Let’s take our Bibles and turn together to 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. And as you are turning there, allow me to recount an episode in my life that took place a few years ago. When I lived in Illinois, I had a group of guys that I played basketball with regularly. And this group was a mixture of believers and unbelievers, so it was a good place for evangelism. And I had a nickname with that group of ballers. They called me “Tuesday Tony.” They called me “Tuesday Tony,” because Tuesdays were my best days. For whatever reason I played better on Tuesday than on Thursday or Friday. But one particular Tuesday I was having a pretty rough go of it. I couldn’t make shots. I was sluggish and uncoordinated. On this Tuesday I wasn’t “Tuesday Tony,” I was “Terrible Tony.” I just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. 

And I had a friend (not a Christian) there who was struggling too, and he came over and said to me, “We just don’t have it today.” And I said in response to him, “You’re right, but thankfully I don’t find my identity in basketball.” And he just kind of looked at me confused like, “Okay weirdo, thanks for that!” And whether or not that person received what I was saying, I needed to say it. And I actually believed it. I believed it in a way that I didn’t believe it when I was 16 and basketball was everything to me. Basketball was my identity back then. But not anymore. 

And just for the record, my identity isn’t found in being a pastor either. I love being a pastor. But that’s not where I find my truest identity. It’s not in being a husband either, or a father. I love being married to Sanja. I love being a father. I love being able to play basketball at age 43. But my identity isn’t found in those things. You know where my identity is found? It’s found in Christ. Because I am a child of God thanks to my faith in the Son of God thereby establishing for me an eternity with God to the glory of God. Amen! Hallelujah! 

Now that’s my sermon right there. “My identity is in Christ.” That’s it! If at the end of this sermon you don’t get that idea driven home to you, then I’ve failed as a preacher of God’s Word. Because that’s what 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 is all about. That’s what Paul is declaring to that precious church in Thessalonica. And the Holy Spirit, likewise, is declaring to us through these words that the most important thing in your life, the most important thing about you, and the most important thing for your future is your identity in Christ. 

So let me ask as you as we get started this morning—Is your identity found in Christ? Do you belong to him? Let’s take a look at this passage today and work this out together.  

By the way, this passage is framed as a prayer. This is Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians. And by way of prayer, he encourages them. Maybe they needed encouragement? They certainly needed something, because in chapter 2 he said, “do not be quickly shaken in mind” and “do not be alarmed.” Do you see that in chapter 2, verse 2 of your Bibles? Do you remember that from last week? 

Why did Paul say that? You see there were some folks that were parading around Thessalonica teaching some crazy things like the day of the Lord had already come, and they missed it! And this was alarming to the Thessalonians. 

And Paul says in verses 1-12, “don’t be alarmed by that, Christians. The Antichrist hasn’t come yet. That’s got to happen first before Christ returns. And trust me, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.” Seriously that’s what Paul says in verses 1-12! That’s how he encouraged them! And I guess, it’s kind of encouraging what Paul says there. He basically says, “Things are going to get bad, really, really bad, much worse than what they are now, but then things will get better.”

But thankfully Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on to encourage them more. And I think that statement “don’t be alarmed” in verse 2 is still controlling his statements in verses 13-17. He’s telling them essentially, 

Don’t be alarmed, Christian, because you are…

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Go ahead and write these down. I’ll give you five things this morning. Here’s #1.

Don’t be alarmed, Christian, because you are…

1. Beloved by the Lord (2:13a)

You are ἀγαπάω, Paul says in verse 13. You are beloved!  

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, 

By the way, this is the fifth time in these letters that Paul gives thanks for the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess 1:2; 2:13; 3:9; 2 Thes. 1:3; 2:13). Perhaps there is something to be learned here about offering thanksgiving for the church? 

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved [ἀγαπάω] by the Lord, 

Yeah, so the Antichrist is coming. Don’t you worry, Christian. Because Jesus loves you, and he’s not going to forget about you. You are beloved by the Lord. 

Yeah, so things will get worse before they get better. Don’t you worry about that, Christian. God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. This statement in verse 13 is in strong contrast to what Paul said in the previous passage. Those who reject Jesus and follow the antichrist “will be condemned” (2:12). Those who follow Christ, those beloved by the Lord, will “be saved” (2:13). 

Listen, let me just give you some encouraging words right now, Verse By Verse Fellowship. I want you to hear this. You are fully known by God, and yet you are also fully loved by God. Do you know how amazing that is? God knows you. God knows everything about you… your deepest darkest secrets. And yet he still loves you. 

I heard a pastor say once once that, “Nobody who knows you completely can love you completely.” He said, “[My wife] and I often point out the fact that as much as we want to be totally candid with each other … totally candid … the fact is, every day we have enough angry thoughts about each other, which go away in about five minutes… We have enough angry thoughts, selfish thoughts, despairing thoughts, that we agreed some time ago to say, ‘Look. Let’s talk about them in general but not one at a time or we’re never going to make it.’” 

And then he said this, “There are people who think you’re great because they don’t know you. There’s nobody on the face of the earth who would know you to the bottom who could love you to the skies… When someone likes you but doesn’t know you, that’s not that satisfying. When someone knows you and doesn’t like you, that’s certainly not very satisfying. What we want is to be utterly known and utterly loved.” And unfortunately you don’t get that from your spouse. Please don’t try to get that from your spouse. You’ll make them crazy. You can’t get that from your job, your coworkers, your kids, or your pastor either. You can only get that from God. He knows you completely and yet he still loves you completely. You are beloved by him. Do you know that, Christian? 

And Paul thanks God for this in 2 Thessalonians. We ought always to thank God for “you” in verse 13. That’s “you” plural in Greek, meaning the entire church. If Paul was a Texan he would have said, “y’all”! “We ought always to give thanks to God for y’all… Brothers beloved by God…” 

“Why, Paul? Why are you giving thanks to God for the church?” Because…

God chose you [that’s the plural “you” or “y’all” again] as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 

So, let’s address this again. Why is Paul giving thanks to God here? Well, because the saints in Thessalonica are beloved by God. But also, because the saints in Thessalonica have been chosen by God! 

Write that down as #2.

Don’t be alarmed, Christian, because you are…

1. Beloved by the Lord (2:13a) And you are #2…

2. Chosen for Salvation (2:13b)

Paul says, “You are chosen as ‘the firstfruits to be saved.’” Now there’s a textual critical issue here. Some Greek scholars read “firstfruits” (like the ESV) here and others read “from the beginning” (like the NASB). You can see my sermon manuscript later for more on that. But I think the best evidence favors “firstfruits” as the reading here. 

But what does that mean that God chose the Thessalonians as the firstfruits to be saved? Well, I think that means that the Thessalonian believers were the first in their city of many to be saved. The Roman Empire would eventually be crawling with Christians. The Roman Empire would someday outlaw the persecution of Christians. So yeah, the Thessalonians are suffering, and maybe they’re thinking, “We’re all going to die off. Nobody else is going to be saved besides us!” Paul says, “No, Christianity is a proselytizing religion. Christianity is going to grow and lots more people are going to be saved. And you are the firstfruits of that great harvest.” That’s encouraging for the Thessalonians. God has chosen them as the firstfruits! 

Now I know that this talk about “chosenness” is a source of consternation for some Christians. And I bet that this is true even here at Verse By Verse. Some of you probably struggle to understand the concept of election, and how God chooses us before even the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3-4). But to be honest, Paul presents this understanding of election not as a source of consternation, and not as a philosophical quandary, but as a piece of encouragement. You are loved by God, Christian. And you are chosen by him. You didn’t do anything to earn God’s favor, and so you can’t do anything to lose it. That’s meant to give you comfort. 

And you know what else that’s supposed to do in the NT? It’s supposed to humble you. John MacArthur said that the doctrine of God’s election is practical because it crushes human pride. It should anyway. The great hymn-writer, John Newton, said that “the doctrines of election and perseverance… cut off all pretense of boasting and self-dependence.” These doctrines are a reminder that we didn’t save ourselves. God chose us. So, there’s no place for hubris or haughtiness or cockiness or conceit. 

The perfect parallel for this in the OT is the nation of Israel. God even says in Deuteronomy that he didn’t choose the Israelites because of their merit or because of their value. Moses says, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you” (Deut 7:6-7). 

Speaking of our “chosenness,” Paul says elsewhere, “[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Eph 1:4-6).  

By the way, “Beloved” there in that passage is singular. It’s a referenced to Christ, the beloved of God. And it’s the same word, ἀγαπάω, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:13. Our “beloved-ness” is not found in and of ourselves. It’s found in Christ. God loves us not because we are so darn cute and loveable! He loves us because he loves his Son. If we are in Christ, then we are beloved by God. If we aren’t in Christ, we are not beloved by God. In fact, we are actually objects of his wrath. We’ve talked about that already in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. 

And that prompts the question, church. Let me ask you, “Are you in Christ?” “Are you, now?” Every single thing I’m saying today hinges on that. If you have faith in Christ, you are beloved by him. You are in Christ Jesus. If you don’t have faith in him, you don’t have identity in Christ, and you are not beloved by the Lord. 

I know most of you in this room believe and are part of the beloved and the chosen. And you come here every Sunday to hear the Scriptures preached. That’s evidence right there of a saved person growing in Christ. But maybe sometimes you have your doubts. And maybe sometimes Satan spreads his lies all over you like jelly on a piece of bread. And you lose sight of your beloved-ness and your chosenness. Well, I’m here to tell you this morning, this is my mission today as the pastor of this church. This is my divine duty and calling as the preacher of this church who is teaching 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. If you have faith in Christ Jesus as your Savior, you are loved by him, Christian. You are a chosen child of God. And there’s nothing in this life that’s so terrible that you can’t endure it, if you can say, “I’m loved by God! I’m a chosen child of God!” That’s your identity if you trust Jesus Christ as your Savior.        

Is everyone with me, today? Let’s keep going. This gets better. “How could this possibly get any better, Pastor Tony?” It does. Look at verse 14.

14 To this he called you 

What’s the “this” in verse 14? The “this” is a reference to the contents of verse 13. It’s a reference to the Thessalonians’ belief in the truth. It’s a reference to their sanctification by the Spirit and their identity as firstfruits. So, in other words, “God called you into belief and sanctification through the Holy Spirit…” 

through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Does everyone see that in verse 14? Paul says, “that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Is that a typo in your Bible? Did Paul misspeak here? Surely, he doesn’t mean we will be glorified like Jesus Christ is glorified? Does he? What is going on here? 

Go ahead and write this down as #3, and then I’ll explain it. As Christians you are…

3. Called to Glory (2:14) 

By the way, theologians refer to three different phases of salvation for the Christian: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. And the vocabulary of salvation in the NT is used to describe these three different phases. Let me say it this way, “You have been saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved.” Those three categories show up again and again in the NT. And we see all three of them here in 2 Thessalonians 2. 

Here’s the technical way that theologians refer to this. “You have been justified, you are being sanctified, and you will be glorified.” Justification, Sanctification, Glorification. Paul says, “God chose you for salvation” (verse 13), “through sanctification” (verse 13), “so that you may obtain glorification through our Lord Jesus” (verse 14). 

Jen Wilkin wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition website, and she detailed these three realities for the Christian. And she linked them to our battle with sin. And here’s what she says. She writes, “Be assured of your justification. It was. One day, you were freed fully from the penalty of sin. Be patient with your sanctification. It is. Each day, you are being freed increasingly from the power of sin. Be eager for your glorification. It is to come. One day, you will be freed finally from the presence of sin.” 

That last statement there is what Paul is talking about in verse 14. We have been called to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have lots of clues in 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians as to what that’s going to look like. Christ will return in glory. The dead in Christ will rise first with new resurrection bodies, which are also referred to as our “glorified bodies.” They won’t be corrupted like our current bodies are corrupted. They’ll be perfect, sinless, and flawless. 

And Christ will reign in a perfect, glorious kingdom and we will share in that glory. It doesn’t mean that we will worship each other. Let’s be clear about that. We will share in Christ’s glory, his majesty, his magnificence, but we won’t share in his worship. Instead, we will worship him, and it will be one big, magnificent glory-thon for 10,000 years and then forever more. 

You might say, “Hey Pastor Tony, I’m having a bad week. I might lose my job.” “Okay, well let me help you through that, but don’t you ever forget your identity in Christ. He loves you, and he has an amazing future for you already planned out. That should trump any bad news that’s happening right now in your life.” 

You might say, “Hey Pastor Tony, my health is declining precipitously. My body is falling apart. I feel horrible and it’s going to get worse.” “OK, well let me weep with you as you weep over that. But don’t you ever forget your identity in Christ! There’s nothing in this life that’s so terrible that you can’t endure it, if you belong to Christ and have a future with him.”

You might say, “Hey Pastor Tony, my kids are out of control. They’re disrespectful and disobedient all the time!” “OK, well, spank them! … And then also don’t forget your identity in Christ.”

You might say, “Well my kids are teenagers, I can’t spank them anymore.” “Ok, well discipline them as best you can, but help them to see how they can find their identity in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify them. Because if they’re teenagers, then you’ve got about five years or less to discipline them and train them. The Holy Spirit on the other hand has the rest of their lives to discipline and sanctify them.”

But let them know this too. We are called to glory. Those who are in Christ Jesus. We are called to glory. Let your teenagers and all your kids know that life is short and fleeting, but eternity is long and glorious, if they belong to Christ. 

Write this down as #4.

Don’t be alarmed, Christian, because you are…

4. Fortified by the Truth (2:15)

Paul says this in verse 15. 

15 So then, brothers, stand firm 

By the way, this is the first command that Paul gives in this passage. Stand firm! And notice the logical progression here. We are beloved and we are chosen, therefore we stand firm! We don’t stand firm in order to be chosen or to be beloved by God. Don’t let the tail wag the dog! We stand firm because we are chosen, and we are beloved. 

Remember that word “steadfastness” that we looked at a few weeks ago? This word here conveys a similar idea. We stand fast! We stand firm! We hold our ground, like a soldier on the battlefield. This word means that we stay “firmly committed in [our] conviction or belief.” 

15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions  that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 

The word “hold to” here is the Greek κρατέω. It means to “grab” or to “seize” or even to “arrest.” Matthew used this word to describe King Herod Antipas when he “arrested” John the Baptist. He seized him (κρατέω) into custody and put him in prison (Matt 14:3). And Paul says here, because we are chosen by God and because we are beloved by God, we need to seize the traditions that we were taught. We need to take hold of them and own them! We need to stand firm! That’s the first command. But then also, we need to “seize” and “hold onto” the traditions we’ve been taught. 

Now we need to be careful here. Tradition can be a dangerous word. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their silly traditions that didn’t accord with the Word of God. And we, as Americans, can be very dismissive of tradition. That sounds very “British” to us. 

But if you’ve ever seen, “The Fiddler on the Roof,” you know the power of tradition! Why would Paul say “hold onto” or even “seize” tradition here? Well, let’s be clear. Paul qualifies this by saying, “traditions… that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” Some English translations use the word “teachings” instead of “traditions.” And I think that’s the right nuance. Paul says “hold onto the traditions that you were taught… the teachings you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” The letter there is presumably 1 Thessalonians, which Paul had already sent to the church a few months before 2 Thessalonians. Paul said even in 1 Thessalonians, “[W]e ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (4:1).

And what is the essence of the “teachings” that Paul taught the Thessalonians? What are the “traditions” that he wants them to hold onto? It’s the gospel. It’s the message about Jesus. And also, you can add to that, it’s the Word of God that started with Moses in the Five Books of the Pentateuch and now includes the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. In the words of Rich Mullins, “Stories like that make a boy grow bold; stories like that make a man walk straight!”

You might say, “Well how do we hold onto the spoken word of Paul! We don’t have Paul here with us, Pastor Tony? He’s not coming through that door this afternoon!” No, and that’s why God recorded his Word, his traditions, his teachings in the Scriptures of the NT, so that we can have access to them. We are actually in a better place today, then the Thessalonians were 2,000 years ago. Yes, they had access to Paul, sort of… whenever Paul wasn’t being chased out of town by mob violence. But we have all the recorded Scriptures of Paul right here. And we have the words of the other Apostles too… Peter, Matthew, John, etc. We even have Luke’s Gospel and the Book of Acts! 

And so, we can apply this passage directly to our lives, even better in some ways, then the Thessalonians did 2000 years ago. 

[S]tand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. 

We can apply this passage even better than the Thessalonians, because it’s right here! We can even physically “seize” and take hold of these teachings. But Paul didn’t mean physically take hold of them. He meant intellectually and affectionately (with all your heart, mind, and strength) take hold of them. 

You know when I was a kid, I was taught the Scriptures. I really was. I’m thankful for my church in Austin, Texas, and my parents for bestowing these truths on me. My Sunday school teachers too. My Awana program. My Christian school when I was a kid. All of that was good. But there came a time in my life when I had to seize this. I had to seize it! Not the human traditions that some people seize onto that may or may not be good. I don’t care much about human tradition. I mean the teachings of the Scriptures. I mean the gospel of Jesus Christ. I had to own it myself. 

Are you teenagers out there listening? I had to say, “It’s not my dad’s faith. It’s not my mom’s faith. It’s not my pastor’s faith. It’s my faith.” God has no grandchildren. Just children, right? So, I had to own it myself. I had to seize it myself. This is for me. God, you are my God. And these are the teachings that I believe. Have you done that, Christian? Have you done that, young person? You don’t have to be a young person, really. You could be going to church just because that’s the thing to do. You just followed the crowds to the mess-hall at chow time. But you never seized it! “This is for me! This is my faith!” If that’s you. If you’ve never done it, Paul is beckoning you here. 

stand firm and [seize] the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Take them. Seize them. Make them your own… Like a paratrooper hanging on to his parachute just before he’s about to jump! Be fortified by the truth.  

And then, finally. One more thing. Write this down as #5.

Don’t be alarmed, Christian, because you are…

1.   Beloved by the Lord (2:13a)

2.   Chosen for Salvation (2:13b)

3.   Called to Glory (2:14) 

4.   Fortified by the Truth (2:15)

5.   Comforted by God (2:16-17) 

Look at verse 16 with me. Here’s where Paul starts to pray fervently for the church in Thessalonica. He prays, 

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 

Amen! I could pray that prayer for you, Verse By Verse Fellowship, word-for-word at the end of this service. And I just might do that. Let me unpack this a bit for you. And then I’ll pray. And we’ll be done. 

I want to say three things about these last two verses before we finish. The first thing is theologically marvelous. The second thing is practically marvelous. And the third thing is convinctionally marvelous. Okay? 

Here’s the first thing that’s theologically marvelous. In verse 16, Paul makes a reference to both the first and the second person of the Trinity. Do y’all see that? The Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father. That’s typical in Paul. He often juxtaposes God the Father and God the Son together in a statement like this. 

But here’s what’s marvelous theologically (and also grammatically) in this passage. Paul references two persons, Father and Son, in verse 16, but the main verbs he uses in the sentence “comfort” and “establish” in verse 17 are singular. How can that be? I know this is hard for us to pick up on in English. If I were to say “May Sanja and Tony comfort you” or “may Sanja comfort you.” Our verbs don’t conjugate much in English. But Greek is a highly inflected language. So, for Paul to have plural nouns “Jesus and God the Father” and a singular verb “comfort,” that is a grammatical error. Paul should be docked points for bad grammar in his paper. 

Or should he? Maybe he knew exactly what he was doing when he used plural nouns and a singular verb. How many of you think that’s the case? I think Paul was making a point and to heck with proper grammar! What’s his point? Here’s his point. Jesus Christ and God the Father are so intimately linked in their activity in their being in their two persons that they can share one singular verb. One God. Two nouns. One verb. Is that not theologically marvelous? I want you to think about that this week. 

Here’s something else. Here’s what’s practically marvelous in these verses. Paul says…

may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 

17 comfort your hearts and establish them [that is “your hearts”] in every good work and word. 

Here’s what’s marvelously practical in this passage. The verbs that Paul uses for “loved” and “gave” are both past tense verbs. And so, they’ve already been given to us. We already have it. We already have eternal comfort. We already have good hope. Not through anything we’ve done, but through grace! You can’t earn it. You can’t get it. You can’t lose it. It’s done. It’s finished. 

And because of that, Paul says, actually Paul prays, that we would be comforted and established in the here and now. Why are we comforted now? Why are we established now? Because we are comforted eternally. Because we are loved already. So, let me put this simply. The past and the future need to inform your present. “I’m having a rough week, Pastor Tony. My kids are driving me crazy.” Wait, hold on! Take a deep breath. You are loved by God (past tense). You have received grace (past tense). And you have an eternity waiting for you (future tense) that will be glorious and amazing and free from all pain and trouble and sin. Let your past and the future inform your present. 

“Ok, my kids are driving me crazy. I can get through this. Because Christ has redeemed me (past tense) and my future is secure with him (future tense). And my kids are sanctifying me right now (present tense).” Does that make sense? Let your past and your future [in Christ!] inform your present.

And then this. There’s something convictionally marvelous about this passage too. Paul prays, let me just abbreviate it here… “May the LORD comfort and establish you in every good work and word.” This is how the NET version says it. I like this rendering better, “May the LORD encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say.” Here’s what’s convictionally marvelous about this statement! God cares what you do and what you say. God wants you to do and say things that represent him well. Paul prays for that to be the case in your life, right here!

Because people could say, “I’m a child of God. Wahoo! I can live anyway I want to. I can sin and live a horrible life and God doesn’t care.” People could say that, but Paul doesn’t say that. He says instead, “You are saved. You are a child of God. And because of that, God’s going to help you to do good with all of your speech and all of your work! And in fact, I’m praying for you that God would comfort you and establish you in everything you do.” Paul prays, “Come, God. Help them! You have saved them in the past. You have saved them for the future. Help them in the here and now with their deeds and their words.” 

You know how when you sin and the Holy Spirit convicts you, and it kind of hurts in your soul. You ever felt that before? Paul prayed for that. “Thanks a lot Paul.” Actually, Jesus prayed for it too. And Jesus sent his Holy Spirit inside of you so that that conviction would squeeze the sin right out of you. And at times that might sound like a bad thing. “I’d rather just sin and get away with it, Pastor Tony.” But it’s not a bad thing. It’s a marvelous thing. It’s a gift from God. It a signal in your soul that you belong to God and you are going to live with him forever. And he loves you. And like any good Father, Daddy’s going to discipline his sons and daughters. So, praise God for that! 

If you’re here this morning and you’ve been feeling low because of sin. And maybe you feel unloved by God because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Don’t let Satan twist that into something it’s not. Your conviction from the Holy Spirit is actually a sign that God loves you. And that he owns you. And that he wants better for you. Conviction is a comfort. It’s a comfort.