Introductory remarks:
In this final chapter of this second epistle to the Thessalonians Paul is exhorting them to walk worthy of their position in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul stresses the fact that they have a privilege as family members to walk around with the hope of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Paul asks that they pray for him to be able to spread the Word and not be hampered by wicked men. He says he knows the Lord will be true to His Word in strengthening them and keeping them from evil. He tells them not to interact with brothers who are not living right and follow the example he set. Paul heard some were lazy busybodies and he condemns the behavior and commands that they earn their own food and live quiet lives. Paul wishes the peace of God to them and points out his signature" (A Survey of 2 Thessalonians - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Pray for us vv. 1-5: Warning against idleness vv. 6-15: Benediction vv. 16-18.
Pray for Us
Verse 1, "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you."
LGT "Finally, pray, brethren, concerning us, that the Word of the Lord may run all and be glorified, just as also with you."
Finally: Paul is coming to the conclusion of this letter. Pray, brethren, concerning us: Paul, and his companions, had been praying for them, and now he asks the brethren to pray for himself, Timothy, and Silas who were strenuously laboring in Corinth. That the Word of the Lord may run all: that the gospel of grace may accomplish all that the Lord intends. He asks them to pray that the gospel may spread without any hindrance of any kind. And be glorified: it wasn't enough that the gospel went out he wanted them to pray that it would be accepted both by the Jews and Gentiles alike. The Word of God is glorified when it is accepted, and then even more when it is taken to heart and lived. When the purpose of the gospel of grace is accepted, and is manifested, it is also glorified. Just as also with you: "It had been glorified among them, not specially in them or by them, but among them it had been accepted; and in their turning from idols and waiting for his Son from heaven, in their faith's work, their love's labor, and their hope's patience (1 Thess. 1:3), in the growth of all Christian graces in the midst of peril and persecution, the Word of the Lord had been glorified also with them as in other cities" (Eadie).
Verse 2, "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith."
LGT "And that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked men: for faith [is] not the portion of all."
And that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked men: Paul asks them to pray for them against the men who opposed the gospel of grace, mainly from the Jews, who were out to stamp out all vestiges of anyone or anything connected to the Christ. The wicked men were those who sought to kill them, such as he himself did when he was a Pharisee. For faith is not the portion of all: faith is not the possession of the unbelievers. "Jews in Corinth who opposed Paul and blasphemed, who were in their malignity broke out in insurrection with one accord against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat of Gallio" (Acts 18:12).
Verse 3, "But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."
LGT "But faithful is the Lord, who will establish you and will keep [you] from evil."
But faithful is the Lord: the Lord can be counted on, no matter how undependable man is; thank God for His grace, for if it were up to man, we would all fail. Who will establish you: the only way a believer may be established by the Lord is by studying His Word. The Lord works through His word, and by His Holy Spirit He is able to accomplish great things in our lives. We are established by adjusting our lives to the Word of God, and submitting to the Holy Spirit in order that He may accomplish His fruits in us. And will keep you from evil: the Greek word for "evil" is ho poneros, which could be either neuter or masculine; if neuter it is translated as "evil"; if masculine, it is translated "evil one"; I am not sure what Paul had in mind, but either way it makes good sense. I believe it means simply "evil", and the Word of God is the means the Lord uses to keep us from sinning. Someone has rightly said, "The Bible keeps you from sinning, and sinning keeps you from the Bible."
Verse 4, "And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you."
LGT "But we trust in [the] Lord as to you, that the things we charge, and ye are doing and will do."
But we trust in the Lord as to you: the conjunction "but" is in contrast to what he had just said in the previous verse that men are faithless, but God is faithful. Paul has confidence in the Thessalonians that they are doing the right thing in faith in the Lord. That the things we charge: you have taken to heart the grace doctrines we have taught you, and you are putting them into everyday experience. And ye are doing and will do: they have been doing these things he charged them with, that is, grace doctrine, and they will continue to do them. Paul has complete confidence in these believers.
Verse 5, "and the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ."
LGT "But may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into [the] patient endurance of Christ."
But may the Lord direct your hearts: the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the One who directs the believer's heart; He not only saves by His grace, He sustains us by His grace. Into the love of God: our love to God is the only source we have for spiritual power; we love Him, because He first loved us. It is not possible for us to love God with the same love He has for us, but we can direct our love toward Him, by recognizing how much grace He has given us. And into the patient endurance of Christ: This is not as the KJV has it "waiting for Christ", but "the patient endurance of Christ." Paul prays that they have the patient endurance of Christ in all their tribulations and sufferings.
John Eadie notes:
"Patience under suffering characterized Christ - perfect subordination to the divine will - and such steadfastness and unmurmuring acquiescence [submission] should mark all who are Christ's. The Thessalonian believers were subjected to persecution, and they needed this patient endurance, and therefore the apostle implores Christ to lead them into this grace, which distinguished Himself with prominent fullness - no suffering like His in depth and severity, and no patience like His in its serene and self-supporting power. The apostle in the first epistle had given several warnings and premonitions about social disorders creeping into the church from the impression that the day of the Lord was on them (1 Thess. 4:11, 12). But the restlessness and irregularities had been growing, and the wrong impression had been deepened by forged revelations, utterances, and letters. Idleness and habits of gossip and aimless gadding about had been perilously increasing. The jeopardy was imminent, the credit of Christianity was at stake, and the apostle is the more earnest and severe in his dissuasiveness and rebukes. The church itself in its center was sound, but there were attached to it those busybodies whom the apostle marks as he exhorts the better portion to withdraw from fellowship with them."
Warning against Idleness
Verse 6, "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 ye have received of us."
LGT "Now we command you, brethren, in [the] name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [that] ye withdraw from every brother walking disorderly, and not according to the doctrines which ye received from us."
Now we command you, brethren: Paul makes this a command because obviously in his first letter he had hinted at this in chapter 4:11, with this exhortation, "To be quiet, and mind their own business, and work with their hands", but it had not taken root, and now he makes it a command. He now proceeds to correct a particular fault in verses 6-12. As there were some lazy, and at the same time curious and gossipy persons, who, in order that they might scrape together a living at the expense of others, wandered about from house to house, (Calvin) playing on the sympathy of the benevolent and compassionate believers. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: this command from Paul is commissioned directly from the Lord. That ye withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly: contrary to "being quiet, and minding their own business, and working with their hands." Paul does not say they should excommunicate these gossipy busybodies, but they were not to have fellowship of any kind with them, showing them that their behavior was bringing dishonor to the name of Christ, and this is a big difference from excommunicating them. And not according to the doctrines which ye received: the KJV has the word "tradition" here, instead of doctrines, which would infer "that the apostle meant unwritten doctrines handed down from one to another, for he evidently alludes to what he had himself taught them, and his direction is not that that should be handed down but that they should obey it" (Barnes).
Verse 7, "For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you."
LGT "For ye yourselves know how it is necessary [for you] to imitate us, because we behaved not disorderly among you:"
For ye yourselves know: We need not tell you now. How it is necessary for you to imitate us: the Thessalonians observed them, for Paul knew it was necessary for him and his companions to set an example for them to follow, and they were well aware of the right way of walking in regard to this context of walking orderly, that is, living quiet lives, minding their own business, and working with their hands. Because we behaved not disorderly among you: Paul will describe this example in the next verse.
Verse, 8, "Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you."
LGT "And for nothing did we eat bread from anyone, but in labor and toil, working night and day, not to be burdensome to any one of you."
Paul now mentions "that he and his companions were engaged in working with their hands night and day, that he might not burden any one with expense." Along with laboring with his hands, he also labored in teaching them grace doctrine.
Verse 9, "Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us."
LGT "Not because we have not authority, but in order that we ourselves give a pattern for you to imitate us."
Not because we have not authority: the Authorized Version has the word "power" which is literally authority, and it means Paul, as an apostle, has every right to claim support from them, but because they were not spiritually mature enough in this area, he worked with his hands night and day to support himself with the making of tents. But in order that we ourselves give a pattern for you to imitate: in order to give you a type for the future, we gave up our right to support, we earned our bread to set an example. There were certain drones in the assembly that were lazy busybodies, and it was to these few that Paul directed his example.
Verse 10, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if you would not work, neither should he eat."
LGT "For also when we were with you this we charged you, that since anyone does not wish to work, let him not eat."
For also when we were with you this we charged you: when Paul was among them he charged them with the following. That since anyone does not wish to work, let him not eat: the "if" in this phrase is in the first class condition, and that is why I translated it "since", it has the negative imperative in the conclusion, "Let him not eat. Paul is quoting a Jewish proverb: "He that will not work according to his ability, let him perish according to his necessity." There is an allusion to Genesis 3:19 - "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return into the ground." Our bleeding heart society today has the immoral idealistic imagination that everyone deserves as much as the next person whether they work or not. They believe in redistribution of the wealth, that is, take away from the industrious and hard working class, and give to the worthless bums, which Paul will describe in the next verse. Of course, these liberal democrats would never agree to have their funds taken away, they simply believe it is just and right to levy taxes on the working class until they have no incentive to work, and than maybe we will have a useless dependent society that depends on the government for its living; of course this never will work, and it never has worked since the dawn of time.
Verse 11, "For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies."
LGT "For we hear some are walking around among you disorderly, not at all working but being busybodies."
For we hear some are walking around among you disorderly: they are not quiet; they do not mind their own business; and they will not work with their hands. The next phrase is one of Paul's favorite word-plays: not at all working but being busybodies: "These theological dead-beats were too pious to work, but perfectly willing to eat bread at the hands of their neighbors while they piddled and frittered away the time in idleness" (A.T. Robertson). McGee says that these busybodies were "just as busy as termites, and just as effective too." Barnes wrote about busybodies: "One of the most pestiferous of all persons is he who has nothing to do but look after the affairs of his neighbor." Zwingli in his old German, nicht arbeit treibend sondern sich herumtreibend; "working nothing, but overworking." (Webster and Wilkinson); "Doing nothing, but overdoing."
Verse 12, "Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread."
LGT "Now to such we charge and exhort by [the] Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness working, their own bread they may eat."
Now to such we charge and exhort by the Lord Jesus Christ: Paul pleads his case as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this charge comes from the Lord and not from himself. This is a divine doctrine that must be followed. That with quietness working, their own bread they may eat: this is the exact opposite of their condition in verse 11. They must study to be quiet. "What is theirs as having quietly and honestly earned it, according to the repeated injunction and after the example of the apostle who did not eat any man's bread for nought, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that he might not be chargeable to any of them" (Eadie).
Verse 13, 'But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing."
LGT "But ye, brethren, do not lose heart [in] well-doing."
In this context, Paul is saying that they should not lose heart in well doing, in opposition to the slackers that were lazy busybodies. Paul says that they should not be wary of doing well because of a few bums. Paul says that they should discern the deserving poor from the lazy poor; he says that they should not give up their benevolence because of the few bad apples.
Verse 14, "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."
LGT "But if anyone obey not our word by the epistle, mark that man [so as] not to associate yourselves with him, in order that he may be ashamed."
But if anyone obey not our word by the epistle: In verse 12, Paul reminded them that his charge was not from himself, but from the Lord Jesus Christ, and these busybodies, that would not take the charge to heart, were rejecting the Word of the Lord, and so the ones who were obedient should withdraw themselves from the disobedient. Mark the man so as not to associate yourselves with him: I believe that in the remark that they should mark that man, means to recognize him, and not to fellowship with him. Christian fellowship is meeting around the Word of God, and those who were disobeying the Word obviously had no interest in the Word, so they were not to try and have fellowship with them; there is no fellowship with disagreeable Christians. In order that he mat be ashamed: "This shame, produced by the withdrawal of his brethren from fellowship with him, was meant to induce thought, contrition, and reform."
Verse 15, "Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
LGT "And esteem [him] not as an enemy, but caution [him] as a brother."
This rules out excommunication, which so many expositors I have read teach. Now Paul is saying that they should treat the erring one as they would a brother, and as Christ would handle the situation; remember, God disciplines the son whom He loves, and that discipline is designed to bring the erring child back into fellowship, and this is exactly the same principle; the discipline is not having fellowship with the sinning one in order to bring him back into fellowship; always keeping in mind he is a brother, and God loves him as much as He loves you. As we read in verse 14, the hope is that the brother that is sinning might be ashamed of himself and repent, and then be restored to fellowshipping with the family.
Benediction
Verse 16, "Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all."
LGT "Now the Lord of peace Himself may give to you the peace continually in every way. The Lord be with you all."
Now the Lord of peace Himself: the Lord is the very essence of Peace. Peace characterizes Christ. May give to you the peace continually in every way: the Lord Himself is the only giver of peace; peace is not found in any other person than the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord be with you all: that you may recognize the presence of God in every way and in every possible situation, and that you may experience His presence as you study His Word.
Verse 17, "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write."
LGT "The salutation of Paul with my [own] hand, which is [the] sign in every epistle: so I write."
The salutation of Paul with my own hand: Paul dictated most of the letter but signs it to prove the genuineness of it. There already had been spurious letters in circulation (2 Thess. 2:2), so Paul signs it himself, in order that the assemblies knew it was from him. Which is the sign in every epistle: "that is, this signature is a sign or proof of the genuineness of this epistle." Calvin writes about these spurious letters: "For this was an old artifice [trick] of Satan - to put forward spurious writings, that he might detract from the credit of those that are genuine; and farther, under pretended designations of the apostles, to disseminate wicked errors with the view of corrupting sound doctrine. By a singular kindness on the part of God, it has been brought about that, his frauds being defeated, the doctrine of Christ has come down to us sound and entire through the ministry of Paul and others. The concluding prayer explains what manner God aids his believing people - by the presence of Christ's grace." So I write: regarding the signature Barnes notes: "Referring, probably to some mark or method which Paul had of signing his name, which would easily be recognized by them."
Verse 18, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
LGT "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all."
This is the same benediction as he used in first Thessalonians with the exception of the word All. This is the conclusion of a wonderful Epistle that taught us a lot about the Second coming of Christ.
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