I Thessalonians 3:11 – Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you…
The last three verses of this chapter are a prayer. Paul begins this prayer by earnestly asking God to ‘direct his way’ to the Thessalonians. In modern terms, we might say that Paul doesn’t want to take the ‘long way home’ or ‘the scenic route’. He is asking the Lord to remove all obstacles and 
immediately send him straight to Thessalonica.
But there is a lot more going on in this verse than just a request to visit Thessalonica:
- Paul’s prayer is directed to both the Father and to Jesus, reinforcing the fact that God cannot confer any blessings upon us unless it comes through our Mediator, Jesus Christ. Until we are found in Christ, God is not our Father and we can’t receive anything from him.
- In the original Greek, the verb for ‘direct’ is singular. This indicates that the prayer is addressed to both the Father and to Jesus without distinction; they are essentially one in rank and dominion. Thus, Paul reinforces the fact that Jesus is divine and has the same power/authority that God the Father possesses.
- This passage also supports/confirms the fact that the Father and Son (and the Spirit who is at work in the earth) are regarded as possessing and exercising one indivisible will.
- This prayer reveals something about Paul – he did not strive to get his own way. He was employed in the service of God and he continuously looked for God to direct where, when and how he would accomplish the tasks assigned to him.
This is a very important lesson which applies to today’s Christian. We can and should use the abilities and gifts God has given us, but we must not fall into the trap of ministering in our own power or moving in a direction of our own choosing. We need to closely follow the guidance of Holy Spirit who will lead the way in our ministries.
Fun fact: Did you know that Paul eventually made a second visit to Thessalonica? He returned there about five years later (Acts 20:1-5). Clearly, God heard and answered his prayer, allowing Paul to return according to his divine and perfect timing.
This is another lesson for today’s believer – God has perfect timing. We sometimes lag behind his leading due to indifference or laziness. At other times, we get ahead of him, because we fail to exercise patience or we have an earnest desire for something. Again, we must rely on the leading of Holy Spirit who will open and close doors at the proper time.
Now, let me ask you this: How much confidence do you have in your own prayers? Are you under the mistaken notion that you have to beg or convince God to keep his promises? Do you approach him in unbelief, or do you have enough faith to rest assured he will answer? Do you ask him for things fully expecting an answer?
We, like the apostle Paul, can pray to God with full confidence because:
- He is the God who hears and answers prayer:
Psalm 65:2 - O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
- He is omnipotent (possessing all power and authority). Therefore, God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than any of us could either ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Nothing is impossible for him (Luke 1:37). He can even raise the dead!
- He is omniscient (knowing all things). Only God is qualified to answer our prayers because only he knows our deepest thoughts, desires and motivations. Only he can understand every facet of our situation. In fact, scripture tells us that God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Therefore, he knows what is best for us. He knows how and when to supply the things we ask for.
- He has adopted us into the kingdom of his Son, Jesus Christ. Because of the sacrifice of Christ, God is now our Father. As such, he has given us the right to come before his throne and make our requests. What’s more, he encourages us to do so with boldness (Hebrews 4:16).
- He always keeps his promises. God has bound himself to his word. Scripture tells us that he watches over his word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:11-12). In other words, he always does what he promises he will do. This is why it is so important for every Christian to be familiar with the bible – when we find a promise from God that relates to our situation, we can claim it and know (with absolute certainty) that he will act on that promise.
- He does not withhold anything good from us.
Psalms 84:11 – For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Romans 8:32 – He [God] that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
As you pray, keep this in mind: God does not play favorites (Acts 10:34-35). If he answered the prayers of Paul, he will answer your prayers too. We can approach him with full confidence that we will receive an answer from him. It won’t always be the answer we were looking for, but rest assured it will be what is best for us.
I Thessalonians 3:12 - …and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
Paul further prays that in the meantime (until he is able to meet with them again), that God will confirm the Thessalonians in holiness and fill them with love – two characteristics which flow from faith in God.
Let’s take a closer look at love. Notice the distinction that Paul makes – love for one another (godly love among believers) and then love for all (godly love toward the world).
Loving each other is a mark of our salvation. When we were in the world, our love was selfish. It focused almost exclusively on us and what we wanted. But when God saves us and begins to work in us, our thinking is changed. We begin to look outward (away from ourselves) and focus our love on God and others.
John 13:35 – By this all people will know that you are my [Jesus] disciples, if you have love for one another.
(See also I Peter 1:22, I Peter 3:8, I John 3:11, I John 4:7, Romans 13:8, Galatians 5:13, etc.)
The godly love that is at work in the hearts and minds of believers gives us a desire to be in church fellowship (see last week’s post). Love is the cement that holds the church together.
But the love of God which flows in our lives does not stop there. It ‘abounds to all’ or it extends to unbelievers, giving us compassion for them. This love and compassion manifests itself in practical ministry as we share the gospel and meet the physical needs of the lost. So, as our love abounds to the world, it brings more souls into the kingdom.
Our love for God also has a profound effect upon ourselves. It produces a desire in us to be more holy, to be obedient to him, and to perform good works.
The ultimate outcome of godly love is a fulfillment of the law and the prophets:
Matthew 22:36-40 – “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Is it just me, or is that simply amazing?! When we come to Christ, he fills us with godly love, which allows or causes us to love God and our fellow man. As we grow in faith and immerse ourselves in godly love (as opposed to the selfish love we formerly had for ourselves), we are able to ‘fulfill the law and the prophets’ (and the gospel), which is something we could never have done in our own strength.
This means that God not only commands us to love him (and our neighbors), he gives us the ability to do so! Wow! Let me say it once again: God never sets us up to fail! He always sets us up to be successful – he makes it possible for us to fulfill all the commands he has given us!
I Thessalonians 3:13 - …so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
As we increase in faith and mature as believers, we grow (increase and abound) in godly love. As we mentioned earlier, godly love changes us; it causes us to look outside of ourselves. It prompts us to be unified with fellow Christians and to minister to the lost. 
It also ignites a burning passion within our hearts to become more like Christ. It causes us to strive for obedience and holiness in all that we think, do and say; it establishes us (makes us stable, immovably fixed) in the practice of holiness.
Therefore, the end result of truly abounding in love is to be blameless in holiness before God at the end of this age (when Christ returns).
Let’s examine this further.
The unrepentant Jews who were still practicing the Law were striving for holiness by observing the rites, rituals and rules of religion. From their point of view, a person’s outward actions were all that counted. They were completely unconcerned about having hearts that were full of wickedness (Matthew 23:25-28).
But God’s point of view is totally different. Scripture tells us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at our hearts, which is where our true motivations lie:
I Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “…the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Simply stated, God cares about what is in our hearts. He wants to change us from the inside out. Through the power of Holy Spirit, our love for God prompts/urges us to embrace purity and holiness. When we abound in godly love, we desire to be holy, just as he is holy:
I Peter 1:14-15 – As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.
As our hearts are purified and we embrace personal holiness, righteous thought, speech and conduct will naturally follow. Thus, Holy Spirit empowers us to walk in practical holiness in our daily lives.
Paul desires for the Thessalonian believers (actually every believer, including you and I) to be ‘blameless in holiness’ before God at the coming of Christ.
What does it mean to be blameless in holiness? Well, it certainly doesn’t mean we are perfect - that will only happen when Christ returns:
Ephesians 5:25-27 - … Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Commentators take two views of the concept of being blameless in holiness.
One - It may mean that through the power of Holy Spirit, we have done everything in our power to live out practical holiness in our lives. Because of this, we do not need to fear or be ashamed when Christ returns.
Two - It may mean that on the Day of Judgment unbelievers will not be able to accuse us before God because we have done everything in our power to display a holy witness in front of them.
Let me just stress this one point, so there is no confusion: Our holiness does NOT make us blameless/sinless before God. We are saved and cleansed by the blood of Christ and not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, AFTER we have been forgiven by Christ and abound in the love of the Father, Holy Spirit assists us in becoming more and more holy.
Paul wants us to be found blameless in holiness ‘at the coming of our Lord Jesus’. What does that mean?
Let’s begin by establishing that Jesus has promised to return to the earth to rapture the church (his bride) and take her to heaven:
John 14:3 – And if I [Jesus] go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
(See also I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Acts 1:11, etc).
When this happens, we will be face-to-face with Jesus and the Father. Jesus makes it clear that none of us know the exact day or time when he will return (Matthew 24:36). This means that his return (and our meeting with him) could literally be any day.
Of course, there is another possibility as well – a believer could die before the return of Christ. In that case, he or 
she would see Jesus face-to-face even sooner. And again, since we don’t know the exact date and time of our death, our meeting with Jesus could be anytime.
Here is the point: In this verse, Paul skillfully links our meeting with the Lord with the way we live our daily lives. We should be all about holiness because any day (even today) could be the day we see our Savior face-to-face.
Paul was also presenting a secondary truth in this verse. Remember, the Thessalonians were experiencing affliction and persecution. This reminder that the return of Christ was imminent was an encouragement to them – their suffering wasn’t going to last forever. God was allowing it to happen for their eternal good; it was important for them (and for us) to bear their afflictions in righteousness.
Let me offer you some encouragement:
As Christians, we all acknowledge that Jesus will return to earth and take us to heaven, if we don’t die first. The question is, does this impact our daily lives?
I don’t know about you, but if I truly felt that each and every day could be my last, I would take more initiative to tell people about Christ. I would probably spend more time with people and less time with things.
Furthermore, I think it would be easier to practice personal holiness (squash temptation and avoid sin), if I thought I might be seeing Jesus in just a few hours.
This is the view that Paul prays for all believers to adopt – and with good reason, for any of us could pass into eternity before today ends.
James 4:14 - Whereas you know not what shall be tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
Paul wants people to be ready for that day. God is coming again to judge the world. Every hour that passes advances his approach; he has never been closer to returning that he is right now!
Because of his imminent return, I encourage you to bear suffering and afflictions in righteousness and to seize every day for the glory of God.
Let me offer you some relief:
One thing is certain – yesterday is gone and there is no guarantee that we will have tomorrow. So don’t worry or fret about what you can’t change.
Instead, focus on today. Today, you can forgive others and let go of bitterness and grudges. Today you can share the gospel with someone. Today you can pray for deliverance. Today you can be in the word. Today you can visit the sick or encourage those who are suffering.
Satan will try to make you feel so guilty about yesterday that you mope around and do nothing today. Don’t fall into that trap! Let go of yesterday. Ask Holy Spirit to give you an opportunity to work in the kingdom TODAY.
Let me offer you some strength:
Paul constantly prayed for all the believers under his leadership. He prayed with confidence, because he knew that prayer was a direct line of communication between himself and God.
The same is true for us. When we pray, God is always faithful to hear and answer; our prayers are never vain or fruitless:
Isaiah 45:18-19 - … “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain’…
As our faith grows and our spiritual maturity increases, our prayer lives should also change.
For instance, as new Christians, we might pray for God to instantly release us from a certain affliction. A more mature believer may pray for strength to glorify God in the midst of that affliction, instead of praying to be released from it. 
A new Christian might ask God why he or she is undergoing a trial, while a mature believer will ask God what he is trying to teach them or accomplish through them in the trial.
In scripture we find that Paul always prayed prayers of spiritual maturity and significance for those under his leadership. In this passage, he specifically prays for believers to abound in love for God, for each other and for all men (the lost).
So… what are you praying for yourself? There is nothing wrong with praying for your earthly needs. In fact, Jesus instructed us to do that very thing when he taught us to pray:
Luke 11:3 – Give us day by day our daily bread.
But we shouldn’t be stopping there. We should also be praying for spiritual wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17), for our hearts to be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18), that we be filled with a knowledge of his will (Colossians 1:9), that we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10) and that we be strengthened with all power for endurance and patience in trials (Colossians 1:11). The list goes on and on.
Do you want to strengthen your Christian walk and grow in your witness for Christ? If so, you might want to consider examining the prayers of Paul and praying them over yourself. You can start with his prayer for the Thessalonians – that they would increase and abound in godly love.