hope is good. Our hope is fixed on the sure promises of God, whom we know cannot lie. Our hope is built upon the unshakable promises of God’s word, which is infallible truth. God has provided good hope. Our hearts are comforted and strengthened for every good work and word because we have been provided this good hope.

 Before we move on I want to point out the eternal implications of these provisions. These provisions include love, eternal comfort and good hope. When was God’s love first manifested? It was “from the beginning.” We are, as we were told in verse 13, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation…” God’s love was set upon us from before the foundation of the world. His love reaches all the way back to eternity past.

 The comfort is called eternal comfort, but when is that comfort needed? It is needed in the present. This comfort God provides is needed in the middle of our sorrow, our trials, our persecution, our difficulties. God’s provisions reach into eternity past and are there in our present suffering. 

 And the good hope God provides carries us through to the eternal future. God’s good hope is the assurance that what God has promised regarding our future, He will bring to pass. The idea of hope points us forward into eternity future where our faith will be sight and our hope will be forever realized as we enjoy the presence of the Lord forever. You cannot find a time in eternity where God’s provision is not there for you. His provision of love originates in eternity past, His comfort is for our present trials, His good hope endures into the eternal future.

 All of these provisions are “by grace.” See the end of verse 16. The crown jewel of God’s provision is His grace. There is a reason we are not called “Love Bible Church” or “Comfort Bible Church” or “Good Hope Bible Church.” Those would probably good names for churches, but we chose Grace Bible Church because of what we know of God’s grace.

 We know the basics about grace. We know it is God’s unmerited favor, or God’s undeserved kindness. These are indeed accurate descriptions of grace. But Paul also quoted God in 2 Cor. 12:9. In that passage Paul has been given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment him. He prayed three times that this tormenting thorn might be removed. The Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Don’t miss the significance of this parallel statement. God’s grace was sufficient for Paul, and power is perfected in weakness. God’s grace was sufficient for Paul because grace is also the power of God working in us. Grace is a force. 

 Grace is the cause of the provisions of God coming to us. Grace is the producer of these previously mentioned provisions. This might not be a very good illustration but I think it is an attempt to picture how grace works to bring us God’s provisions of love, comfort and hope. Picture a train. This train has boxcars full of God’s love, God’s comfort, and God’s hope. Pulling this train is the engine called grace.

 Again I want to go back to Ephesians 2:4. We know how bad off we were because it is accurately described in verses 1-3. We were dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world as children of Satan, we were slaves to our lusts and by nature children of wrath… but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He has loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. Then comes the summary of all this. Then comes in parenthesis the cause statement. What caused this to happen? What was the power that brought it about? By grace you have been saved.

 The Greek word is “charis.” Here is what my favorite Greek scholar, Spiros Zodhaites wrote of this word. “Charis, when received by faith, transforms man and causes him to love and seek after the righteousness of God. Charis is initially regeneration, the work of the Holy Spirit in which spiritual life is given to man and by which is nature is brought under the dominion of righteousness. The maintenance of this condition requires an unbroken and immense supply of grace. Grace remains constant in, and basic to, a believer’s fight without against the devil and his struggle within against sin. Renewal is stimulated and impelled by God’s illuminating and strengthening of the soul, and will continue and increase as long as the soul perseveres. God’s grace insures that those who have been truly regenerated will persevere until the end of life.”

 Grace is the power of God that produces the work of regeneration. Grace is the power of God that changes our nature. Grace is the power of God that maintains our standing before God in righteousness. Grace is the power of God that empowers us in our fight against sin. Grace is a force. Grace is the engine pulling the train loaded with God’s love, God’s comfort, and God’s hope.

 These provisions are our by grace, not by human merit. These provisions are ours by grace, not by human goodness. These provisions are ours by grace, not because we deserve it, desire it, or even because we ask for it. These provisions are ours by grace, by God’s unearned favor. By grace, because this is what brings Him joy. By grace, because it is to accomplish His purpose, His plan, His will. It is for His good pleasure. God’s provisions are ours in sufficient measure because His grace is always sufficient.

 Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God the Father is the power. Love, eternal comfort and good hope are the provisions by grace. Having told us of the power and the provision, Paul now tells us the purpose. This is why the Power gave us the provision. It is to “comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”

 This is the second time in this passage we find the word “comfort.” God provides comfort in order to comfort and strengthen our hearts. The first use is the noun form of the word and the second is the verb form. It is “parakaleo” in verse 17. It means “to exhort in the way of consolation and encouragement.” To comfort is to encourage. The root word of “encourage” is “courage.” To encourage someone is to encourage their courage. This we need in the face of persecution and affliction. Paul was very much an encourager of those whom God had saved through his ministry. We all need those who will comfort us by way of encouragement. 

 God does not comfort us by coddling us. His provisions of everlasting love, eternal comfort and good hope are given to encourage and strengthen us. This word “strengthen” is translated “establish” in the KJV. It means to make steadfast in mind, confirm, and to build up. Paul told the Thessalonians twice back in 1 Thess. 3 that he had sent Timothy back to them after his departure to strengthen and encourage them as to their faith. He will use this word again in chapter 3 of this letter. In verse 3 we see, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”

 Listen, if your Christian life is marked by consistent failure, or you are dominated by some sin that defeats you over and over, you need to hear this. God has given to those who are truly saved every provision required to walk in victory. He gives the comfort (encouragement) and strength to walk in a manner worthy of our calling as His children. If we fail, and we will, we confess our failure and we repent and we call upon Him to give us the encouragement and strength to win the next time. God will comfort and strengthen your hearts.

 The purpose of God is to comfort and strengthen your hearts “in every good work and word.” “Work” is “ergon.” This describes our deeds, acts, and actions. Paul combines “work” with “word.” This refers to an emphatic declaration of the revelation of God. What is Paul saying here? He is saying that our deeds and actions are to be consistent with the emphatic declarations of the revelation of God. Our walk will be consistent with His word.

 That makes sense does it not? From whom does the power come? It comes from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father. If the power comes from Him, doesn’t it make sense that what He gives us the power to do would be consistent with His word? What are the provisions He gives to enable us to walk in such a manner? He reminds us of His love from before time, His eternal comfort, His good hope, all empowered by grace. Are there any defects in any of His provisions? Not that I can find.

 The omnipotent Godhead provides perfect provisions for the purpose of encouraging and strengthening us to walk according to His word. This is Paul’s prayer that we might live for God’s glory, no matter what comes in the future. Rather than being shaken from our composure or disturbed about how things will play out until Jesus comes back, focus on the One who has the power to provide what His people need to fulfill His purposes.

 I don’t really like reducing God’s word to a “formula.” There are no magic formulas. But you could almost call these verses “the keys to a walk in victory.” No matter what kind of struggle we deal with, we should always remember to first focus not on the problem but the One who provides the power we need to win. Look first to our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father. Then, remember what He has provided. He has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace. Then, know that He has comforted (encouraged) and strengthened your heart in every good work and word. 

 This doesn’t just help us in our struggle with uncertainty about the future. It will carry us to victory in any struggle of faith in this life. Let’s pray.