2 Tessalonicenses 3
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
2 Tessalonicenses 3
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS TO 2 THESSALONIANS 3:1-18 Paul asks for prayer for his gospel preaching (cf. Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3). He sought the blessing of God for his future preaching and that the gospel would spread rapidly (cf. 2 Thess. 3:1). There are two offensive spiritual weapons mentioned in Eph. 6:10-20. the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, v. 17 prayer, v. 18 Paul warns of the disruptive consequences of inaccurate teachings about the Second Coming as seen in the believers who have refused to work (cf. v. 10).
2 Tessalonicenses 3:1-5
3:1 "Finally" This phrase (literally, "for the rest") is used by Paul to mark off his last major truth or subject (cf. 1 Thess. 4:1). It is the beginning of the conclusion. It is also used to introduce his closing statements (cf. 2 Cor. 13:11). There is also the possibility that this is a literary marker for the central thrust of a chiasm (cf. 1 Thess. 4:1). SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY, III. A. 4. ▣ "pray for us" This is a PRESENT MIDDLE (deponent) IMPERATIVE. Paul felt the need for prayer and believed it affected the effectiveness of his ministry (cf. 1 Thess. 5:25; Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3). Presenting the gospel and receiving the gospel is a spiritual conflict. SPECIAL TOPIC: INTERCESSORY PRAYER SPECIAL TOPIC: EFFECTIVE PRAYER SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRITUAL WARFARE ▣ "that the word of the Lord" Paul asks prayer for the sake of the gospel, not himself. In Genesis 15:1,4 the phrase "the word of the Lord (YHWH)" referred to God's message to Abraham. It is used in a prophetic sense in 1 Sam. 15:10 and Isa. 1:10. In the NT it occurs in two forms. using rhēma (spoken word), Luke 22:61; Acts 11:16; 1 Pet. 1:25 using logos (message), Acts 8:25; 13:44,48,49; 15:35; 16:32; 19:10,20; 1 Thess. 1:8; 4:15 There seems to be no theological distinction between the two terms. Notice the gospel is God's message, not Paul's (cf. 1 Thess. 2:13). NASB, NRSV "will spread rapidly and be glorified" NKJV, Peshitta "may have free course and be glorified" "may continue to spread rapidly and receive glory" "may spread quickly, and be received with honour" "may have everywhere the swift and glorious success" These are two PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVES. This MOOD gives an element of contingency. Prayer makes a difference!!! The term "spread" is literally "run a race" (PRESENT ACTIVE SUBJUNCTIVE). This may be an allusion to Ps. 147:15 (also note a similar phrase in Acts 12:24). "Be glorified" (PRESENT PASSIVE SUBJUNCTIVE) in this context must be understood as "honor." It refers to the gospel being received and rejoiced in. The gospel is honored when fallen humans respond to it appropriately (cf. 2 Thess. 3:2) and are changed. SPECIAL TOPIC: GLORY (doxa, NT) ▣ "Just as it did also with you" The gospel changes everything! It has the power to spread with effectiveness. Prayer accentuates this spiritual power. 3:2 "we will be rescued from perverse and evil men" This is an AORIST PASSIVE SUBJUNCTIVE. This TENSE, the ARTICLE with two ADJECTIVES and the PRONOUN, "we," show that a specific incident is being referred to in Paul's life. This church understood what incident was intended (cf. 1 Thess. 2:16). Paul, writing from Corinth, had so many trials while there (cf. 2 Cor. 4:8-11; 6:4-10; 11:23-28). Paul and the gospel faced opposition from Satan and his Jewish unbelievers fanatical pagan worshipers Roman Emperor worship groups ▣ "for not all have faith" This is literally "the faith." This can refer to the personal experience of receiving the gospel the truth of the gospel in a doctrinal sense OT sense of faithfulness Evil often masquerades as good (cf. Matt. 7:21-23). Some in the church were wolves in sheep's clothing (i.e. Matt. 7:15-23). SPECIAL TOPIC: FAITH, BELIEVE, OR TRUST 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful" This phrase usually refers to the Father (cf. Deut. 7:9; Isa. 49:7; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18; 1 Thess. 5:24). Here the term "faith" is used of Jesus in its OT sense of faithfulness. Jesus is exactly opposite of the evil men of 2 Thess. 3:2 (cf. 1 Thess. 5:24). SPECIAL TOPIC: Lord (adon and kurios) SPECIAL TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS IN THE OT ▣ "strengthen" In the Septuagint (LXX) this term was used of establishing something like a city. It came to be used figuratively of establishing or confirming a person (cf. Rom. 16:25; 1 Thess. 3:2; 2 Thess. 2:17; 3:3). The faithful Lord will establish and guard His own from evil, evil men, and the evil one (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-5). ▣ "protect" This is one of many military terms in this chapter (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-12; 1 John 5:18). ▣ "from the evil one" This inflected Greek form can be NEUTER or MASCULINE. the Eastern Church Fathers and Tertullian interpret it as MASCULINE the Western Church Fathers interpret it as NEUTER (cf. Rom. 12:9) the NT seems to support the MASCULINE (cf. Matt. 5:37; 6:13; 13:19,38; John 17:15; Eph. 6:16; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18-19) Evil is always present, but so too, the faithful Lord! He will rescue and preserve His followers from evil men and He will strengthen and protect them from the evil one. SPECIAL TOPIC: PERSONAL EVIL 3:4 "We have confidence in the Lord concerning you" This is a PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE, which denotes an action that occurred in the past and has now become a state of being. Paul's confidence was "in the Lord" but also in these believers this same balance can be seen in Phil. 2:12-13 Salvation is both a grace gift from a sovereign God and a mandated human response ("doing" and "will continue to do"). All of God's dealings with humans involve unconditional (i.e. offer of salvation), yet conditional (i.e. individual salvation) covenant promises. SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT ▣ "command" This is a military term. It is used repeatedly in this context (cf. 2 Thess. 3:4,6,10,12). This shows Paul's authority as an Apostle. This term could refer to Paul's preaching his first letter, 1 Thessalonians his current instructions, 2 Thessalonians 3:5 "May the Lord. . .of God. . .of Christ" The ambiguity of the term "Lord" is obvious. In the OT it is always YHWH. In the New Testament authors often quote OT passages where they attribute actions of YHWH to Jesus. The fluidity may be purposeful because the original, inspired NT author wanted to affirm the Deity of Jesus and the unified action of the Triune God (cf. 2 Thess. 2:16-17). It is unusual that "the Lord" and "Christ" are both mentioned in this verse. The term "Christ" could be understood as "Himself." SPECIAL TOPIC: CHRIST JESUS AS LORD SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY ▣ "direct" This is an AORIST ACTIVE OPTATIVE, which reflects a prayer (cf. 1 Thess. 3:11-13). It is another military term, "make a road straight by removing obstacles." It is an allusion to the OT imagery of "well-worn paths of righteousness" (cf. Luke 1:79; 1 Thess. 3:11). Notice the two aspects of this prayer: the love of God the steadfastness of Christ SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PATH, THE WAY ▣ "hearts" This is used in the OT as imagery for the entire person, but can be used more specifically of the mind, which fits this context best. SPECIAL TOPIC: HEART ▣ "the love of God" This GENITIVE phrase can be understood as OBJECTIVELY or SUBJECTIVELY, that is, God's love for us and our love for Him. In context God's love for us fits better. ▣ "the steadfastness of Christ" This phrase is used nowhere else in Paul's writings. It is somewhat ambiguous. It is an active term for "voluntary, steadfast endurance." Because of Christ's example of patient endurance (cf. Phil. 2:6-11), believers can patiently endure. This GENITIVE phrase can mean the believers' patience like Christ's patience or the patience that Christ gives to believers. It is possibly a SUBJUNCTIVE GENITIVE, like the previous phrase. In either case this patience relates to their current persecution their response to false teaching and its resulting idleness on the part of some church members the believers' patience, trust, and expectant faith-living in light of the any-moment return and/or delayed return of Jesus (unlike those of 2 Thess. 3:11) SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ANY MOMENT RETURN OF JESUS vs. THE NOT YET (NT paradox) SPECIAL TOPIC: DELAYED RETURN
2 Tessalonicenses 3:6-15
3:6 "we command you. . .in the name of our Lord" This is the polite PLURAL including Silas and Timothy, but in reality it is a word from Paul the Apostle. He recognizes his inspiration and authority in Christ to lead and command (PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE) the church (cf. 2 Thess. 3:10,12). SPECIAL TOPIC: INSPIRATION ▣ "in the name of" This is a Semitic idiom referring to a person or a person's character (cf. 2 Thess. 1:12). Paul did not speak from his own authority. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE NAME OF THE LORD (NT) SPECIAL TOPIC: CHRIST JESUS AS LORD ▣ "keep away from" This is a PRESENT MIDDLE INFINITIVE, often used in Koine Greek as an IMPERATIVE, "you, yourselves, continue to keep away from" (cf. 2 Thess. 3:14). Believers should not enter into intimate personal relationships with those who do not obey (cf. Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 5:11; 2 Thess. 3:14). This is not referring to casual friendship with lost people and errant believers (cf. 2 Thess. 3:15). SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP "leads an unruly life" "walks disorderly" "living in idleness" "who are living a lazy life" "who refuses to work" "leads an evil life" "who falls into idle habits" This is another military term "disorderly conduct" (cf. 2 Thess. 3:6,7,11). It appears only here and in 1 Thessalonians. It is used here for idle, uncooperative believers (cf. 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 5:14). The apparent closeness of the judgment coming on apostate Judaism had caused many Thessalonian believers to quit the normal affairs of life (cf. v. 10), but they expected to be supported by other church members. SPECIAL TOPIC: WEALTH ▣ "the traditions" This term (pardosis) is used in several senses: in 1 Cor. 11:2,23; 2 Thess. 2:15 for Apostolic preaching in Matt. 15:6; 23:1ff.; Mark 7:8; Gal. 1:14 of Jewish traditions (i.e. Talmud) in Col. 2:6-8 of Gnostic speculations Roman Catholics use this verse as a biblical proof-text for Scripture and tradition being equal in authority However, in this context it refers to Apostolic truth either spoken or written. See F. F. Bruce, Tradition: Old and New. NASB, REB "which you received from us" NKJV, Peshitta "which he received from us" "that they received from us" "that he gave them" "we passed on to you" There is a Greek manuscript variant related to the form of the VERB: parelabosan or parelabon (AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE, THIRD PERSON PLURAL), "they received" – NRSV parelaben (AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE, THIRD PERSON SINGULAR) "he received " – Peshitta, NKJV parelabete (AORIST ACTIVE INDICATIVE, 2 nd PERSON PLURAL) "you received" – NASB, NJB There is much manuscript variation in Paul's letters in areas involving the PERSONAL PRONOUNS. SPECIAL TOPIC: RECEIVE 3:7 "ought to follow our example" There was no written NT at this time. These believers had to receive Paul's gospel walk in his example (cf. 2 Thess. 3:9; 1 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 3:17; 4:9; 1 Thess. 1:6) 3:8 "nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it" This is a rabbinical practice. Paul, like all rabbis, worked for his daily needs (cf. 1 Cor. 9:12,18; 11:7; 2 Cor. 11:9; 12:13-14; 1 Thess. 2:9). In the Greco-Roman world many traveling tricksters and con-men preyed upon people. Paul had often been accused of preaching for money. Being sensitive to this charge, he seldom (i.e. only Philippi and Thessalonica) took money from those who heard him preach and never while present with them. ▣ "with labor and hardship we kept working" To the Greeks manual labor was for slaves only, but the Bible affirms work as from God. In Genesis work is both before the Fall and after (cf. Gen. 2:15; 3:19; Exod. 31:3; 35:35; Deut. 5:13; Isa. 54:16). The concept of working for one's own needs is crucial to this context. Some believers had rejected work because they assumed Christ's judgment coming was near, but they still expected the church to feed them. ▣ "night and day" This is the Jewish order of time (cf. Gen. 1:5,8,13,19,23,31). This is an idiom meaning "worked full time," not literally 24 hours a day. 3:9 "not because we do not have the right to this" Paul was affirming the concept that believers should support their leaders (cf. 1 Cor. 9:4-17; Gal. 6:6). However, in this specific situation he acted to set an example for those who had quit working to avoid possible criticism ▣ "model" See SPECIAL TOPIC: FORM (tupos) 3:10 "we used to give you this order" This is an IMPERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE which in context must mean that Paul had told them over and over when he was with them. This command was not new information. This problem must have surfaced early in this church, possibly even before Paul had left. ▣ "if" This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE. There were people like this in the church. SPECIAL TOPIC: GREEK GRAMMATICAL TERMS, VII ▣ "anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either" This is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE followed by a PRESENT ACTIVE IMPERATIVE. This is the point of the entire chapter. It addresses lifestyle inactivity, not temporary unemployment. One must balance this with Paul's other letters on his care for the poor (cf. Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:26-29; 2 Cor. 8-9; Gal. 2:10). This command can be understood as not feeding those who refused to work excluding them from the common Christian meal or love feast (cf. 2 Thess. 3:13,14) 3:11 "we hear" This is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE, which is literally "keep hearing." This could refer to Timothy's report or a letter from the church. "but acting like busy-bodies" NKJV, Peshitta "but are busy-bodies" "not doing any work" "who do nothing except meddle in other people's business" "interfering with everyone else's" This is a play in the Greek text on the word "work" — "not working (epgazomenous), but working around (periergazomenous)." Their "work" had become interfering with everyone else's business (work). Paul uses the term "work" often in this chapter (cf. 2 Thess. 3:8,10,11,12 and 1 Thess. 4:11). Some of the church had become most enamored with their own views about the coming judgment and were trying to convince others. Possibly by going house to house between worship times. They were not idle in their advocacy of their eschatological thoughts and opinions (note same problem in 1 Tim. 5:13). 3:12 Paul uses strong words of admonition "command," PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE "exhort," PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE) "in the Lord Jesus Christ" Paul commands them in his Apostolic authority as a representative of Jesus Himself. ▣ "to work in quiet fashion" This is a recurrent admonition of Paul's (cf. 1 Thess. 4:11; 1 Tim. 2:2). This seems to mean that believers are not to draw undue attention to themselves by strange, unusual behavior, but by living appropriate quiet, gentle, patient, moral, loving, caring, working lives (the opposite of 2 Thess. 3:11). NASB, NKJV, Peshitta "eat their own bread" "do their own work" "work to earn their own living" "earning the food that they eat" "earn a living" This is an idiom which means to support yourself with your own labor. 3:13 "do not grow weary of doing good" This refers to the church's quiet, gentle, daily living (cf. Gal. 6:9). People are watching and taking notice of godly living. 3:14 "If" This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which is assumed to be true from the author's perspective or for his literary purposes. Some in the church were not obeying. SPECIAL TOPIC: TEXTUAL CRITICISM, VII "take special note of that person" NKJV, Peshitta "note that person" "take note of those" TEV, NJB "take note of him" "single him out" This is a PRESENT MIDDLE IMPERATIVE. This is literally "tag" or "mark." This is imagery for mentally "taking notice of." ▣ "do not associate with him" This is a PRESENT MIDDLE (deponent) INFINITIVE used in an IMPERATIVE sense. This is the same as "draw back from" of 2 Thess. 3:6. It is uncertain if this involved a full excommunication permanent temporary an exclusion from the collective church meals (agape feasts) some type of exclusion from leadership roles or fellowship situations It is similar to 1 Cor. 5:9,11 (same word, found only here and 1 Corinthians 5), which refers to intimate fellowship/friendship. Paul did not want these to radicalize the other believers but neither did he want them to leave the fellowship of believers (and possibly start a rival eschatological faction) SPECIAL TOPIC: EXCOMMUNICATION ▣ "so that he will be put to shame" The purpose of church discipline is redemptive as well as disciplinary (cf. 2 Thess. 3:15; 2 Cor. 2:7; Gal. 6:1; 1 Thess. 4:15). The goal is restoration! SPECIAL TOPIC: SHAME SPECIAL TOPIC: CHURCH DISCIPLINE
2 Tessalonicenses 3:16
3:16 "the Lord of peace" This is a common title for God the Father (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20). Even church discipline should bring peace! Notice how the close of 2 Thessalonians is similar to the close of 1 Thessalonians. Paul is developing his letter-writing style. SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (NT) SPECIAL TOPIC: DESCRIPTIVE TITLES FOR GOD ▣ "The Lord be with you all" The Greek term "all" (pantos) is in this verse twice and in 2 Thess. 3:18. Paul's admonition involves even those erring ones. "Lord" could refer to Jesus or the Father. See parallel in 1 Thess. 3:11.
2 Tessalonicenses 3:17-18
3:17 "write this greeting with my own hand" Paul dictated his letters to a scribe, but he wrote the closing sentences in his own hand to verify his authorship (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; 1 Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11; Col. 4:18; Philem. 19). This may have set the pattern for all of Paul's following letters. 3:18 This closing is very similar to 1 Thess. 5:28. Most Greek manuscripts add "Amen," but it is absent in the uncial MSS א and B. Scribes tended to add it to every book (i.e. standardize phrasing). SPECIAL TOPIC: SCRIBES SPECIAL TOPIC: TEXTUAL CRITICISM, II. A. 2.