2Th 2:13-15; What You See Is What You Get.
length: 59:46 - taught on Sep, 28 2023
Class Outline:
Thursday September 28, 2023
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
Some results of what we see in the glory of the Lord?
Praise of His glory (EPH 1:12, 14).
Live sanctified (1TH 2:12).
Stand firm and take hold of all truth (2TH 2:15).
We will praise God’s glory when we see it.
EPH 1:3-14 is one long sentence that summarizes the gift of the spiritual life that God has given us in Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Blessed according to the New Covenant, elected, predestined, adopted, redeemed, forgiven of all sin, blessed with the knowledge of the mystery of His will, given an inheritance, and from these, all emanating from Christ, as we look upon them, we become the praise of His glory.
With all that in our wheel-house, it should be clear sailing through life with incredible joy and hope and vigor.
But the world around us, made up of those who are not free, and the systems and institutions they create, cause testing and suffering in our lives. We also have the flesh’s lusts and desires tempting us and waring with the Spirit.
We have repeatedly seen suffering and persecution as an aspect of the Christian life in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
We can crumble under the pressure, even though we are seeking the glory of Christ.
Even with the promises of God made clear and believed, we have to stand firm and take hold of the truth we have come to see.
Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, 2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. 5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua is elected, promised the land will be given, that no one will stand before them, that God would never forsake him …
“Be strong and courageous and be careful to do the right thing.”
It still won’t be easy.
Despite the promises and blessings, we still have to strive and be diligent and be strong and courageous, which means faith and willingness. Don’t be hearer and not a doer. Sometimes it will be difficult to keep going - it is at those times that your perseverance and endurance will show you things that you’ll never see at other times.
Don’t miss the other exhortation from God: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
We know that there were a lot more songs / prayers used in Israel, that were written and known than the 150 that are in the Psalter. And these were handpicked by God. They are His playlist. And since it is, it would be terrific to know the theme God had in mind for His playlist. And that we find in Psa 1-2.
Like Joshua was commanded just as he was about to take the Promised Land, 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
And then:
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught,
The one who meditates on the word of God is the one beholding the glory of Christ; and he is the one who is like a tree firmly planted; and he is the one who stands firm and holds to the traditions (the word revealed).
The image of a tree firmly planted by streams of water should conjure up another image in our minds.
Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers.
The tree of life represents God’s source of life given to man and woman.
With our access to the garden cut off, God has given us another way round.
PRO 3:18; 11:30
She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who hold her fast.
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And when we take the way round that God has given to us, we find that He didn’t actually lead us back into the garden of Eden, but to another place, a better place.
To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
The second Psalm refers to a principle throughout the history of redemption that we looked at this week.
Do homage to the Son [Kiss the Son], that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Behold His glory. The anger of God is directed towards the unbeliever in this context, but throughout the psalms, God’s playlist, the believer who longs to behold the face of the Lord is the path of the righteous and the blessed man.
Behold the glory of the Son. Stand firm and take hold of the traditions.
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