Deeper Reflection
THE “RESULTING BENEFIT”²³ OF THE THESSALONIANS’ secure standing in the realm where God and Christ dominate is: “Grace to you and peace” (v.1). This is no casual social greeting, but an expression of a theological reality. It is a statement of fact of our present blessed condition “in” God and Christ, as well as a prayer for a hoped for future state.²⁴ We can make this our daily prayer with thanksgiving: “God, may Your grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to me and my family this day” (1 Tim 1:2; 1 Pet 1:2). God’s “peace” is “not just the absence of conflict, but the fullness of health and harmony through reconciliation with Him and with each other”²⁵ at home and in the church. God’s “grace” is His free, undeserved favour through Christ “which confers this peace and sustains it”²⁶. 1 Thessalonians is “at heart a record of ”²⁷ Paul’s thanksgiving to God, which extends from 1:2-2:12, and formally picked up again in 2:13 and 3:9.²⁸ Note the depth and intensity of Paul’s thanksgiving to God for the Thessalonians: “always…constantly mentioning…remembering in the presence of our God and Father…” (vv.2-3) – which reflects Paul’s prayerful meditation on the experience of divine grace.²⁹ “Without a prayerful contemplation of divine blessings, there can be no attitude of thanksgiving. If reflection on these things does not occur continually or unceasingly, our thankful perspective will be inconsistent and intermittent.”³⁰

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²³ G. K. Beale, 43 ²⁴ G. K. Beale, 43 ²⁵ John R. W. Stott, 29 ²⁶ John R. W. Stott, 29 ²⁷ Gary S. Shogren, 22 ²⁸ G. K. Beale, 44 ²⁹ G. K. Beale, 45 ³⁰ G. K. Beale, 45