2 Thessalonians 2:17

comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.

After his extended description of Anti-Christ and its attendant warning, the apostle now turns back to his Thessalonian Christians with words of cheer and thanksgiving to God: But us it behooves to give thanks to God always in your behalf, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you to salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth, through which He also called you through our Gospel, to the attainment of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul felt the obligation resting upon him, he felt bound to give thanks to God for the election and salvation of his readers, whom he affectionately calls brethren that were beloved by the Lord, people that were enjoying His love, as they were indeed. He knew that God had lifted out, selected, chosen them from the beginning. The eternal decree of God concerning their salvation had begun to go into effect when Paul preached the Gospel among them. And it had resulted in their salvation, begun and guaranteed in the sanctification of the Spirit and in their firm belief in the truth of the Gospel-message. They were sure of their redemption in and through Jesus, and because this faith lived in their hearts, its Source and Author, the Holy Spirit, was able to continue His work of sanctification in them. At the same time they were being confirmed in their faith in the truth as they had learned it. ALL this was the result of the gracious call of God through the Gospel which Paul preached to them. Under these circumstances the final result could not be in doubt for as much as a moment, namely, the attainment, the acquisition, the taking possession of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ; they should be assured of their participation in the life of Christ's glorification, Romans 5:2; Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:21; John 17:22.

With this wonderful goal before their eyes, the Christians of all times will heed all the more gladly the exhortation of the apostle: So, then, brethren, stand firm, and keep a strong hold on the instructions which you were taught, whether through word or through our epistle. Commendation and exhortation always should be related. The apostle wants his readers to stand up in the midst of the general falling away, to be firm in spite of all attacks on the part of their enemies, and to keep a firm hold on the statutes and instructions which he had delivered to them, which he had taught them, both by word of mouth and by means of the first letter addressed to them. This Word, the inspired Word of Truth, is the only reliable foundation of faith and hope; all doctrines of men, and especially those of Anti-Christ, are untruths and lies, which tend to lead men into everlasting destruction.

Since, however, the success of the exhortation depends entirely upon the power of God as it is manifested in the believers, the apostle finally says: But He Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and God, our Father, who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope in grace, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. It is from God that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down. Our Lord Jesus and our heavenly Father, being one in divine essence, are continually busy in our behalf, in the interest of our salvation. But the work of the Father is particularly emphasized in this connection. He loved us with an everlasting love, with a love so great that He did not spare His own Son, but gave Him for us all. In His grace, through His Word, He gives us everlasting comfort and consolation, namely, the certainty of our salvation through the merits of our Redeemer. And by reason of this same grace we now have a good, a certain hope; we know that our souls, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, are secure in His hands, not only to the last great day, but beyond that day throughout eternity, Titus 2:13; Colossians 1:5. With this certainty before our eyes, the prayerful wish of the apostle cannot fail, namely, that our hearts will be comforted in the midst of all troubles and afflictions of this life, and that this comfort of faith will find its expression in every good work and word, that our entire life will be an expression of the love which follows upon faith in our hearts. The happiness which lives in the minds of the Christians is bound to find its manifestation in word and deed, both of which thereby become witnesses for the truth and power of the Gospel in the hearts of all men that believe.

Summary

The apostle describes the coming of Anti-Christ and the revelation of the mystery of iniquity, which nevertheless is to continue to the end; in a prayerful commendation he counsels and comforts his readers in their steadfast faith.