‘Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.'
This verse is remarkable in its implication. It was the usual practise of Paul to place ‘God our Father' first in his greetings (2 Thessalonians 1:1). Yet here (and in 2 Corinthians 13:14) he places first ‘our Lord Jesus Christ'. Furthermore the combination is followed by the use of the singular, and the singular verbs ‘comfort' and ‘establish' which must refer to both acting together as One. It is a clear expression of co-equality and oneness.
‘Who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace.' What a world of meaning is summed up in these words. The whole of a Christian's destiny is wrapped up in it. First came the love, a love reaching forward from eternity, which includes the giving of Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). And then the consequence of that love, eternal strengthening and awareness of His presence (parakaleo), and good hope, sanctification and glorification. And all this through the unmerited love and favour of God, ‘through grace'. Because of the nature of Those Who bring it about it is fully comprehensive, because of its source it is unfailing.
God's love for man and hope for the future were two elements lacking in the traditions of that ancient world. Man saw himself as the plaything of the gods, and the future as an endless circle of hopelessness. But here Paul could stress God's deep and loving concern and the certain hope that lay ahead through the working of God within.
‘And establish them in every good work and word.' As ever Paul cannot stop short with theology. It has to produce its fruit in action. There can be no grace and mercy of God which is not accompanied in men's lives by fruitfulness. And this is a fruitfulness of both work and word. We regularly put the ‘word' first, the preaching of the Gospel, but Paul puts the ‘work' first. A Gospel which does not reveal itself in love and good works is no Gospel.