DAVID FRAMPTON
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
1.Connection: "with this in mind" - the manifestation of Christ's lordship at his coming. If Paul had the return of Christ in view, then so should we. We fail to face reality fully and properly unless we take long term events into account.
Illus.: Investments that do not pay off for many years.
Illus.: The physical harm caused by nicotine and alcohol usage over the years.
2.To think in this way is to go counter to the natural way of thinking, which pays no attention to the coming judgment.
Worldly wisdom: No God - No sin - No judgment
Christianity:Living God Real - sin - Certain judgment
The adversary would have us abandon a Christian worldview for the philosophy of this age. We must resist such temptations.
3.Paul's eschatology motivated him to pray constantly. Meditation upon God's truth will produce a prayerful spirit.
4.Observe the God-centeredness of Paul's thinking. He considered the action and purposes of God to be essential to their lives.
5."may count you worthy" - This is a characteristic of true followers of Christ. Compare Mt 10:37-38. Paul prays this because of his concern for their salvation. Even though they made a profession of saving faith, he prays that it might be true. Compare 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 4:19-20.
6.Paul also prayed for God to work in them that their lives would be spiritually productive. All our ability to perform good purposes (which the redeemed heart desires) and works of faith comes from the power of God. Jn 15:5
7.Examples of some good purposes:
[1]Get out of debt. Rm 13:8
[2]Contribute to poorer Christians. Rm 15:25ff
[3]Wrestling in prayer. Col 4:12
[4]Provide for one s family. 1 Tm 5:8
[5]Help those who minister. 2 Tm 1:16-18
[6]Show hospitality to visiting ministers. 3 Jn 1:5-8
8.Faith produces works because of its confidence in God the Rewarder. Heb 11:6; cf. also 1 Th 1:3.
Ex.: Giving. 2 Cor 9:6-11
9."We pray this so that…" Notice his purpose in prayer. We should not think of prayer as the aimless wandering of the soul. We should know God's will so that we intelligently ask for its accomplishment in the world. Mt 6:9-10
10.Once again we see that the glory of the Lord is our ultimate goal. Every lesser aim should be in conformity with the ambition to see the truth about the living God displayed to the world.
11."the name" - The "name" in Biblical times stood for the whole personality and was an expression of the personality. To "glorify the name" was to exalt a person. So then in this petition Paul looks for the Thessalonians so to "produce the qualities of Christian character which have just been mentioned that the effect would be to exalt the Saviour [sic] who had produced such works of mighty power within them." [Morris] cf. Mi 5:4; Ps 54:1; 89:24; 118:10ff; Jn 17:6,11f.
12.The glorification of the Lord Jesus will mean our glorification as well, since we are in union with him.
13.All this agrees or conforms with the grace of God.