Deemed Worthy

 

“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, 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.”

(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 ESV)

 

Our tendency is to think that we must become worthy of salvation. Our tendency is to think that we must become worthy of God’s calling. And, in our mind, our effort is the means by which this happens.

 

We believe that we become worthy by trying harder. And we do so by trying to be more faithful when it comes to worship. We do so by trying to read our Bible on a regular basis. We do so by trying to improve our prayer life. We do so by trying to be more diligent with serving in the church and helping others.

 

We also tend to count ourselves worthy. We deem ourselves worthy. We judge ourselves worthy. And, again, we do so based on these efforts.

 

This is true not only of non-believers. It’s true also of those who have heard the gospel many times over. It’s true even of those who confess faith in the message of the gospel.

 

Our sinful nature wants us to believe that we earn it for ourselves. It drives us to depend upon ourselves. It leads us to trust in ourselves rather than Christ. And it leads us to become the judge of that worthiness.

 

However, as we look at the words of Paul, in the above passage, we see that it’s not we who make ourselves worthy. We see that it’s not we who determine ourselves worthy. In fact, we see that it has nothing to do with us at all. We see, rather, that we are made worthy. We see that we are counted worthy.

 

This was Paul’s prayer for the people of the church at Thessalonica. He prayed that God would make them worthy of his calling. He prayed that God would deem them worthy. He prayed that God would fulfill in them every resolve for good. And he prayed that God would fulfill every work of faith by his power.

 

We see in this that Paul counted on God to do it all. He counted on God to make them worthy. He counted on God to judge them worthy. And he counted on God to work both in their will and deed. There was no role in this for them to play.

 

Paul also stated that, as God worked in them and through them, Jesus would be glorified. He would be glorified in them. And he would be glorified in them through the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In other words, Jesus would be glorified as God worked in their life. He would be glorified as God himself made them worthy. And he would be glorified as God worked both in them and through them.

 

This, of course, does not mean that we are robots. It doesn’t mean that we’re unable to oppose him and his work. Even though all of this is the work of God, we must not refuse it. We must not resist the Lord as he seeks to work in us.

 

But the credit belongs not to us. It belongs to him alone. It belongs to him alone because, apart from him, we are helpless. Apart from him, we are powerless. And apart from him, we stand condemned.

 

As Paul points out in verse 10, this blessing comes to us as we believe. It comes to us as we look to him in faith. It comes to us not as our work, but as that of God.