But we ought to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of [the] Lord, that God has chosen you from [the] beginning to salvation in sanctification of [the] Spirit and belief of [the] truth
Paul has just described a world deceived and judged for refusing the truth. Now he turns and thanks God for the Thessalonians. One sentence holds God's eternal choice, the Spirit's work, and the believer's faith. How far back does that choice reach? And why does Paul name sanctification before belief?
Paul places this thanksgiving here on purpose. Just above, he described people who welcomed the lie. These believers are their opposite, so they need not fear the day of judgment.
The day of the Lord, then, will be a day of judgment, and those whom antichrist has deceived — willingly deceived — will be caught in it. But what were the people Paul wrote to? They were beloved of the Lord. God chose them from the beginning to salvation... How marked is the difference between them and those in Christendom who will be swept into the coming judgment. Could the beloved of the Lord be objects of His unsparing judgment? The refutation of the error was complete.
William Kelly takes "the beginning" as far back as it can go. He also weighs the verb "chose" itself.
The context appears to decide that we must take "from the beginning" in the largest sense. It does not mean only from the start of the gospel, or from Christ's appearing on earth. It means from of old, from everlasting. "Chose" is also somewhat unusual here: not so much chose out from others as chose for Himself. This is sweet and comforting to a believer whom true repentance has made nothing in his own eyes. If human nature takes it up, it turns into pride and hardness without a drop of real consolation.
Commentators differ on how far back "the beginning" reaches. Leslie M. Grant ties the phrase to the time the Son of God appeared on earth. He reads the stress differently: "it seems the emphasis is that there could be no change in their position, for they had been chosen long before." Greek copies differ here by a single letter, and the ESV follows the other reading: "as the firstfruits." William Kelly rejects that reading: "Of what could the Thessalonian saints be firstfruits? Not even of Macedonia, since the Philippians were earlier."
Paul names the Spirit's setting apart first, then faith. This is not holiness of life growing after conversion. It is what makes a sinner into a saint at the start.
Sanctification of the Spirit means that mighty separating act of the Holy Spirit that first sets a soul apart to God in a living way. And so faith of the truth goes with it. Practical holiness is the consequence... Here it is rather the great principle and power that goes with conversion to God, so generally overlooked... It is that work which meets a man while he is a sinner, and by grace makes him a saint. People are willing to allow it afterwards in practice, but are afraid to own it at the starting point.
Scripture uses the word "sanctification" in two other senses too. Keeping them apart clears up much confusion.
Salvation is in view here. God accomplishes it through sanctification of the Spirit (His internal work in the soul) and belief of the truth (the soul's response to Him in faith)... Sanctification by the blood of Christ is positional. God sets the believer apart in his position by the shedding of the blood of Christ (Heb. 10). Sanctification by the truth (John 17) is progressive, dealing with a daily, practical setting apart of the saints to God.
The verse has three layers: what God intended, what He produced, and how He did it.
"Chosen you to salvation" — that is the object God purposed in Himself. "In sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" — that is the effect produced in the elect, in keeping with God's purpose. "Our gospel" — that is the means God used to produce that effect.
What does this choice mean for the person who believes? W. T. P. Wolston answers with a picture of a gate.
Suppose I go up to a gate. On it I find written, "Whoever will may enter." I say, "That's free enough; I'll go inside." "But how do you know it means you?" It says "whoever" — that means me, and anybody. I touch the door and it swings open. I enter, and the door closes. On the inside I see written, "Whoever gets inside this door never gets out." Election secures this. God takes good care that the soul who believes His word will never be lost... The two things, sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, are inseparable; where one is, the other must be.
- Chosen — God's choice runs back before time, and the verb means chosen for Himself. It comforts a humbled believer, but human nature turns it into pride.
- Separated — the Spirit's act meets a man while he is a sinner and sets him apart to God. Practical holiness follows later.
- Believing — the Spirit's work and faith are inseparable. Where one is, the other must be.
- Called — salvation is God's purpose. Sanctification and faith are the effect. The gospel is the means He used.
- Secure — the beloved of the Lord are the opposite of the deceived. They cannot be objects of the judgment Paul has just described.
whereto he has called you by our glad tidings, to [the] obtaining of [the] glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul has just described a world that believes the lie and comes under judgment. Now he turns to the Thessalonians and traces the opposite path: God chose them, the gospel reached them, and a glory that belongs to Christ waits for them.
The words "to this" tie the verse back to God's choosing in verse 13. One writer shows how a purpose formed before time reached these people inside time.
So, if we have God's purpose in Himself before time, we have the object He proposed for the saints for eternity. He chose them from the beginning for salvation. He brought this about in time for the saints, in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
Many people stop at forgiveness. The same message that announces rescue also announces a destination.
It is clear then that believers are not only "saved" but "called." We find salvation through faith in Christ and His finished work. Then we are too often content to rest in the knowledge that our sins are forgiven and that we are safe from judgment and hell. We are slow to see that the same gospel that brings the good news of salvation from judgment proclaims the call of God to the glory of Christ.
The phrase is unusual — a preacher calling the message his own. It points to the fullness of what he had to preach.
The glory of Christ on high is the answer to His humiliation below, whatever else may follow. So the apostle speaks of "my gospel," and "our gospel" where he names his companions along with himself. God gave him the gospel of the glory of Christ to preach in all its height of blessedness. So there is danger in letting it slip, if someone who once knew it starts to preach grace at a lower level only, true as that lower message may be.
The word translated "obtaining" appears in other New Testament passages. Its root meaning is worth knowing.
In three other passages the word is found much more in its primary meaning of what remains over, is saved, reserved for oneself, and acquired and preserved. We have it applied in this way to salvation in 1 Thess. 5:9, and to glory in 2 Thess. 2:14; and in Heb. 10:39 to the contrast between those who "have faith and preserve their souls" and those who "shrink back and are destroyed."
Note whose glory is named. One writer sets it beside a promise made to Israel.
"God has called us into His own kingdom and glory"; "To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." But to Israel the word is, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you" — not that they obtain the glory of the Lord. In a word, their glory is distinct from the Lord's glory; that glory is something outside them, but the glory of the church is identical with that of the Lord.
So who will the day of the Lord fall on? Paul answers by contrast.
The day of the Lord, then, will be a day of judgment, and it will sweep up those whom the antichrist has deceived — willingly deceived. But what were those really to whom Paul wrote? They were beloved of the Lord. God chose them from the beginning for salvation, by sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth, and called them by the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. How marked is the difference between them and those in the Christian world who will be swept into the coming judgment, as the contrast between verses 10-12 and 13, 14 shows. Could the beloved of the Lord be objects of His unsparing judgment? The refutation of the error was complete.
A calling can be forgotten. One writer weighs the care people give their daily work against the care they give this.
Every Christian has been called by the gospel to the obtaining of eternal glory, and that glory is as sure as the love that brought the gospel to us. But by that same gospel we have been called into Christian fellowship, and our business is to attend to this with all our hearts. Yet many Christians never give it a thought. They are most careful about all the obligations their earthly jobs lay on them; but this, the calling of God, their divine calling, seems to have escaped their notice.
- Chosen — God formed the purpose before time. The call is that purpose reaching a person in time.
- Called — the gospel does two things at once: it saves from judgment and it calls us to the glory of Christ. We are slow to hear the second half.
- By the gospel — the call comes through a preached message. The message Paul carried was the gospel of the glory of Christ on high.
- To glory — "obtaining" means something reserved and kept. The glory is not a light shining on us from outside; it is the Lord's own.
- Therefore secure — the chain runs from God's choice to Christ's glory. The day of judgment cannot fall on those the Lord loves.
So then, brethren, stand firm, and hold fast the instructions which ye have been taught, whether by word or by our letter.
Paul has just told these believers that God chose them for salvation and called them to obtain the glory of Christ. The words "so then" turn that into a command, which raises two questions: what must they hold, and why command people God has already secured?
The command rests on the promise of glory in the verses just before it. One writer meets the obvious objection: Scripture aims its calls at these very people.
Speculative men wonder and judge in their small way. Why, they ask, should the apostle call the saints to hold firmly to the truth in their ways and words, when he had just acknowledged that God called them to obtain the glory of our Lord? The mere mind of man regards this as logical inconsistency... why, they reason, should those elected to salvation need any further urging? Is not all sure and settled on divine grounds? But it is the elect, the blessed and happy children of God who know it, whom Scripture everywhere urges to watchfulness and prayer, to reading the word of God and every other means of spiritual well-being. We never find such calls made to the unbelieving and the fearful.
The Greek word behind "traditions" is the sticking point. Writers agree on its sense. It does not mean customs passed down through generations. It means teaching that a teacher delivered to those he taught.
As to "tradition," no one who has read the Greek Testament can doubt its sense for a moment. In the New Testament the word means a doctrine delivered, not handed down... So tradition in the popular sense is in contrast with Scripture; but in the passage you refer to (2 Thess. 2:15) it is either the direct word of prophecy in the church there, or the apostle's epistle. Nothing handed down in the church is secured by later authority. The saints were to keep the doctrine they had been taught — the body of saints.
Because of that, several writers prefer a plainer English word. One notes the choice directly:
It will be noted that the word "instruction" is used in the above verse rather than "traditions," for the former is more accurate.
Paul names two routes by which his teaching reached them: his voice and his letter. Only one of those routes stays open to us, and one writer draws out what that means.
In view of this the word to us is "stand fast." We are to hold the apostolic "traditions" or "instructions." The Thessalonian believers received these instructions in two ways: by word of mouth and by letter. We have them in one way only. Let us therefore take the more earnest heed to the apostolic writings.
Having the finished book is an advantage, yet it does not lessen the need for the command:
We are better off than they, as we now have the whole completed word of God to which we may always refer, but may we not say we need the exhortation to hold fast more than they did? Thank God we have equally the abiding Spirit.
Paul names both the spoken and the written teaching. Some use this verse to claim an authority alongside Scripture. One writer answers that the traditions in view were definite truth the church already had, not a vague spirit carried along by a community.
Beyond a doubt the delivered instructions cover spoken and written teaching. They leave no room for a vague sense that works powerfully but almost unnoticed on a community from age to age. The traditions which the apostle urges the church to hold fast were truth they knew and had (1 Cor. 11:2)... The theory of a dual rule of faith betrays its real character as a rival of Scripture... For this supposes a defect in Scripture, and claims, though human, nothing less than divine honour.
Their protection was not new information but attention to what they already had.
They were to hold fast the "traditions" or doctrinal "instruction" they had been taught. It came by "spoken word" when Paul was with them, and by "our letter" when he was away. They did not yet know all the truth, but it was foolish to let what they did not know disturb what they did know. Their safety lay in the Word of God received either by voice through apostolic lips, or in writing through apostolic pens.
- Chosen — God's choice and call to glory are the reason to stand firm, never a substitute for standing.
- Taught — "traditions" here means the teaching the apostle delivered to them, not customs the church built up later. "Instruction" is the clearer word.
- Delivered — that teaching came two ways, by voice and by letter. We have it one way, in the apostolic writings, so we heed them the more earnestly.
- Held — the traditions were truth the church knew and had. That rules out any second authority set beside Scripture.
- Standing — what Paul had already taught them was enough to keep them. The danger was letting what they did not yet know unsettle what they did.
But our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us, and given [us] eternal consolation and good hope by grace,
The chapter has just described a coming deception and the ruin of those who refuse the truth. Paul turns from that dark scene to prayer, naming two Persons and what they have already given — love, comfort that never runs out, and a hope that rests on grace.
Paul has told the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold fast. He does not leave the command alone. A prayer follows it, addressed to the Lord and to the Father.
Paul gives thanks for the assured blessing of the Thessalonians. He sets it against the everlasting ruin of those who abandon Christ and Christianity. Then comes not only an exhortation to stand firm in the truth of God given to them, but a prayer suited to their need. Christ came out from God to sinful people on earth, and went to God in heaven after He accomplished redemption. He revealed God as our Father, while He Himself remains our Lord.
The reason lies in what the believers were up against.
The Apostle has brought before us the salvation and calling of God, and he has urged us to "stand firm" and to "hold fast." But he realises that this is not possible in our own strength. We cannot enter into the calling, or stand firm in the presence of all the power of the enemy, on our own. So he turns to prayer.
Every title in the verse carries weight. One writer walks through them one at a time.
When you have "our," you have what appeals to the affections… and "Himself" is the beautiful addition in Luke 24. "Jesus Himself drew near and went with them." "Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, Peace to you!"… The apostle adds, "God, even our Father." In "God" we have all power. "My God will supply every need of yours." In "our Father," we remember how He spoke when He rose from the dead on that first day of the week, putting that relationship first: "My Father and your Father."
The verse joins the Son and the Father as one source of the comfort asked for. Kelly draws a conclusion from that.
Here again the gift of everlasting encouragement does not silence the prayer that He may encourage His children's hearts. It draws that prayer out and strengthens it. Our Lord, and God our Father, are remarkably identified in cheering and strengthening us now, as in 1 Thessalonians 3:11. It is a special way of speaking. It can only be explained by the eternal relation of the Father and the Son, and their unity of nature in the Godhead.
The verbs "loved" and "gave" look back at something settled. Grant links that finished work to what is asked for next.
Paul uses the entire title "our Lord Jesus Christ" here, and "God, even our Father." It is as though to press upon us the blessed fullness of supply that is ours in communion with the Father and the Son. For he first speaks of the eternal provision made for us — His love and everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. And the certainty of this is the basis of their practical comfort. It also establishes them in every good word and work.
The comfort is eternal for a reason. It has to last the whole journey.
There may be many sorrows to meet on the road, but there is "everlasting consolation" at the end of the journey. We may have to pass through difficult times, but we are passing on to the fulfilment of the "good hope." False teachers may seek to distress and distract the saints, but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, can give comfort.
Kelly sets the verse against the dark scene before it.
The hardening that comes as judgement, the powerful working of the enemy, and the day of the Lord were to fall only on those who despised Christ and renounced the gospel. Everlasting comfort and good hope through grace belonged to those who believed. So the apostle asked that they might be established now in every good work and word.
- Loved. The verse starts with what God has already done, not with what we must achieve. He is the One who loved us.
- Given. Out of that love came an eternal provision: comfort and hope, given through grace. That certainty is the basis of everything practical that follows.
- Lasting. Everlasting means it covers the whole journey — sorrows on the road, difficult times, false teachers.
- Sourced. One prayer names the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father together as its source. That way of speaking rests on the eternal relation of Father and Son.
- Steadying. No one can stand firm in his own strength, so Paul does not only command. He prays. The gift already given makes the prayer bolder, not needless.
encourage your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word.
Paul has just told the Thessalonians to stand firm and hold fast. He then stops giving orders and starts praying, because he knows what he is asking of them.
The Apostle has brought before us the salvation and calling of God. He has urged us to "stand firm" and to "hold fast." But he realises this: if we are to enter into the calling, and stand firm against all the power of the enemy, it will not be possible in our own strength. So he turns to prayer. He turns to our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, the One who is going to deal with all evil and put an end to every opposing power when He appears at His coming.
Paul prays to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God our Father in one breath. One writer sees in this a closeness that only the eternal relationship of Father and Son can explain.
Our Lord, and God our Father, are remarkably identified in thus cheering and strengthening us now, as in 1 Thess. 3:11: a special way of speaking, inexplicable unless it is grounded on the eternal relation of the Father and the Son, and their unity of nature in the Godhead.
Each title carries its own weight, and the little word "our" runs through them all.
When you have "our," you have what appeals to the affections… Coming back to our verse (2:16) the apostle adds, "God, even our Father." In "God" we have all power. In "our Father," we remember how He spoke when He rose from the dead on that first day of the week, putting that relationship first, "My Father and your Father." He has loved us — how deeply, who can tell? He has given us a consolation that never passes but lasts for ever, and good hope through grace. Then comes "comfort (or encourage) your hearts, and establish you in every good work and word" — for such is the order.
Verse 16 lists gifts already in hand; verse 17 asks for something present and daily. The order matters, and it stands in deliberate contrast to the doom of those described earlier in the chapter.
The hardening in judgement, the strong work of the enemy and the day of the Lord were to fall only on those who despised Christ and rejected the gospel. Everlasting comfort and good hope through grace belonged to those who believed. So he asked, on their behalf, for present establishing in every good work and word.
The permanent supply is what makes the daily strengthening possible.
He first speaks of the eternal provision made for us — His love and everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. And the certainty of this is the basis of their practical comfort and establishment in every good word and work. Valuing these eternal, unchangeable blessings would surely have a powerful effect on this practical fellowship and progress, in both word and work.
These believers were suffering for their faith. Paul points them to God, who has already given consolation that lasts.
So, when writing to the Thessalonian saints, who were suffering "persecution and tribulation," he can commit them to God "Who has given us everlasting consolation," to "comfort" their hearts.
The second half of the prayer reaches into everyday actions and everyday words. It asks for more than we can manage on our own.
The apostle desires that grace may cover all the path that lies between, with that divine encouragement. It suits both His past goodness and His people's exposure to suffering and sorrow. It suits them all the more because God calls them to bear a steady testimony to Christ, inside and out, in every good work and word. A wonderful call, when we think of God and His Son on the one hand, and of ourselves on the other! Who is equal to such a task? Our sufficiency comes from God.
Comfort alone would have left a real problem untouched. Some had stopped working, and the cause may have been a twisted view of the Lord's return.
He had to admonish as well as comfort, and to pray not only that their hearts might be comforted, but established in every good word and work. For some of them had stopped working with their hands. This may have been the fruit of a corrupt view of the truth they were best known for — the coming of the Lord. For it is Satan's way, if he cannot rob us of truth, to corrupt it while it is still in our hand.
- Given. The prayer rests on gifts God has already given: love, everlasting consolation, good hope. All of it comes by grace. None of it fades.
- Asked. Standing firm is beyond our own strength. So Paul stops giving orders and prays, to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and to God our Father.
- Comforted. The first thing Paul asks for is comfort for hearts under persecution. The consolation God has already given is what steadies them.
- Established. The second thing he asks for is daily and practical: a steady witness to Christ, inside and out, in a life we cannot manage alone.
- Work and word. Together they meet the real problem at Thessalonica. A twisted view of the Lord's coming had led some to stop working with their hands.
For the rest, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also with you;
Paul has just prayed for the Thessalonians. Now he asks them to pray for him. What he asks first is not safety for himself but progress for the message. That raises two questions: what does it mean for God's word to run, and what does it mean for it to be glorified?
Paul is thinking of his own preaching work, yet he does not describe it in personal terms.
Having prayed for them at the end of chapter 2, Paul now requests their prayers for him. He puts it in an impersonal way, but he is clearly thinking of his own ministry, shared with Silas and Timothy. But he calls it "the word of the Lord" not "our words". We would all do well to follow Paul's example here when we report on our own service.
Paul's commission came directly from Christ, without any human chain of authority. That makes his appeal to brand-new believers all the more striking.
God formed this man and led him to break even the appearance of a chain of succession, in official position and in the revelation of the truth. Yet he earnestly asks for the prayers of the youngest believers, his own newly born children in the faith. He wants them praying for his world-wide work, surrounded by grave and frequent dangers. On one side, no one and nothing must come between the risen Christ and His servant sent on the mission of His grace. On the other, he is the most independent of men in his mission, so that no mist may hide the call of Christ or the message of His love. He is also the most dependent of all men on God's guidance and support, and so the most eager for the sustaining prayers of God's people.
Older translations read "have free course" or "run" where the ESV has "speed ahead". The picture belongs to the theme of both letters to this church.
Paul begs the young Christians at Thessalonica to pray that the Word of the Lord may have free course — that it may run. Both letters to the Thessalonians are about the coming again of the Lord Jesus. Remember that, and you will see how striking and fitting this picture is. The King is coming, and His herald runs before Him announcing the fact. The Word of the Lord is the herald.
Paul asks for two things, not one, and the second is not guaranteed by the first. A message can travel fast and still leave people untouched.
The word of the Lord might make rapid progress without any deep result in people, and without glory to Him who is its source. The apostle would have them pray that it should be glorified, just as it was among themselves.
Here is what that depth looks like in practice:
When sinners are saved by grace, are added as members to the body of Christ and walk in the Spirit, then the Word is glorified.
Paul does not ask them to imagine an outcome. He points them to themselves as the standard for what he wants prayed elsewhere.
The Thessalonians were to pray for Paul himself, not only about his personal safety but about the work entrusted to him. Acts 17 shows how much prayer for his safety was needed then, yet he gave the first place to the work. The word had had full course among the Thessalonians, and so it had been glorified in the wonderful results it produced in them. Paul asked prayer that it might be like this wherever he went. He prayed constantly for his converts but he was also not ashamed to ask for their prayers for himself. The most advanced saint or servant may well be thankful for the prayers of the youngest convert or the humblest believer.
Praying this way also does something for the ones who pray:
What could strengthen, lift, or purify the believers themselves more than this? Only being taken up with Christ Himself. And that very thing was greatly helped as their hearts joined with what is always so near His heart.
If the word running is worth an apostle's request, it is worth a place at the top of ours.
To contend for the faith, to hold forth the word of life, and to pray that the word of the Lord may prosper — this is our privilege and first responsibility. Every other claim is insignificant beside it.
- Not "our words." Paul asks prayer for the word of the Lord — a model for anyone reporting their own service.
- Runs. The word is a herald racing ahead of a coming King, announcing His arrival. Speed matters in a letter about His return.
- Glorified. Speed alone can leave people unchanged. The word is glorified when sinners are saved and believers walk in the Spirit.
- As with you. Paul points to the Thessalonians themselves as the pattern he wants prayed for elsewhere. The most gifted servant asks the youngest converts.
- Ours to pray. Praying for the word's progress lifts the heart out of self and onto what is nearest to Christ. It is our first responsibility.
and that we may be delivered from bad and evil men, for faith [is] not [the portion] of all.
In the previous verse Paul asked them to pray that the word would run freely. Now he adds a second request: that God would rescue him from men set against him — because faith is not something everyone has. (Older translations read "unreasonable and wicked men"; the ESV has "wicked and evil men".)
The request has two halves, one positive and one negative. Paul puts both into the hands of young believers.
As in the first letter, the apostle again asks for their prayers. First he asks for the positive blessing of the Word of God which they proclaimed, that it might have free course to go forward and be glorified. Then, on the negative side, he asks that they might be delivered from the oppression of unreasonable and wicked men, for all men had not faith — as indeed his earlier reference to "the son of perdition" had fully shown.
after But it is precious to think of the apostle valuing the prayers of these young saints so highly: he well knew that God delights to work by such means.
Note which concern he puts first. Note also whose prayers he asks for.
The history recorded in Acts 17 shows us how greatly prayer for his safety was needed at this point, yet he gave the first place to the work. ... He prayed constantly for his converts, but he was also not ashamed to ask for their prayers for himself. The most advanced saint or servant may well be thankful for the prayers of the youngest convert or the humblest believer.
Kelly looks first at the word itself, then at who these opposers were.
The apostle does ask their prayers "that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all have not faith." The word here translated "unreasonable," ἄτοποι (atopoi), originally meant "out of place." From there it came to mean strange, astonishing, and in a moral sense worthless — saying and doing what was unsuitable and out of the way. ... Nor do these adversaries mean Jews only, though these were prominent and active in bitter unbelief. Faith is natural to no sinner's heart; it is ever of grace.
Their unreason and their unbelief belong together.
He needs their prayers himself. He is charged with that gospel whose power they had themselves proved, and he asks that it might run and be glorified in many like themselves. This is despite the opposition of unreasoning and evil men, in whom true reason would have led to the faith they had not.
Opposition is not a sign that the gospel has failed.
The Apostle gladly admits that the gospel was glorified in these saints. But he saw the opposition of the world, and knew that he himself was a very special target of the attacks of unreasonable and wicked men. So he asks for their prayers, that he may be delivered from such men. ... Still, a gospel glorified in this way will raise the opposition of wicked men, who find in these changed lives a condemnation of their own lives.
Kelly makes a related observation: adversaries are as certain as an open door, and the servant of God is not to measure his standing by who is on his side.
Many adversaries never fail to appear, just as surely as grace gives an open and effective door for the testimony of Christ. Never does the apostle, never did a spiritual man, boast of the numbers or the position, of the wealth or the intelligence, of his supporters: there is no surer sign of the world, nor of Satan's snare, among those who take the ground of faith.
Greek has two words for "from." The one used here points to hostile people, not to a situation.
ἀπό (apo) means aloof or away from. ... It supposes some persons or circumstances hostile to their interest, not allowed to act upon them or produce the effects of their malice, or which took them away from them. With ἀπό (apo) they are looked at as hostile beings; with ἐκ (ek) it is a state. ... In 2 Thessalonians 3:2 it is from unreasonable and wicked men. This is evident.
Darby draws the practical conclusion. Paul expected such men, and he knew where his safety lay.
He could not but expect to find men unreasonable and full of enmity, for faith was not the portion of all. It was only a case for the protecting hand of God.
- Faith asked — Paul asks two things: that the word run freely, and that God rescue him from hostile men. He put the work first, and he asked young converts to pray for him.
- Faith opposed — changed lives honour the gospel, and they also condemn the lives of wicked men, who then oppose it.
- Faith absent — the older word "unreasonable" meant "out of place," and then morally worthless. True reason would have brought such men to the faith they lack.
- Faith given — faith is natural to no sinner's heart. It is always of grace. And the opposers are not from one nation only.
- Faith protected — the danger comes from hostile people. God holds them off, so their malice cannot take effect. It is a case for His protecting hand.
But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and keep [you] from evil.
The Thessalonians were young believers under pressure. Paul has just asked them to pray for rescue from "wicked and evil men," adding that "not all have faith." Now he turns from what men are to what the Lord is. The weight of the verse rests on one word: faithful.
The word Paul uses comes from the same root as "faith" itself.
In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, this word comes from the same root as "faith." It means being true to oneself and to one's own nature. It also means being true to any promise given and any trust committed. In various connections it is often applied to God Himself... The Lord Jesus also is faithful. He is "a faithful high priest" and "a faithful and true witness."
Verse 2 ends with a fact about people. Verse 3 answers it with a fact about the Lord.
He could not help expecting to meet men who were unreasonable and full of hatred, for faith was not the portion of all. It was simply a case for the protecting hand of God. As for them, he counted on the faithfulness of the Lord for this very purpose.
Our safety does not rest on the strength of our trust. It rests on God, and it holds when our grip is shaky.
His faithfulness answers to the faith of His own, however feeble it may be. His face is against those who do evil, and His eyes are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. So He would strengthen the Thessalonian saints and guard them from evil. Faith reasons this way, and it is always entitled to do so. No ground could be stronger, for it runs from God to man. Men are prone to reason from man to God, to their disappointment, shame, and sorrow. For our Lord Himself warned His own: "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." They sleep when they should pray. They may run away, or even deny Him, where they ought to stand and confess.
"Establish" is not a promise of an easier road. The pressure the Thessalonians were already under becomes the very tool in the Lord's hand.
These believers also knew that not all men have faith, for they had suffered persecution themselves. Satan's cruel efforts in this way were meant to drive the saints back into evil. But the apostle shows them that they can depend fully on the Lord. He was faithful; He would use the persecution to establish them; He would keep them from evil. A real work of God would not fail.
The two halves of the verse are linked. Establishing means grounding in the truth, and that grounding keeps evil out.
If the word of the Lord is to be glorified, we need to be established in the truth. Paul is confident that the Lord, in His faithfulness, will establish the saints. Wicked men may oppose, but the Lord is faithful to His own. Our safeguard against error, and against every form of evil, is found in being grounded in the truth. If the Lord establishes us in the truth, we shall be kept from the evil. Our care, then, should be to pursue the truth. "I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil" (Romans 16:19).
The keeping is real. But it does not work apart from the believer's own state of soul.
We do not think the promise, "The LORD will keep you from all evil," applies apart from the state of the soul. As said before, the living link between the soul and God is faith, and God works through it to bless and protect the believer. Faith can therefore take up this word of comfort and rest on it in the darkest days, when Satan's power is on display all around... All these Scriptures show us God's care over His people. They show how hateful the thought of evil is to Him, whose eyes are too pure to look at wrongdoing.
The same writer sets Paul's assurance beside the Lord's own prayer for His disciples — "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one" — and draws the practical conclusion: "How eager we should be, then, to answer to His mind in this, all the more since both His love and His power are engaged to keep us undefiled as we walk in His ways."
- Faithful. The word means being true to one's own nature, to every promise given, to every trust committed. The verse rests on God's character, not on our performance.
- Contrast. Verse 2 says not all have faith. Verse 3 answers it: faith may fail in men, but faithfulness never fails in the Lord.
- Direction. The reasoning runs from God to man, not from man to God. So His faithfulness meets even the feeblest faith, in people who sleep when they should pray.
- Establishing. Satan meant the persecution to drive the saints back into evil. The Lord uses it to make them firm. The establishing comes through the pressure, not instead of it.
- Keeping. Grounding in the truth is the safeguard against evil. Faith takes up the promise as we walk in His ways, and both His love and His power keep us there.
But we trust in the Lord as to you, that the things which we enjoin, ye both do and will do.
Paul has just asked the Thessalonians to pray, and pointed them to a faithful Lord. Now he speaks about them. He places his confidence "in the Lord," and it covers both what they do now and what they will keep doing.
Paul does not say he is confident in the Thessalonians. His confidence rests on the Lord, and on a work of God in them that will not fail:
A real work of God would not fail, and Paul was sure it was real in the Thessalonians. His confidence about them was in the Lord. He was sure they would be diligent in following the commandments the Lord's servants had left with them, and would not forget those commandments now that the servants were no longer there.
The Lord's servants were no longer with them. Obedience had to carry on once the teachers were gone.
Such confidence grows out of praying for other believers. It holds even where there is much to correct:
Praying for God's people gives a person the power to see all the good in them... If we prayed more for them, we would have more joy in them, and more courage about them. It is always wrong to lose courage about God's people... The Lord is always there, and love cannot fail. So we can count on it with joy, comfort and courage. Even when Paul had said to the Galatians, "I am afraid of you," he soon looked to Christ and added, "I have confidence in you through the Lord." He kept them under Christ's eye for a blessing.
The word is strong: Paul commands. What he writes is not advice to weigh up. God's own will stands behind it:
But we need to see this. Whatever word God speaks to us must take the form of a commandment. It is the expression of His holy will for us, and anyone who refuses to obey it can find no mercy. So the writings of the apostles to the churches were to be acknowledged as "the commandments of the Lord" (1 Cor. 14:37).
The verse makes two claims, not one. "Doing" looks at the present. "Will do" looks ahead, and only trust in the Lord can say it:
Obedience to the instructions of Scripture should mark the Christian company. It is true that the Lord alone can establish us in the truth and keep us from evil. Still, on our side there is to be the readiness to obey... We may thank the Lord when His people do obey. But only deep confidence in the Lord will let us say that they "will do," and so keep on obeying. We need not only present obedience, but obedience that continues, come what may. It is good for us to be found among those who "both do and will do."
A command can sound like extra weight on people already under pressure. In fact obedience is where the soul finds rest, and self-will is the real danger:
But if the end is this sure, grace makes the way plain, the yoke easy, and the burden light. The obedience of Christ is the law of liberty. Where the eye is fixed on Him alone, His path is the only question. So the apostle has no doubt that the believers he writes to want to do the Lord's will as much as he wants to make it known... As children of God we find rest for our souls day by day — not in self-will, which is our danger, but in simple-hearted subjection to Him and confidence in Him.
- Ground — Paul's confidence is "in the Lord," not in the Thessalonians. It rests on a real work of God in them, which will not fail.
- Authority — what he commands is not opinion. The apostles' letters carry the commandments of the Lord, because they express His holy will.
- Doing — obedience starts now. A Christian company shows its readiness to obey what Scripture instructs.
- Will do — present obedience is not enough. The verse looks for obedience that continues, and only deep confidence in the Lord can say "will do" of anyone.
- Rest — such obedience is no weight. His yoke is easy, and the soul finds daily rest in subjection to Him rather than in self-will.
But the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of the Christ.
Paul has just said he is sure these believers will keep obeying. He closes with a prayer that the Lord Himself would steer their hearts in two directions: into God's love, and into Christ's patience.
The verse asks "the Lord" to do the directing. Some have argued that this means the Holy Spirit. One writer rejects that, and says what this directing does.
Verse 5 completes the paragraph. Could anything strengthen souls in obedience more powerfully, or keep them there? Some, in old times and in ours, argue that the Holy Spirit is the one set before us here. We need not follow them. There is no good ground for leaving the way Scripture normally uses the word. "The Lord" means here, as elsewhere, Jesus the Son of God. Paul wants Him to keep them straight, and He does it by drawing and fixing their affections in the love of God and in the patience of the Christ.
Paul had already commended these believers. He still prays this, because the heart does not stay pointed the right way on its own.
Verse 5 was already true of them in good measure. Even so, its truth needs pressing on them, and on us, again and again. God's own work does this, for our hearts tend to head in any other direction, and He has to call them back and point them the right way. His love is the proper home of our souls, where we should find the purest satisfaction, comfort and encouragement.
"The love of God" can mean two things: God's love to us, or our love to Him. One commentator argues that taking it as our love drains the phrase of its force.
Some tell us confidently that, since Paul wishes their hearts to be directed into it, this love must be ours — man's love to God. God's own love, they say, is out of the question. That may seem natural, but it destroys the force of the truth. The simple meaning is also the deepest, and the only true one. The apostle would have our hearts guided into the love of God: the love in which He has His being, plans His purposes, acts, and reveals Himself. This alone secures our love to Him, which is tiny at best next to that unfailing source and infinite fulness.
Older versions render the second phrase "the patient waiting for Christ." The ESV reads "the steadfastness of Christ" — His own patience, the waiting He is doing now.
Paul rejoiced in "the patience — or enduring constancy — of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." He prayed for them that "the Lord would direct their hearts into the love of God and the patient waiting for Christ," or, as a better reading gives it, "the patience of Christ." The thought is a moving one. He is waiting with patience for the hour of His supreme joy and for the glory of His universal throne, and we share His waiting time.
Once the heart is tuned to that, the long wait stops feeling like neglect.
He desired that the Lord Himself might direct their hearts into the enjoyment of God's love and into the patience of Christ. This is what we all want, and especially so seeing that the end of the age is upon us. If our hearts enter into Christ's patience, as He waits at God's right hand, and are tuned into sympathy with Him, we shall not chafe at what to us may seem a long delay. God's love will meanwhile be our enjoyed portion, and we shall be able to display it to others while passing through the world.
The letter was written against a rumour that the day of the Lord had already arrived. One writer notes the contrast in a single line — the men spreading that alarm had none of the patience Paul is praying for.
J. N. Darby puts it this way: "The teachers who told the Thessalonians, 'the day is present,' had not that patience." The delay itself has a purpose, and seeing it settles the soul.
The whole of the present interval is the time of Christ's patience, for He waits at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool... Unless we remember what kind of moment this is, the activity and power of evil will tempt us to be impatient. But bring in the thought of Christ waiting quietly, and the fact that the longer He waits the longer the day of grace runs, and our souls will take courage and find rest in fellowship with Him.
Since the directing is the Lord's work, ask Him for it instead of working up a feeling.
Do not imagine that you can work yourself up into some religious excitement that will make you more aware of His love to you... Tell Him everything. All about your coldness and hardness of heart and lack of interest in His things, and tell Him you want to know the love of God better. Do not say it all as a formal prayer, but let it be the cry of a heart yearning after Himself.
- Directed, not self-driven. The heart drifts on its own. Turning it toward God's love is God's own work, so Paul prays instead of only instructing.
- Directed by the Lord Jesus. Kelly reads "the Lord" here as Jesus the Son of God, who draws and fixes our affections. Nothing strengthens obedience more.
- Directed into His love. The same writer takes the phrase as God's love to us, not our love to Him — the unfailing source, not our small response to it.
- Directed into His patience. Christ waits at God's right hand for the hour of His joy, and believers share His waiting time.
- Directed, so not restless. Remember that Christ is waiting quietly, and that the longer He waits the longer the day of grace runs, and impatience gives way to rest.