King James Version
2 Thessalonians 3
18 verses with commentary
Request for Prayer
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: have: Gr. run
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you</strong>—<strong>Finally</strong> (<em>to loipon</em>, τὸ λοιπόν, 'for the rest') transitions to closing exhortations. Paul requests <strong>pray for us</strong> (<em>proseuchesthe peri hēmōn</em>, προσεύχεσθε περὶ ἡμῶν)—apostles need prayer support. The petition: <stron...
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III.
(1) **Finally.**—The practical portion is introduced in the same manner as in the First Epistle (1Thessalonians 4:1), “for the rest,” “as to what I have yet to say.”
**Pray for us.**—St. Chrysostom remarks: “Himself had prayed for them; now he asks them to pray for him.” How much of a Christian teacher’s power, increasing as time goes on, comes from the accumulation of intercession from his s...
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21. The Colossians are included in this general reconciliation (compare Ep 2:1, 12).
**sometime--**"once."
**alienated--**from God and salvation: objectively banished from God, through the barrier which God's justice interposed against your sin: subjectively estranged through the alienation of your own wills from God. The former is the prominent thought (compare Ro 5:10), as the second follows...
Read full commentary →And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. unreasonable: Gr. absurd
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<strong>And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith</strong>—the second prayer request: <strong>delivered from</strong> (<em>rhysthōmen apo</em>, ῥυσθῶμεν ἀπό, rescued from) <strong>unreasonable and wicked men</strong> (<em>atopōn kai ponērōn anthrōpōn</em>, ἀτόπων καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων). <em>Atopos</em> (ἄτοπος) means 'out of place, absurd, perverse,' ...
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(2) **And that we may be delivered.**—Compare Romans 15:31. This clause is an amplification of the word “may run along:” the impediments to the gospel progress were (except that all were overruled for good) such persecutions as these. St. Paul gives thanks for such deliverances in 2Corinthians 1:10; 2Timothy 3:11; 2Timothy 4:17. Perhaps (as St. Chrysostom suggests) one reason for here inviting the...
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**22. In the body of his flesh--**the element in which His reconciling sufferings had place. Compare Col 1:24, "afflictions of Christ in my flesh" (1Pe 2:24). Angels who have not a "body of flesh" are not in any way our reconciling mediators, as your false teachers assert, but He, the Lord of angels, who has taken our flesh, that in it He might atone for our fallen manhood.
**through death--**ra...
Read full commentary →But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
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<strong>But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil</strong>—<strong>But</strong> contrasts unfaithful humans (v. 2) with <strong>the Lord is faithful</strong> (<em>pistos de estin ho Kyrios</em>, πιστὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ Κύριος). God's <em>pistis</em> (πίστις, faithfulness/reliability) guarantees two actions: <strong>stablish you</strong> (<em>stērixei hymas</em>, στηρίξει ὑ...
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(3) **But the Lord is faithful.**—It must not be thought from this that the word “faith” in the previous verse meant “fidelity.” St. Paul, after his favourite manner, is playing upon two meanings of the word: “But whether men have faith or not, the Lord is faithful.” There is the same play of words in Romans 3:3. “The Lord” seems here to be used, as was said on 1Thessalonians 3:12, without distinc...
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**23. If--**"Assuming that," &c.: not otherwise shall ye be so presented at His appearing (Col 1:22).
**grounded--**Greek, "founded," "fixed on the foundation" (compare Note, see on Ep 3:17; Lu 6:48, 49).
**settled--**"steadfast." "Grounded" respects the foundation on which believers rest; "settled," their own steadfastness (1Pe 5:10). 1Co 15:58 has the same Greek.
**not moved away--**by...
Read full commentary →And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
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<strong>And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you</strong>—<strong>we have confidence in the Lord</strong> (<em>pepoithamen en Kyriō</em>, πεποίθαμεν ἐν Κυρίῳ)—trust anchored in Christ, not human ability. <strong>Touching you</strong> (<em>eph' hymas</em>, ἐφ' ὑμᾶς, concerning you): <strong>that ye both do and will do</strong> (<em...
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(4) **We have confidence in the Lord touching you.**—Rather, *We rely upon you in the Lord:* the clause forms the counterpart to the last verse. St. Chrysostom’s whole comment is worth transcription:—“God, saith he, is faithful, and having promised to save, save He assuredly will, but *as* He promised. And how did He promise? If we would be agreeable, and would hear Him; not unconditionally, nor w...
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**24. Who--**The oldest manuscripts omit "who"; then translate, "Now I rejoice." Some very old manuscripts, and the best of the Latin versions, and Vulgate, read as English Version. To enhance the glory of Christ as paramount to all, he mentions his own sufferings for the Church of Christ. "Now" stands in contrast to "I was made," in the past time (Col 1:23).
**for you--**"on your behalf," that ...
Read full commentary →And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. patient: or, patience of Christ
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<strong>And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ</strong>—Paul prays <strong>the Lord direct your hearts</strong> (<em>ho Kyrios kateuthynai hymas tas kardias</em>, ὁ Κύριος κατευθύναι ὑμᾶς τὰς καρδίας, 'may the Lord make straight your hearts'). The goal: <strong>into the love of God</strong> (<em>eis tēn agapēn tou Theou</em>, εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην το...
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(5) **The Lord.**—See Note on 2Thessalonians 3:3. The Person of the Blessed Trinity to whom this guidance immediately belongs is the Holy Ghost. So far, the Greek expositors are right who are agreed to consider this a proof of the Holy Ghost’s divinity. Their right conclusion is, however, drawn from wrong premise, for the name is not here to be taken as consciously intending Him. The ground for th...
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**25. am--**Greek, "I was made a minister": resuming Col 1:23, "whereof I Paul was made a minister."
**dispensation--**the stewardship committed to me to dispense in the house of God, the Church, to the whole family of believers, the goods of my Master (Lu 12:42; 1Co 4:1, 2; 9:17; Ep 3:2).
**which is given--**Greek, "which was given."
**for you--**with a view to you, Gentiles (Col 1:27; Ro 1...
Read full commentary →Warning Against Idleness
Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
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<strong>Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us</strong>—<strong>we command</strong> (<em>parangellomen</em>, παραγγέλλομεν, military order) <strong>in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ</strong> (Christ's authority, not Paul's). The command: <stron...
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(6) **We command you.**—The practical conclusion of the letter. These words take up the expression in 2Thessalonians 3:4, “Ye will do the things which (at any time) we command you; now the thing which we command you is this.”
**In the name of our Lord.**—To do anything in a person’s name seems to mean, in the first instance, the actual pronouncing of the name in the performance of the action—to do...
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**26. the mystery--**(See on Ep 1:9, 10; Ep 3:5-9). The mystery, once hidden, now revealed, is redemption for the whole Gentile world, as well as for the Jews, "Christ in you (Gentiles) the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).
**from ages--**"from," according to Alford, refers to time, not "hidden from": from the time of the ages; still what is meant is that the mystery was hidden from the beings living i...
Read full commentary →For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
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<strong>For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you</strong>—<strong>yourselves know</strong> (<em>autoi oidate</em>, αὐτοὶ οἴδατε) appeals to firsthand observation. <strong>How ye ought to follow us</strong> (<em>pōs dei mimeisthai hēmas</em>, πῶς δεῖ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς, 'how it is necessary to imitate us')—apostolic example provides the pattern.<b...
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(7) **For** justifies the assertion that they *had* received a better teaching. (Comp. 1Thessalonians 2:1; 1Thessalonians 4:9; 1Thessalonians 5:2.)
**To follow us.**—The word, of course, means “to imitate”; and the rather compressed expression seems to stand for something fuller, such as, “Yourselves know how you ought to live, for you have but to imitate us: you recollect not only a tradition, bu...
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**27. would--**rather as Greek, "willed," or "was pleased to make known." He resolves all into God's good pleasure and will, that man should not glory save in God's grace.
**what--**How full and inexhaustible!
**the riches of the glory of this mystery--**He accumulates phrase on phrase to enhance the greatness of the blessing in Christ bestowed by God on the Gentiles. Compare Col 2:3, "all the...
Read full commentary →Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you:
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<strong>Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you</strong>—<strong>neither did we eat any man's bread for nought</strong> (<em>oude dōrean arton ephagomen</em>, οὐδὲ δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγομεν, 'not free bread did we eat')—Paul took no handouts. <strong>But wrought with labour and travail</strong> (<em...
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(8) **Neither.**—They might have thought it possible to live on others without incurring so serious a charge as “disorderliness.”
**Eat any man’s bread.**—Still more literally, *eat bread from any man*—*i.e., *“from any man’s table.” St. Paul always becomes picturesque and vivid in a passage of this kind, and generally Hebraistic (“eat bread,” 2Samuel 9:7, and often). “For nought” is literally *at...
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**28. preach--**rather as Greek, "announce" or "proclaim."
**warning ... teaching--**"Warning" is connected with repentance, refers to one's conduct, and is addressed primarily to the heart. "Teaching" is connected with faith, refers to doctrines, and is addressed primarily to the intellect. These are the two heads of evangelical teaching.
**every ... every man--**without distinction of Jew or...
Read full commentary →Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.
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<strong>Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us</strong>—<strong>Not because we have not power</strong> (<em>ouch hoti ouk echomen exousian</em>, οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν)—Paul had apostolic <em>exousia</em> (ἐξουσία, authority/right) to receive financial support (1 Cor. 9:4-14). He voluntarily waived this right.<br><br>Purpose: <strong>to make our...
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(9) **Power.**—Rather, *authority, *which is power *plus* legitimacy, How jealously St. Paul guards the rights of the Apostolate! not for himself, but for the brethren of the Lord and Cephas (1Corinthians 9:5), perhaps for Silas and Timothy (1Thessalonians 2:6, Note), and for futurity. The unbounded claims of spiritual fatherhood seem copied from the Roman law of *patria potestas.* (Comp. Philemon...
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**29. Whereunto--**namely, "to present every man perfect in Christ."
**I also labour--**rather, "I labor also." I not only "proclaim" (English Version, "preach") Christ, but I labor also.
**striving--**in "conflict" (Col 2:1) of spirit (compare Ro 8:26). The same Greek word is used of Epaphras (Col 4:12), "laboring fervently for you in prayers": literally, "agonizing," "striving as in the agon...
Read full commentary →For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
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<strong>For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat</strong>—<strong>when we were with you</strong> recalls Paul's initial Thessalonian ministry. <strong>This we commanded</strong> (<em>touto parēngellomen</em>, τοῦτο παρηγγέλλομεν, gave authoritative order): <strong>if any would not work</strong> (<em>ei tis ou thelei ergazesthai</em>, ...
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(10) **For** **even.**—The sequence of thought is a little difficult, but it seems best to regard this “for” as connecting its sentence, not with 2Thessalonians 3:9, but rather with 2Thessalonians 3:6. It does not give the reason why St. Paul and his companions worked: “because we strictly enjoined you to work, and therefore could not be idle ourselves.” Rather, it justifies the reiteration of the...
Read full commentary →For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
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<strong>For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies</strong>—<strong>we hear</strong> (<em>akouomen</em>, ἀκούομεν) indicates reports reaching Paul. <strong>Some which walk among you disorderly</strong> (<em>ataktōs peripatountas</em>, ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντας, 'living out of rank')—they're present but unproductive. <strong>Working not at al...
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(11) **For we hear.**—Explaining how St. Paul came to speak upon the topic at all. Hitherto he has only been giving directions, without saying why. News had been brought back, no doubt, by the bearers of the First Epistle.
**Walk among you disorderly.**—A verbal repetition of 2Thessalonians 3:6. It is not quite the same as “some among you which walk disorderly,” for the words “among you” represent...
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CHAPTER 2 Col 2:1-23. His Strivings in Prayer for Their Steadfastness in Christ; from Whom He Warns Them Not to Be Led Away by False Wisdom.
**1. For--**He explains in what respect he "labored striving" (Col 1:29). Translate as Greek, "I wish you to know how great a conflict (the same Greek word as in Col 1:29, "agony of a conflict" of fervent, anxious prayer; not conflict with the false teachers...
Read full commentary →Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
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<strong>Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread</strong>—<strong>them that are such</strong> (the idle busybodies) receive both <strong>command</strong> (<em>parangellomen</em>, παραγγέλλομεν, military order) and <strong>exhort</strong> (<em>parakalōmen</em>, παρακαλοῦμεν, encourage/entreat). <strong>By our Lord ...
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(12) **We command.**—The fourth time the severe word is used in this very chapter. Perhaps “we order” might convey the meaning still more sharply. But immediately, lest severity provoke rebellion, he adds, “and we beseech,” alleging also the grounds on which he rests his appeal: “*in* our Lord”—*i.e., *“on the strength of our union in the Body of Christ.” (Comp. 1Thessalonians 4:1.)
**That with qu...
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2. Translate, "That their hearts may be comforted." The "their," compared with "you" (Col 2:4), proves that in Col 2:1 the words, "have not seen my face in the flesh," is a general designation of those for whom Paul declares he has "conflict," including the particular species, "you (Colossians) and them at Laodicea." For it is plain, the prayer "that their hearts may be comforted," must include in...
Read full commentary →But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. be: or, faint not
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<strong>But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing</strong>—<strong>But ye</strong> addresses the obedient majority, contrasted with the idle minority. <strong>Be not weary</strong> (<em>mē enkakēsēte</em>, μὴ ἐνκακήσητε, don't lose heart, don't give up) <strong>in well doing</strong> (<em>kalopoiountes</em>, καλοποιοῦντες, doing good/noble things). Sustained obedience risks fatigue, especially ...
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(13) **But ye, brethren.**—The last verse was addressed to all those whose consciences would prick them on hearing it read at the Eucharist. Now the writer turns to the orderly brethren, as quite a distinct class. The rhetorical effect of this quick apostrophe would be the same as in the well-known story of Napoleon addressing the rioters, and requesting the gentlemen to separate themselves from t...
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3. Translate in the Greek order, "In whom (not as Alford, 'in which') mystery; Christ is Himself the 'mystery' (Col 2:2; 1Ti 3:16), and to Christ the relative refers) are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden." The "all" here, answers to "all" in Col 2:2; as "treasures" answer to the "riches"; it is from the treasures that the riches (Col 2:2) are derived. "Are" is the predicate of the ...
Read full commentary →And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. by: or, signify that man by an epistle
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<strong>And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed</strong>—escalating discipline: <strong>if any man obey not our word by this epistle</strong> (refuses the written apostolic command), <strong>note that man</strong> (<em>sēmeiousthe touton</em>, σημειοῦσθε τοῦτον, mark him out, identify him publicly). <strong>Have no compa...
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(14) **And if** **any man,—**An appeal to the rightminded, not only to persevere themselves, but to join with the overseers of their Church in enforcing discipline, as in 1Thessalonians 5:12-15.
**By this epistle.**—Rightly rendered. The marginal version, “by *an* Epistle,” is impossible, for in the Greek the definite article appears. It might, if the context suited, be attached to the following c...
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**4. And--**"Now." Compare with "lest any man," &c. Col 2:8, 16, 18. He refers to the blending of Judaism with Oriental philosophy, and the combination of this mixture with Christianity.
**enticing words--**plausible as wearing the guise of wisdom and humility (Col 2:18, 23).
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
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<strong>Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother</strong>—<strong>Yet</strong> qualifies the shunning (v. 14). <strong>Count him not as an enemy</strong> (<em>mē hōs echthron hēgeisthe</em>, μὴ ὡς ἐχθρὸν ἡγεῖσθε)—don't treat as an outsider or opponent. <strong>But admonish him as a brother</strong> (<em>nouthetreite hōs adelphon</em>, νουθετεῖτε ὡς ἀδελφόν)—warn, correct, instr...
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(15) **Yet.**—The original is simply *And, *which is much more beautiful, implying that this very withdrawal from brotherly intercourse was an act of brotherly kindness.
**An enemy.**—In the private, not the public, sense. “Do not think of him as one with whom you must be *at feud, *to be thwarted and humbled on every occasion.” St. Chrysostom exclaims, “How soon the father’s-heart breaks down!”
*...
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**5. For--**argument against their suffering themselves to be beguiled, drawn from a regard to his personal authority as though he were present.
**joying and beholding--**beholding with joy.
**order--**your good order; answering to "knit together" (Col 2:2) as a well-organized body; the same Greek as that for knit together, is used of the body" of the Church compacted," in Ep 4:16. Compare 1Co...
Read full commentary →Final Greetings and Benediction
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
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<strong>Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all</strong>—<strong>the Lord of peace himself</strong> (<em>autos ho Kyrios tēs eirēnēs</em>, αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης)—Christ is peace's source and giver. <strong>Give you peace</strong> (<em>dōē hymin tēn eirēnēn</em>, δώῃ ὑμῖν τὴν εἰρήνην) is optative mood—prayer/wish. <strong>Always</strong> (<em>...
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(16) **Now.**—Rather, *And, *or *But.* The prayer is joined to the exhortations, as in 2Thessalonians 2:16 and elsewhere, and of course bears upon the subject of them.
**The Lord of peace.**—We had “the God of peace” at the close of the last Epistle (1Thessalonians 5:23, where see the Note). The “peace” prayed for here has perhaps a more immediate reference to external matters than in the parallel...
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6. "As therefore ye received (once for all; the aorist tense; from Epaphras) Jesus the Christ as your Lord (compare 1Co 12:3; 2Co 4:5; Php 3:8), so walk in Him." He says not merely, "Ye received" the doctrine of Christ, but "Jesus" Himself; this is the essence of faith (Joh 14:21, 23; Ga 1:16). Ye have received once for all the Spirit of life in Christ; carry into practice that life in your walk (...
Read full commentary →The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
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<strong>The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write</strong>—<strong>The salutation of Paul with mine own hand</strong> (<em>ho aspasmos tē emē cheiri Paulou</em>, ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου)—Paul personally pens the closing greeting. Typically, he dictated to a scribe (Rom. 16:22) but added personal signature. <strong>Which is the token in every ...
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(17) **The salutation.**—At this point St. Paul takes the pen out of his secretary’s hand, and adds the closing words himself. The actual salutation does not begin until the benediction of the 18th verse, to which this 17th is intended to attract attention.
**Which.**—Namely, the autograph addition of a salutation, or valedictory prayer, not the special words in which it was couched.
**The token.*...
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**7. Rooted--**(Ep 3:17).
**built up--**Greek, "being builded up." As "rooted" implies their vitality; so "builded up," massive solidity. As in the Song of Solomon, when one image is not sufficient to express the varied aspects of divine truth, another is employed to supply the idea required. Thus "walking," a third image (Col 2:6), expresses the thought which "rooted" and "built," though each s...
Read full commentary →The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The second epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens.
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<strong>The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen</strong>—Paul's standard closing: <strong>The grace</strong> (<em>hē charis</em>, ἡ χάρις) <strong>of our Lord Jesus Christ</strong> (<em>tou Kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou</em>, τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) <strong>be with you all</strong> (<em>meta pantōn hymas</em>, μετὰ πάντων ὑμᾶς). Grace brackets the letter (1:2, 3:18)—unmerited...
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(18) **The grace.**—This is his “salutation.” The Greek secular salutation, at greeting and parting alike, was *chaire* (literally, *rejoice*); so St. Paul, alike at beginning and ending, uses a word of kindred origin, *charis* (“grace”). Observe the word “all” again, as in 2Thessalonians 3:16. St. Chrysostom’s beautiful comment may well be given: “What he calls his ‘salutation’ is the prayer, sno...
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8. Translate, "Beware (literally, 'Look' well) lest there shall be (as I fear there is: the Greek indicative expresses this) any man (pointing to some known emissary of evil, Ga 1:7) leading you away as his spoil (not merely gaining spoil out of you, but making yourselves his spoil) through (by means of) his philosophy," &c. The apostle does not condemn all philosophy, but "the philosophy" (so...
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