2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

[py3ak]

If you have electronic copies of commentaries on 2 Thessalonians would you please post the remarks on 2:13-17 here? Links to material on this section online are also welcome. I don't need any posting of Chrysostom, Calvin, Gill, Poole, Henry, Hendrickson, Barnes or Jamieson, Fausset & Brown. I'm especially interested in Morris, Stott, Beale and Bruce and any Puritan commentaries.

Of course if you have commentaries that aren't electronic and would like to painstaklingly type up what is said on this section, that would also be acceptable.

 

[fredtgreco]

Morris:

4. Thanksgiving and encouragement (2:13–17)
a. Thanksgiving (2:13–15)
13. Paul turns to the bright future which, by contrast with that of ‘the lawless one’ and his followers, awaits his Thessalonian friends. In words reminiscent of 1:3, he emphasizes the obligation that rests on him and his companions to give thanks continually for what God has done in and for the converts. The word order, with its stress on obligation, may be an intentional recalling of the language of the opening of the epistle, and a re-emphasizing of the point that any modest disclaimer of the Thessalonians that they were unworthy of the praise accorded them in the first epistle was out of place. The writers simply had to give thanks for the very real work of God so plainly manifest in these humble believers.
They are brothers loved by the Lord (cf. 1 Thess. 1:4), where Lord means Jesus. Paul uses this term often and it is specially appropriate here, where he has been speaking of the might of Antichrist. Those loved by the Lord have nothing to fear from such a one. Paul is not setting out a doctrine of the Trinity, but all three Persons are mentioned (as in Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:4–6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4–6; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2; Jude 20–21).
Paul gives thanks for the election of the Thessalonians and uses an unusual word for chose (heilato); it is not found elsewhere in the New Testament in this sense (though it is used in lxx of the choosing of Israel in Deut. 26:18, and in a compound form in Deut. 7:6–7; 10:15). Several words are employed for election, which may indicate that it is many-sided. The Thessalonians were chosen from the beginning, which Findlay and others understand as the beginning of the preaching of the gospel in Thessalonica. This exact expression is not found elsewhere in Paul, but other writers use it for the beginning of all things (e.g. Matt. 19:4; 1 John 2:13), and the idea that election took place before the world is familiar in Pauline writings (cf. Eph. 1:4). We should take it this way here (cf. neb ‘from the beginning of time’). Some mss read ‘first-fruits’ (aparchēn rather than ap’ archēs), and this is accepted by Moffatt, Bruce, Whiteley, gnb, etc. But the evidence favours from the beginning.
Election is ‘for salvation’ and this is further defined as through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. The first expression points us to the setting apart of the whole person for the service of God, something that can be accomplished only in the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:2). The second is concerned rather with the response of faith to the gospel (understanding truth as in vv. 10, 12). The combination brings out the primary function of the Holy Spirit, but also the necessity for our response.
14. Paul moves from the eternal purpose in the mind of God (‘from the beginning’) to the manifestation of that purpose in time (he called you) and its future consummation (in the glory; cf. Rom. 8:28–30; 1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24). The divine call is of central importance. Paul uses the term ‘call’ with the implication that it has not only been made, but answered. The terminology of the Gospels is different; there many may be ‘called’ but few ‘chosen’ (e.g. Matt. 22:14). But, while the terminology is different, the essential idea is not, and the primacy of the divine is clear in both. For our gospel see comment on 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
Sharing in the glory is not something additional to salvation (v. 13), but a filling out of part of its content. For share see the note on peripoiēsis (1 Thess. 5:9). The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is in view in all the gospel; when people receive the gospel they become sharers in Christ’s glory (cf. John 17:22; Rom. 8:17). That glory has already been manifested in part (John 1:14; 13:31), but its fullness is yet to appear (see 1:10 and comment).
Denney speaks of these last two verses as ‘a system of theology in miniature’, a statement justified by the richness of their content. Important aspects of the Christian message are not mentioned, such as the cross and the resurrection, but they are implied in what is said. And for people subject to the difficulties and perplexities of the Thessalonians, what is said must have been extremely satisfying.
15. So then (ara oun; see comment on 1 Thess. 5:6), since God has so clearly included you in his great purpose, and since that purpose cannot be defeated even by Satan and ‘the lawless one’, brothers (note the affectionate address in this serious exhortation), stand firm, neither frightened by the magnitude of the opposition, nor unsettled by uncertainties about the details of the end. Paul is appealing to the known truth of the gospel as a safeguard against being stampeded by the kind of thing his friends found difficult.
Paradoseis, translated teachings but better ‘traditions’ (NASB, neb, jb, etc.), draws attention to the derivative nature of the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3). It stands for all Christian teaching, oral or written. The essential thing is that it is handed on by one to another and that it was received in the first place from God. ‘The prominent idea of paradosis … is that of an authority external to the teacher himself’ (Lightfoot). Milligan points out that the word is used in the inscriptions of ‘Treasure Lists and Inventories … the articles enumerated being “handed over” ’. This is another way of putting the truth (insisted on in 1 Thess. 2:13, etc.) that the gospel is not of human origin; the preacher is never at liberty to substitute his own thoughts for what he has received. The traditions came both by word of mouth and by our (hēmōn) letter (probably 1 Thessalonians). It does not matter in which form God’s word was delivered. Either way it was authoritative.
b. Prayer for the converts (2:16–17)
16. As in the first epistle, Paul brings the main section of the letter to a close with a prayer for the Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thess. 3:11–13), and some of the wording is markedly similar. He places our Lord Jesus Christ himself before God our Father, probably because the Lord Jesus has been much in mind in the preceding section. Paul’s usual habit is to mention the Father first, but the order is sometimes reversed, as in the well-known ‘grace’ (2 Cor. 13:14; cf. Gal. 1:1). The facts that the Lord Jesus is so closely associated with the Father, and that on occasion he is placed first, are evidence of the way Paul thought of him. Clearly he did not distinguish him sharply from the Father and this is seen in the fact that the verbs ‘encourage’ and ‘strengthen’ in the next verse are both singular, despite the double subject. Paul saw the Father and the Son as in some sense one (see also on 1 Thess. 3:11).
After God our Father Paul has two participles linked with a common article (loved and gave); these probably refer to the Father only, although it is grammatically possible that they refer also to the Son. Both are in the aorist, which seems to mean that loved refers primarily to the manifestation of the love at Calvary, and that gave likewise points to God’s initial gift. Eternal encouragement underlines the thought that this good gift of God is lasting; it cannot be shaken by anything now or through eternity. The eschatological note is continued in good hope. The religions of the day found little place for hope, but hope rings through the New Testament, and it is much more than the mild optimism that often passes for hope in modern times. In the New Testament hope has something of the note of certainty about it, because it is grounded in the divine nature and rests on the divine promises. Here it is the gift of grace (see comment on 1 Thess. 1:1), and a hope based on God’s grace can never be disappointed (cf. Rom. 5:5). It is a good hope, not confined to minor issues of the here and now, but reaching over into the coming age.
17. For the singular verbs see comments on verse 16 and for their meanings those on 1 Thessalonians 3:2. Paul prays for a comprehensive strengthening of his converts; every good deed and word includes all things, great and small. The Christian is to be busy. As Barclay says, ‘The Christian is not called to dream, but to fight … He is called not only to the greatest privilege in the world, but also to the greatest task in the world.’ Hearts refers to the depths of the inner being; Paul is praying that his friends will be strengthened inwardly, at the very core.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

John Lillie
Spurgeon rates him highly.
Manton's eighteen sermons
and John Jewel

 

[py3ak]

Thanks, Fred and Chris. Those are some excellent resources.

 

[Notthemama1984]

Here is the NIGCT



SECOND PROOF: 2:13–15

In vv. 13–15 Paul moves to the second of the two interrelated proofs announced in the partitio. In 2:1 Paul mentioned two related issues: the parousia of Christ and the gathering of Christians to Christ at the parousia. Vv. 3–12 address the first of these issues. Vv. 13–15 address the second by referring to the readers’ election to “salvation by means of the sanctification of the Spirit” in v. 13 and to their call to “obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ” in v. 14. Paul seeks to demonstrate that the readers have no reason to be shaken in their beliefs regarding the day of the Lord and more particularly their own participation in the salvation to come with that day by virtue of their call and election. Since they have assurance of their future salvation, Paul directs them to stand firm and to hold fast to the traditions taught to them. This will ensure their victorious participation in Christ’s parousia.
2:13 The particle δέ at the beginning of this section has been understood in three distinct ways by commentators. Some take it to be resumptive, referring back to 1:3 where the initial thanksgiving period begins (cf. Dibelius, 34); others view it as merely transitional (cf. Best, 311); and still others see it as contrastive, emphasizing the difference between the unbelievers of the previous few verses and the elect (cf. Rigaux, 681). The first possibility seems unlikely since 2:13 is very remote from 1:3, and in any case, as O’Brien (Introductory Thanksgivings, 184) maintains, “It does not form part of the opening thanksgiving of chap. 1:3ff., nor does it have an epistolary function.” The second way of understanding δέ ignores the implied contrast between “those not believing in the truth” who will be condemned (v. 12) and those whom “God has chosen from the beginning for salvation by sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth” (v. 13). This then shows that a contrast is present, though the contrast does not pertain to Paul’s obligation to give thanks for his converts (v. 13a), but to their election to salvation (v. 13b).
ἡμεῖς at the beginning of v. 13 may be emphatic, though it need not be (cf. von Dobschütz, 297, who sees the use of the first person pronoun as an affected stylistic feature of Paul’s). ὀφείλομεν εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ θεῷ πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί (“we are obligated to give thanks to God always concerning you, brothers [and sisters]”) repeats what is found in 1:3, though the word order is slightly different. Here as there a ὅτι clause states the grounds for the thanksgiving, but, as I will show in a moment, the grounds have changed. To his commonly used term of address, “brothers [and sisters],” Paul adds ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ κυρίου (“beloved by the Lord”). “Lord” is somewhat unexpected, if it refers to Jesus, since in 1 Thes. 1:4 Paul writes ἀδελφοὶ ἠγαπημένοι ὑπὸ θεοῦ (“brothers [and sisters] beloved by God”) and in 2 Thes. 2:16 God the father is said to be ὁ ἀγαπήσας ἡμᾶς (“the one who loves us”). Nevertheless, it must refer to Jesus because Paul almost always uses “Lord” in relation to Jesus rather than God, and in fact he does so in the following verse. In any case he probably would have used a pronoun for “God” in the subsequent ὅτι clause if the term “Lord” referred to God. The idea of the love of Christ for his followers is not unknown in Paul (cf. Rom. 8:35; 2 Cor. 5:14; Gal. 2:20) and is regularly associated with certainty regarding salvation. As vv. 13–14 deal with the assurance of salvation and in v. 14 salvation itself is associated with the Lord Jesus Christ, it has a similar function here.
The ὅτι clause gives the reason for Paul’s thanksgiving, but its function is to reassure the readers of their salvation in the face of the eschatological dangers discussed in vv. 3–12. The basis of their certitude is their election by God. αἱρεῖσθαι (“to choose” or “elect” in the middle) is not very common in Paul’s letters, occurring only here and in Phil. 1:22, where it is used of a personal choice confronting Paul. In one text in the LXX, Deut. 26:18, the verb is used of God’s election of Israel, but it is not possible to say that this is why it is employed here, since there are no other obvious connections between the two passages.
What Paul identifies as the purpose of God’s election of Paul’s converts is somewhat problematic because of a divided textual tradition. One set of texts (B F Ggr P 33 81 syrh copbo, etc.) reads ἀπαρχὴν εἰς σωτηρίαν (“as firstfruits for salvation”). Another set (א D K L Ψ 104 181 syrp copsa, etc.) has ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς εἰς σωτηρίαν (“from the beginning for salvation”). As the textual evidence is not sufficient in itself to make a decision between the two possibilities (contra Bruce, 190), we must ask which is the more appropriate variant in the context and in terms of Paul’s normal usage. This, however, poses its own difficulties.
On the one hand, Paul nowhere else uses ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς to denote “from the beginning of time,” which is what it would have to mean here (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7; Col. 1:26; Eph. 1:4), and only on one occasion does he employ ἀρχή in a temporal sense at all (cf. Phil. 4:15). By way of contrast ἀπαρχή occurs six other times in Paul’s letters (cf. Rom. 8:23; 11:16; 16:5; 1 Cor. 15:20, 23; 16:15), but only on one occasion without a qualifying genitive (Rom. 11:16). On the other hand, ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς makes good sense in the context, whereas it is difficult to find a satisfactory meaning for ἀπαρχήν. Two possibilities exist. It may have a temporal significance, but against this is the fact that the Thessalonians were not the first to believe in Macedonia and no other possibility seems to make sense. (Ellis, Prophecy and Hermeneutic, 20 tries to link it to his thesis that the “brethren” [sic] were Paul’s coworkers who constituted the firstfruits of his activity, but as I have shown, his general thesis cannot be sustained.) Alternatively, it may have a qualitative significance, but it seems unlikely that Paul would wish to say that his readers were of greater value to God than other Christians without further ado. In light of the above, it is perhaps better on the whole to accept the reading ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς with a majority of commentators and to see it as a reference to the fact that from the beginning God’s purpose was to save the elect.
The nature of the divine salvation for which the Thessalonians were chosen by God is not specified in this verse. Paul is generally reticent on this subject, though he does allude to one dimension of it in the next verse. The two phrases ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος (“sanctification of the Spirit”) and πίστει ἀληθείας (“faith in the truth”) are governed by the preposition ἐν (“in”) and describe the means by which salvation comes about. In the first place it is through the “sanctification of the Spirit.” Although it is possible that πνεῦμα might refer to the human spirit (cf. 1 Thes. 5:23), sanctification in the end comes from God, not from the human spirit (cf. 1 Thes. 4:3–8; 5:23), and it is elsewhere attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:16; cf. 1 Cor. 6:11). For these reasons it is best to see πνεύματος as a subjective genitive referring to the work of God’s Spirit in the sanctification of the people of God. (If Paul intended πνεύματος to be understood in terms of the human spirit, then it is objective genitive and the implied subject of the process of sanctification remains God through the agency of his Spirit.)
Just as salvation has a divine dimension, so also it involves a human response in the form of faith. ἀληθείας (“truth”) is probably an objective genitive indicating that to which faith is directed. The choice of the word “truth” in this context is determined by its use in the previous section, where those who are perishing are said to have refused to believe in the truth, that is, in the gospel (cf. vv. 10, 12). Paul’s thanksgiving is directed to God precisely because his readers have believed in the gospel and experienced the sanctifying activity of the Spirit as part of the process of their salvation.
2:14 The words εἰς ὅ (“to which”) at the beginning of v. 14 probably have as their referent the whole of the expression “for salvation by sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth” in the previous verse, rather than any of the individual items. God is the subject of the relative clause εἰς ὃ [καὶ] ἐκάλεσεν ὑμᾶς διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἡμῶν (“to which [also] [God] has called you through our gospel”), because God is the one who actually called the Thessalonians to their current experience of salvation. The aorist ἐκάλεσεν (“called”) does not refer to some remote act on God’s part, as does εἵλατο (“chose”) in the preceding verse. The Thessalonians were called by God (cf. 1 Thes. 2:12; 4:7; 5:23) to share in salvation when Paul and his missionary colleagues were visiting their city to preach the gospel. For this reason Paul can specify that his readers were called διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἡμῶν (“through our gospel”). By this he means that they experienced the call of God in a very real sense through the missionary preaching of the gospel; without this no call can exist (cf. Rom. 10:14). As Marshall (208) rightly points out, Trilling’s assertion (122) that the real Paul could not have written v. 14a because he reserved the call of people to salvation exclusively for God is unconvincing. Logically the call of God had to be experienced through the preaching of the gospel, and in any case Gal. 1:6f. implies that a connection exists between the call of God and the preaching of the gospel.
The readers were called originally to share in God’s salvation. The second half of v. 14 spells out one important aspect of that salvation. They were called εἰς περιποίησιν δόξης τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (“for obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”). Interestingly, περιποίησις is found only one other time in the undisputed Pauline letters, in 1 Thes. 5:9, and there also it is used of the obtaining of salvation. What is to be obtained is, in 2 Thes. 2:14, “the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This idea is fundamental in Pauline thought, as Rom. 8:17, 29f.; 1 Cor. 15:43; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:21; and 1 Thes. 2:12 show. According to Rom. 3:23, “All have sinned and lack the glory of God.” This idea derived from the Jewish belief that Adam had lost his luster when he sinned, and that eschatological salvation would therefore include the return of the divine glory, that is, God’s outward appearance of brilliance, to saved humanity (cf. 1QS 4:23; CD 3:20; 1QH 17:15; see also Scroggs, Last Adam, 26f.; 35f.; 73f.). Thus when Paul talks about obtaining the glory of Christ he has in mind the eschatological transformation of the people of God into the form of Christ’s divine existence. In an ultimate sense this was associated with the resurrection for Paul, as 1 Cor. 15:43 and Phil. 3:21 demonstrate.
2:15 Paul moves from reassuring his readers regarding their salvation to an exhortation concerning how they should live their Christian lives in relation to the apostolic tradition that they have received. ἄρα οὖν (“so then”) at the beginning of v. 15 shows that Paul is drawing an inference from what precedes. The content of v. 15 points to the inference being the real point of Paul’s argument in chap. 2. It calls on the readers to adopt a correct understanding of Paul’s teaching regarding the coming of Christ.
Paul begins by exhorting his readers, ἀδελφοί, στήκετε (“brothers [and sisters], stand firm”). Usually the imperative στήκετε is accompanied by an object indicating what those who are being exhorted are to stand firm in (cf. 1 Cor. 16:13, “in the faith”; Phil. 4:1 and 1 Thes. 3:8, “in the Lord”; Phil. 1:27, “in one spirit”). Here we are probably to see an allusion back to v. 2, where Paul expresses his worry that the Thessalonians might be disturbed through some false teaching or prophecy regarding the day of the Lord. In the face of this possibility they are exhorted to continue to stand firm (this is the implication of the present tense of the imperative).
The second present imperative, κρατεῖτε (“hold fast”), has the explicit object τὰς παραδόσεις ἃς ἐδιδάχθητε εἴτε διὰ λόγου εἴτε διʼ ἐπιστολῆς (“the traditions that you were taught, whether through oral statement or this our letter”). The terms for tradition (παραδόσις), the passing on of tradition (παραδιδόναι), and the reception of tradition (παραλαμβόνειν) recur on several occasions in Paul’s letters and demonstrate that the communication of tradition was a regular feature in Paul’s missionary activity. Dunn (Unity and Diversity, 66–69) points out that three types of tradition may be isolated in Paul: (1) kerygmatic tradition, that is, tradition concerning the central gospel message (e.g., 1 Cor. 15:1–3); (2) Church tradition, that is, tradition passed on to govern the practice of the Church (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:23–25); and (3) ethical tradition, that is, tradition dealing with proper behavior for Christians (e.g., 1 Cor. 7:10; 11:2; 1 Thes. 4:1). If, as seems likely, we are to see v. 15 in terms of the broader context of chap. 2, then we probably have a reference specifically to the kerygmatic traditions associated with the parousia of Christ. The fact that the command to keep these traditions represents an inference drawn from the discussion of salvation in vv. 13f. implies that nothing less than the salvation of the Thessalonians depended on their holding to these traditions. (In 3:7 Paul refers to a different type of tradition which he had passed on to his readers and to which he expected them to adhere, namely, a tradition regarding proper Christian conduct.)
The traditions regarding the coming of Christ to which Paul wished the Thessalonians to hold fast had been taught to them in two ways, both equally authoritative and binding on them, as εἴτε … εἴτε (“whether … or”) indicates. First, while he was with them he had taught them orally regarding the coming of Christ, when it would happen and what it would entail. This is the meaning of διὰ λόγου (“by word of mouth”).
The meaning of διʼ ἐπιστολῆς (“by our letter”) is debatable. Most commentators see in them a reference to 1 Thessalonians (e.g., von Dobschütz, 301; Frame, 285; Best, 318). In the second section of the Introduction to this commentary, however, I have demonstrated that this view is problematic for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the fact that anyone possessing 1 Thessalonians could not have believed that the day of the Lord had come. I also have shown that several factors related to v. 15 itself raise questions with the claim that the words “through our letter” refer to 1 Thessalonians. For the reasons discussed in the Introduction, the words “through our letter” probably refer to the present letter. In the context of 2 Thessonians 2 the intention of Paul’s statement in v. 15 is to ensure that what he has just taught his readers regarding the events associated with the coming of Christ is treated as having the same authority as his oral teaching to them when he was present.




PERORATIO: 2:16–17


Hughes (62) observes that a number of perorationes take the form of prayers. In the case of 2 Thes. 2:16f. we have what Wiles (Intercessory Prayer Passages) describes as a wish-prayer (see the discussion of 1 Thes. 3:11–13). In effect the wish-prayer as a peroratio requests that God and the Lord Jesus Christ accomplish in the lives of the Thessalonians what the two proofs of vv. 3–15 have attempted to persuade the Thessalonians to think and do (Hughes, 62).
2:16 The wish-prayer formed by this and the next verse, like the one in 1 Thes. 3:11–13, is located after a thanksgiving and before a new section beginning with λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί (“finally, brothers [and sisters]”), though in this case the exhortation of v. 15 intervenes between the thanksgiving and the wish-prayer.
Here the wish-prayer begins with an emphatic αὐτός (“himself”), which seems to be a structural part of the wish-prayer (cf. 3:16; 1 Thes. 3:11; 5:23). The order of the invocation is somewhat unusual with the common designation ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς (“our Lord Jesus Christ”) preceding that of [ὁ] θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν (“God our father”), but this order is found elsewhere in Gal. 1:1 and 2 Cor. 13:13. Rigaux (690) may be correct when he proposes that Christ’s name precedes that of God’s here because the context is christological in its orientation. On balance, however, it is perhaps more likely that the long participial phrase attached to the name of God caused Paul to put God’s name second (cf. Trilling, 131). One of the most unusual features of v. 16 is the order of the words used to invoke God since [ὁ] θεὸς ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν (“God our father”) occurs nowhere else in Paul, though 1 Cor. 8:6 has the same order except that ἡμῶν, which would be inappropriate in the context, does not occur.
As indicated above, the long participial phrase in v. 16b, ὁ ἀγαπήσας ἡμᾶς καὶ δοὺς παράκλησιν αἰωνίαν καὶ ἐλπίδα ἀγαθὴν ἐν χάριτι (“who loved us and gave us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace”) qualifies the reference to God by elaborating on his saving activity toward the followers of Christ. In this Paul identifies himself with his readers through the pronoun ἡμᾶς (“us”), the object of the participle ὁ ἀγαπήσας (“who loved us”).
The aorist participle alludes to some particular act of God in the past, and for this reason (as well as for grammatical reasons—the participle is singular) it cannot be maintained (contra Best, 286; Bruce, 196) that ἀγαπήσας refers to both God and Christ. The context may suggest that “who loved us” is a reference to God’s choice or election of Christians to share in salvation (v. 13; cf. 1 Thes. 1:4). But it is also possible that Paul is thinking of God’s love as demonstrated in the death of Jesus Christ. This for Paul is the ultimate evidence of God’s love (cf. Rom. 5:8).
A logical connection exists between ὁ ἀγαπήσας and the second aorist participle, δούς (“who gave”), in that God gives gifts to the followers of Christ out of divine love for them. The “us” of the first participle should be understood with the second as well.
Two gifts are specified. First God gave παράκλησιν αἰωνίαν (“eternal encouragement”). Christians, faced with oppression and rejection for their new faith, receive from God encouragement to withstand the trials and distresses that attend them in this age. But this encouragement lasts through the judgment into the age to come, and hence it is eternal. ἐλπίδα ἀγαθήν (“good hope”) adds little to the previous thought regarding the gift of eternal encouragement, though perhaps the idea is implied that God’s gift of encouragement leads to hope for future life in those who receive it. The expression “good hope” was used in the Hellenistic world for life after death (cf. Otzen, “*‘Gute Hoffnung,’*” 283–285), and thus it is singularly appropriate in the present context.
The final words of v. 16, ἐν χάριτι (“by grace”), are adverbial, are to be taken with the two participles ἀγαπήσας and δούς, and are characteristic of Paul. They stress that God’s love, as well as the divine gifts of encouragement and hope, are based on God’s unmerited favor freely bestowed.
2:17 Paul’s petition for his readers in this wish-prayer is twofold. First, he wishes for the Thessalonians that God παρακαλέσαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας (“may encourage your hearts”). The verb παρακαλέσαι is an aorist singular optative, as is the second verb στηρίξαι (“may he strengthen”). These optatives are voluntative in force, and this is why the prayer is referred to as a wish-prayer. The singular form of the two verbs is problematic since they have two subjects, “our Lord Jesus Christ and God our father.” Apparently Paul forgot that he had used a plural subject because of the long intervening participial phrase related to God alone.
The verb παρακαλέσαι is a cognate of the noun παράκλησις from the previous phrase and has the sense of “to encourage.” Thus Paul wishes for God to encourage the hearts, or inner beings, of the Thessalonians in their particular situation of persecution (1:4) and pending eschatological distress (2:3–12), just as he has given them eternal encouragement and good hope in their conversion experience.
Paul’s concern, however, is not only with the inward state of his converts, but also with their outward behavior. He therefore includes in his wish-prayer the request that God στηρίξαι ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ ἀγαθῷ (“may establish [you] in every good deed and every good word”). The implied object of the στηρίξαι may be either “you” or a repetition of “your hearts.”
The distinction Paul is making here between inward encouragement and outward behavior is lost by Best (321, see also 310) when he translates the whole clause in a comprehensive fashion: “may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father … encourage and strengthen your hearts in every good deed and word.” Paul’s desire is that inward encouragement in the face of external opposition be accompanied by godly behavior in whatever Christians say and do (cf. Col. 3:17, where a similar idea is expressed as an instruction). The connection of these words with v. 15 is obvious and serves to focus the readers’ attention on the need for stability in their Christian thought and behavior, the goal of the probatio.
It is worth noting that in 1 Thes. 3:2 Paul tells the Thessalonians that his intention in sending Timothy to them was εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν (“in order to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith”) in the face of their situation of persecution. This lends support to the possibility that 2 Thessalonians was the letter carried by Timothy since the wish-prayer calling for the readers to be encouraged and established in 2 Thes. 2:17 reflects precisely the intention behind the sending of Timothy to Thessalonica described in 1 Thes. 3:2.


Wanamaker, C. A. (1990). The Epistles to the Thessalonians : A commentary on the Greek text (264–272). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.

Here is PNTC



2. “But we must always give thanks to God for you”—The Second Thanksgiving (2.13–14)

13 The second thanksgiving of the letter begins almost exactly like the first (1.3 and comments) as it expresses the obligation Paul and his companions felt to give thanks to God. The motive for the first thanksgiving was the growing faith and love that were abundantly evidenced in the Thessalonian believers. But in this second thanksgiving Paul remembers the divine election of the Thessalonians that resulted in their salvation. This thanksgiving for those who responded to the gospel should also be read in light of the rejection of the call to salvation by others who had heard it in Thessalonica and who, as a result, became subjects of God’s judgment (vv. 10–12). The author signals this contrast between the two groups in v. 13, which begins with the adversative “but” (de). In fact, the apostle contrasts the action of God toward the two (v. 11, God sent them “powerful delusion”; v. 13, God chose you), the means used to bring about his purposes (v. 11, “powerful delusion”; v. 14, “through our gospel”), and the ultimate destiny of both (v. 12, “all will be condemned”; v. 13, to be saved).
In this thanksgiving, Paul says, But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. Here, as in 1 Thessalonians 1.4 (see comments), the divine election of the Thessalonians is embedded deeply in God’s love for them. The way the author speaks of this election is unique. He uses a verb that means “to take for or to oneself” and that in other contexts in the NT does not refer to divine election but rather to the selection of something or making a decision because it is preferred (cf. Phil. 1.22; Heb. 11.25). We might say that God’s election of these Thessalonians was not only unto salvation but also for himself (cf. Deut. 26.18). Apart from this, the apostle does not discuss why God loved and chose the Thessalonian brothers and sisters but only offers thanksgiving for that fact. Paul declares that this election was from the beginning (ap’ archēs), although various principal Greek manuscripts of the letter read “as first-fruits” (aparchēn, a reading followed in the NRSV). Although the evidence is strong in favor of from the beginning, this expression is not found in any other book of the Pauline corpus. Whenever the apostle uses the term archēs in other contexts, it rarely bears the meaning found in 2.13, conveying rather the sense of “ruler” or “authority” (with the exception of Phil. 4.15). On the other hand, “first fruits” is quite common in Paul, and the manuscript evidence in favor of this reading is substantial. The scribal tendency was to change aparchē to ap’ archēs (Rev. 14.4; Rom. 16.5), the most likely scenario being that the same tendency is at play in the present verse. Following the reading reflected in the NRSV, the Thessalonians are the “first fruits,” an allusion to the first part of the harvest or even the first offspring of animals that are dedicated exclusively as sacred to God (Exod. 23.19; Num. 15.17–21; Deut. 12.6, 17). Here the readers of the letter are viewed as the first converts from Thessalonica (cf. 1 Clem. 42.4). Paul’s custom was to speak about the first converts from a region in this way (Rom. 16.5; 1 Cor. 16.15), and he probably views the members of the already established church as the first of many who will be converted to God. The evangelistic flame was not extinguished by the rejection of the gospel, its messengers, and the first converts in that metropolis. Hope for the city still burned bright.
The purpose of God’s election was that they might be saved (see 1 Thess. 5.8–9 and comments), and this through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. In 1 Thessalonians Paul exhorted the believers again and again to dedicate themselves to sanctification (1 Thess. 4.3, 4, 7), reminding them that sanctification was God’s will for them and that God called them to the same. But he also assured the Thessalonians that sanctification was a work of God (1 Thess. 5.23) that he effects through the agency of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 4.8). The process of sanctification began at their conversion (1 Pet. 1.2) and is being worked out throughout their lives so that the believers might be blameless before the Lord at his coming (1 Thess. 5.23; and see Rom. 15.16; 1 Cor. 6.11; 1 Pet. 1.2). Far from its being auxiliary to their salvation, the apostle understands the sanctifying work as the action of the Spirit of God that brings about salvation. It may be possible to understand Spirit as the human “spirit,” the object of sanctification as in 1 Thessalonians 5.23, but the focus of this verse is rather the powerful divine operation in their lives by means of the Holy Spirit and the truth. These Christians entered into the realm of salvation through belief in the truth, that is, through their faith in the gospel that was proclaimed to them (see vv. 10, 12). Although the divine decision and activity in bringing about salvation are the primary focus, the apostle does not lose sight of human responsibility in this process, which is indicated by the word belief.
14 Having chosen the Thessalonians for salvation, God then called them by means of the preaching of the gospel: He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That to which they were called (this) is found in v. 13: “God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” The God who chose them to be saved is the same God who made sure that the message of salvation reached them by means of the apostolic proclamation of the gospel. God is the one who gave Paul the night vision to preach the gospel in Macedonia (Acts 16.9–10), and when he and his associates arrived in the city the proclamation the Thessalonians heard and received was the very message of God. They heard his voice through the proclamation (1 Thess. 2.15; cf. 1.5)! So the apostle is now able to say that God called you to this through our gospel (see 1 Thess. 2.12; 4.7; 5.24; and 2 Thess. 1.11). They were not persuaded by the rhetorical abilities of the heralds; rather, God was active in the apostolic preaching, and he called them through this message (cf. 1 Thess. 1.4–5; Gal. 1.6–7).
The call to salvation is a common theme in the NT, which is always understood as the activity of God and not of some human agent, though a human messenger may be employed (Rom. 8.30; 1 Cor. 1.9; Gal. 1.6, 15; 5.8; Eph. 4.1, 4; Col. 3.15; 1 Tim. 6.12; 2 Tim. 1.9; Heb. 9.15; 1 Pet. 1.15; 2.9; 5.10; 2 Pet. 1.3). Jesus assumes this divine privilege (Matt. 4.21; Mark 2.17), while in the OT it is attributed to Yahweh (e.g., Isa. 41.9; 42.6; 48.12, 15; 51.2), who takes for himself those whom he calls. Despite the fact that the majority of believers in the Thessalonian church were Gentiles and not Jews, their previous religious training allowed them to understand the idea of “being called” by some deity, an idea that was common especially in the mystery religions. For example, Pausanias speaks of those called by the Egyptian goddess Isis, saying, “No one may enter the shrine except those whom Isis herself has honored by inviting (kalesē) them in dreams” (10.32.13). But the way God chose to call the Thessalonians was quite different. He called them through our gospel, which in other places in these letters is called “the gospel of God” (1 Thess. 2.2, 4, 8, 9) or “the gospel of Christ” (1 Thess. 3.2; 2 Thess. 1.8). The message and the agency are divine, not simply human.
The purpose of this calling is that the Thessalonians might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first letter, the apostle informed the church that God had “appointed [them] … to receive salvation” (1 Thess. 5.9), and the point made here is similar. The term there translated “receive” is the same as that which is rendered might share (peripoiēsin), which describes the process of obtaining or possessing “salvation” (Isa. 31.5; 1 Macc. 6.44) or “life” (Heb. 10.39). The verb appears in the writings of Philo of Alexandria, who notes that God permits a person “to obtain” that which was not previously possessed. What the Thessalonians will obtain is the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, which will be revealed in his coming (Matt. 16.27; 19.28; 24.30; 25.31; Mark 8.38; 13.26; Luke 9.26; 21.27; Titus 2.13). This promise of receiving glory became one of the great hopes of the Christian faith (1 Thess. 2.12; Rom. 5.2; 8.17, 18; Col. 1.27). In fact, both Paul and Peter announce that Christians are called to this glory (Rom. 8.30; 1 Pet. 5.10). Glory is frequently associated with “honor” in honorific inscriptions, and obtaining such honor was one of the chief concerns in ancient Mediterranean “honor/shame” cultures. For the Christians in Thessalonica, the promise of receiving this exalted honor would have been a great comfort and encouragement in light of the dishonor they suffered in their communities because of their adherence to the One who was humiliated on the cross (1 Thess. 2.14). God called them to this glory, which is of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who was also exalted.


3. “Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions”—Exhortation to Steadfastness (2.15)

15 In this verse Paul returns to the principal concern of this section: the stability of the Thessalonian Christians in the face of the false teaching, which came from an unknown source (2.2). As a consequence of everything previously stated concerning the events preceding the day of the Lord (see vv. 3–12, especially v. 5) and concerning their election, calling, and destiny (vv. 13–14), the apostle exhorts them, saying, So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. The call to be constant and stable (stēkete) reflects one of the principal concerns of the apostles in their pastoral ministry to new Christians (see Rom. 14.4; 1 Cor. 16.13; Gal. 5.1; Phil. 1.27; 4.1). This exhortation could be understood as a call to stability and faithfulness in the light of the persecution they experienced (see 1 Thess. 3.8 and comments). But in the context of chapter 2 his concern is rather their constancy in the teaching they had received from the apostles (vv. 2, 5, 15b; cf. 1 Thess. 4.1–2). They should continue faithfully in that teaching, holding on to it without wavering in any way even in the face of contrary opinion (the verb krateite is used in the same way in Mark 7.3; Heb. 4.14; 6.18; Rev. 2.14–15, 25; 3.11).
The Thessalonians should hold fast to the teachings received from the apostles. Paul here calls these teachings “the traditions” (paradoseis), a term that could have a pejorative sense in the NT (Matt. 15.2–3, 6; Mark 7.3, 5, 8–9, 13; Col. 2.8) or a positive meaning (3.6; 1 Cor. 11.2; and the verbal form of the term in Rom. 6.17; 1 Cor. 11.23; 15.3; Jude 3). In this text the sense is clearly positive as the word denotes the authoritative apostolic traditions the founders of the congregation had handed over to the members of the church. In both the Jewish and Greek worlds the transmission of the sacred traditions of a people’s forebears was considered a high obligation. Such traditions were considered to be of divine origin and, therefore, authoritative. By means of these traditions people were integrated as members of the group to which they belonged. In fact, in collectivist cultures the process of passing on and maintaining the traditions of the group was a principal concern (note how the Pharisees severely criticized Jesus for not holding to the traditions in Mark 7.1–3). When the apostles confronted the threat of heterodox doctrine, they reoriented the church back to the apostolic traditions that had been handed down to them (cf. Jude 3). In the case of the Thessalonian church, these sacred and authoritative traditions were those that we passed on to you (“you were taught” NRSV), whether by word of mouth or by letter. Word of mouth is a reference to the teaching the apostle gave when they were in the city (1 Thess. 3.4; 4.1–2; 5.1–2; 2 Thess. 2.5; 3.10), while the letter refers to the first correspondence sent to the Thessalonian church. These teachings that they had already received were the antidote for the destabilizing confusion that had entered the church “by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come” (2.2). This theological novelty was rejected in favor of the “traditions” the apostle had taught them.


4. “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father”—The First Prayer (2.16–17)

16–17 After the exhortation to “stand firm” and to “hold fast” the apostolic traditions the church was taught (v. 15), Paul offers the first prayer of the letter in the form of a wish or desire (cf. 2 Thess. 3.16 and 1 Thess. 3.11–13; 5.23). The prayer begins, May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, making both God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ the objects of the petition and so placing them on the same plane. The christological implications are evident. But unlike the majority of the verses where both the Father and Jesus Christ appear together, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is placed in first position (see Rom. 1.7; 1 Cor. 1.3; 2 Cor. 1.2; Gal. 1.3; Eph. 1.2; Phil. 1.2; 2 Thess. 1.2; Phlm. 3; and cf. Gal. 1.1; 2 Cor. 13.13, where the order is the same as in the present text). Although many commentators attribute the following description (who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope) to both God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, the grammar favors the interpretation that understands these words as an extended ascription of God our Father.
God is, in the first place, the one who loved us. The aorist participle most likely points us to some event in which God our Father demonstrated his love, a possible allusion to his election of the Thessalonians (2.13; and see 1 Thess. 1.4), to the incarnation (John 3.16), or to the act of sending his Son to die for our sins (Rom. 5.8). The way in which the apostle links God’s love with election in these letters favors the first interpretation. But whatever act of love the author has in mind, their concern is to encourage and strengthen the Thessalonians in the midst of their persecutions and their battle against erroneous teaching (v. 17). In the presence of these adversaries the love of God our Father would be the foundation of their hope (the thought is similar to Rom. 8.37–39, where God’s love is the counterpoint to the believers’ sufferings).
God is also known here as the one who by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. In Romans 15.4 Paul combines the ideas of encouragement and hope as in this verse, but there they are understood as the fruit of the message contained in the OT Scripture: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” In that text the apostle’s thoughts about encouragement and hope are bound up with his concern for community harmony, especially that between Jews and Gentiles in the church. But the issue here in v. 16b is the final destiny of the believers, their eschatological hope, which should become the lens through which they seek to face their present circumstances. This destiny is described, on the one hand, as eternal encouragement and, on the other, as good hope. This last expression was quite common in ancient literature and frequently referred to “high hopes” that were firm and ripe with the expectation of being fulfilled. But it could also refer to life after death, and even the happiness associated with it. Since the expression good hope here appears in combination with eternal encouragement, the thought most likely points to the Christian hope, which transcends this life and carries with it the promise of bliss in the life hereafter. The theme of hope permeates the first letter to this church (1 Thess. 1.3; 2.19; 5.8) and is understood as a particular virtue that distinguishes the Christian from the rest of humanity (1 Thess. 4.13). Among the Greeks, “hopes” could be nothing more than negative thoughts about the future, but the destiny and end of the Christian is a good hope.
The future hope is alternately described as eternal encouragement. The encouragement (paraklēsin) is that which a person may have in the face of adversity (so the verbal form of the word in 1 Thess. 3.2), and so the word was commonly used in military contexts to speak of the encouragement given to soldiers. This church suffered greatly at the hands of their contemporaries (1.3–10) and desperately needed the encouragement that came from God our Father. But the adjective eternal may point to an alternative understanding of encouragement in this verse. This term also appears in those contexts where a person attempts to console another in the face of the pain and sadness that fills the soul when confronted with death. Understood this way, the term could be translated as the NRSV does, “comfort.” Now the “comfort” that was offered in Greek society lacked genuine hope, and not a few ancients echoed the words of Theognis, “Best of all for mortals is never to have been born, but for those who have been born to die as soon as possible.” Whatever hopes there were regarding immortality were vague and uncertain. But the “comfort” that God our Father gives is eternal and transcends death, offering something more than the grave as the goal of life. What the Thessalonians already enjoyed was “comfort” in the face of death and hope that was firm because God our Father gave it to them by his grace, that is, through his free gift (see 1 Thess. 1.1; 5.28; 2 Thess. 1.2, 12; 3.18). The prayer to be offered is rooted in the grace of God, which holds promise beyond the limits of death.
Their future is certain and full, but what of the present? The way in which God extended his love in the past in their election and gave them a firm hope for the future, even to eternity, forms the base of the prayer for the Thessalonians in this present time. The founder of the church prays that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ … encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word (v. 17). The plural subject of the prayer is properly God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, but the verbs are placed in the singular (encourage … strengthen). This grammatical phenomenon is not unknown in the NT (see, e.g., Matt. 6.19; 24.35; John 1.17; 1 Cor. 15.50) and does not carry any theological significance. The desire expressed in the petition to the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father is that they might encourage and strengthen the Thessalonians, a concern that echoes Timothy’s mission when he visited the church soon after its founding “to strengthen and encourage” them in their faith (1 Thess. 3.2). The verbs in both verses are the same (see the comments on 1 Thess. 3.2), but the order is reversed in the present text. In the absence of the members of the apostolic team, Paul appeals to the Father and the Lord of the church to encourage and “establish” them.
The first verb of the wish prayer may mean “to console” (1 Thess. 4.18), but in combination with heart it normally means to encourage or to exhort (Acts 11.23; Eph. 6.22; Col. 2.2; 4.8). In the present context it may communicate the idea of encourage (as in 1 Thess. 3.7), but most likely the apostle has the moral sense of “to exhort” in mind (as in 1 Thess. 2.11; 2.3; 4.1, 10; 5.11, 14; 2 Thess. 3.12; and see 1 Cor. 4.16, which speaks of God’s exhortation). Understood in this way, the petition would be that the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father would “exhort” their hearts, the center of their moral life (as in 1 Thess. 3.13; see comments). The idea is not simply that they might have internal encouragement but that they might experience divine moral exhortation. The prayer also expresses the desire that God may strengthen them or their hearts, a word that most likely serves as the object of both verbs in the absence of any other expressed object in the Greek. The same words appear in 1 Thessalonians 3.13 (“strengthen your hearts”; see comments and Jas. 5.8), where the apostle prays that the heart of the Thessalonians, the center of their moral existence, might be established in holiness in anticipation of the time when they shall stand “in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes.” He expresses the concern that the Thessalonians will do the will of God and stand firm in this. The apostle wants their morality to be comprehensive (cf. 1 Thess. 5.23) in every good deed and word. The combination of deed and word is found in other NT texts (Luke 24.19; Acts 7.22; Rom. 15.18) and was also quite common in ancient literature, whether the reference was to good or evil116 words and deeds. The prayer is that everything they do and say will be good and not evil (cf. Col. 3.17; 2 Thess. 1.11–12). What orients their conduct and their communication in the present time, according to this prayer, is the past and future work of God (v. 16). The importance of this prayer is highlighted by the agonizing adversity this congregation faced daily. The prayer not only presents a petition to God but also serves as an implicit exhortation to the Thessalonians to live lives that are in harmony with the desire expressed in the prayer.


Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians. The Pillar New Testament commentary (325–333). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.

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2:13–14 In terms of form these verses begin with a thanksgiving, “We ought always thank God for you” (cf. 1:3), inserted in a rather odd location. One might expect the beginning of such a thanksgiving to introduce a change of theme. This particular expression of thanks, however, does not mark a major change of topic. Rather, it marks a transition within the discussion of the deception threatening the church (cf. v. 2). Paul was thankful because he knew that the church would not succumb to deception and eventual destruction (vv.11–12) “but” (the adversative de contrasts vv. 11–12 with vv. 13–14) was destined for salvation “through belief in the truth” (v. 13).
A second time (cf. the discussion of opheilomen at 1:3) Paul stressed his obligation to give thanks as a way of emphasizing the veracity and the appropriateness of his affirmation of the church. The condition of the “brothers” is indicated first by the fact that they are “loved by the Lord” (cf. 1 Thess 1:4). The perfect tense participle rendered “loved” implies a settled condition. The phrase as a whole was no doubt especially meaningful for Paul the Benjamite since it was part of Moses’ blessing of the tribe of Benjamin (Deut 33:12). The Thessalonian believers were reminded that they had entered into a loving relationship with the Lord (they had not rejected the truth) and were assured that they continued to be the beneficiaries of that love.
The reason for giving thanks stated in 2:13 stands in contrast to the reasons stated in 1:3–4. In an unusual statement for a Pauline thanksgiving (but cf. 1 Cor 1:4–9), the causal clause of 2:13 places far more emphasis on God’s activities than on those of the Thessalonians. Paul told the Thessalonians that he gave thanks to God because “God chose you to be saved.” Though the verb “chose” (eilato) is uncommon in the New Testament (used only here, Phil 1:22 and Heb 11:25), Paul apparently used it in this context as a synonym of the more common eklegomai (cf. 1 Thess 1:4; Eph 1:4), meaning to “select” or “elect.” Salvation is always the result of the active grace of God. No one earns it on the basis of works or beliefs. Salvation is the result of God’s choice to make salvation available. Yet the fact that God chooses is not presented as an act that limits the availability of salvation. There is no direct statement in the New Testament to the effect that the option of salvation is unavailable to certain persons or that God has chosen some for damnation. But sadly, the passage overall gives ample evidence that some people will choose not to avail themselves of God’s salvation.
The presence of a textual variant complicates the interpretation of the next phrase. Did God choose the Thessalonian believers (ap archēs) “from the beginning” (NIV, RSV) or (aparchēn) as “firstfruits” (NAB, GNB)? Both readings have strong manuscript support, and internal arguments can also be made for both readings. Against reading archēs is the fact that Paul never used ap archēs in a temporal sense. Even if one assumes that Paul did intend to say that the believers were chosen “from the beginning,” we still must ask which “beginning” he had in mind. He may have meant that God chose the Thessalonian believers “from the beginning of time” (cf. Rom 8:28–30, note the differences in vocabulary), but Paul never used archē of eternity past. His only temporal use of archē (Phil 4:15) refers to the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel in Macedonia (translated “in the early days” in the NIV). Used in a similar sense in v. 13, the phrase might affirm the believers as some of the earliest (and by implication most spiritually responsive?) converts in Macedonia. This appears at first glance to make sense of the clause but does not mesh well with the larger context of vv. 13–14, which celebrates the chosenness of the Thessalonians, not the Thessalonians’ responsiveness. The reading ap archēs is also unlikely considering copyists’ apparent tendency to misread aparchē and insert ap archēs in its place (cf. Rom 16:5; Rev 14:4).
But if the original reading was “firstfruits” (aparchē), what was meant? In the Old Testament firstfruits was a cultic technical term. It was that first portion that was dedicated to God and served to consecrate the remainder (cf. Rom 11:16). Used of persons it might indicate the firstborn of each family consecrated to Yahweh or the Levites (as a portion of the entire nation) consecrated to God’s service. Thus the word has the temporal connotation of that which comes first in a sequence and/or the qualitative connotation of that which is holy and consecrated to the Lord. Twice Paul used aparchēn temporally of the first converts of a region. Epaenetus was the first convert in Asia (Rom 16:5), and the household of Stephanus were the first converts in Achaia (1 Cor 16:15). But the Thessalonians were evangelized after the Philippians. They were not the first converts in Macedonia. “Firstfruits” in v. 13 is unmodified, however, and Paul could have used aparchēn meaning that Thessalonian believers were the firstfruits in Thessalonica. Such a statement could serve to encourage the church by implying that more converts would yet follow from their city in spite of the persecution they were experiencing.
Yet the context of vv. 13–14 seems to encourage the church not by stressing the evangelistic potential of their city but by emphasizing that God chose them and they are destined to share the glory of the Lord. This implies a qualitative rather than a temporal use of “firstfruit.” Used qualitatively aparchēn highlights for the readers their status as persons chosen by God for consecration to his service. This fits well with the statements that they are “loved by the Lord” (v. 13a) and called to “share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 14). It also makes sense of a reading that is difficult on the surface (explaining the scribal tendency to change it) but does fit the flow of Paul’s sentence.
God’s selection of the Thessalonian believers “to be saved” (or more lit., “for salvation,” NASB) is modified by two phrases that express the means of salvation. The preposition “through” (ev) occurs only once in the Greek text of v. 13 and has as its objects both “sanctification by the Spirit” and “faith in the truth” (NASB). “Spirit” may refer to the spirit of the believer (cf. 1 Thess 5:23), but with a singular noun and in the absence of a possessive pronoun it seems unlikely that Paul meant “sanctification of your spirits.” Elsewhere Paul (using the same preposition, en) described sanctification as the work of God’s Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11), and he probably intended the same here.
God’s choice to consecrate a people to himself is balanced by the people’s act of exercising “faith in the truth.” The “truth” is the apostolic gospel (cf. vv. 10–12). Paul’s choice of vocabulary was the result of the contrast he was working between those who believe the truth and are saved and those who believe the lie (rejecting the truth) and are condemned. Faith in this context goes beyond its English connotation of believing the truth of a proposition and includes committing or entrusting oneself to this truth. In this way Paul both affirmed and reassured the church while at the same time reminding them of the vital importance they should attach to fidelity to the apostolic gospel. They must stand firm in the truth of the gospel, for confusion and deception are the tools of Satan, and those who succumb ultimately are destined for perdition.
2:14 Salvation through sanctification and faith is further modified by the clause that begins in v. 14. The neuter relative pronoun translated “to this” indicates Paul had the preceding clause in mind, not just the term “salvation.” God “called” the Thessalonians to this salvation “through our gospel,” that is, through the apostolic message. God’s choice (eilato, v. 13) of the Thessalonians differs from his call (ekalesen) in v. 14 in that the former is a timeless event within the mind of God. The call, on the other hand, refers to the temporal event at which the apostle proclaimed the gospel, and the Thessalonians had the opportunity to respond to it (cf. Rom 10:14). There could be no ambiguity regarding the avenue by which the Thessalonians heard the call of God. They heard it through the gospel of the Lord Jesus (1:8) preached by Paul and his coworkers (cf. 1 Thess 1:5). If God’s initial call to them was expressed through the preaching of the apostle and obedience to that same message was the only means of salvation, then it would make no sense at this stage to give credence to false teaching that contradicted the words and writings of the apostle.
The call of God to the Thessalonians and their positive response should lead to living as people of God in the present, as well as to sharing in the glories of the kingdom of God in the future (cf. 1 Thess 2:12; 4:7; 5:24). Paul’s thought in this verse, however, leaps from contemplation of the Thessalonians’ past conversion (v. 14a) directly to their future glorification (v. 14b). God called them through the apostolic gospel in order that they might “share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 14b). The lostness of humanity can be described as falling “short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Obtaining that glory (in other words, the glorification of the believer) is a reality that is initiated with conversion but that will not reach its fullness until the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of believers to share his presence. Thus to “share” (peripoiēsin) or “obtain” (RSV) salvation stands in contrast to suffering the wrath of God at the final judgment in 1 Thess 5:9 (the only other occurrence of peripoiēsin in the Thessalonian letters; cf. Eph 1:14). Sharing the “glory [doxēs] of our Lord” is a phrase that looks toward that day in the future when the Lord Jesus “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious [doxēs] body” (Phil 3:21; cf. Rom 8:17; 1 Cor 15:43). Obtaining this ultimate glory, then, requires a genuine and abiding commitment to the apostolic gospel. Paul’s thanksgiving is based on the conviction that the Thessalonians genuinely had responded to God’s call in the gospel and possessed a faith that leads ultimately to the sharing of the glory of the Lord at his coming. All that remained was to encourage them to persevere.
2:15 The passage concludes with a summary exhortation. “So then” indicates that the two imperatives that follow grow out of the preceding verses. In light of the error of the teaching that the day of the Lord had arrived (vv. 2–3), and in spite of present and future satanic attempts at deception (vv. 3, 7, 9), and considering the terrible cost of preferring the lie rather than adhering to the truth (v. 12), the church must “stand firm.”
The exhortation to “stand firm” is often followed in Paul’s writings by a clarifying prepositional phrase, for example, “in the faith” (1 Cor 16:13) or “in the Lord” (1 Thess 3:8). But here (as in Gal 5:1) it is followed by a second imperative that expands on the nature of the “stand” maintained. The call to stand firm was made more specific as Paul warned the church that they must “hold to the teachings we passed on to you.” The church must not be deceived either in the present (vv. 3, 7) or in the last days when a great deceiver will come on the scene. They must not be deceived by false prophecy (v. 2) or by false reports (vv. 2, 15) or by forged letters (vv. 2, 15). They must stand firm in the truth already received through the apostolic gospel because to fail to do so could lead to condemnation (vv. 11–14; cf. 1 Cor 15:1–2).
The “teachings” to which the church was to cling were those central religious truths or “traditions” (RSV) that were passed from believer to believer. Used in this context “tradition” (paradoseis) does not refer to mere human teachings or to the traditions of Judaism to which Paul previously devoted himself (cf. the use of paradoseis in Col 2:8 and Gal 1:14). Rather, it refers to apostolic tradition delivered in the name of Christ (cf. 3:6; 1 Cor 11:2, 23).
The various confessions (e.g., 1 Cor 15:3–5), hymns (Phil 2:6–11; cf. Col 1:15–20), exhortations for Christian households (e.g., Eph 5:22–6:9; cf. Col 3:18–4:1), and ethical instructions in general (e.g., 1 Thess 4:1–8), including vice and virtue lists (e.g., Gal 5:19–23), reflect the type of tradition that was circulated in the churches and had been “passed on” to the Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thess 4:1). The “traditions” contained in vv. 1–14 had to do with eschatology. But no teaching is totally compartmentalized, and error in one matter often leads to error in another. It was therefore imperative that the church remain true to the traditions they were taught either “by word” when he was with them or “by letter” while he was apart from them.
The reference to “word” (logos) and “letter” (epistolēs) is interesting at several points. First, the reference to instruction the Thessalonians had received by letter implies that this was not the first letter they had received from Paul. However, identifying the earlier letter remains an exercise in speculation. Assuming the traditional sequence of the extant correspondence, the epistolē Paul had in mind could be 1 Thessalonians. If 2 Thessalonians were written first, Paul could refer to this very letter from the perspective of the reader. If Paul wrote letters to Thessalonica that are no longer extant, as is the case with two of his four known letters to Corinth, then the “letter” to which v. 15 refers could be lost to us.
Second, “whether by word of mouth [logou] or by letter [epistolēs]” appears to echo “by prophecy [pneumatos], report [logou] or letter [epistolēs] supposedly from us” in v. 2. If this is so, then why was pneumatos not repeated? This may indicate that “by some prophecy” referred to prophetic utterances within the assembly. Such utterances deserved respect but also were subject to evaluation by the assembly (cf. 1 Thess 5:19–22). The most likely criteria by which they would be evaluated is the apostolic traditions delivered orally or by letter. By giving priority to apostolic words and letters, the apostle had in effect brought prophecy (from any source) under the control of apostolic tradition.
Third, and more importantly for our understanding of this passage, the recurrence of these two terms (cf. v. 3) helps mark the boundaries of Paul’s discussion and together with the imperatives in v. 15a highlight his primary concerns. The intent of the apostle was to encourage the church to hold to established apostolic instruction and not be confused, alarmed, or (worst of all) won over by contradictory teachings. The context in which he did this is the appearance of false teachings regarding the day of the Lord. But the message delivered by the passage was applicable to a broad range of situations. It was a warning that to deviate from divinely revealed truth is to deviate onto a path that can only lead to condemnation.


4. A Concluding Prayer (2:16–17)


16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

The exhortation to “stand firm and hold to the teachings” received from the apostles (2:15) is followed by a prayer requesting divine encouragement and assistance for the Thessalonians that they might do this very thing. In this way the prayer serves as a conclusion to 2:1–15. Although it added the element of divine assistance to the preceding encouragement to endure (vv. 13–15), the prayer also expressed Paul’s aspirations for the converts. This blended with Paul’s request for prayer for himself and his coworkers (3:1–2) highlights the bond between Paul and the church. They shared a responsibility for one another. Mutual concern and mutual intercession should characterize their relationship as each faces the challenges of the wicked and faithless persons who would inhibit the faith and the work of both the church and the apostle (cf. 3:1–3).
2:16 The core of the prayer is the request, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father … encourage your hearts and strengthen you” (vv. 16–17). “Himself” (autos) emphasizes the Lord Jesus Christ as does the placement of the name of Jesus before “God our Father.” One should not make too much of this, however, since an emphatic autos was a common stylistic element in wish-prayers (cf. 3:16; 1 Thess 3:11; 5:23). The placement of the name of Jesus before that of God is unusual but does occur elsewhere in Paul (see Gal 1:1; 2 Cor 13:14) and probably reflects the way in which actions of Jesus and of the Father were so closely identified as to be attributable to either.
“God our Father” together with the two participial clauses that modify God highlight both his authority and his benevolence. This depiction of the Father God added to the image of a Jesus who is both Lord and Christ sets the stage for prayer. It presents God as one who has both the power and the inclination to help his children. God is a Father “who loved … and gave.” These two participles share a single article, indicating that they should be understood as a compound statement, perhaps referring to a single reality. That they are aorists makes it unlikely that Paul was thinking of God’s constant love and care for his children. Rather, Paul probably had in mind God’s loving gift of his Son Jesus (cf. Rom 5:8; 8:39). It is that which was given by grace and which provides hope and eternal comfort to believers. A Father God who would demonstrate such love is one to whom his children can pray with confidence.
“Eternal encouragement” (“comfort,” NASB) may refer to the comfort God gives his people on a regular and unending basis, but the aorist tense of the participle “gave” weighs against this. Considering the eschatological focus of the larger passage, what God gave was assurance regarding the character of the age to come. The day of the Lord brings distress and condemnation for those who have rejected the truth (v. 12). But for the followers of Jesus it brings deliverance as they share in the glory of the Lord (v. 14). At the same time, the assurance of eternal comfort also provides temporal encouragement. “Hope” (only here in 2 Thess) also looks to the future in Paul’s writings (cf. 1 Thess 2:19; 4:13; 5:8). The phrase “good hope” was used by non-Christian writers to refer to life after death. God gave believers “eternal encouragement and good hope,” not on the basis of merit but “by his grace.” Thus Paul directed his prayer to a God of love who had given salvation by grace to those who had not earned it. Who better to pray to than a God of power, love, and grace?
2:17 The two main verbs expressing Paul’s prayer are in v. 17. He prayed that the Lord Jesus and God the Father might “encourage” (parakalesai) and “strengthen” (stērixai) the Thessalonians. Paul used infinitives of these same two verbs (in reverse order) in 1 Thess 3:2 to describe Timothy’s goals in his mission to the church. “Encourage” translates a verbal form of the noun in the earlier phrase “eternal encouragement.” This verb, however, in conjunction with the prayer for God to strengthen “every good deed and word” of the church, looks to the present condition of the believers rather than their eschatological hope. In their present distress (1:5–7) and alarm (2:2), the church needed divine encouragement. In the context of encouraging the doing of a task, parakalesai has the connotation of gentle and positive urging. Encouraging the “heart” does not stress the doing of a task but rather the giving of comfort. “Heart” was used of various facets of a person, the center of the emotion, or will, or thoughts. In this context “heart” is balanced by “deed and word” in the following clause. If the latter signify the external expressions of a person, the former (“heart”) likely was intended to signify the internal life in general without drawing any finer distinctions.
The second request is that God might “strengthen” the church “in every good deed and word.” “Strengthen” in this context may mean “to confirm as good or to establish as a pattern.” In effect Paul’s prayer affirmed the good deeds and words of the church and asked that such should continue as a consistent pattern of behavior. The strengthening or establishing of the church was a concern also expressed in the prayer in 1 Thess 3:11–13 and is the church’s appropriate response to the challenges and persecutions intended to weaken or destroy it (cf. 3:3; 1 Thess 3:2). Paul did not pray for the elimination of the wicked who afflicted the church. That was a task to be accomplished at the parousia. But in the midst of wickedness he prayed that the church would persist in “every good deed and word.” The two terms together are intentionally broad and nonspecific, encompassing all Christian behavior. A church certain of its future in Christ (v. 16), at peace within itself, and well established in Christian patterns of belief and behavior (v. 17) is a church that can stand firm (v. 15) in the face of error and opposition.


Martin, D. M. (2001). Vol. 33: 1, 2 Thessalonians (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (250–260). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

---------- Post added at 09:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 PM ----------

Sorry that I don't have the Bruce or Stott

 

[Notthemama1984]

I also have these commentaries if you want something from them......
View attachment 2121

 

[py3ak]

Thanks, Boliver! That's very helpful.

 

[Notthemama1984]

You are welcome, friend.