August 17, 2022 – Wednesday
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV
11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Comments
You know it’s kind of cheating when I begin with a verse that leads with With this in mind. Now we have to ask and answer what is Paul writing about, with what in mind if we are to make sense of this?What Paul is addressing is the fact that the Thessalonians were facing intense persecution from their many neighbors and wrote the following in verse four, Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. What follows is reminiscent of what God told Abraham in Genesis12:2-3, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessingI will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Compare that to what Paul says about the Thessalonians who are suffering from persecution for their faith in verses 5-10, 5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
Now with that in mind we understand verse eleven where Paul and those with him are constantly praying for them hoping that would give them the power to bear fruit for all the good deeds and desires that arise out of their faith. Then from there verse 12, We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are praying for not only Jesus to be glorified in them by their actions and desires, but that they, the believing Thessalonians, would also be glorified in Jesus. This would be according to the grace granted them through God and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is God’s grace, His unmerited favor, that makes this possible. Pastor Chuck Smith once wrote a short book about grace and how Grace Changes Everything. Indeed as none of this would be possible without the gift of grace.
Bottom Line: All that we do in God’s will is a result of His grace. It reminds me of an old equation that goes like this, Jesus + nothing = everything. It is truly all about Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, With grace so many things are possible in our lives that were impossible before. Help us to always remember how dependent our salvation is upon Your grace. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek