Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 1:12b-The Second Purpose of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Intercessory Prayer for the Thessalonians
Bill Wenstrom
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2 Thessalonians 1:11 For which purpose, each one of us make it our habit of always occupying ourselves with praying on behalf of each and every one of you that our God would consider each of you worthy with reference to His effectual call. Specifically, that He would by means of power accomplish this gracious purpose in its entirety, namely, acts characterized as divine goodness, that is, every work produced by faith 12 in order that the one and only name of our Lord Jesus would be greatly honored because of each and every one of you. Correspondingly, each and every one of you would be greatly honored because of Him because of the grace originating from our God as well as from the Lord Jesus Christ. (My translation)
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 completes the thanksgiving section of Second Thessalonians which begins the body of this letter.
This section is divided into three parts.
The first part appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 and commends the Thessalonians’ for their post-justification faith in the gospel in the midst of persecution.
The second appears in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 and serves to comfort and assure the Thessalonians that God will judge their persecutors.
The third part is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 and contains Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer for the Thessalonians (1:11-12).
2 Thessalonians 1:11 presents the content of this intercessory prayer and 2 Thessalonians 1:12 presents the two-fold purpose of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
Now, here in 2 Thessalonians 1:12, Paul asserts that the purpose for which he, Silvanus and Timothy prayed to the Father for these things was that the name of the Lord Jesus would be greatly honored because of each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
He then asserts that correspondingly that the Thessalonians would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.
Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 1:12 asserts that the purpose for which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s interceded in prayer to the Father on behalf of the Thessalonians is two-fold.
First, the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified or greatly honored because of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
Secondly, each member of the Thessalonian Christian community would be greatly honored because of the Lord Jesus.
In the second purpose, the verb endoxazomai (ἐνδοξάζομαι) is omitted due to Paul’s use of the figure of ellipsis, though it is implied.
It is modified by the prepositional phrase en autō (ἐν αὐτῷ), which like the previous prepositional phrase en hymin (ἐν ὑμῖν) is causal indicating that the Lord Jesus is the reason why the Thessalonians will be glorified in the presence of the Father.
In other words, each faithful member of the Thessalonian Christian community will be glorified in the presence of the Father “because of” the Lord Jesus.
This is the case since the Father effectually called each member of the Thessalonian Christian community based upon the basis of the merits of His Son Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
At the resurrection of the church, each church age believer will receive their resurrection body from the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50-57; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Phil. 3:20-21).
Then immediately after this event, each member of the church must stand before Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat in order to determine if they merit rewards for faithful service or not (cf. Rom. 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).
Some will receive a full reward and some will not (cf. 2 John 8).
Those who receive a full reward will be presented to the Father according to Revelation 3:5.
At that time, these faithful believers who received a full reward at the Bema Seat from the Lord Jesus will be greatly honored by the Father in the presence of the angels and the church.
The Thessalonians would receive a full reward from the Lord Jesus at the Bema Seat and would be greatly honored by the Father before His throne because they performed good works, which were divine in quality and character.
These works would be accomplished with the Father, Son and Spirit’s omnipotence and they were able to perform good works, which were divine in quality and character because they appropriated the omnipotence of God.
They appropriated the omnipotence of God by appropriating by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
This would result in the Thessalonians being considered worthy by the Father with reference to His effectual, which took place at their justification.
This would also fulfill the Father’s gracious purpose for effectually calling them at their justification and consequently, they would be considered by the Father as worthy of His kingdom.
Specifically, they would be considered worthy by the Father to reign in a position of authority in His Son Jesus Christ’s millennial government.
Therefore, because the Thessalonians appropriated by faith their union and identification with Christ to perform good works and to receive a full reward at the Bema Seat and be greatly honored by the Father, the Lord Jesus would be glorified because it was the Thessalonians’ union and identification with Him which enabled them to be honored and rewarded in the first place.