by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 5 March 13, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Overall Paragraph In Terms Of Its Focus.
A. Paul's prayers because of the response the Thessalonians gave to the message of the Gospel.
1. Began with "thanksgiving" expressed to God.
2. Moved from this gratitude to incessant, intercessory, prayer.
3. Focused upon the obvious changes that occurred when the Thessalonians heard and believed the Gospel.
a. Begins with what Paul called "the 'of you' work of The Faith".
1) Paul's references to this "work" in his letters to the Thessalonians.
a) This "work" has no specific identification in this opening reference.
b) The only other use of "work" ("ergon") by Paul in this letter is in 5:13 where he summons the Thessalonians to a high appreciation for those who "labor" ("kopos/kopiao") among them, and to an abundance of recognition of their "work".
c) In 2 Thessalonians 1:11, he refers again to a "work of faith" without the definite article and leaves it "open" to their "desires for goodness", and in 2:17 he includes the prayer to "our Father" for His provision of "heart strengthening" in the pursuit of "every good work".
2) In the immediate context, he refers to the "sounding forth" of the "word" as an obvious indication of "your faith toward God" (1:8).
3) The references to "faith" by Paul in this letter.
a) 1:3 -- our current text.
b) 1:8 -- the next use (we have just now referred to that above).
c) 3:2 -- Paul sent Timothy to "strengthen and encourage ... as to your faith" (this strongly implies a need for a continual ministry of addressing the requirements of 'faith' in the lives of believers).
d) 3:5 -- here Paul lets them know why this 'continual ministry' is necessary: the presence of "the tempter" who seeks to siphon off the level of "faith" to block any further "works".
e) 3:6 -- this "faith" shows up primarily in the way the Thessalonians "think kindly" of Paul, et. al. This indicates the necessary "link" between a person's perspective of the person(s) who are setting forth the true words of God that are to be believed and their subsequent ability to be believing.
f) 3:7 -- one of the outcomes of "faith" is the "comfort" that it brings to those who are "working" to strengthen it.
g) 3:10 -- makes reference to the perennial need to shore up the foundations of "faith".
h) 5:8 -- makes "faith" the "breastplate", along with "love", so that the believer is protected against what Paul calls in another place, "the fiery darts of the wicked one" (Ephesians 6:16).
4) There are five more references to "faith" in his second letter that fill us in on even more of the realities of "believing".
b. The over-all issue of the "work of faith" is the active participation of one who "believes" in "spreading the Word around".