Final Blessings, Salutation, and Prayer (2 Thessalonians 3:16–18)

Having said what was needed for correcting the conduct of certain disorderly members, the Apostle returns once more to his closing words, which he had deliberately interrupted, and hastens to finish them. He does indeed hasten: for, having expressed the wish for peace and having pointed out the distinguishing mark of the authenticity of his epistles, he concludes with his customary benediction—the prayer that God’s grace may abide with them.

2 Thess. 3:16. Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every “way: the Lord be with you all.”

The wish for peace at the close of an epistle is customary to the holy Apostle Paul. Here it may be considered as prompted by what has gone before. The directive he has given could produce discord, even though the Apostle’s aim was to bring all into unity of spirit through those corrective measures by means of love. So he prays that the Lord will preserve and confirm among them a strong and all-encompassing peace. By his corrective measure the Apostle may seem to cause division; but not so that discord may result—rather, so that those who are set apart, coming to their senses, would turn from their wrong way and, entering by like-mindedness into fellowship with all, would enable all the faithful to enjoy warm peace. St. Chrysostom writes: “See how, when he enjoins upon them what they must do, he seals his exhortations with prayer, placing prayers and supplications as a kind of seal upon these treasures. ‘May He give you peace.’ Since disputes were likely to arise from this—that is, from the way he told them to treat the disobedient, because some would be more insistent and others less yielding—he is not without reason in praying for this.” Oecumenius explains: “He knew that from rebukes and admonitions disputes are born, when those upon whom they fall remain stubborn. This is why he asks peace for them from the God of peace.”

“Peace always in” every “way.” “So that you may be at peace with the Lord and with one another, and be delivered from the snares of adversaries. For this is the meaning of: in every way” (Theodoret). “So that they may have no cause for strife from any quarter, neither from words nor from manner of conduct. For in this way they will without difficulty make even those (the disobedient) better. Nothing contributes so much to the correction of what we wish to correct as peaceful, tranquil intercourse and admonition without anger” (Theophylact).

“The Lord be with you all.” This is the highest of Christian benedictions: for if the Lord abides with them, then with Him every good thing for salvation will abound richly in their midst. “If, he says, He is with you all—that is, both with those who need correction and with those who have been corrected—then all will be for good. Those who are unwilling to work He will heal, and those who love labour He will confirm in diligence” (Theophylact). St. Chrysostom gives at this point the following lesson: “This too we may ask for ourselves, if only we fulfil what the Lord has commanded. For hear what Christ says to His disciples: ‘behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ (Mt. 28:20). This was said not only to them (the Apostles) but to us as well, for from the words: ‘even to the end of the age’ it is clear that this was promised not only to them, but to all who would follow in their steps. The Lord promised: ‘behold, I am with you,’ but this comes to pass only when we ourselves desire it. For He will not be with us at all if we ourselves choose to withdraw from Him. With you, He says, will I abide forever. Let us not, then, drive from ourselves this grace.”

2 Thess. 3:17. The salutation by my own hand—Paul’s—which is a sign in every “epistle;” “so I write.”

By “salutation” he meant the blessing and prayer expressed in the following verse. It is present in the first epistle as well, but there it was written by the same hand that transcribed the letter. Here, however, the holy Paul writes it himself and promises from now on always to write it in his own hand in every epistle. This was a precaution against deception by forgery.

Since certain persons had managed to unsettle the minds of the Thessalonians by showing them an epistle supposedly written by the Apostle, which was not in fact written by him, so that this same thing might not happen again among them or elsewhere, the holy Paul resolved to mark his authentic epistles with his own handwritten final benediction: “the grace of the Lord,” and so forth. As if to say: whatever epistle has these words not written in my hand is not mine. And so that you may verify this the more reliably, here is the handwriting of my hand: “so I write.” This sign will from now on be present “in every” “epistle”—whether it may be sent to you, perhaps, or in any epistle to anyone whatsoever (Theophylact).

2 Thess. 3:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

This is the same as the foregoing: “the Lord be with you all.” “With prayer he began, and with prayer he concluded, enclosing what was said (in the epistle) on both sides as with great walls; having laid a firm foundation, he added to it likewise an unshakeable end. ‘Grace,’ – he says, – ‘to you’ and ‘peace.’ And again: the grace of the Lord … with you” (Chrysostom). He seemed to wish to express this benediction: “If the grace that saves us abides with you, it will heal all your infirmities, for such is the power of grace. And it will abide with you, if you do not drive it away. Grace dwells in souls that are well-disposed, filled with simple faith and brotherly love. May it be granted to us also to have such souls, so that we too may be guarded on every side by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who received us (into the number of believers) and brought us to the Father in the Holy Spirit” (Theophylact). Thus, “having received the apostolic blessing, let us glorify Christ the Lord, who spoke through the Apostles. With Him to the Father with the Holy Spirit be glory and majesty, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen” (Theodoret).