Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Thessalonians 1:11

"To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of goodness and [every] work of faith, with power;" — 2 Thessalonians 1:11 (ASV)

Not content with the certainty of coming glorification, Paul now prays for its realization. Human minds wrestle with the problem of praying for something already fixed in the unalterable purpose of God. Yet Paul has already done this in these letters (1 Thessalonians 3:12–13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; cf. also Rev 22:20). It is God’s pleasure for saints to cooperate with his ongoing program .

The purpose of Paul’s prayer is “that our God may count you worthy of his calling.” This probably corresponds to their worthiness for the kingdom mentioned in v.5. No uncertainty of ultimate acceptance is implied in the prayer, for any uncertainty would undercut, not build, assurance for the fainthearted. On the other hand, certainty in the security of God’s purposes does not diminish the need to keep on praying. Ultimate salvation rests on the sure foundation of God’s faithfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:24), but until its actual accomplishment, Paul continues praying for it.

“His calling” (GK 3104) is usually regarded by Paul as a past decree (Romans 11:29; 1 Corinthians 1:26). To construe it like this here could imply the possibility of falling away from it. Yet such cannot happen to those already assured of a future worthiness (v.5) based solely on the grace of God (v.12). It is reassuring to know that God’s call is made effective quite apart from human merit (cf. Galatians 1:13–15; see comment on 1 Thessalonians 2:12). Instead of limiting the call to what happened before the foundation of the world, the present emphasis on Christ’s return (v.10) and the eschatological kingdom of God (v.5) argues for extending the scope of “calling” to include its future outworking at God’s righteous judgment (v.5).

Paul’s other prayer objective is for God to “fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” “Good[ness]” (GK 20) is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Paul prays for the kind of desire that produces goodness—i.e., the active quality that constantly pursues what is right and beneficial for others. “Every act prompted by your faith” is what he had witnessed in them previously (cf. “work produced by faith,” 1 Thessalonians 1:3). What they had already attained was important, but room for growth was still there (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:10; 4:1). Realization of these objectives can come only by God’s power.