Section IV. Words of Comfort and Prayer Ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 to 2 Thessalonians 3:5 Passing from the last Section, we breathe a sigh of relief, and gladly join in thanksgiving for those who will "prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (L... [ Continue Reading ]
Section IV. (_continued_). Ch. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 1. _Finally_ See note, 1 Thessalonians 4:1. The chief topic of the letter is disposed of, and the wishes and hopes immediately arising out of it have been expressed. FOR WHAT REMAINS: _brethren, pray for us_ So in 1 Thessalonians 5:25 (see note)... [ Continue Reading ]
_and_(pray) _that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men_ Better, PERVERSE AND EVIL MEN. The Apostle is thinking, no doubt, of the fanatical Jews at Corinth (see Acts 18:5-17), who stood in the way of the Gospel; when Gallio's judgement removed this obstacle, Christianity appears to ha... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the Lord is faithful_ In the Greek order, BUT FAITHFUL IS THE LORD. Man's _want of faith_suggests by contrast the _faithfulness_of our Divine Lord (Faith and Faithfulness are alike denoted by _pistis_in Greek; as Believing and Faithful Trusting and Trusty alike by _pistos_). Comp., for this con... [ Continue Reading ]
_And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do_the things _which we command you_ "The Lord" is not, as the English phrase may suggest, the _object_of this confidence 2 Thessalonians 3:3 declared the Apostle's trust in Him but the ground on which rests his confidence in... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_(or _But) the Lord direct your hearts_ "The Lord" is still Christ: see note, 2 Thessalonians 3:3. "May He _direct_(or _guide_) you _as Lord_of His people, Shepherd of the sheep" (John 10). The Apostle expects his Thessalonian flock to follow _his_directions (2 Thessalonians 3:4); but above both... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ_ Or, BUT WE CHARGE YOU, BRETHREN. See note, 2 Thessalonians 3:4. St Paul has declared his confidence that the readers will do what he enjoins. Well! his injunction is this: THAT YOU WITHDRAW YOURSELVES FROM EVERY BROTHER WALKING DI... [ Continue Reading ]
Section V. Discipline for the Disorderly Ch. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 In his former letter St Paul had found it needful to exhort his readers to live a quiet life and to attend to their daily duties and pursuits. Some members of the Church were of an idle and improvident disposition. The Day of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us_ Lit., IMITATE US: see note on 1 Thessalonians 1:6; and again, ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:14, and 2 Thessalonians 3:9 below. YOU KNOW OF YOURSELVES "without our needing to tell it all again." Such references are frequent in these Epistles; see note on 1 Thes... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither did we eat any_man's _bread for nought_ This clause follows up and makes application of the last, showing by contrast in what lay the chief complaint against the "brethren walking disorderly." They would not work for their bread, and seemingly expected the Church to support them. The Church... [ Continue Reading ]
_not because we have not power_ Better, HAVE NOT THE RIGHT (moral power, authority) viz., "to lay the charge of our maintenance upon the Church;" see note on 1 Thessalonians 2:6. In the other Epistle St Paul refers to this matter in order to prove his earnest care for the Thessalonian Church; but he... [ Continue Reading ]
_For even when we were with you, this we commanded you_ Better, FOR ALSO: St Paul's present charge on the subject repeats and reinforces what he said in his oral teaching; THIS WE USED TO CHARGE YOU same _verb_as in 2 Thessalonians 3:4_; 2 Thessalonians 3:6_(see note), and same _tense_as in ch. 2 Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_For we hear that_there are _some which walk among you disorderly_ Rather, WE HEAR OF SOME WALKING, &c. It was not simply that the Apostle heard that there were such people at Thessalonica; he knew about them, who they were, and how they were behaving. Further news had come since he wrote the First... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now_them that are _such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ_ The "exhort" of the first Epistle (1 Thessalonians 4:10) is now CHARGE AND EXHORT, put with a new tone of sternness. Not _by_but IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (R.V.); on this phrase both as to the _preposition_, and the _triple nam... [ Continue Reading ]
_But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing_ From this do-nothing, or ill-doing fraction of the Church the Apostle turns to the rest, who were busy in "well-doing," and bids them persevere. Comp. ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:17, and note; also 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:1... [ Continue Reading ]
_And if any_man _obey not our word by this epistle_ More strictly, BUT IF ANY ONE OBEYS NOT, &c. As the writer passes, by a contrasting _But_in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, from the disorderly fraction to the well-conducted majority of the Church, so he returns again from the latter to the former, in order... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet count_him _not as an enemy, but admonish_him _as a brother_ Lit., AND DO NOT REGARD HIM AS AN ENEMY, &c. The R.V. retains "yet" in italics ("And _yet_"); but the contrast thus implied is not in St Paul's thought, any more than in his language. The measure which he directs to be taken in 2 Thess... [ Continue Reading ]
Conclusion of the Letter. Ch. 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 16. _Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means_ Lit., BUT MAY THE LORD, &c.; for there is a contrast between the directions just given and the _peace_for which the Apostle prays. Peace was disturbed by an irritating kind of... [ Continue Reading ]
_The salutation of Paul with mine own hand_ Lit., THE SALUTATION WITH MY OWN HAND OF PAUL. In the last word the Apostle's formal signature is attached. Pen in hand, he adds the brief concluding sentences to the letter, lying now all but complete before him. The Apostle commonly employed one of his... [ Continue Reading ]
_The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all_ This sealing Benediction is identical with that of 1 Thessalonians 5:20 (see note), and is repeated in Romans 16:20, and Revelation 22:21. Only the Apostle adds here, as in 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (see note), the "all" which is fitting where _some_ha... [ Continue Reading ]