Divine Comfort for Christian Living | 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

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  • Divine Comfort for Christian Living | 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
  • Paul planted the church at Thessalonica during his second missionary journey. Envy-induced persecution forced Paul to flee the city weeks after its formation. Being hindered from returning, Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians to teach Christian doctrine and duty. Shortly after, Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians to address confusion about the second coming of Christ.

    • 2 Thessalonians 2 rebuts the claim that the day of the Lord had already come. 
    • 2 Thessalonians 3 rebukes those who used the second coming as an excuse not to work. 

    Alongside these doctrinal and ethical concerns surrounding the Lord’s return, 2 Thessalonians 1:3 says they faced “persecutions” and “afflictions.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 addresses these issues head-on. Verses 13-14 is thanksgiving: “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

    God did it all in their salvation. Yet verse 15 exhorts: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” This is the proper response to saving grace.  

    • Stand firm in your faith. 
    • Hold fast to the truth. 

    Charles Spurgeon said, “The preacher’s work is only half done when he has exhorted his hearers to stand fast, he must then fall upon his knees and pray for them.” That’s what happens in our text. Exhortation in verse 15 is followed by intercession in verses 16-17. There is a warning here: You cannot do God’s will in your strength. You will give up and let go if depend on your wisdom, power, and resources. It does not have to be that way. Ask God to help you do his will. David Chapman wrote, “Ultimately, God’s grace will prevail, and thus we ask daily for his grace to be active in our lives.” How should you ask God to help you to do his will?

    Know Who God Is. 

      Verse 16 begins with an invocation, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father.” To pray right you must know who you are praying to. Who do we pray to?  

      Our Lord Jesus. Like the benediction in 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, Paul invokes God the Father and God the Son. By equating the two, Paul gives clear testimony to the deity of Christ. Here Paul even mentions the Lord Jesus before God the Father. This high Christology is further emphasized by the full title: “Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

        “Lord” is his title. It declares his deity and his dominion. Philippians 2:11 says, “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” “Jesus” is his name. Matthew 1:21 says, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Acts 4:12 adds: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” “Christ” is his office. “Christ” means “Anointed One.” Jesus is the Messiah-King, the fulfillment of Old Testament promise, prophecy, and prediction. 

        “Our Lord Jesus Christ” is confessional language that expresses personal relationship. The privilege of prayer belongs to those who can address him as “our Lord Jesus Christ.” The one who turns from his sin and trusts in Christ can pray with confidence that Jesus “himself” will hear and answer. How are things between you and Jesus today?

        Our Father God. Verse 16 says, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father.” God is our Father by regeneration and adoption in Christ. Matthew 6:9 teaches us to address God as, “Our Father in heaven.”This divine title emphasizes God’s immanence and transcendence. God is no distant deity who is unaware or unconcerned. God cares about us. Psalm 103:13-14 says, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” 

        Do not judge God by absent or abusive fathers. Measure human fathers by the divine standard of infinite goodness, steadfast love, and unfailing faithfulness. “Our Father in heaven” affirms that God is willing and able to help us. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”Jeremiah 32:27 says, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 18:27 says, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” That God is our Father! 

        • It is one thing to have friends in high places. 
        • It is another to have a Father in high places. 

        See What God Has Done.

           This benediction begins with an invocation. Then it states what the Father has done for us in Christ. What God has done is the grounds for what God will do. God’s faithfulness in the past is his resume for the future. What has God done? Verse 16 says he “loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace.” Richard D. Phillips wrote, “This brief statement contains some of the greatest claims ever made.” 

          We have a loving God. Verse 16 says God “loved us.” In wedding ceremonies, couples vow to love and cherish one another until death. Shortly after making those big promises, that couple may divorce citing “irreconcilable differences.” God’s love is not a vow to be broken. It is an abiding truth rooted in historical acts. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

            • God’s love is Jesus love. 
            • God’s love is Calvary love. 
            • God’s love is redeeming love. 

            Do not question God’s love based on your present circumstances. That question was forever settled in the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rules, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            As Charles Spurgeon walked the countryside with a friend, he noticed a weather vane on the roof of a barn that read: “God is love.” Spurgeon thought the sign was inappropriate. “The weathervane changes direction,” he said, “But God’s love is constant.” His friend replied, “You misunderstand the meaning. That sign is indicating truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love.”  

            We have a Giving God. Notice what God gives and how God gives. 

             What God Gives. The nature of love is to give, not take. In love, God “gave us eternal comfort.” “Comfort” means “to come alongside.” God met you where you were to give comforting encouragement in Christ. “Eternal” means it is not weakened or withdrawn by sin, sorrow, or suffering. We have unfailing consolation in Christ. God also gave us “good hope.” Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It is great expectation, blessed assurance, and unwavering confidence rooted in the promises of God. “Good hope” means it is not just future-oriented. It is helpful, useful, and beneficial here and now. We don’t keep hope alive. It keeps us alive. Romans 5:5 says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

            How God Gives. Verse 16 says God “loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace.” “Through grace” tells us how God gave us eternal comfort and good hope. It is the unmerited and undeserved gift of God. It is all of grace that it may be all of God that it may be all for his glory! Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

            Trust What God Will Do. 

              • Verse 16 is the invocation. 
              • Verse 17 is the petition. 

               Paul asks that our Lord Jesus and Father God would “comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” This prayer makes two requests. 

              Comforted Hearts. Verse 16 says God “gave us eternal comfort.” Verse 17 asks God to “comfort your hearts.” Paul uses the same term in both verses, shifting from affirmation to petition. 

                • God has given comfort in the past. 
                • God will give comfort in the present. 

                This double use of the term reminds us that praise and prayer are inextricably linked. The more you thank God for what he has done, the more you trust God for what he will do. Paul asks the God who has given eternal comfort to “comfort your hearts.” We associate the heart with emotions. In scripture, the heart is the seat of personhood. It is the central organ of your whole being – the mind, the will, the emotions.

                The Thessalonians faced persecution and affliction. Yet Paul did not ask the Lord to fix, change, or stop their difficult circumstances. He asked the Lord to comfort their hearts as they endured hardship. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

                Established Hearts Paul prays that God may “comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” This is a prayer for encouragement and enablement. The two go together.

                • Divine comfort is not just a painkiller to soothe your pain. 
                • Divine comfort is an energy booster to give you strength. 

                “Establish” is the term from which we get our word “steroids.” It means to settle or strengthen. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”How does God establish our hearts?

                In Every Good Work. A machine that doesn’t work is called “Out of Order.” So is a non-working Christian. Faithful Christians are working Christians. We are not to do mere religious busywork to keep the church operating. We are to do “good work.” “Good” is the same word used in verse 16. Those who have been given good hope should do good work. We should live for the good of others and the glory of God. This is about Christian duty, not spiritual gifts. God establishes our heart in every good work. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

                In Every Good Word. “Word and work” summarizes practical godliness. It is everything you do and say – privately and publicly. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Paul prays for works before words. Hypocrisy professes what it does not possess. Walk the walk, and talk the talk.

                 It is said, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Like nitroglycerin, words can heal hearts or blow up bridges.

                Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” May God comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. Richard D. Phillips wrote: “The apostle’s benediction for us is designed to become a benediction in us so that Christ may speak a benediction to us on the day of his coming.”

                A severe storm drove a ship full of passengers toward the rocky coast. As waves tossed this ship, one man made the dangerous passage to the top deck and saw the captain holding the wheel and turning it back to sea. The captain saw the man and smiled. Then, the daring passenger went below and gave out a note of cheer: “I have seen the face of the captain, and he smiled. All is well.”

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                H.B. Charles Jr.

                Pastor-Teacher at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida.