His first encouragement is to remind them of the faithfulness of God. We should know that God is the one who will establish us and who will guard us from the Satan. We cannot do this ourselves; we must have one in us Who is greater than the one in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). Four times in the two Thessalonian letters Paul expressed concern about their being established (1 Th. 3:2,13; 2 Th. 2:17; 3:3). First, he sent Timothy to them to establish them. Then twice he prayed for their establishment. Now he simply reminds them: God is faithful; He will do it!
To guard is to keep watch so as to keep someone safe or from being snatched away or dying. Paul knew God was able to keep them until the day they would stand before Christ (2 Tim. 1:12). Jude 1:24 says this so strongly: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Again, Paul now says: God is faithful; He will do it! This should have been an encouragement to these believers in the midst of affliction.
Paul has another work of encouragement: he is confident they will do the things he has commanded them to do. Think first about the word commanded. In our churches we don’t do much commanding. We don’t have the lines of authority and submission that they had in the early church and which we should have now. You should know Paul is going to use this same word three more times in this chapter (v6,10,12). Certainly Paul spoke like this as an Apostle of Christ; that gave him authority. But shouldn’t we be able to command if we are speaking from the word of God? That gives us all the authority we need! The word command does not imply Paul was harsh with the Thessalonians; it simply means he spoke with authority. He was passing on something from God to men. We do that when we speak from God’s word. Good preaching is not full of suggestions; it should command what God commands.
What about Paul’s confidence? This often used this language with the churches to whom he wrote (Rom. 15:14; 2 Cor. 2:3, etc.). It was always confidence in the Lord that he believed would extend to the believers. In Gal. 5:10 he said, I have confidence in you, inn the Lord, that you will have no other mind. This is the same term he used in Phil. 1:6: being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. This is the same confidence he had in the Thessalonians: confidence in the Lord concerning you that you will obey.
Paul concludes this encouragement with another wonderful prayer. Isn’t it amazing how often he prays throughout this letter? We should practice such prayer without ceasing. Again, his concern is for the hearts of these believers. He desires the Lord to direct their hearts into two areas that are a perfect fit for Christians in their troubles.
·
The love of God.
It is a concern that in our trials we might become calloused and angry
towards those who make our lives difficult.
Instead we need to be directed so as to love them as God loves
them. We need to know He has not stopped
loving us; these trials are for our good and are designed for us by a God who
loves us.
·
The patience of Christ. How perfectly fit. It is the Son of God who came to earth as God
to live as Man, even to the death of the cross.
Jesus never turned from that path that was laid out for Him. Paul had spoken of the patience and faith
of the Thessalonians at the start of the letter (1:4); now he prays for it at
the end.
May we also be encouraged by God’s faithfulness!
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