to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Paul ends this prayer in an epic fashion, affirming what is true about God.
While Eve in Genesis 3 accepted a distorted view of God, Paul takes a different route.
He is saying, "To God be the glory"; he is praising God, acknowledging His greatness, His power, His honor, and addressing Him as He should be addressed, as an example to us all.
Just as the prayer is an example to us all, so is the praise at the end, and that praise is about God's work in the church, which is associated with His work in Christ Jesus, His Son.
It is an epic ending because we have the phrase “for all generations,” then “forever and ever.”
We are still in the stage of “all generations.” There is a time coming when “the generations,” meaning the one coming after the other, will end. As Jesus said, in the age to come, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage (Luke 20:34–36).
Thousands of years ago, Paul wrote those words in the focus verse. Looking back, we see that there is an expanding glory to God in the church and in Christ Jesus.
It started as a seed. Jesus said that unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24).
How “much” are we talking about? There is no answer yet, since we are still in the “bearing much fruit” period and not yet at the time of the harvest.
A Man who would soon die said that He would build His church, and He did not say the Roman power would not stop it; He said the gates of Hades would not overpower it (Matthew 16:18). Definitely, that is God speaking, the One who announces the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10).
To only one person belongs the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus - the Father - who can do all things.
And the church is front and center to what God is doing in the world, and what a privileged position to be able to work with God in what He is doing!
For it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. With flaming fire he will mete out punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength, when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony.
That passage places the church at the center of the divine scheme of things, acknowledging it as the focal point for Christ.
That is a powerful testament to how special you are. Regardless of how you feel now, what you have lost, or what you have suffered, you are being promised rest.
Just as some will have punishment meted out, you will have rest and get to admire Jesus because you know God and have obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They will undergo eternal destruction, but you will have eternal bliss/feast. They will be away from the presence of the Lord; you will be in the presence of the Lord.
That is God's glory in the church to all generations, forever and ever. It is guaranteed.
But now you run the race set before you (Hebrews 12:1), glorifying God in your space as you walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7), not by sight.
Remember, Noah walked by faith, building and preparing for a rain he had never seen (Hebrews 11:7). What we are waiting for in the second coming of Jesus has not yet happened, but it has been promised.
Paul wrote in that Thessalonian passage that the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. He will come to be glorified and admired.
And when Paul said "Amen" in the focus verse, it meant "so be it.”
It has been predetermined; there is no changing them; they are guaranteed. No wonder Paul is exuding in praise. We should too.
To Him and to Him alone be the glory (End of story!) For all He has done, for what He is doing. Jesus said, ‘My Father is working until now, and I too am working’ (John 5:17)—the Father at work, and so is the Son.
Therefore, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Halleluyah!