Many times, I sign off letters, emails, messages, or even meetings with the phrase “Go Man Go.”  I got that phrase from Coach Frank Beamer when I played football at Virginia Tech.  It’s the last thing he said to us before we left the team meeting room area and headed towards that famous tunnel that leads into Lane Stadium.  It isn’t just a motivational phrase that brings back memories of a really cool time in my life, but it also captures the main idea of one of my favorite “life verses” in the Bible.  Philippians 3:14 reads,

14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

Now, to fully understand that verse, you need to read it in the context of when Paul wrote it, as well as in the textual context of the verses around it.  Paul wrote it to the church in Phillipi while he was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel (Philippians 1:12-14), an occasion that some were using to try to steal away his influence among the churches for their own glory (Philippians 1:15).  It was in this context that Paul, who had lost everything and had no idea if he would ever see the light of day again outside of a Roman prison wrote,

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:8-15)

 To “endure” something can be understood to mean “standing still” or “holding up” while taking a beating.  At times, that is certainly needed and is not without honor.  For instance, we see Jesus enduring the suffering of the cross.  He had to literally stand there and take it for us to be saved!

However, Paul is not talking about enduring in his situation but pressing on in it.  To “press on” is to give even more effort to move forward, to strain forward, so that the pace towards the goal you're trying to achieve is unaffected by the pressure that’s trying to keep you from getting there.  When things are pushing against you, you have to push harder to go at the same rate.  Therefore, pressing on implies that external forces are trying to inhibit or discourage me from attaining a goal, so I will put even more effort into achieving my goal, ensuring that, at the very least, I can maintain my previous rate of progress.  The context of pressing on is not enduring where I am, its leaving where I am to get somewhere else refusing to let the pressure keep me from getting where I’m supposed to be.

Therefore, it's key to not miss what Paul is pressing on towards!  Paul is not talking about pressing on to make sure he builds a great ministry.  That was never his goal in the first place!  His goal was to know Christ and live in Christ’s glory!   The memories of all his past successes tried to haunt him, drawing him back to look at his life before Christ and its glory, rather than to Christ's life and glory.  They were attempting to convince Him that trusting in the Gospel and being committed to God's mission in Christ isn’t worth it.  After all, look where it’s landed him—prison!  The man who was once a rising star in the Jewish world with nothing but green pastures for his future on earth was now despised, rejected, and stuck in a Roman prison.

But Paul refused to entertain those temptations; therefore, when the persecutions and hardships of life fought against him, he responded with an even greater effort to “press on,” trusting the Gospel of Jesus Christ and laboring with Him in His Mission!  He refused to slow down his pace in moving forward in that effort!  Paul was going to PRESS ON no matter what because what he was PRESSING ON towards was so worth it—the glory of eternal life in Christ!

Now, there’s a lot more we could talk about in Philippians on how Paul stayed motivated to PRESS ON.  However, we aren’t studying Philippians; we are studying 2 Thessalonians, a letter Paul wrote before he wrote Philippians that interestingly gives us some great insight into what motivated Paul to later write what he wrote to the church in Philippi … things that should motivate us to “Go Man Go” and PRESS ON in hardships and persecutions.

As a reminder, in 2 Thessalonians 1:4, Paul referred to both persecution and hardship (afflictions).  Afflictions refer to the hardships of living life in this world, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not.  Persecution refers to what people or society do to Christians to try and silence Christians from sharing the Gospel and/or punish them for believing in Jesus.  As much as we can apply what Paul says in verses five through twelve to hardships (especially verses eleven and twelve), the immediate context pertains to pressing on in the face of persecution, something that was on the rise against the church in Thessalonica.  Therefore, in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12, Paul gives them two motivational reasons to do it—to press on in the face of persecution.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12, Paul gives two motivational reasons to press on in the cause of Christ in the face of persecution.

 The first motivational reason Paul gives us to press on in the cause of Christ in the face of persecution is that,

 God’s justice will reign down on injustice. 

 5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering--6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 

There’s a lot in there, so let’s unpack some of it!

 5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering

“This is …” takes us back to verse four, and that they are enduring persecutions and afflictions with such notable steadfastness and faith. But this is also where it gets challenging to wrap our heads around.  Paul is therefore saying that the fact that they are going through more and more persecution, while also enduring the afflictions/hardships of life, testifies to the righteous judgment of God.  How?

Well, first, you have to understand that Paul is NOT saying suffering makes us worthy of the Kingdom of God in the sense that we must suffer to have the right to go to heaven.The New Testament is abundantly clear that only the suffering of Christ on the cross makes us worthy of the Kingdom of God, and that’s why ALL the praise will go to HIM for it (Ephesians 2:1-10)!

What Paul is saying is very similar to what he said in his letter to the church in Rome. Paul wrote,

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

 Suffering, which can also be translated as LABORING, with Christ in this life, is not the way we earn salvation; it’s proof that we have it!

It’s also important to note that Paul said, “that we may also be glorified with him.” We will delve into that more later, but make a mental note of it here.  Suffering with him means that when we stand with Him in eternity, we are standing side by side not only with the one who gave us the right to be there, but also with the one we labored with!  We will be teammates, more precisely, brothers and sisters with Christ, sharing in the glory of the eternal victory HE won for us, and that we labored with Him to bring to others in life’s hardships and even in persecution!  It’s again why Paul wrote what he wrote in Philippians 3:10!

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share [in] his sufferings[(labors)], becoming like him in his death, (Philippians 3:10)

Becoming “like him in his death” isn’t becoming the sacrifice for others’ sins.Again, only CHRIST can do that.  We can’t pay the penalty for our sin, much less somebody else’s!

However, becoming ‘like him in his death,’ with an emphasis on ‘LIKE, ‘ doesn’t mean that we accomplish exactly what He accomplished, but that we do something similar—LIKE it.Therefore, when we press on, refusing to stop laboring with Christ to bring His life to others in the face of life’s hardships, especially persecution, we are giving ourselves to the good of others at the cost of our own quality of life and potentially even at the cost of our own lives and as such we are living “LIKE him in his death.”

So then, circling back to the beginning of verse 5, this suffering is proof to the world that we are indeed children of God and justifies how God will respond to those who refuse to repent from persecuting HIS KIDS who are laboring with Christ to bring God’s life to an eternally dying world! Paul writes,

6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

 “The author claims that it would be unjust for God to allow the persecutors to escape their deserved judgment.” ¹Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (p. 286). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

“The NT knows nothing of the Epicurean denial of future divine judgment nor of its rejection of providence, but affirms strongly both God’s providential care of his own and the inevitable execution of his wrath. Christians will escape the oppression of their persecutors in that day (v. 7), but those who are disobedient to the gospel will find no relief (vv. 8–9). In a world that clamors for justice, the present teaching continues to serve as a source of hope. But our modern glib rejection of the notion of divine intervention and judgment stands corrected by these words.”²Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (p. 287). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels

“revealed” - The Lord Jesus is hidden, but not absent. … Marshall rightly adds that the declaration that he will be revealed from heaven “does not merely indicate his origin but also stresses his authority. He comes from the dwelling place of God with the authority of God to execute judgment and recompense.”³Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 288–289). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

Notice that the relief is in the future; thus, we must press on!Jesus promised that we would be persecuted and hated for loving and following Him, and especially for proclaiming His Gospel!

However, when He returns, He will put an end to the reign of sin and Satan and thus not only bring justice to those who persecuted the church but also end the reign of sin and Satan that opposes everything God is about and all who dare to share it with others!

This judgment of Christ is emphasized in HOW He will return and WHAT He will do when He returns.Paul writes, “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels …”

8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

This flaming fire is an inferno of judgment upon all who have persecuted those who have labored with Christ to bring HIS life to others!But it’s also on all those who “do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”  This is an unsettling truth for many western thinkers.  How can a loving God do such a thing?  I’m not here to offer rationalization, but I will show you the consistency of Paul’s statement with the words of Jesus.  Verse 8 brings to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 7,

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23)

Jesus made it clear that mankind is born separated from God (doesn’t know Him) and disobedient to God.Therefore, to have and experience God’s life we must repent and turn to Him, and that includes repenting of our faith that religious works, no matter how amazing they may be, somehow outweighs the fact we are disobedient rebellious people incapable of meeting the standard of God to love Him with all our hearts and to love everybody else the way He loves us!   Our perceived righteous deeds do not change the depravity of our hearts; they only hide it!  Therefore, in a conversation with a deeply religious man who in the world’s eyes lived obediently to God’s standards, Jesus said,

16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.(John 3:16-18)

 Being “condemned already” means we are born pressing on in our separation and need to be rescued from that life and path!It’s a path that, regardless of how religious we are, we can’t change because we can’t change our hearts.  Therefore, if we do not repent and turn to Jesus, who will make us into somebody we aren’t (born again), then we will continue on in eternity as we are.  Eternal damnation turns out to be nothing more than the eternal path we refuse to repent from walking down!  We are born away from the presence of the Lord, and we will continue in that if we do not entrust ourselves to the Savior who can change that reality!

This is precisely why Paul then writes,

 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Instead of spending eternity basking in God’s glory, they will spend it totally separated from it.To be separated from the one who is life is to exist in the opposite condition.  Hell is punishment, eternal death, and eternal destruction because Hell is the very opposite of all that God is!  Hell, then, is the reality humanity is already somewhat in because, minus the Holy Spirit and the Church, which manifest the love, glory, and life of God in a lost world, the default experience of the world is that which is already under the rule of sin and Satan!

The finality of that reality becomes obviously permanent when Christ returns and judges all.

“The punishment of the wicked will be neither temporary nor will it be annihilation, but it will continue throughout eternity and those being punished will be conscious. It is eternal death as opposed to eternal life (Matt. 25:46). The nature of the destruction follows in the next phrase. Separation from the Lord’s presence (lit., “face”) is the essence of eternal punishment. On the other hand being in the Lord’s presence will make heaven heaven.”⁴Constable, T. L. (1985). 2 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 716). Victor Books

Paul then clarifies when all this is going to take place, and despite the terrifying reality of His wrath on those who do not repent and believe in Him, it will be glorious for those who do.

10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Now I don’t want to say much about this verse because it’s greatly expounded on in the next motivational reason Paul gives us to press on in persecution.

So, for now, just notice that when all those who are in Christ stand together with Him, we aren’t going to be marveling about anybody other than Christ!We will have the glory of God shining forth in and through us, but nobody is going to be looking at some other person in astonishment, but rather to The One who gave us glory, because HE IS GLORY!

Therefore, if put all those pieces and parts back together again, what we see is that though we may be persecuted and suffer for the Good News of Christ to be heard now; though we may go through horrible hardships as we labor to love people and point them to the worthiness of living our lives in glad submission to Jesus, we can do so knowing suffering and persecution have an end, and in its end there will be justice!Those who labor in the cause of Christ need not wonder or grow weary that their suffering is not seen because they can know justice will be served!

 The second motivational reason Paul gives us to press on in the cause of Christ in the face of persecution has already been mentioned in the previous verses, but it gets fully fleshed out in the next two verses.

 God is fashioning us in the fire to shine forth His glory with Him

Now, before we read verses eleven and twelve, we need to remember that the context is still the same—Christians enduring persecution as they suffer in their labors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.Paul says in that context, they then pray this way for the church in Thessalonica,

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1:11-12)

In sports, the fire of your preparation enables you to achieve the glory of victory, to the extent that without the fire of preparation, there can be no victory and thus no glory.The same is true in warfare.  The fire of preparation for the warrior must, at some level, mimic and, where possible, even exceed the fire of the battle, or the warrior will not be equipped to win in battle. BUT, even the best-trained warrior and the best-trained athlete are limited by their potential.  The fire of the training can never cause them to succeed beyond the potential of their ability and resources.  For instance:

You could be the most in shape, mentally tough, hardest working, and strongest gymnast at a gymnastics meet, but the more athletic, skilled gymnast can still beat you if they have prepared enough to do what they can already do better than you.

The best-trained, most physically skilled, powerful giant of a man who goes into battle with a sword will instantly lose to a far lesser man who fights him with a gun he knows how to use.

It is with this in mind that Paul prays for the believers in Thessalonica.He knows that like himself, they are totally dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit within them to not just press on in the reality of the hardships and persecutions of this world, but also in their own battle with their own sin.  So, Paul prays that God:

“may make you worthy of his calling” – Paul and his team long for the believers to live in a way that reflects the glory they’ve already been given and the even greater glory that’s coming! He’s not praying to make them worthy of heaven, but rather that the Holy Spirit will continue to grow them up in their faithful obedience to Him so that their lives properly reflect the glory of the one who called them, the glory of what they’ve been called into and the glory of the price that was paid that enabled them to be called in the first place!

“that our God may … fulfill every resolve for good” – praying that everything the believers in Thessalonica are longing to do that is truly good by God’s standards would be accomplished by Him through them.

Note: For instance, I want us to serve our communities in ways they know it’s love, which is why we donate our building to the Boys and Girls Club.  But it’s bigger than that.  It's not just about offering our building, it's about making a positive impact in the lives of kids and their families, which ultimately means a Kingdom impact.  So I not only pray for the Club to be successful at helping the kids to do great in school; I not only pray that it’s a viable place for kids to spend their time in a safe, constructive and fun environment, but that we as a church will be faithful to do what He has called us to do in loving people the way Jesus loves us, and therefore that has to include sharing the Gospel with them!  I pray not only for the success of the club in serving families well, but also for the next thing Paul and his team pray for.  The prayer goes on,

“that our God may … fulfill … every work of faith by his power” – praying that not only would they be faithful to do everything they know God has clearly called them to do, but that He would accomplish it in and through them in a way that was clearly Him!

Now here’s where this prayer gets even more encouraging.Paul gives us the “so what”, and it’s awesome!

12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The “so that” is the “so what”.Paul was praying all those acts of goodness and acts of faith that Paul was asking God to do in and through their lives would be done in a way that the name of Jesus (meaning all who Jesus is) would be glorified in us!  That HIS name would be praised by those who witness the works and faith of our lives.  He’s praying that our lives would be worthy of our calling, because our lives would be rightly pointing straight to Jesus through the good He is doing through us in the world and by our faithfulness to the Leadership of the Holy Spirit to engage a world far from God with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to know and follow HIM!

BUT!!!!! … He then says, “and you in him”.  Paul is saying so that our name may be glorified in CHRIST as Christ’s name is glorified in us.   Have you stopped and thought about that?  You expect the lesser to serve the greater, but not the other way around.  You expect the fan to glorify the celebrity, but not the celebrity to glorify the fan.  But, “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” Christ will glorify all who have faithfully suffered with Him!  Paul wrote the same thing to the Church in Rome!

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

The name of the Lord Jesus will be glorified IN US as we serve Him, but by the grace of God, we will be glorified WITH HIM as well! The doctrine of glorification is indeed that all glory goes to Him, but by HIS GRACE, He is bringing us into HIS GLORY … to share it with us!

Therefore, knowing the opportunity persecution presents, Paul isn’t praying for the persecution or afflictions to end; he’s praying for the church to shine forth the glory of God in them.  He’s praying that the church would act in a way that is worthy of the calling of Christ and the price He paid so we could be called!   Paul is saying, “Let it rain,” so we can show the world the power, glory, and worthiness of Jesus to be praised, no matter what.   With the full knowledge of the judgment seat of Christ, where all who have suffered with Him will be rewarded with His glory to rule and reign with Him, Paul tells the church in Thessalonica to seize the opportunity to suffer with Jesus in the most glorious cause of all, the one cause that if we faithfully labor with Him allows us to share in His glory forever!

The question then is,

 Challenge

What glory matters most to you?  Which glory are you laboring for?  The glory of this world that fades away, or the glory of the one that shines for all eternity?

Discussion Guide

Paul is using the faith and perseverance of the Thessalonians as an example to other churches – Paul was quite familiar with the persecution the Thessalonian Church was likely suffering – Him & Silas had themselves suffered at the hands of the Jews in the Thessalonian synagogue (Acts 17:1-13) The lifestyle they conducted in the face of adversity and persecution could be a good model for others all across the continent.

It wasn’t easy for them. Back in Job, Satan accused Job before God, saying that he only served God because it was beneficial for him to do so. God then proved that Job’s commitment to the Lord was not because things were going smoothly for him. Instead, it was a steadfast faith that did not waver even amid the ultimate trial. Facing persecution and adversities, the Thessalonians also proved their faith in the Lord in the middle of difficulties.

Question #1 - When you face persecution and affliction in a perverse world, do you endure? Or complain and give up?

We should view these experiences as a part of God’s plan for us and an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord and depend on Him more than ever before.

Read Acts 5:40-42, Ephesians 4:1, Philippians 1:27-28. Suffering is one type of test that believers will go through. If a believer faces suffering and renounces the Lord, he has failed the test and proved that he is not worthy. If a believer endures, then he passes the test and shows himself to be worthy (or as worthy as we ever could be!).

This worthiness does not mean that we could ever earn our salvation or even pay God back for it. Basically, we can have a worthy response to God’s grace, which is to believe in Him and repent. Or we can have an unworthy response, which is to reject Him. If Bill Gates pays off your billion-dollar debt even though you are a drunk and gambling addict, you are not worthy of that. But you can nonetheless respond worthily by turning away from your sinful lifestyle, showing gratitude for his gift, and then dedicating your life toward a more meaningful pursuit.

Question #2 - How can you live your life more worthily?  And, what does this look like today – in school, work or relationships?

There are two dimensions of the relief mentioned by Paul. We can gain relief in knowing that our sufferings are strengthening us, making us ready for Christ’s Kingdom. We can also gain relief in the fact that one day everyone will stand before God: at that time, wrongs will be righted, judgement will be pronounced, and evil will be terminated. In the remaining verses, Paul reviews how the punishment of non-believers and the reward of believers both occur on ‘the day of the Lord’ (that day) when Jesus comes to save his people.

Question #3 – In verse 6, Paul says God will “repay with affliction those who afflict you.”  What does this teach us about God’s justice and His timing?

Question #4 – In verse 8, Paul speaks of those who “do not obey the gospel”. What does it look like to obey the gospel in everyday life?

Question #5 – In verses 7-9 there is some intense imagery here – Jesus coming in fire with angels, bringing judgement and vengeance!  What stands out to you about that picture? Comforting? Scary? Something else?

Question #6 – Paul says Jesus will be “glorified in us and we’ll be glorified in him”.  What does it look like to glorify Jesus in your personal life?

Question #7 – In verses 11-12, Paul’s prayer is full of encouragement in spiritual endurance… How can we pray for each other like this – specifically, not just generally?

Question #8 – What does this passage teach you about who God is – especially His justice and mercy?  Do you find one aspect harder to accept than the other?

Question #9 – These passages talk about judgment and hope. Considering both the warnings and the promises Paul lays out, how should it affect the way we share our faith with others? 

How Should it affect the way we live?

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