Read or listen The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians 1 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Initial greeting – 2 Thes. 1:1-2

The senders of the letter are the same three men who founded the church in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5,15) and sent the First Epistle to the Thessalonians there, namely Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.

Thank God for His grace – 2 Thes. 1:3-4

Although verses 3-10 are just one long sentence in Greek, I will divide them into two sections: verses 3-4 and verses 5-10.

Faith seems to be strange in the sense that it cannot settle at a certain level. Either faith grows or it declines and weakens. What is the reason for this? It is because of the battle between the enemy of the soul and God: The devil walks around Christians like a roaring lion, seeking to catch them:

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

In other words, God cannot abandon his own for a moment, because the enemy is constantly lurking. If, on the other hand, a person is in a living connection with God, then God is doing his work in him. There is absolutely no chance of standing still.

Many of us experience a period of peaceful growth after becoming Christians. But difficulties soon come, for Satan does not leave a person alone during this life. As long as a person lives, Satan still has the opportunity to cast him out of God’s grace. One way is through tribulation and persecution for the sake of God’s word (verse 4, compare also Acts 14:22 and Jesus’ parable of the sower, Matt. 13:21).

Persecution and tribulations should not take us further from God, but closer to God, because only with his grace can we withstand Satan's attacks. In tribulations we should never rely solely on our own strength, but always seek help from God. We should never think that God is tempting us (compare James 1:13), because then we do not ask him for help, but blame him for our tribulation. And help comes from nowhere other than through God.

God's judgment is righteous – 2 Thes. 1:5-10

No one can accuse God of injustice at the final judgment. No one can claim to have received eternal punishment on false grounds. But on the other hand, we can say that justice is not fully realized, because one gets to heaven only by grace. No one has a chance to get to heaven if God were to judge us as we should according to our works. We do not ask God for a just judgment for ourselves, but for mercy because of Christ’s atonement.

The nature of loss and the details related to it have been much discussed. However, pondering the details is more or less guesswork. However, the Bible does reveal some basic things to us. Here Paul speaks of hell as eternal separation from God (verse 9). It is therefore also separation from all good, for God is the source of all good (James 1:17). Those who deny Christ will be lost.

Jesus atoned for all the sins of all people. Sin leads to hell when one does not want to ask God for forgiveness of their sins on the basis of Jesus’ atonement. Christ’s own people will go to heaven (verse 10), and they will become like him (1 John 3:2).

The Life of Faith Depends on the Work of the Holy Spirit – 2 Thes. 1:11-12

We alone would not stand firm in our faith a moment, in our own strength. Only through the work of the Holy Spirit can we stand. There is no reason for boasting, but for humility (1 Cor. 10:12). We are called by grace (verse 11). There can be no glory without grace (verse 12)!

As a Jew, Paul had tried to justify himself by his own works. Therefore, he was able to understand very deeply what grace is. Paul saw clearly that God's grace in Jesus is our only possibility.