when he comes to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired among all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.
Christ’s return will bring relief and rest to the persecuted believers (Paul here links himself with the Thessalonians), but it will also bring judgment to the ungodly. For the one it will bring glory, for the other eternal destruction (7-10). Paul prays that by God’s power the Thessalonians will go on producing those qualities of Christian character that are fitting in those whom God has called. Such character will bring honour to Christ now and will reach its full expression in the age to come (11-12).