Paul
the apostle prayed for “God”
to “count” the
Thessalonian church members “worthy of this
calling” of salvation, and to “fulfill
all the good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with power”.
In chapter one and verse twelve of this second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul continued his prayer for “the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ” to be
“glorified” in
them as well. We read:
That the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you,
and you in
him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The
verse begins, “That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may
be glorified in you,...” Paul
began with the phrase, “That the name”
or “that which is used for everything which the name covers, and
everything the thought or feeling which is aroused in the mind
through mentioning, hearing and remembering” “of our
Lord” which refers to “he to
whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding;
master and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and is “the Son of God,
the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ”
which means “the anointed” and is “the Messiah” “may
be glorified” or “adorned
with glory and blessedness” “in you”
which refers to the Thessalonian church members. Paul's prayer was
for the Thessalonians to be “adorned with the glory” of God.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and you in him, according to
the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul added, “and you”
which refers to the Thessalonians “in him”
which refers to “the Lord Jesus”
“according to”
which means “down from, through out, toward and along” “the
grace” or “that which
affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness and
unmerited favor” “of our God” which
refers to “the Godhead bodily or trinity which is comprised of God
the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “and
the Lord” or “he to whom a
person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master
and the title given to God the Messiah” “Jesus”
whose name means “Jehovah is salvation” and is “the Son of God,
the Savior of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ”
which means “the anointed” and is “the Messiah”. Not only was
Paul's prayer for the Lord Jesus to be “glorified”
in the Thessalonian church member, but also that they through His
“grace” would be
“glorified” in
Him.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we begin to understand how much he
cared that the Thessalonians were “adorned” with the “glory
of Jesus Christ”. Paul knew
they would be examples of the believers whenever others observed them
if they were “glorified with Jesus”.
He also knew God Himself desired to be “adorned”
with their “glory”
or “blessedness” as well. In other words, they were to be blessed
with God, and He was to be blessed by them. Perhaps our prayer today
should be that by “the grace of God”
“the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”
would be “glorified”
in us, and we would be “glorified in Him”, and
indeed, may the Lord Jesus be manifested within us for all the world
to see.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see Paul “beseeching”
the Thessalonian “brethren”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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