What Possesses Me?

2 Thessalonians 2-Part 8
Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thess. 2:14


LET IT GLOW

What was the last thing you  bought, other than food? I can say the last thing I bought was digging toys for my grandchildren to use at the creek. Did it make me happy? Not right away, but I was happy later when I saw how much fun they had using the plastic shovels to dig and floating the boat at the creek.
Does it make me happy to get the possession of something? Usually, the answer is yes, temporarily.
That's what the word obtain means. Oh, I possess a lot of things-house, car, clothes, Bible, computer, books, the list would be never ending. But the question is, "What possesses me?" or "What is obtaining me?" Is it my Lord Jesus or something else? What do my thoughts dwell upon? What do I talk about most during the day? Do I allow His Spirit and His Word to possess me? It's a daily, hourly, and minute things, isn't it?

Liberty Bible Commentary says this:

The Greek word obtaining,  peripoiesis, refers generally to "obtaining" or "attaining" to something but more specifically and more technically in the Bible it can refer to God's creation of a people for himself. In the O.T. God made Israel a "people for his own possession." That same idea in the N.T. has been applied to both Jew and Gentiles as they are brought into the church which becomes a "people for God's own possession" (see 1 Thess. 5:9). The interpretation of the special use of this word may be supported by the fact that the next word, glory, does not have an article in Greek so that the phrase might be translated, "to the glorious obtaining." This would mean that the Lord Jesus is accomplishing God's intended salvation by His death on the cross.

Het, friend, we are a special people that are God's possession, His own possession. He owns me and you. He paid the price to purchase us through the salvation of Jesus' dying on the cross. What else?

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light,"
states 1 Peter 2:9.

So, with Jesus' obtaining, possessing me, I am His child; I am chosen; I am royalty; I am peculiar; I am praising Him. OOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Thank You Lord Jesus for choosing me. Help me to not disappoint You. Help me to glorify You today.


LET IT GROW

I like it when someone calls my name. Actually, when someone says my name, whether it be in a greeting or during our conversation it makes me feel important.
 Did you see the word called in our today's verse? It is the word lego in the Greek. It means to say, speak, to call by name. (Thayer's Lexicon)

In our verse, the calling of God correspoonds to the "choosing" of God in verse 13. Note that God's call comes through the preaching of the gospel. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

David Guzik said, "The call for salvation comes through the gospel, the gospel Paul preached (we preach Christ crucified, 1 Cor. 1:23) and the gospel that will enable us to the obtaining glory of Jesus. This awesome glory is the same glory John speaks of in 1 John 3:2."

Who is calling our name? Do I listen when God calls me? Do I hear Him speaking to me, or am I too busy with the worldly things surrounding me to hear? I answered the call to salvation in Jesus Christ. Have you? Then, the question is, am I answereing the call "through sanctification of the Spirit?"


"We can't see if a person is chosen, but we can see if they are sanctified. God's work of sanctification uses two great forces, the spirit and the belief in the truth. The Spirit of God and the Word of God are essentials to our sanctification. Those who claim to be "chosen" but lack evidence of sanctification (seperation from the world unto God) are on shaky ground," stated David Guzik.

In Jesus' prayer, found in John 17:17, He  says, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

How much time do I spend studying and memorizing the Word?


LET IT GO

Allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify me, setting me apart from the world as a Christian.

Speak and act like a child of God.

Stay in the Word of God.