by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 3 February 28, 2024 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Overall Paragraph In Terms Of Its Focus.
A. Paul's prayers because of the response the Thessalonians gave to the message of the Gospel.
1. Began with "thanksgiving" expressed to God.
a. According to Strong's numbers, "eucharisteo" is rooted in "eucharistos" (a word used only once in the Greek New Testament at the point of Colossians 3:15: "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and bebecoming (Present Imperative) "thankful" (Adjective)).
1) This adjective, as mentioned above, is only used once in the Greek New Testament and its antithesis (acharistos/unthankful) is only used twice (Luke6:35 and 2 Timothy 3:2).
2) This "theological" concept is emphasized in Romans 1:21 and supports my suggestion of last week that "giving thanks" is likely the most prominent of the manifestations of "faith", and "not being thankful" is a manifestation of "evil" (Luke 6:35), which is fundamentally "aggressive intent to harm" (Trench), and is the 7th of 20 characterizations of unredeemed men in 2 Timothy 3:2-5, fitting the idea declared in Hebrews 3:12 that "an unbelieving heart" is the outcome of the "aggressive evil" that is systemic within the core values of that "heart".
b. As Paul broaches the issue of "gratitude", it is in respect to his heart-attitude toward "The God" (most fundamentally "The Executor of Power"), he does so with a fairly well-developed "theology of prayer".
c. He, obviously/apparently, believed that responding to "The God" (because of His work in the context of what He was doing with Paul's life and gift/gifts) called for the overt expression of gratitude for the grace extended to him in terms of both "calling" and "gifting unto usefulness" which, biblically, leads to experiences of "Life" within the context of "God's fellow workers" (1 Corinthians 3:9).
1) There is, clearly, a "link" between our experiences of "Life" and the labors we put forth (1:3) aslongas those "labors" are rooted in ourunderstanding that the energies that exist in our bodies are to be coupled to His provisions of both motivation and guidance (they are "labors of love"; both toward God and men), i.e., "body and Spirit produced heart-values".
1) His "giving of thanks" was an integral aspect of his "prayers". and his "prayers" were an integral part of his "life activities".
2) This raises the issue of the factual basis for, and expectation of, "prayer".
2. Progressed to "mention in prayer" as an "always" activity.