Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 5
January 19, 2014
Dayton, Texas
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<011> Thesis: "The Hope" produces both extraordinary difficulties for those who live "truth" in this evil age and potent persistence in the behaviors that actually exacerbate those difficulties. Introduction: We have seen, thus far in our consideration of Paul's "trilogy" of memorable traits demonstrated by the Thessalonians, that "the work" of "the faith" is a living service to God and an active anticipation of the coming of His Son from heaven, and "the labor" of "the love" is a high intensity commitment to a personal relationship with God that naturally leads to the pursuit of His desires and plans. "The Labor" of "The Love" is a ramped up version of "The Work" of "The Faith". Now we have come to what Paul calls "The Endurance" of "The Hope". If my grasp of the purpose for the letters to the Thessalonians is correct, this is the core issue: having such a "hope" that one's life is one of both "faith" and "love". The first question is this: just what is it that constitutes "the hope"? The second is this: what does such a "hope" actually produce?