Paul the
apostle felt an obligation or “bound” to “give thanks
to God” for the Thessalonian church members “because God”
“from the beginning” chose them “to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”, and in
chapter two and verse fourteen of his second letter to them, Paul
referred to how God “called” the Thessalonians to he and
his companions' “gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ”. We read:
Whereunto
he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The
verse begins, “Whereunto he called you by our gospel,...” Paul
began with the word, “Whereunto” which means “into,
towards, for and among” “he called” which refers to “how
God invited, uttered aloud, saluted and has given a name to” “you”
which refers to the Thessalonian church members “by our gospel”
or “through Paul and his traveling companions' good and glad
tidings of the kingdom of God soon to be set up, and subsequently
also of Jesus the Messiah, the founder of this kingdom”. Paul was
grateful for God “calling” the Thessalonians through the
“gospel” or “good news” which he and his companions shared
with them.
The
verse goes on to say, “...to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul
added, “to the obtaining”
which means “preserving, possession and owning” “of
the glory” or “opinion,
judgment, view, estimate, splendor, brightness, magnificence,
excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace and majesty” “of
our Lord” who is “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 one, Messiah and Son of God”. The
benefit of being “called”
by God by Paul and his companions' “gospel” was the Thessalonians
were destined to “own and possess” the “splendor, brightness,
magnificence and majesty” of the Lord Jesus.
When
we consider Paul's words, we should be excited by this “calling”
by Paul and his companions' doctrine because we now have opportunity
for this “good news”. Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners from their sins, and He promised they will live with Him
eternally and “obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
This “glory” of which Paul shares will be beyond anyone's
imagination, and we who “believe in, trust in, rely upon and cling
to” Jesus Christ and the “gospel” He has provided will
be participants and possessors of this wonderful splendor. May the
Lord Jesus help us to realize, “the best is yet to come”, and
“today is the day of Salvation” to “obtain”
more than our minds can conceive.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians to “stand fast”
and “hold the traditions”,
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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