Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 6
January 26, 2014
Dayton, Texas
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<013> Thesis: The character of the Persons with whom we relate is crucial to our own participation with them in Life. Introduction: Paul obviously wrote the letters to the Thessalonians because he was deeply concerned about the quality of their experience of the Joy of the Life of God (1 Thessalonians 3:1-3). In 1:6 he said that a major aspect of their experience was "the joy of the Holy Spirit". It was for this cause that he told them about his prayers for them in this opening paragraph; prayers that were rooted in what he had seen and heard of them in regard to the trilogy of the Big Three: Faith, Love, and Hope. We have considered at least some of the issues involved in that trilogy. This evening we are going to look into the first part of the way he winds up his record regarding his prayers. This aspect of his conclusion has to do with the two "qualifiers" that he attached to his prayers. The first of these qualifiers is contained in what our translators give us in the words "in our Lord Jesus Christ"; the second is contained in what the translators give us in the words "in the presence of our God and Father". What are we supposed to learn from these phrases?