2 Thessalonians 3:1-12(ESV)
2 Thessalonians 3:1-12(ESV)
3 Finally,
brothers,1 pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be
honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked
and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will
establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence
in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we
command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the
love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. 6 Now we command you,
brothers, sin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother
who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you
received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us,
because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s
bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day,
that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do
not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If
anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some
among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such
persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work
quietly and to earn their own living.
Commentary:
Vs 1,2, Paul begins the next chapter
with a prayer request. He asks the Thessalonian believers to pray that the “word
of the Lord may speed ahead.” (literally run ahead) and be honored. (literally
be glorified) Then he asks to be saved from the clutches of “wicked and evil men”
so that the gospel will be unhindered, and the missionaries will be safe from
strife and violence. Noting that not all men are faithful. This sets up a contrast
with Vs. 3 that the Lord is faithful. “Paul’s sentence contains a
wordplay that is lost in English but would have been clear to those reading the
letter in Greek. If 3:2 – 3 is read together without the verse separation, we
see that those who are “evil” (ponēros) lack “faith” (pistis) (3:2), but the
Lord is “faithful” (pistos) and will protect them from the “evil one”
(ponēros). This wordplay connects the two situations.”1 God is always
faithful and will always conquer the evil one. If we ask God will always “deliver
us from evil”. (Matthew 6:13)
_______________________________________________________
1Byron,
John. 1 and 2 Thessalonians (The Story of God Bible Commentary) (pp. 280-281).
Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
Vs
4.
After Paul declares God’s faithfulness, he commends to the church that it
should continue to obey the commands that Paul and company have given them. The
life of the Christian boils down to God’s power and willful obedience of humanity
“Paul is about to enter into an extended discussion about those who are not
working, whom he considers to be disruptive to the community. Unlike the first
letter, he is about to lay out even more detailed instructions about how to
deal with the situation. It’s possible that the situation has grown worse than
it was, and Paul’s mention of “commands” here refers back to his first letter.”2
Vs.
5
But before he begins with his instructions to the church he prays for the
church “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the
steadfastness of Christ.” A brief intercessory statement before the coming
instructions.
Vs.
6 Paul
commands by instructing the Thessalonian believers to stay away from the idle.
Those who are able to work but refuse to do so. Paul is not saying in anyway
that the church should abandon those who are disabled and unable to work. Paul’s
command only refers to those who are able to work but choose not to for what
ever reason. Those who refuse to work are refusing to follow the example that
Paul set for them when he was with them.
Vs.
7-8. Paul calls the church to imitate the way he and his
coworkers worked for their keep “We were not idle when we were with
you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it … we worked night and
day”.3 Paul and his companions did not depend on anyone to provide
for the while they worked and preached the gospel to them.
Vs
9-10 Paul, Timothy, and Silas had every right to be compensated for preaching
the gospel message. They, however, chose to work at their trade to set an
example for the believers. They even gave a command that “he who does not work
shall not eat”.
____________________________________________
2Byron,
John. 1 and 2 Thessalonians (The Story of God Bible Commentary) (p. 281).
Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
3
Knute Larson, I & II
Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, vol. 9,
Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman
Publishers, 2000), 127.
Vs
11-12. Paul states that he has heard a report of some in the church are living
in idleness and being nothing but trouble for the larger church. Paul commands
these “loafers” to get to work with their own hands and live quiet and peaceful
lives for their good and the good of the entire Church.
Next we will
discuss Paul’s final exhortations to the church and his benediction to the
letter and that will finish our discussion.
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