“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast 
to the teachings we passed on to you, 
whether by word of mouth or by letter.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, 
who loved us and by his grace gave us 
eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts 
and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
~~2 Thessalonians 2:15-17~~

When you read a verse like 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 above, do you ever wonder why, if God gave us eternal encouragement, we live out so much of our lives discouraged and energy depleted?  If I’m missing something here, I surely want to understand what it is so I can access the encouragement and utilize the strength of God.  

The first thing I noticed as I reread this passage was that Paul is charging his brothers and sisters to stand firm and hold fast to the teachings he had passed on to them.  This tells me that this passage holds “my part” and then “God’s part”.  Let’s look at each of them.  

MY PART – Stand firm and hold fast to the teaching passed on to me

It’s important to note that both “stand firm” and “hold fast” are in the imperative voice, they’re commands, not suggestions.  

What does “STANDING FIRM” look like?  Stḗkō is the Greek word used for “stand firm”, and it means (with an emphasis), to persist (to remain unchanged or fixed in a specified character, condition, or position), to persevere (to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counter influences, opposition, or discouragement).  Paul is commanding us to absolutely persevere in godliness (devotion and fervor in loving, obeying, and serving God) and rectitude (moral integrity).  

So to answer the question, “what does standing firm look like?”, it is living according to what God commands, whether you are relating to Him or to people, as well as living according to what He commands despite your circumstances.  

The second command in “my part” is “HOLDING FAST” to what the Bible teaches.  To hold fast (krateō) means to use strength, i.e. seize or retain.  Paul is commanding us not to discard or let go, but to keep carefully and faithfully what the Bible says – grab hold and don’t let go!

GOD’S PART — Eternal Encouragement, Good Hope, and Strength

As I dissected this passage, I discovered that both the word “gave” and the word “loved”  are in the participle mood, reflecting “-ing” and/or “-ed” added as a suffix to the verb.   So that verse can read, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father who loved us and continues to love us and by his grace gave and continues to give us eternal encouragement, good hope, and strength for every good deed and word.”  

God gave and continues to give three things.  Let’s take a look at each of them.

“ETERNAL ENCOURAGEMENT”  The Greek word for eternal <aiōnios> means perpetual; without end, never to cease.  Encouragement comes from the root word <parakaleō> which means to call near, i.e. invite.  Encouragement is relational.  I’m invited near, in a relationship with God, in order to be given encouragement <paraklēsis>.  

God defines encouragement as consolation (something that alleviates the grief, the sense of loss, or trouble of something), comfort (to give strength and hope to : cheer : to ease the grief or trouble of), and solace (to give comfort to in grief or misfortune : console : to make cheerful : amuse : allay, soothe).  

“But the Comforter <paraklētos>, which is the Holy Spirit, 
whom the Father will send in My name, 
will teach you all things and will remind you 
of everything I have said to you.” ~~John 14:26 

The Spirit’s got you covered!!  He will alleviate grief or a sense of loss—He will give you strength and hope—He will cheer you and ease the grief of trouble.  

HE WILL!!  That’s a fact!!  And it’s a fact that is “never to cease”!!  When I accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit (the Comforter—the Inviter) moved in, never to depart.  

PAUSE TO PONDER.If God, by His grace, gave me “eternal (never-to-cease) encouragement” through the (never to leave me) Holy Spirit, why am I not experiencing that encouragement?

God through His ever-present, indwelling Spirit invites you—calls you near <parakaleō>. The problem is that, when we are going through a rough patch in life, our minds are so focused on our circumstances and how they are effecting us and making us “feel”, that our spiritual hearing is drowned out by the noise of our own thoughts, and we miss the invitation of the Spirit to draw near.

So practically speaking then, how do I get from my feelings about a rough patch to eternal encouragement?

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.  
Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God AND HE WILL draw near to you
~~James 4:7-8~~

In this verse both “submit” and “resist” are commands, not suggestions.  To submit to God is to habitually acknowledge that you are a subordinate to Almighty God, and because of that you will reflexively obey Him.  KNOW that whatever the rough patch of life, God has a plan and knows what He’s doing.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Roman 8:28).  

To resist the Devil <anthistēmi> means to set oneself against, to withstand, resist, oppose.  

You can’t resist what you don’t recognize.  Identify the enemy!! 

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 
but against the rulers, against the authorities, 
against the powers of this dark world and 
against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.” 
~~Ephesians 6:12 

We are promised that if we draw near to God and resist the Devil, that God will draw near <eggizō> to us.  I love how relational our God is!!  When we do our part, He is so faithful to do His.  He will draw near to us in the bestowment of His grace and His help – with His eternal (never to cease) encouragement!  

“GOOD HOPE”   The Greek word for good <agathos> speaks of the feeling awakened by what is good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; while hope <elpis>, in the Christian sense, is the joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation.

Think about that definition!  “Good hope” is the “feeling” awakened by the “confident knowledge” that we will spend eternity with Jesus!!  Knowing that we will spend eternity with Jesus should definitely affect our emotions.  

PAUSE TO PONDER.  Have you ever doubted your salvation?  I know I have at times, but when I consider why, I find that it’s because I’m weighing my salvation against something I may have thought or done that displeased the Lord, or against a time when I may have drifted from intimacy with the Lord, or against a time when I was doing the right things but without heart (going through the motions).  

Paul knew what would remedy that!  I need to be “doing my part” – holding fast to the teaching that Christ brought me to God.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18).   He died for me when I was powerless to do anything to help myself.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (Romans 5:6).  

“STRENGTH in every good deed and word”. Who doesn’t need more strength these days?  I mean, most days we get up (still tired) and hit the floor running.  Do you ever think that we are just spinning our wheels doing things of no eternal value and that is what drains us?  That’s definitely worth pondering. 

Let’s unpack the phrase “strength in every good deed and word” and see what we can learn.  The Greek word used here for strength <stērizō> and it means to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm:—fix, (e-)stablish, steadfastly set, strengthen.  Let’s think through some of the phrases in that definition.  

“To set fast” describes being stable and firmly loyal.  It means that God enables us to be resistant to change (as from destructive action or fading).  God is strong enough to keep us focused on what matters when we choose to stand firm and hold fast of what we know to be right.  

“And let us not be weary in well-doing; 
for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  
~~Galatians 6:9~~

“Therefore, since we have this ministry
through the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” 
~~2 Corinthians 4:1~~

“He gives strength to the weary
And increases the power of the weak.”
~~Isaiah 40:29~~

When I read the phrase, “to turn resolutely in a certain direction”, I got the mental image of a child dragging her feet to complete a task mom gave her to do, and then mom taking her child by the shoulders to turn her in the direction of the task.  While this may feel disciplinary in nature, it is also relational.  God has things planned for us to do.  And He graciously and purposefully points us in the right direction to accomplish what He has planned for us.  God has things for us to accomplish, as well as things for us to learn during the accomplishing.

“For it is God who works in you both to will 
and to do for His good pleasure.” 
~~Philippians 2:13~~

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do 
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. “
~~Ephesians 2:10~~

Consider the phrase “to confirm”.  The dictionary defines confirm as giving assurance of the validity of something in order to remove any doubt about the authoritative nature of the order or the indisputable fact of the truth of something.  God has given us the Holy Spirit to do this for us.  

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, 
for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 
so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” 
~~2 Timothy 3:16~~

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, 
will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” 
~~John 14:26~~

SUMMING IT UP

At salvation, God gave us “eternal encouragement” in the giving of His Holy Spirit to dwell in us.  And then because of our relationship with God through Jesus’ blood being applied to us, we gained the “good hope” of eternity with Him in heaven.  God has also strengthened us by giving us His Living Word to guide us in the direction we should go.  God “gave” us these three things, and He continues “giving” us these things as we “do life” in tandem with Him.  

As we “stand firm” and “hold fast” to His teaching, He continues to give us eternal encouragement through the working of His Spirit within us.  He continues to reassure us of  good hope of living with Him in heaven for eternity.  And last but not certainly least, He strengthens us in every good deed and word through the power of His living Word.  As we get into the Word of God, the Word gets in us and changes us from the inside out.  

God has done His part in saving us and granting us eternal life.  It’s a done deal.  And now God is also doing His part by continuing to give us help in living now with eternity in view and by continuing to supply the strength we need to work until He comes to take us home.   

Want to live life full of eternal encouragement, good hope, and strength?  Choose to do life in tandem with God!