2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17 says...
Today our verses are 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17, which read,
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
This is what we call a benediction. You could say this to another or pray it for someone. It could be said at the end of a service. Paul is praying this blessing upon the Christians in Thessalonica. What is contained within this blessing?
"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father,..."
The word "our" is a personal pronoun that designates a relationship with Jesus. "Lord" gives Jesus' position in your life. "Christ" gives Jesus' eternal title. "Himself" punctuates what comes next. It wasn't passed off to someone else but He, Himself will do this. The word "our" again is that personal pronoun that designates a relationship with not only Jesus but also God. "Father" gives God His authoritative and providing position in our lives.
"...who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,..."
Notice that this is in the past tense. These are things that Jesus, Himself and God our Father have done. You are not waiting for these things to happen, they have happened. We have received agape love and our eternal home is held in guarantee and the cross of Christ produced the hope of grace. We are being reminded of what Jesus, Himself and God our Father have done for us.
"...comfort and strengthen your hearts..."
Now we are in the present tense. That was what Jesus and God have done but this is what we are blessing or praying for God and Jesus to do now. Paul is praying that the Thessalonian Christians would receive "comfort" that only Jesus and God can give and "strength" that comes from them that is beyond our own. Who better to be comforted by and who better to receive the strength that we need.
"...in every good work and word."
Everything up to this point has been about Jesus and God and now it turns to us or the receivers of this blessing and prayer. The prayer is that we would experience the comfort and strength from Jesus and God as we are doing good works and giving His word. It is in the act of doing service because of what God and Jesus have already done that we receive the comfort and strength from God. Paul is not talking to static Christians who have been beaten down and held up in a hole somewhere. They have been persecuted for their faith but they are still performing good works that God is providing them and still speaking the word of God to others in the midst of opposition.
Our tendency is to stop when we feel pressure or opposition. Our tendency is to retreat when we get banged up a bit for the gospel. These Christians and Paul are doing just the opposite. It may be right in other areas of life to slow down but in our spiritual life we continue on. We may re-evaluate how we are doing things but the act of continuing on with good works and His word is not an option to stop. It is in these times that we do need the comfort and the strength of the Lord. The comfort of what He has done and the strength to continue to follow our Savior even to a cross.
"Lord, what a blessing today. It says so much about You and what You have done because You loved us so much. It also challenges us to keep on keeping on with the path You have laid out for our lives. It ends in Your arms and in Your presence so may we find comfort in that. It is a road that You have already traveled so may we find strength that we are following in Your footsteps. May good works and Your word continue to flow through us because of our personal relationship with You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
This is what we call a benediction. You could say this to another or pray it for someone. It could be said at the end of a service. Paul is praying this blessing upon the Christians in Thessalonica. What is contained within this blessing?
"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father,..."
The word "our" is a personal pronoun that designates a relationship with Jesus. "Lord" gives Jesus' position in your life. "Christ" gives Jesus' eternal title. "Himself" punctuates what comes next. It wasn't passed off to someone else but He, Himself will do this. The word "our" again is that personal pronoun that designates a relationship with not only Jesus but also God. "Father" gives God His authoritative and providing position in our lives.
"...who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,..."
Notice that this is in the past tense. These are things that Jesus, Himself and God our Father have done. You are not waiting for these things to happen, they have happened. We have received agape love and our eternal home is held in guarantee and the cross of Christ produced the hope of grace. We are being reminded of what Jesus, Himself and God our Father have done for us.
"...comfort and strengthen your hearts..."
Now we are in the present tense. That was what Jesus and God have done but this is what we are blessing or praying for God and Jesus to do now. Paul is praying that the Thessalonian Christians would receive "comfort" that only Jesus and God can give and "strength" that comes from them that is beyond our own. Who better to be comforted by and who better to receive the strength that we need.
"...in every good work and word."
Everything up to this point has been about Jesus and God and now it turns to us or the receivers of this blessing and prayer. The prayer is that we would experience the comfort and strength from Jesus and God as we are doing good works and giving His word. It is in the act of doing service because of what God and Jesus have already done that we receive the comfort and strength from God. Paul is not talking to static Christians who have been beaten down and held up in a hole somewhere. They have been persecuted for their faith but they are still performing good works that God is providing them and still speaking the word of God to others in the midst of opposition.
Our tendency is to stop when we feel pressure or opposition. Our tendency is to retreat when we get banged up a bit for the gospel. These Christians and Paul are doing just the opposite. It may be right in other areas of life to slow down but in our spiritual life we continue on. We may re-evaluate how we are doing things but the act of continuing on with good works and His word is not an option to stop. It is in these times that we do need the comfort and the strength of the Lord. The comfort of what He has done and the strength to continue to follow our Savior even to a cross.
"Lord, what a blessing today. It says so much about You and what You have done because You loved us so much. It also challenges us to keep on keeping on with the path You have laid out for our lives. It ends in Your arms and in Your presence so may we find comfort in that. It is a road that You have already traveled so may we find strength that we are following in Your footsteps. May good works and Your word continue to flow through us because of our personal relationship with You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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