10 II Thessalonians 2:16-17 Declaration of Dependence

June 28, 2026

Chris Freeman

Title: Declaration of Dependence Text: 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17 FCF: We often struggle fulfilling what God has set out for us to be and do. Prop: Because our loving God graciously gives all we need to be and do as He has commanded, we must depend on Him alone. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In a moment we’ll read from the New English Translation starting in verse 16. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Paul has officially ended another major section in this second letter to the Thessalonians. He has had nothing but good things to say about them. He knows they are genuine believers who have devoted themselves to growing in their faith and love for one another. But they are experiencing even greater persecution since the last time Paul wrote, only a few short months ago. Paul seeks to give them comfort through the better part of the first two chapters. He assures them that they are called of God and worthy of that calling. He assures them that the ungodly, who are persecuting them, will be judged by God and cast from His benevolent presence. He then addresses a great concern of theirs. They have been convinced somehow that the Day of the Lord had already come and that they had missed it. Paul reminds them what he taught them and tells them that the great apostasy and the man of lawlessness must come first. He will deceive many and will be the agent causing much of the falling away of professed believers. But they need not worry. Why? Because God has chosen them from the beginning to obtain Christ’s glory by receiving the gospel and with it the truth and growing in holiness by the power of the Spirit. But they cannot be idle just because God has chosen them. No, they must stand firm and hold to the Christian beliefs and practices that they have been taught. Today, Paul finishes up this section and prepares for the next with another benediction. A hopeful prayer for them. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Loving and gracious God, we confess that it is by Your grace that we exist. We recognize that we are wholly dependent on You and that without You nothing would be. You are not the clock maker who set all in motion and left it to run. Instead, all things consist in You. Without Your personal, intimate involvement in Your creation, all would crumble. If this is true for all of creation, how much more so is it true for us as Your people. Lord show us through this prayer of Your apostle, the truth of our dependence on You and help us to know and live by that dependence. We pray this in Jesus’ name, and by His authority and power alone… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] “No folly is greater than to suppose that God is optional for daily living.” Edmund P. Clowney “A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough for the next six months or take sufficient air into his lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon God’s boundless store of grace from day to day, as we need it.” D.L. Moody [Slide 3] “They travel lightly whom God’s grace carries.” Thomas A Kempis “Grace is something more than ‘unmerited favor’… grace is favor shown where there is positive demerit in the one receiving it.” Anonymous “Grace grows by exercise and decays by disuse.” Thomas Brooks These thoughts will help set our mind aright as we approach the text this morning. I.) Our loving God is the gracious source of eternal comfort and good hope for His people, so we must depend on Him alone. (16) a. [Slide 4] 16 - Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, i. Paul’s habit in both 1 and 2 Thessalonians has been to conclude a section of the letter with a benediction. ii. This is his fourth benediction and his second in this letter. He concluded chapter 1 with a benediction and will now conclude his thoughts on the Day of the Lord, the man of lawlessness, and the great apostasy with a benediction as well. iii. Once again, a benediction is a good word, or hopeful prayer, usually lifted up to God and is for fellow believers. iv. Paul begins this benediction addressing once again the two persons of the God head that He has featured in these letters. v. We do find it a bit conspicuous that he does not include the Holy Spirit in this benediction, but by excluding The Spirit we should not infer that Paul does not see the Holy Spirit as a person of the Triune God. vi. Paul has mentioned the Holy Spirit a handful of times in both letters. And as we’ve mentioned before, there may be some cultural or local reason that Paul does not talk much about the Spirit, whether that be the Thessalonians level of theological understanding, perhaps the local superstition of the pagans, or perhaps even the Jews may come into play regarding the third person of the Godhead. vii. Since the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, we see that He would ultimately be the divine agent carrying out these hopeful words toward the Thessalonian church anyway. viii. In any case, the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father are addressed in this hopeful prayer for the Thessalonians. ix. The descriptions added to Jesus’ name of Lord and Christ reflect the Jewish understanding of Jesus being the Messiah or Anointed or Chosen One of God and also the King or Sovereign One in the line of David. x. Furthermore, when Paul quotes Old Testament Scriptures which use the proper name of God, he usually replaces the name of God with the Greek word, Kurios – Lord. xi. Since Jesus is referred to as Lord and Messiah this sets Him apart as co-equal in essence and attributes to God the Father and thus equally and rightly called Yahweh. xii. Paul addresses his benediction also to God our Father, which is significant to the Gentile population of the church since Yahweh is the God of the Jews and often relates Himself as their Father and they His children in the Old Testament. xiii. So, the Thessalonian church, predominantly gentile, and these Jewish evangelists sharing the same Father, is significant theologically to understand that although the Israelite people have a particular place and status in the redemptive plan of God, it is not significantly different than that of the church which combines all Jesus followers regardless of nationality. xiv. Paul addresses the Father and Son in His benediction. But He is not done describing the triune God, on whom He is calling. b. [Slide 5] who loved us i. Interestingly, the participles loved and gave are both singular, even though there is a compound subject of two persons of the Godhead. Some commentators are hesitant to make conclusions on this – but I am not. Paul understands that although the Lord Jesus Christ is a separate person from God our Father, He is one co-eternal being. Therefore, when one person of the Godhead acts, they all act. ii. But what of this God? iii. There is no attribute of God’s that needs greater clarity and exposition today than the love of God, particularly the love of God for His own people. iv. Just as the “our” in Paul’s description of the Father sharpens our understanding of a Father that adopts children from all nations through Christ, so also the “us” here sharpens the Divine love which Paul references as being poured out specifically and especially to those children whom He has chosen from the beginning to obtain the glory of His Son. v. God’s love for His elect is boundless. It is super-abundant. vi. Make no mistake, God’s love for all His creation is abounding. 1. God loves all He has created, even the pots that are made for wrath. 2. Even the animals that act on instinct. 3. Even the plants that provide sustenance. 4. Down to the smallest single celled organisms to the pinnacle of His creation, mankind, whom He made in His own image, and everything in-between, material and immaterial, physical and spiritual – all He has made He loves. vii. How do we know that? 1. God’s mercy is lavished on all of creation. 2. The fall of man occurred in excess of 6,000 years ago. 3. For 6,000 years God has allowed men to hate and love Him. 4. He has allowed wicked men to have happiness in the world He created. 5. He has allowed men to confess Him and to deny Him. 6. He holds together all things. By Him all things consist. 7. My friends… that is love. He is literally keeping all His creation running. He is the power, the energy, the fuel that keeps things going. viii. If that is true… of the smallest organism. If that is true… of the greatest sinner. ix. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those who are betrothed to His Son? x. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those His Son left heaven to save? xi. How much more, do you suppose His love is… for those He chose in Christ before Adam fell? xii. When we would measure God’s love for His elect… all other loves of God, men, and angels, would appear to be hate by comparison. xiii. Husbands you say you love your wife… But your love might as well be hate when compared to how Christ loves His bride. xiv. Mothers, you say you love your children… But your love for them might as well be hate when compared to how God loves His children whom He adopted from their murderous father the devil. xv. Oh, how vast and how deep and how overwhelming is the love of God toward believers. xvi. His love for the nations is so great that He gave His unique Son, sent By His Hand to see to it that believers from every tribe, tongue, nation, and ethnicity would not perish but have everlasting life. xvii. Far from a trivial human love based on warm fuzzies… xviii. Far from a love proven by tolerance that never corrects or rebukes… xix. Far from a passionate physical lust… xx. Far from admiration or appreciation… xxi. The Love of God toward His people… is a force that cannot be stopped, it cannot be conquered, it cannot be questioned, and it cannot be earned. xxii. What business does the God of the Universe have… in loving us this way? We who were wretches and sinners from birth? We who were born spiritually dead? We who didn’t love Him, didn’t seek Him, didn’t want Him? xxiii. And yet… He loved us. xxiv. The aspect of the word “loved” in the Greek stresses the fact of it and implies a specific act of it. Now we could point to the cross, and we might be right to do so. But within this text Paul has already told the Thessalonians of a particular act that God has done that is loving. Which is, of course, His election of them from the beginning. xxv. The two participles share one article in the Greek. This means that we should see the next participle as connected to and flowing from the fact of God’s love for us. xxvi. What did His love do? c. [Slide 6] and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, i. We should begin by recognizing that although His love by grace gave us what appears to be two things they are most likely referring to ONE thing. Or at least two things that are interconnected. ii. First eternal comfort. iii. If the adjective eternal were not present, we could make the case that God is providing some comfort for them in their persecution. However, by adding eternal, we are clued in to the fact that God is not simply the comforter of earthly problems. Instead, He is ultimately in His love, by His grace, giving us a comfort that goes beyond death. iv. The comfort that God offers in His love by His grace is one that endures forever. It will never fade. v. But Paul elaborates on that eternal comfort by the second description. vi. Good hope. vii. Paganism of this time believed in hope in a purely ambivalent way. And all hope was lost upon death. Though some pagans believed in a spiritual existence beyond death – no pagan taught life after death. viii. And so, God’s love for us gave us by grace both eternal comfort and good hope. To what could Paul be referring? ix. What else but the choosing of God from the beginning a people who will obtain the glory of Christ. This is both an eternal comfort and a good hope. x. But how has God’s love given this by grace? xi. What is God’s grace? We should know this by now CBC. xii. [Slide 7] Grace is God’s power which he grants to people according to His free will, to enable them to be, receive, or do something which they are unable and unwilling to be, get, or do on their own. xiii. We’ve been looking at that definition for grace for some time, and there might be a test on that answer soon. xiv. Because if you understand God’s grace this way, it allows you to crack open the mystery of God’s love for His people. xv. Like here: xvi. The other common definitions of grace, “Unmerited favor” or “God’s riches at Christ’s expense” are certainly appropriate. But how much more do we understand when we realize that God is actively giving us strength to recieve eternal comfort and good hope. xvii. Why? xviii. Because of ourselves, we could never earn or acquire for ourselves eternal comfort and good hope. xix. It is something that must be given by the free will of God. And He has given it freely to us… His children. d. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: Paul starts his hopeful prayer for the Thessalonian church addressing the request to the only One who can answer. He seeks these requests from the Triune God who loves His children in giving them eternal comfort and good hope by his grace. He gives these things to us, which we could never earn or acquire for ourselves, and He does so out of His love for us. Although Paul does not specify any response the Thessalonians must have toward this truth, the implication is that they must depend on this God alone for eternal comfort and good hope. Therefore, we too must depend on God alone. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] All of what has been said in this benediction is exclusively about God. He is loving and gracious to give us eternal comfort and good hope. So, what does Paul ask for from this loving and gracious God? What does having eternal comfort and good hope mean in this life? II.) Our loving God is the gracious source of courageous faith and strong character, so we must depend on Him alone. (17) a. [Slide 10] 17 - encourage your hearts i. Paul prays that the Lord would use His love and grace to bring courage to the Thessalonians. ii. They are experiencing increased persecution. iii. They are suffering for the name of Christ. iv. Paul’s first thought is that this loving and gracious God would give them courage and boldness. v. This, of course, flows out of the reminder that God has chosen them from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ. vi. That God has graciously given them out of His abundant love for them, eternal comfort and a good hope. vii. Boots on the ground… what that looks like now… viii. That they would be able to stand firm and hold fast to what they have been taught and endure for the Lord’s sake their trials. ix. The body may fail them, but Paul prays for their souls, their inner person, to be courageous. x. But not courage alone… b. [Slide 11] and strengthen you i. The word strengthen here has the idea of a buttress or a crutch. ii. That God’s love and grace would come alongside them and hold them up and firmly establish them. iii. That they would not only be bold but powerful. iv. This too flows from eternal comfort and a good hope. v. Knowing that we will endure to the end because we’ve been chosen from the beginning. Knowing that we have been chosen from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ in the end. This pushes us, motivates us, and propels us to be strong. vi. To endure. vii. But this strength is not simply to keep believing or to keep going or living… it I strength for something specific. c. [Slide 12] in every good thing you do or say. i. This is an idiom to include every outward expression of human agency and responsibility. ii. An outward witness. iii. Paul prays that they would be courageous in faith and strong in character. iv. That they would hold fast to what they were taught not just in what to believe to be true, but in the Christian tradition of how to live. v. That is such a delicate balance to strike. vi. Many have remained steadfast in their beliefs but have become just as hateful and vile in their treatment of those who disagree. vii. Many have tried to love outsiders but have compromised on what they believe in order to appear more palatable to those who seek them harm. viii. Paul prays for both. ix. That they would be uncompromising in what they believe, while remaining steadfastly good in what they say and what they do. x. True Christianity, built on the love of God to graciously give eternal comfort and good hope to us, must produce both a people who cling to what they have been taught to be true and also a people who by word and action demonstrate, not merely admiration of Christ, but as true devotion to Him. We believe what we were taught and we live what we believe. d. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: And so, Paul’s hopeful prayer not only looks to God’s gracious love for eternal comfort and good hope but also for encouragement and strength to remain steadfast in doctrine and practice. The implication again, is that the Thessalonians would rely on God alone. Not that they are passive – but they must remember that God is the source of all these good gifts. They must depend on Him for them. And so must we. Conclusion: So, CBC, what have we learned today that refines our beliefs and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 14] In Paul’s fourth of five benedictions in these two letters, Paul looks to the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father as the sole provider of the things he desires for the Thessalonians to have. Paul desires that the Thessalonians would stand firm and hold fast to the Christian tradition both in doctrine and practice. In order to do that, they must be encouraged in their hearts and strengthened in their character. That flows from an eternal comfort and good hope that God alone can provide by grace in His love. As Paul looks to God to give these things to the Thessalonians he demonstrates to them that they too should be seeking the Lord and depending on Him alone to embolden their faith and to bolster their righteous living. So, we too must look to God alone for the same. But what does this mean for us? How does this impact our daily lives? 1.) [Slide 15] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God’s love for His people is abounding. a. Without denying that God loves all His creation and all men, we can affirm that God has a special love for those who belong to Him. b. That love is demonstrated in the lengths by which He went to redeem us from sin and death. c. That love is demonstrated in His choice from the beginning to appoint us for salvation. d. That love is demonstrated most abundantly on the cross where the perfect Son of God bore the wrath of God for all who believe. e. That love is demonstrated by His grace to continue to be with us and to seal us until the day of redemption by giving us His Spirit to dwell in us. f. That love is demonstrated in His doing all to make sure that we obtain the glory of Christ. g. God’s love for His people is beyond anything that we can point to in comparison. h. God does use examples for us to help us to understand. He is known as our Father. He compares His Son to our groom and we His bride. i. But these pictures ultimately fail to adequately communicate the heights, depths, and riches of God’s love for His people. j. That is not because God has failed to communicate it to us – but because we are unable to truly comprehend it. k. Added to this, is the extra point that we are undeserving of ANY love from Him much less this abounding love. l. All of mankind deserves His wrath and as Jesus says, are condemned already. Yet He reserves His judgment until the final day. He holds out and gives mercy, even to those who deny He exists or mock Him. m. If God gives love like this even to the wicked – how much more abundant must His love be for us whom He has chosen to save and conform to the image of His Son. n. No other god in any other religion has love like this for His worshippers. o. The gods of Eastern religions have no love for their worshippers. The gods of pagan religions are as flawed and selfish as their worshippers. The god of Islam while claiming to be loving, never promises to allow his worshippers into paradise, even if they adhere to the 5 pillars. p. And all the gods of every religion force their worshippers to earn whatever it is they are offering. q. Only Yahweh… Only Yahweh tells His worshippers that they are UNABLE to earn His love… yet He gives it to them freely and abundantly. r. Only Yahweh says that we love, only because He first loved us. s. Though this God is fierce in His wrath and Just in His judgment. Though He hates sin and those who love it. He is abounding in love to all… and especially to His people. 2.) [Slide 16] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that we are able to produce on our own the courage and strength necessary to be what God desires us to be. a. Here we have a riddle in the bible that has been debated for hundreds of years. b. Does God command us to do things we are unable to do? c. Some say that since God commands us to do things it implies that we are able to do it. d. Some say that God’s commands of us to do things merely implies responsibility… not ability. e. How can we be responsible to do things when we are not able to do them? f. But here we see the same riddle on display. g. Paul has commanded the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that the evangelists taught them. h. But in the previous breath he thanked God for choosing the Thessalonians from the beginning to obtain the glory of Christ. i. And in the next breath he prays to God to provide what the Thessalonians need to stand firm and hold fast. j. The riddle isn’t actually that hard to figure out. k. I believe Paul gives us the secret to deciphering it in his letter to the Philippians. l. He tells them to work out their salvation in fear and trembling knowing that the One who works in them to will and do His good pleasure is God. m. Meaning what? n. They are responsible to live out their faith and obedience to God. But they must do so in awe and humility. Why? Because without God they would be unable and unwilling to do it. God provides the desire… and the power… to make them what He wants them to be. o. A command does not mean we are able. Just that we are responsible. But God graciously provides what we need to enable us… as we endeavor to do as He has commanded. p. Our flesh is weak. We are prone to fear. But God makes us strong and courageous. q. His power is made perfect in our weakness. r. Because all this is true… 3.) [Slide 17] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must depend on Him alone to embolden our faith and empower our character. a. God gave us the faith that unites us to Christ. b. God gave us grace. c. God gave us love d. God gave us eternal comfort and good hope. e. Does it not naturally follow that He will encourage our hearts and strengthen us to be what He has called us to be? f. When we depend in our own strength and try harder to live for Him, we usually fail. Or, perhaps worse, we succeed for a time, convincing ourselves that we did it. g. In truth, we must set out to obey the Lord’s commands… by faith. h. Faith is not simply the way the Lord connects us to the atonement of Christ. i. We live by faith. We walk by faith. We grow in faith. j. We actually keep trusting and depending on God to mold us and shape us. k. This seems like an obvious step but I know that this is one that I miss all the time. l. I set out to obey the Lord and correct my behavior… BY MYSELF all the time. m. I don’t pray and ask God and if I do, I pray once and then set out to do it on my own. n. Grandma Dorothy was such a shining example of this. Even in her old age, and even in her dementia, she would walk through the kitchen asking God audibly to give her the strength to make it to her chair. o. We might snicker at such a thing… p. But perhaps she was closer to what this means than we realize. q. Do we depend on God for every single step we take? r. We live in a culture that values independence. And not just independence from God but independence from anything. I don’t need anyone. I just need to seek self-fulfillment. s. And what a terrible lie it is. t. We not only need each other… we desperately need God to breathe… let alone to stand firm in our faith and hold fast in Christlike character. u. So how are you doing Christian? Do you feign dependence while trusting on the strength of your own arm or cunning? v. Do you not realize that even these are gifts from God which He can take away in a moment? w. We must relearn dependence. For we are truly dependent on God… for everything. 4.) [Slide 18] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God alone has given, by grace, in His love, eternal comfort and a good hope. a. If you are not a mere admirer of Jesus but are a devoted follower, then you know the eternal comfort and good hope that God has given you in His love by His grace. b. You know it. c. You know the comfort that it is to know that no matter what happens, no matter how bad life gets, no matter how many things go wrong, and no matter how much the world hates you – you are not of the world. You belong to a different Kingdom. d. You belong to a King who is not of this world. e. This world is just a shadow. It’s a shade. A dream and at worst a nightmare. One that all God’s people will one day wake up from. And just like the memories of nightmares fade… God will wipe away the tears from our eyes over the pains of this life and we will never know them again. f. We know hope. Real hope. Not hope that some president promises. No… Good Hope. g. Hope of abundant life. Hope of obtaining glory for Christ and in Christ. h. Hope of reigning with Him in that new Kingdom. i. Hope of never failing Him again. j. God’s love, by His grace… has given this to us. 5.) [Slide 19] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” This love, this grace, this comfort, this hope, this courage, this strength is available to all who believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. a. Though God has chosen His own from the beginning… the only way we can know that we are His… is when we believe. When we see our faith rest on Christ and grow. When we see our lives change and conform to His example. That is when we are assured that we are His. b. And so, if you are here this morning and you have never professed Christ as your Lord and Savior… if you are here today and you have convinced yourself that you are His but you don’t see your faith growing or your life conforming to His example… c. My friends… I offer Christ to you. d. In Him, God gives love, grace, comfort, hope, courage, and strength. e. Stop trusting in you. Stop trying to please God. Stop trying to make it through this life. f. Get off His throne and make a declaration of dependance on Him. Cry out to Him to save you from your sin and unto an obedient and Christ like life. [Slide 20(end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Robert Hawker Blessed promise! Holy Spirit, make it happen in and upon my soul, day by day. Bring me under the continued baptisms of your sovereign influence, and cause me to feel all the sweet anointings of the Spirit sent down upon the hearts and minds of your redeemed. These are the fruits and effects of Jesus, the promise of God the Father. Yes, blessed Spirit, cause me to know you in your person, work, and power. I need you day by day as my Comforter. I need you as the Spirit of truth, to guide me into all truth. I need you as the one who reminds me of the Lord Jesus, to bring to my forgetful heart all the blessed things he has revealed to me. I need you, as the witness of my Jesus, to testify of my wants, and of his fullness to supply. I need you as my advocate and helper, in all my infirmities in prayer. I need you as the deposit of the promised inheritance, that I may not faint or lack faith to hold on and hold out in every dark season. I need you, Lord. I cannot do a moment without you, nor act in faith, nor believe a promise, nor exercise a grace, without your constant hand on my poor soul. Come then, Lord, I beg you, and let me be brought under your unceasing baptisms. Shed abroad the love of God my Father in my heart, and direct me into the patient waiting for Jesus Christ. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Benediction: Hear the word of the Lord, In favor I will show you compassion, So that men may bring you the wealth of nations, In favor I will enlighten the eyes of your heart, That you might fully understand the hope to which He called you, even the glorious inheritance of the saints. Until we meet again, Grace and peace to you.