LAB: 2 Thessalonians' 1-2 Notes

     1. Did 3 People Write This Letter? 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4/Pt 1

• All 3 founded the church in Thess.
• "We" v. 20. "Us" v.7. "I" v.2
  
• Paul wrote 2 Thess 3:17-18. He was a unique apostle 1 Cor. 15:4-9.
• He is the foundation of the church Eph. 2:19-20.
• "Silas" Acts 15:40="Siluus" 2 Thess. "Timothy" Acts 16:1-3.
• The 3 founded the church but Paul wrote the letter.

    2. A Church Founded In Fire./ Pt 2

• Thess origin Acts 17:1-5.
• Paul went to Thess because of the synagogue there. 
• Jews continued attacking them in Berea Acts 17:10-15.
• Acts 18:1-5, 11. Probably when first and second Thess was written.
• Paul loved and followed up with the churches he founded.

    3. The Explosive Power of Translating "Chruch"/Pt 3

• Church-Assembly. Kuriakos: Belonging to the Lord. Church: Lord's people/house. 
• "Called out" the people there of.
• Church: Local, Regional, Universal.
• In union with Christ as Lord.

    4. Why God as Father and Jesus as Lord?/Pt 4

• "In" union with the Father and Christ.
• "Our" Personal, intimate. 
• "Lord" Phil. 2:9-11, Isaiah 45:23.
• To be in Father and Christ is: Loved, Saved, Called, Glory, Comforted, Hope, and Established in good works. 
• "Direct" In His sovereign direction. 

    5. Mighty Grace Is More Than Pardon/Pt 5

• Grace and Peace from God and Jesus. 
• Grace is an attribute and action of God. 2 Thess 1:11-12, 2:16-17, 1 Cor. 15:10.
• God->Grace->Christians->Grace->Works 2 Cor 9:8. 
• We are pardoned and empowered by God's grace.

    6. Why Do We Thank God For Our Faith?/Pt 6

• "Ought" to thank Him for our faith.
• God Gives and grows and our faith/love 1 Thess 3:12.
• God is the cause and end of our faith. 
• "Thank you for what I am"

    7. Let your Heart Exult Vertically and Horizontally!/Pt 7

• 1:3 Thanks to God and "so that"; because of the growth. Thanks to God: boasting in the church.
• Vertical and Horizontal thanks; to God and the church.
• Horizontal: "Look what God did".
• Vertical: Growing faith, Horizontal: Enduring faith. 
• Paul is more joyful of faith through endurance than growth.
• Be steadfast in your sanctification for the Savior and saints.

    8. God's Righteous Judgment on Christians Now/ 2 Thess 1:5-8/Pt 1

• "Judgment" is a decision from God.
• "This" the endurance of their faith in the trial. So that they are worthy,
• "Worthy" Matt. 3:8. A fittingness of the Christian life. 
• Suffering confirms faith, which wins the kingdom of God. It sanctifies us; prepares us for glory 2 Cor. 4:17-18

    9. God's Kingdom: We Will Get In Because We Are IN/ Pt 2

• Jesus preached the kingdom that is not a local kingdom now but a real reign now.
• Mark 4:10-11 Jesus brought kingdom but not yet consummated.
• Kingdom: Real spiritual now, real physical later at the Resurrection.
• Kingdom about righteousness Romans 14. We are in the kingdom now and will receive it later Col. 1:13, Eph. 5:5.
• The key to getting into the kingdom is resting in your identity in Christ right now.

    10. Justice for Tormentors, Relief for Tormented/ Pt 3

• Unpunished injustice would make God unrighteous. 
• Righteousness, recompense, rest. God promised all this. 
• Merciful and just to forgive 1 John 1:9.

    

    11. The Revelation of Jesus From Heaven/ Pt 4.

• Rest for the redeemed happens "in" at Jesus' return.
• "Revelation=unveiling; in this case an appearance.
• 1 Thess 4:16, heaven, cry, with angels.
• Now we wait for Him as He sustains us to the end 1 Cor. 1:7-8.

    12. Might Angels, Flaming Fire, Holy Vengeance/ Pt 5.

• Mighty angels, 100,000,000 Dan. 11:12.
• Reason not to avenge yourself Romans 12:19=God's will.
• Fire refines us and reveals our work and then the final lake of fire.

    13. On Whom Will Vengeance Fall?/ Pt 6

• Know and obey Gospel (believe).
• No excuse for not knowing God Romans 1:18-23. 
• Knowledge should be personal Hosea 4:6, 6:3-6.
• Knowing is a different way of spelling "love".

     14. The Punishment of Eternal Destruction/ 2 Thess. 1:9-10/ Pt 1.

• Punishment: judge giving just penalty.
• Destruction: ruin, becoming ruined,
• Etneral: always, Romans 6:23, Gal. 6:8, Matt. 25:46.
• They won't know/love God forever. 
• Eternal God, eternal justice, just degrees of punishment in Hell Luke 12:48.

    15. The Loss of All You Were Made For/ Pt. 2

• "Presence" away from Him.
• "with me" John 17:24.
• To be with Him is good, and glorious. To be apart from Him is Hell.
• Phil. 3:7-8 Loss and gain in Christ.
• "glory of His might" beautiful power of Christ. 

    16. The Joy of Marveling Glorifies Jesus/ Pt 3.

• "When He comes" 1:6-8, 1:9-10.
• 1:10 Summary/main purpose of His coming.
• Glorify-objective. Marvel-subjective. 
• Marvel and glorify Him. He gets the glory. You get joy.

    17. Praying the Purposes of God Into Reality/ 2 Thess. 1:11-12/ Pt 1.

• "to this end" applies forward and backward in the verse.
• His purposes happen thru our prayer.
• "worthy of calling"= well fitted for the call of God.

    18. By God's Grace, Through God's Power, For God's Glory/ Pt 2.

• God brings about goodness in us. Thus why Paul prays. 
• Our good deeds are done by faith in God's power for His glory by/thru His undeserved grace/favor. 
• Grace-Power-Faith-Works. 

    19. Christians Made Glorious For the Glory of Christ/ Pt 3.

•  "Name" the person Himself"
• Giver, of power for good; therefore gets the glory.
• We receive His power and are thus changed/glorified with Him 2 Cor. 3:18.

    20. A Prophetic Distortion of the Second Coming/ 2 Thess. 2:1-2/ Pt 1.

• "has come" Not the same as 'at hand'.
• "Day of the Lord"=Return of Christ.
• "Coming" and "gathering" 1 Thess. 4:13-17.
• Some were deceived into thinking this had happened already. 
• "Thief" 1 Thess 5:1-5 is probably the text that they false prophet used. 

    21. Don't Lose Your Head About the Second Coming/ Pt 2.

• Don't: Be shaken in your mind, alarmed in emotion.
• "Alarmed" Matt. 24:4-6, Mark 13:7.
• Be slow/patient in your mind when in looking at doctrine to hold your emotions. 

    22. Will Christ Return 7 Years After the Rapture?/ 2 Thess. 2:3-5/Pt 1. 

• "Coming" and "day" of the Lord are the same thing.
• Rapture=caught up. 1 Thes. 4:17. 
• "Meet" as He descends. 
• Public rapture for the public appearance of Christ. 2 Thess 1:6-8

    23. The Rebellion Must Come Before Christ Returns/ Pt 2.

• "Rebellion" stiffing neck against authority. Same as lawlessness.
• 2:4-8, about the man of lawlessness. 2:9-12 about rebellion. 
• 2:7 "already" increasing rebellion till THE rebellion before the return of Christ. 
• 1 John 4:3, "spirit of antichrist" is already at work. 

    24. Who Is The Man of Lawlessness?/ Pt 3.

• "of" his nature=lawlessness. Destruction=his destiny. 
• Lawlessness: no authority above him therefore he declares himself God. 
• Lawlessness: lovelessness Matt. 24:10-13.

    25. The Man of Lawlessness Sits In the Temple/Pt 4

• The Temple; the church? 2 Cor. 6:16. Rebuilt temple?
• Be faithful to scripture; not a man. So as not to be taken off guard. 
• Paul taught big theology to Thess. Thess 2:5.

    

    26. "Lawlessness Can't Come Until Its Appointed Time/2 Thess. 2:6-8/ Pt 1. 

• The man of lawlessness matters less than the One Restraining him. 
• God appoints the time; is sovereign over when the MoL is and therefore he is doing God's bidding. 
• 2:7, now but not yet. The restrainer will stop at His time. 

    27. Lawlessness Doomed by Truth and Beauty/ Pt 2.

• Christ kills and ends his effectiveness.
• Mouth: truth. Appearance: of glory/beauty.

    

    28. Real Signs and Wonders Serving Unreality/ 2 Thess. 2:9-12/Pt 1.

• "Coming" 2:8-9. "Working" 2:7-11.
• A Romans 1 delusion. 
• Signs and wonders are real, Matt. 24:24.
• Deal with them according to the word Deut. 13:1-3.

    29. The Lie All Satanic Power Serves/Pt 2.

• Satan wants us to believe lies. 
• Satan wants us to believe there is no law and that the lawless one is God, and that truth is not worth loving and unrighteousness is more pleasurable than the truth. 
• "all power" all power that he has. 
• "deception" it is that unrighteousness will make you happier than the truth.

    30. Saving Faith Involves Loving the Truth/Pt 3. 

• The guilty: don't love/want the truth. But had love/pleasure in unrighteousness. 
• Saving faith: love in the heart and personal knowledge in the head. 
• Love keeps us in the truth to the end. Deut 13:1-3.

    31. God Is Not Absent In the Great Apostasy/ Pt 4.

• 2:11 "this" failure to love truth. 
• God sends working of delusion on them 2:11, Matt. 24:9-11, for His own purposes. 
• The sovereignty of God stabilizes the saints in their faith (sanctification). 

    32. Why Does God Decree Carnage for The Church?/Pt 5.

• 2:11 why did God make end times so hard/dark?
• Matt. 24:9-13; "endures". Deut. 13:1-3; "tests".
• 1 Peter 4:12; "strange" not strange but planned. 
• 1 Peter 1:7 "genuineness of your faith" Genuine testing-faith-praise-life/victory. 

    33. Chosen Before Creation For Salvation/ 2 Thess. 2:13-17/ Pt 1.

• "But" against the evil, darkness in this world. Thus giving more weight to "thanks"
• "beginning" Eph. 1:3-6. Before all, before my works. 2 Tim. 1:9.
• "loved" special, particular, saving, choosing love. Eph. 2:4-6 "great love"
• Loved for salvation. 1 Thess. 5:9-10. Loved to love with the Lord. 

    34. God Won't Leave Salvation To Chance/ Pt 2.

• God does not leave to chance how our salvation comes about. Sovereign election. 
• Chosen: Sanctification, belief (faith) in truth. 
• Chosen for salvation from the foundation of the world. Chosen for biblical belief.
• Salvation: Rescue from wrath/Living with Him through His death 1 Thess 5:9-10.
• Rescued from wrath by and through the Risen Savior 1 Thess 1:10. That is how salvation was accomplished. 
• But how do we obtain it?
• Sanctification and belief.
• Truth=gospel.
• Lay hold of promises with faith by Spirit Gal. 3:5.

    35. How Sanctification Confirms Saving Faith/Pt 3.

• Becoming holy/Christ-like is how we obtain salvation. Heb 12:14, James 2:17.
• Faith: how we embrace Gospel and grasp forgiveness. 
• Sanctification confirms our new life. It comes from faith in the truth. 
• Real faith produces real love. Gal. 5:6. Real faith produces real works.
• Picture of sanctification: 2 Cor. 8:1-2.

    36. Called to Holiness, Called to Glory/Pt 4.

• "to which" our salvation through sanctification 
• "to the glory" we are saved to and for the glory of Christ and somehow share in His glory.
• Gospel is preached but the power of God to save some. 1 Cor. 1:22-24.
• Holiness, "conformed to the image of His Son", and glory, "glorified", are also in Golden Chain (Romans 8:28-30).

    37. Stand! The Command. The Prayer. The Promise/Pt 5.

• "So then," = therefore.
• Stand, or know, who you are in the Lord. Loved, chosen, saved, called, possessed by God.
• Know your past condemnation, your present joy, and your future glory. 
• Stand on the truth you were taught. 
• Command in verse 15; Prayer for us in verses 16-17, promise thereof in 3:3-5 "establish you"; modeled for us by Christ in 3:5 "steadfastness".
• Obey by faith, and rest in the finished work of Christ to do this.
• Stand, don't fall, to deception; or to persecution/affliction. 

    38. Are Traditions Good or Bad?/Pt 6.

• "tradition" links Paul to the past, and other apostles. 
• 1 Cor. 11:2 Paul delivered these traditions, truths, to the church. 
• "tradition"=giving along. Passing along. Handing along faithfully. 1 Cor. 11:23-24, 15:3.
• Traditions: Good or Bad? Bad: Gal. 1:14, Col. 2:8, Matt. 15:3-6. Good; 2 Thess. 3:6. Netural; must be in accord with the word of God. 

    39. How Paul Prays Eternal Comfort Into Heart Comfort/Pt. 7

• "Himself" personal, imitate, immediately.
• Christ's authority as Lord and the Father's love. Because the Father sent Son out of love to purchase eternal comfort and good hope.  
• Objective: work of Christ in purchasing for us eternal comfort and good hope. Subjective: our experience thereof; thus why Paul prays for us to know these things in our hearts.
• Our comfort is restful because it has been worked for/purchased for us and we know/lay hold of it in prayer/trust in God for our continued good work.