Bible Study

A1 Scripture

B1 Now God and our Father himself and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. And may the Lord have you increase and be abundant in love towards one another and towards all just as we do toward you. For the purpose that He may strengthen your hearts to be unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13, WEL)Now

B2 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, lead us directly to you. And may the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all men, as indeed we also do toward you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 EMTV)

A2 Outline--Paul's Prayer

B1 May we see you again

C1 The answerer to prayer

D1 God our Father

D2 Lord Jesus Christ

C2 The director (how we can see you again)

B2 May He bless you

C1 Love (may it

D1 Increase

D2 Abound

C2 Love (to

D1 Each other

D2 All

C3 Purpose (for

D1 Strengthen hearts

D2 Being unblameable in holiness

C4 Holiness

D1 In God's presence

D2 At the coming

E1 Of the Lord Jesus Christ

E2 With His holy ones

 

A3 Notes

B1 Desire

C1 To see these believers who want to grow, have been growing, and are growing in the faith.

C2 To see their growing faith

B2 Acknowledgment

C1 The desire to see them is one thing but to be able to get there is another.

C2 Their weakness, God's strength

C3 It is interesting that it is not recorded that they did get to see one another.

C4 Unanswered prayer

D1 Sometimes God's will is "no.

E1 It is better for the Kingdom of God to say "no."

E2 The need of another person may be different by answering you "no," the needs of another person please Him to answer "yes." Example, you may pray for rain but another prays that it does not rain. God, who knows best, sends rain. The answer to your prayer is "no" but to the other "yes."

E3 Even the Lord Jesus had the answer to His prayer as "no." Matthew 26:39

D2 Sometimes we have the opportunity.

E1 God opens the way, but we refuse because of fear, etc.

E2 God opens the way, but we are hindered by the devil in some way (1 Thessalonians 2:18)

D3 Sometimes God's will to wait. (John 11:3, John 11:6, John 11:43-44)

D4 Sometimes we have sin. (Psalm 66:18,

E1 We have neglected God's rules and counsel (Proverbs 1:28)

E2 We do not have mercy on others. (Proverbs 21:13)

E3 We despise God's Word, the Bible. (Proverbs 28:9)

E4 We have unconfessed sin (Isaiah 1:15)

E5 We are stubborn and do not humble ourselves that God is right and we are wrong. (Zechariah 7:13)

E6 We are selfish or greedy and want more for the sake of having more/hording. (James 4:3)

D5 Sometimes we do not have faith. (James 1:6-7)

D6 Sometimes we do not treat our wife that way God wants us. (1 Peter 3:7)

D7 Sometimes we give up. (Luke 18:1)

D8 Sometimes we are not sincere (Hebrews 10:22)

D9 Sometimes an answered prayer will may us proud. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

B3 May He bless you. Paul ends this part of his letter with this thought.

C1 Love

D1 The importance of love

E1 We have a need for someone to love us (even narcissists)

E2 God's love for humans is genuine. It is not as the Calvinist teach that humans are only decreed this and that.

E3 God wants true, freely given love. It is not as the Calvinists who teach that humans are only decreed to love.

E4 God wants Christians to love each other. This kind of love is caring and kind. See 1 Corinthians 13.

E5 God wants us to love non-Christians and our enemies. Matthew 5:43-48

E6 God wants our love to increase. This is something that God works into our lives from the things we experience.

D2 Our verse deals with Paul's continued desire to have the faith and maturity of the Thessalonian Christians to grow.

C2 Unblameable

D1 We are not sinless in this life. 1 John 1:8, Proverbs 20:9, Isaiah 53:6, etc.

D2 Unblameable means

E1 Faultless

E2 The idea is we have an attitude to do God's will. When we do sin, we repent, confess, and have faith that He has forgiven us.

C3 Holiness

D1 This is the holiness that we receive from the sacrificial Lamb of God.

D2 We need to have this holiness, or we cannot enter and live in heaven.

C4 Coming of the Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.

D1 His return is promised. Acts 1:11, Daniel 7:13-14, Matthew 24:30

D2 First coming--as suffering Messiah to procure salvation.

D3 Second coming

E1 Rapture

F1 For saints

F2 For rescue

E2 Judgment

F1 With saints

F2 For judgment and sentence

D4 More detail can be found here.

D5 For the differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming read here.