Chapter One

Greeting (1–3). Thanksgiving of the Apostle to God for the increasing growth of faith and multiplication of love among the Thessalonians (4) and exhortation to them for patience in persecutions with hope for the righteous judgment of God at the second coming of Christ (5–12).

2 Thessalonians 1:1. Paul and Silas and Timothy—to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Thessalonians 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. These verses contain the greeting to the church of Thessalonica from three evangelists, though the epistle itself contains rather the thoughts of Apostle Paul than those of his co-workers (see 2 Thess 2:5). The combination of the same names is important for dating the epistle; Silas and Timothy were no longer together with Apostle Paul after his second apostolic journey. This clearly points to the time to which we should date the writing of our epistle. The greeting in verse 1 differs from 1 Thess 1:1 only by the addition of the word “our” (hemon), which stronger emphasizes the thought that here the relation of God as father to people is more in view, than as to Christ. Verse 2. The Textus Receptus reads hemon after “from God the Father,” following the Sinai and Alexandrian codices. “Both nouns ‘from God the Father’ and ‘of Jesus Christ’ are dependent on the same preposition ‘from,’ and therefore any distinction between them, as to ‘source’ and ‘mediating’ principle of grace and peace, is here entirely out of place” (Milligan, op. cit. p. 85).

2 Thessalonians 1:3. We should always give thanks to God justly concerning you, brothers, because your faith grows and the love of each of you for one another increases among all of you, This section contains thanksgiving and prayer of the Apostle for the church of Thessalonica. The Apostle gives thanks to God for the progress in faith and love made by the Thessalonians, and says that he boasts of them in the churches of God. The mention of persecutions against Thessalonica gives the Apostle occasion to say a few words about the saving significance of sufferings and about the punishment of “those who trouble you.” The entire section ends with a prayer of the Apostle for the Christians of Thessalonica. Eucharisteioomen—“we should give thanks” (2 Thess 2:13). Ophielo indicates a “special, personal obligation” (Westcott, The Epistles of St. John, p. 50, 1902), an obligation on our part. The Apostle gives thanks to God for the spiritual growth of his followers. Kathos axion estin—“as is fitting.” There is no tautology here. “We can say, writes Lightfoot, that ophielo indicates the divine, while kathos axion estin indicates the human side of the obligation. We can paraphrase this passage as: it is not only a duty toward God, which our conscience prescribes to us, but it is (thanksgiving) also deserved by your conduct” (Lightfoot, Notes, p. 97). Further, here only two Christian virtues are mentioned—faith and love. In the first epistle (1 Thess 3:10) the Apostle was concerned that “something was lacking to faith” of the Thessalonians; here he thanks God that their faith “grows.” The words “love of each of you for one another among all of you” show how well the Apostle knew personally all the members of the Thessalonians community (1 Thess 2:11), and how thoroughly the Apostle was informed about the state of the church in Thessalonica.

2 Thessalonians 1:4. So that we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all persecutions and tribulations that you are enduring The Apostle is so pleased with the progress of faith and love among the Thessalonians that he boasts of them “in the churches of God”—churches, one must suppose, of all Achaia. The Apostle wrote the epistle from Corinth, but one should suppose that the Word of the Lord had spread by this time to other places near Corinth. See 2 Cor 1:1. Unexpectedly here appears the combination of words “faith in all persecutions and tribulations,” where faith has a passive meaning, very rare in the New Testament in general. “Persecutions and tribulations”—by the former is understood external oppression from the enemies of the Gospel, by the latter—suffering of all kinds in general. “Which you are enduring” (present tense) indicates, perhaps, a new outbreak of persecutions, which may have ceased only temporarily when 1 Thessalonians was written (1 Thess 1:6 and 1 Thess 2:14).

2 Thessalonians 1:5. As a proof of the righteous judgment of God, so that you may be deemed worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer. Here the thought of the Apostle is that the bearing of all their persecutions and tribulations with patience and faith serves as endeigma tes dikaias kriseos tou theou—proof of the fact that there will come a time when all their sufferings will receive recompense, and their persecutors will be punished. God gave them strength to bear persecutions and tribulations, and He will also give them reward for all they endured. The word endeigma is found in the New Testament only here; by analogy with nouns ending in “ma” and formed from the perfect passive voice, it should have a passive meaning—“something proven.” The expression dikaias kriseos—likewise occurs in the Apostle Paul’s writings only here (cf. Rom 2:6). It includes in itself, and chiefly, the law of retaliation, according to which those who suffer in this world should receive consolation afterward, and those who persecute here should suffer there (Lightfoot, op. cit. p. 100). “So that you may be deemed worthy”—indicates the general direction and basic tendency of righteous judgment, namely, that “the patient and holy sufferers be counted worthy of the kingdom of God” (Ellicott, op. cit. p. 97). The kingdom of God is the new order of life established by Christ, which should, however, receive completion in the future. The Apostle apparently spoke to the Thessalonians at great length about the coming of the kingdom of God; this idea must have occupied the chief place in his preaching among the Thessalonians (Acts 17:7) 1.

2 Thessalonians 1:6. For it is righteous with God—to repay those who trouble you with trouble, The idea of retaliation in the coming age again returns the Apostle to the thought of the parousia and its consequences, which he describes with all the wealth of apocalyptic data taken from the Old Testament. “Since therefore” (eiper)—“supposing that”—an intensive form of expression, found in the New Testament only in the epistles of Apostle Paul, which, not containing doubt as to the truth of what is supposed, nevertheless makes emphasis on it as a condition. This condition here is the manifestation of unrelenting divine justice, considered as “lex talionis” (Milligan, op. cit. p. 89).

2 Thessalonians 1:7. And to you who are troubled, rest along with us, in the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His might, 1 Corinthians 1:7. Rest (anesis)—literally a loosening, and always used by Apostle Paul in contrast with thlupsis. “With us,” that is, with Apostle Paul and his companions. The expression “in the revelation”—en te apokalupsiei—here is taken in place of the expression “parousia” (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:7; 1 Pet 1:7. In the pastoral epistles Apostle Paul uses the expression epiphaneia). As for the meaning of these two terms, it can be briefly expressed as follows: parousia makes emphasis on the “presence” of the Lord with his followers, which should ultimately become perfect in His coming; “apokalupsis” on the other hand indicates that the “revelation” of Christ will at the same time be a “revelation” of the divine plan and purposes of the universe, toward the embodiment of which the entire world system slowly moves. “With the angels of His might”—with angels, servants of His might. Here we should pay attention to the composure with which Apostle Paul applies to the revelation of our Lord all those phenomena which in the Old Testament are presented as symbols of the presence of God, such as: angels-servants (Ps 67:17) and flame of fire (Exod 3:2) and so forth. In some cases, the Apostle, speaking of Christ, applies to Him precisely those very expressions which are used by Hebrew prophets in application to God (Lightfoot, op. cit. 102.). This circumstance has enormous apologetic significance and shows how early the idea of the deity of Christ arose, and His equality with God. 2 Thessalonians 1:8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Vengeance”—ekdikesis—complete and perfect retaliation. Here again is ascribed to Christ a role which in the Old Testament is given to God himself, who executes judgment. The words: “who do not know God and do not obey”—point to two classes of people, namely those who, not being able to hear the word of the Gospel, nevertheless reject the light of natural religion, which in a certain sense reveals God to them; and points to those who, whether pagans or Jews, having heard the words of the Gospel, nevertheless refuse to accept it” (Lightfoot, op. cit. p. 103.).

2 Thessalonians 1:9. Who will incur punishment, eternal destruction, from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His strength, “Eternal destruction”... If we keep in mind the teaching of Apostle Paul concerning the coming age, which is to completely take the place of “this age,” then destruction will certainly be eternal. The word “from the face” here has a local sense, and points to eternal removal from the face of God.

2 Thessalonians 1:10. When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in that day in all who have believed, because you believed our testimony. “To be glorified in His saints,” not through them, and not among them, but in (en) them, for they serve as it were a mirror in which His infinite perfections are reflected. The same can be said about the words “in (en) all those who have believed” (Textus Receptus reads pisteuousin instead of W-H pisteuosin). The end of the verse can be rendered as: He will appear marvelous in all who have believed, and consequently in you as well, because you believed our testimony.

2 Thessalonians 1:11. To this end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling and fulfill all the resolve for goodness and work of faith with power, 2 Thessalonians 1:12. So that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The chapter ends with the Apostle Paul’s reference to the fact that he always prays for the Thessalonians so that God would count them worthy of His kingdom’s calling. “Calling”—here the thought is chiefly directed to the future, though the word klesis points first and chiefly to the initial act of salvation. Goodness and the pleasure in doing good—doing good is already fine in itself; but one reaches a higher degree of perfection if he finds pleasure in doing good. “The work of faith”—our faith should not be a dead principle; it should bear fruit (Jas 2:26). The expression “the name of the Lord” is used in the Old Testament in relation to God, and denotes His greatness, power, and dignity (cf. Lev 24:11; Deut 28:58). Apostle Paul transfers this expression, which denotes the glory of Jehovah, to the Person of Jesus Christ. “According to the grace”—Apostle Paul strives with these words to emphasize the source from which all glorification flows, and also to exclude any thought of human merit. Everywhere and always the grace of God operates. * * * Notes From the account in the book of Acts 17 it is clear that the disturbance in Thessalonica was directed chiefly against Apostle Paul and Silas, and consequently the “assurance” of Jason extended only to them. Timothy, however, had the road to Thessalonica not closed to him.