2 Thessalonianschapter 3
18 verses · Paul · about AD 51 · Paul's letters
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 2 Thessalonians Overview.
The last chapter moves from prayer to plain orders. Some in the church had stopped working and were living on the kindness of others, and the gentle word of the first letter had not stopped them. Paul had worked with his own hands while he was among them, and he uses that memory now. Listen for how often he appeals to what they saw and were told. Listen also for the limit he sets on the discipline he gives. The letter closes in his own handwriting.
Context
- Who
- A congregation feeding people who had quit their jobs, some of them expecting the end within weeks
- What
- A request for prayer, a word of confidence in the Lord, commands about members who would not work, and the close of the letter in Paul's own hand.
- Where
- Written from Corinth to the church in Thessalonica, the chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia.
- When
- About AD 51, a few months after 1 Thessalonians, during Paul's stay of a year and a half in Corinth.
- Why
- To correct members who had stopped working and were living off the church, and to show the church how to discipline them as brothers.
Historical context
Educated Greeks and Romans looked down on manual labor. A gentleman lived off land, rents, or a patron; work with the hands was for slaves and the poor. So a church where the founder had worked a trade night and day was already a strange community.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The client system made idleness easy. A poor citizen could attach himself to a wealthy household, show up each morning to greet the patron, and be fed for it. Transferred into a church, that habit would look like a brother living permanently off the generosity of the group.
The wordplay in the chapter is exact: the idle were not busy but were busybodies. In a network of house churches, people with nothing to do and free access to other people's homes did real damage.
The remedy is social, not violent, keep away from him, do not treat him as an enemy, warn him as a brother. That is a small community's only enforcement tool, and it depended on everyone using it together.
Significance
Some had drawn a straight line from 'the Lord is coming' to 'so why plant a crop.' Paul cuts the line: the surest sign that you believe the future is that you show up for work in the present.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
For the working members carrying the load, the chapter told them that generosity has limits and that saying so is not a failure of love.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Pray That the Word Runs Swiftly
2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
that the word of the Lord may spread quickly: Paul asks prayer for the word before the workers, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor. The verb means to run, as at Psalm 147:15, where His word runs swiftly.
2 Thessalonians 3:1
“Finally, brethren, pray for us - That is, for Paul, Silas, and Timothy, then engaged in arduous labors at Corinth. This request for the prayers of Christians is one which Paul often makes; see the notes, 1Th 5:25. That the word of the Lord may have free course - That is, the gospel. The margin is “run.” So also the Greek. The idea is, that it might meet with no obstruction, but that it might be carried abroad with the rapidity of a racer out of whose way every hindrance was removed.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Thessalonians 3:1
“Ministers need, and therefore should desire, the prayers of their people. How remarkable is the humility, and how engaging the example, of this great apostle, who was so mighty in prayer himself, and yet despised not the prayers of the meanest Christian, but desired an interest in them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
not everyone holds to the faith: Paul asks for rescue from wicked men, a word Adam Clarke explains as people out of their place and under no restraint. Faith is not shared by all. Leo the Great later used the verse to warn church leaders to guard sound teaching against error.
2 Thessalonians 3:2
“Unreasonable and wicked men - The word ατοπων, which we translate unreasonable, signifies rather disorderly, unmanageable; persons out of their place - under no discipline, regardless of law and restraint, and ever acting agreeably to the disorderly and unreasonable impulse of their own minds. For all men have not faith - The word πιστις is without doubt, to be taken here for fidelity or trustworthiness, and not for faith; and this is agreeable to the meaning given to it in the very next verse: But the Lord is faithful, πιστος δε εστιν ὁ Κυριος.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:2
“But because "all men have not faith" and the crafty Tempter never delights so much in wounding the hearts of men as when he can poison their unwary minds with errors that are opposed to Gospel Truth, we must strive by the mighty teaching of the Holy Ghost to prevent Christian knowledge from being perverted by the devil's falsehoods. And against this danger it behoves the rulers of the churches especially to guard and to avert from the minds of simple folk lies which are coloured by a certain show of truth.”
Leo the Great · written before 461 · Letter 129 To Proterius, Bishop of Alexandriapatristic
2 Thessalonians 3:3-5
But the Lord is faithful: Against verse 2, where not everyone holds to the faith, stands one pivot: the Lord is faithful. He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one, the phrase the Lord’s prayer uses at Matthew 6:13.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
“But the Lord is faithful,.... Or "God" as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read, as do also the Alexandrian and Claromontane copies. This is said for the comfort of the saints, lest they should be discouraged upon hearing that all professors of faith in Christ had it not, who might be ready to take it to themselves, and fear, that either they had it not, or if they had, that they might lose it, and fall from it. Wherefore the apostle observes to them the comfortable attribute of God's faithfulness, which he will not suffer to fail.”
we have confidence in the Lord: Paul places his confidence about the church in the Lord. John Gill notes that it rests on the Lord's grace and strength at work in them. Theophylact of Ohrid saw here a call for the believers' own effort alongside God's work.
2 Thessalonians 3:4
“And we have confidence in the Lord touching you,.... The ground of confidence concerning them was not in themselves, in their grace, and strength, and wisdom, and conduct, and good behaviour; but in the Lord, in his grace and strength, and in the power of his might, without whom they could do nothing, but through him strengthening them, could do all things.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:4
“And as the experience the apostle had of their obedience for the time past was one ground of his confidence that they would do the things commanded them for the time to come, so this is one ground to hope that whatsoever we ask of God we shall receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight, 1 John iii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Paul prays that the Lord will lead their hearts straight into two things, the love of God and the endurance Christ showed. Albert Barnes takes the phrase as the same patience Christ had under suffering, a model for a church under persecution. Wesley says Christ set the pattern.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God - So direct your hearts that you may love God. “And into the patient waiting for Christ.” Margin, “patience of Christ.” The marginal reading is in accordance with the Greek, and seems best to express the apostle’s meaning. The prayer of the apostle was, that they might have the love of God in their hearts, and “the patience of Christ;” that is, the same patience which Christ evinced in his trials. They were then suffering affliction and persecution.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:5
“If God directs our love aright upon himself, the rest of the affections will thereby be rectified. That a patient waiting for Christ may be joined with this love of God. There is no true love of God without faith in Jesus Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 3:5
“Now the Lord - The Spirit, whose proper work this is. Direct - Lead you straight forward. Into the patience of Christ - Of which he set you a pattern.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
If a Man Will Not Work, Neither Let Him Eat
2 Thessalonians 3:6-9
Now we command you, brothers: Undisciplined translates ataktos, used of a soldier out of rank. The command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life. Paul taught the tradition by example, working night and day.
2 Thessalonians 3:6
“He says "brother," that is, professing Christian; for in the case of unprofessing heathen, believers needed not be so strict (1Co 5:10-13). disorderly--Paul plainly would not have sanctioned the order of Mendicant Friars, who reduce such a "disorderly" and lazy life to a system.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:6
“That ye withdraw yourselves - Have no fellowship with those who will not submit to proper discipline; who do not keep their place; ατακτως, such as are out of their rank, and act according to their own wills and caprices; and particularly such as are idle and busybodies. These he had ordered, 1Th 4:11, 1Th 4:12, that they should study to be quiet, mind their own business, and work with their hands; but it appears that they had paid no attention to this order, and now he desires the Church to exclude such from their communion.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
imitate us: Paul appeals to his own conduct as well as his teaching. Matthew Henry says Christians are to follow the example of the apostles as far as the apostles followed Christ. The idle members were setting aside both the tradition they had received and the pattern they had watched.
2 Thessalonians 3:7
“It is the duty of Christians not only to walk according to the traditions of the apostles, and the doctrines they preached, but also according to the good example they set before them, to be followers of them so far as they were followers of Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
we worked night and day: Paul paid for his food and worked long hours at his trade so that no one had to support him. Adam Clarke notes that he preached, visited from house to house and worked at his calling by turns. Basil of Caesarea later made this verse a rule for monks.
2 Thessalonians 3:8
But why should we dwell upon the amount of evil there is in idleness, when the apostle clearly specifies that he who does not work should not eat. As daily sustenance is necessary for everyone, so labor in proportion to one's strength is also essential. Solomon has written effectively in praise of hard work: "And she has not eaten her bread in idleness." And again, the apostle says of himself, "neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing, but in labor and in toil we worked night and day."
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · The Long Rules, Q.37.Rpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:8
“Neither did we eat any man’s bread for naught - We paid for what we bought, and worked with our hands that we might have money to buy what was necessary. Labour and travail night and day - We were incessantly employed, either in preaching the Gospel, visiting from house to house, or working at our calling. As it is very evident that the Church at Thessalonica was very pious, and most affectionately attached to the apostle, they must have been very poor, seeing he was obliged to work hard to gain himself the necessaries of life.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
offer ourselves as an example: Paul claims the right of a preacher to be supported by those he serves, a right the Lord Himself laid down. He set it aside at Thessalonica to give the idle a pattern of work to copy. Gill points to 1 Corinthians 9 for the same argument.
2 Thessalonians 3:9
“Not because we have not power - We have the power, εξουσιαν, the right, to be maintained by those in whose behalf we labor. The laborer is worthy of his hire, is a maxim universally acknowledged and respected; and they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel: the apostle did not claim his privilege, but labored for his own support, that he might be an example to those whom he found otherwise disposed, and that he might spare the poor. See 1Co 9:1, etc.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
For even while we were with you: The rule was standing teaching from the first visit, If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat, and unwilling carries its weight. Verse 11 plays on the Greek, ergazomenous and periergazomenous, working at nothing and busy with everything, rendered accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.
2 Thessalonians 3:10
It seems to me simpler to take it as a punishment of the idle. Paul often quotes good adages current among the people, stamping them with inspired approval. In the Hebrew, "Bereshith Rabba," the same saying is found; and in the book Zeror, "He who will not work before the sabbath, must not eat on the sabbath."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
busybodies: The Greek sets working against working around, a play on words English renders as busybodies. Matthew Henry suggests that the church's generous care for its poor may have tempted some to live on it. Albert Barnes points to the same fault in 1 Timothy 5:13.
2 Thessalonians 3:11
There are some other men going about, as they say, pretending only to devote themselves to prayer and doing no work, making piety a pretext for cowardice and a means of gaining a living, but not thinking rightly. Let them say that they are better even than the holy apostles who worked when opportunity gave them time for it, and they were exhausted for the word of God. How did they miss reading the holy Paul writing to certain people, "For I hear that some among you are living irregularly, doing no work but busy at meddling."
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · LETTERS 83.7patristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:11
“For we hear - It is not known in what way this was made known to Paul, whether by Timothy, or by some other one. He had no doubt of its truth, and he seems to have been prepared to believe it the more readily from what he saw when he was among them. Which walk disorderly - See the notes, 2Th 3:6. But are busy-bodies - Compare the 1Ti 5:13 note; 1Pe 4:15 note.”
2 Thessalonians 3:11
“Industry in our particular callings as men is a duty required of us by our general calling as Christians. Or perhaps the general charity there was then among Christians to their poor brethren encouraged some to live in idleness, as knowing the church would maintain them: whatever was the cause, they were much to blame.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
working quietly: Quietly means an end to restless meddling, and their own living means bread they have earned, as Paul earned his in verse 8. Paul commands and urges in the same breath and still speaks to them in the Lord. Basil adds that such work also feeds the hungry.
2 Thessalonians 3:12
"We exhort you thus, as ministers IN Christ, exhorting our people IN Christ." with quietness--quiet industry; laying aside restless, bustling, intermeddling officiousness (2Th 3:11). their own--bread earned by themselves, not another's bread (2Th 3:8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:12
This we must also keep in mind—that he who labors ought to perform his task not for the purpose of ministering to his own needs but that he may accomplish the Lord's command, "I was hungry and you gave me to eat," and so on. To be concerned for oneself is strictly forbidden by the Lord in the words, "Be not concerned for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on," and he adds, "for the heathens seek after all these things."
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · The Long Rules, Q.42.Rpatristic
2 Thessalonians 3:12
“With quietness they work - Μετα ἡσυχιας· With silence; leaving their tale-bearing and officious intermeddling. Less noise and more work! That - they work, and eat their own bread - Their own bread, because earned by their own honest industry. What a degrading thing to live on the bounty or mercy of another, while a man is able to acquire his own livelihood! He who can submit to this has lost the spirit of independence; and has in him a beggar’s heart, and is capable of nothing but base and beggarly actions.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15
But as for you, brothers: The church is to not associate with anyone who does not obey, so that he may be ashamed, with shame aimed at his recovery. Verse 15 sets the spirit of it: do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
2 Thessalonians 3:13
“But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing - Margin, “faint not.” The Greek means, properly, to turn out a coward; then to be faint-hearted, to despond. The idea is, that they were not to be discouraged from doing good to the truly worthy and deserving by the idleness and improper conduct of some who asked their assistance. They were, indeed, shiftless and worthless. They would not labor; they spent their time in intermeddling with the concerns of their neighbors, and they depended for their support on the charity of others.”
Take note of anyone: Paul now makes this letter itself the standard, and the church is to mark anyone who defies it and keep apart from him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the aim, that a man shunned by his brothers may turn and look at himself. Shame is meant to bring repentance.
2 Thessalonians 3:14
“If any man obey not - They had disobeyed his word in the first epistle, and the Church still continued to bear with them; now he tells the Church, if they still continue to disregard what is said to them, and particularly his word by this second epistle, they are to mark them as being totally incorrigible, and have no fellowship with them. Some construe the words δια της επιστολης with τουτον σημειουσθε· Give me information of that man by a letter - let me hear of his continued obstinacy, and send me his name.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
warn him as a brother: The separation of verse 14 has a limit. Albert Barnes calls this the true spirit of church discipline, dealing with an erring member as a brother, whom the church seeks to win back. Polycarp later wrote the same way to the Philippians about a fallen elder named Valens.
2 Thessalonians 3:15
“Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother - This shows the true spirit in which discipline is to be administered in the Christian church. We are not to deal with a man as an adversary over whom we are to seek to gain a victory, but as an erring brother - a brother still, though he errs. There was necessity for this caution.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:15
“I am greatly grieved for Valens, who was once a presbyter among you, because he so little understands the place that was given him [in the Church]. I exhort you, therefore, that ye abstain from covetousness, and that ye be chaste and truthful. "Abstain from every form of evil." For if a man cannot govern himself in such matters, how shall he enjoin them on others? If a man does not keep himself from covetousness, he shall be defiled by idolatry, and shall be judged as one of the heathen.”
Polycarp of Smyrna · written before 155 · Epistle to the Philippians 11patristic
The Lord of Peace, and Paul's Own Hand
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18
Now may the Lord of peace Himself: Paul takes the pen, This greeting is in my own hand, a mark in every letter. A letter seeming to be from us had alarmed them at 2:2. A secretary wrote the body, and the closing hand was a signature the churches could check.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
“The Lord of peace - Jesus Christ, who is called our peace, Eph 2:14; and The Prince of peace, Isa 9:6. May he give you peace, for he is the Fountain and Dispenser of it. Always - Both in your own consciences, and among yourselves. By all means - Παντι τροπῳ· By all means, methods, occasions, instruments, and occurrences; peace or prosperity in every form and shape. Instead of εν παντι τροπῳ, in every way, etc., εν παντι τοπῳ, in every place, is the reading of A*D*FG, some others; with the Vulgate and Itala.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:16
“Lord be with you all--May He bless you not only with peace, but also with His presence (Mt 28:20). Even the disorderly brethren (compare 2Th 3:15, "a brother") are included in this prayer.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
A secretary wrote the body of the letter, and Paul took the pen for the closing lines. The signature was a mark the churches could check, which mattered because a letter falsely claiming to be from him had unsettled them at 2:2. Haimo of Auxerre read it the same way.
2 Thessalonians 3:17
“The salutation of Paul with mine own hand; - See the notes, 1Co 16:21. “Which is the token in every epistle.” Greek: “sign.” That is, this signature is a sign or proof of the genuineness of the epistle; compare the notes on Gal 6:11. So I write - Referring, probably, to some mark or method which Paul had of signing his name, which was well known, and which would easily be recognized by them.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:17
“At the end of every letter he wrote his name both in Hebrew letters and in the Greek, lest what may come from one of the false apostles may be allowed to corrupt them.”
Haimo of Auxerre · written before 865 · Commentary (church-history corpus)patristic
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: The letter ends as it began at 1:2, with grace. Theophylact of Ohrid pictures the two greetings as walls on either side of everything said between them. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the subscription naming Athens in older English Bibles is a later addition, since Paul wrote from Corinth.
2 Thessalonians 3:18
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. This was the sign or token; See Gill on Rom 16:20 The subscription to this epistle is, "The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written from Athens"; though it seems rather to be written from Corinth. In the Syriac version it is said, "the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, which is written from Laodicea of Pisidia, and sent by the hands of Tychicus.''”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 3:18
“The grace - The favor, blessing, and influence of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with you all - be your constant companion. May you ever feel his presence, and enjoy his benediction! Amen - So let be! God grant it! This word in this place, has more evidence in favor of its genuineness than it has in most other places; and was probably added here by the apostle himself, or by the Church of the Thessalonians. The subscriptions to this epistle are various in the MSS. and Versions.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Thessalonians 3:18
“He closes every Epistle by praying for GRACE to those whom he addresses. Amen--omitted in the oldest manuscripts It was doubtless the response of the congregation after hearing the Epistle read publicly; hence it crept into copies. The Subscription is spurious, as the Epistle was written not "from Athens," but from Corinth.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: The close of a letter: a request for prayer, a charge with its discipline, a blessing of peace and a greeting signed in Paul's own hand, as Aquinas classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| We command | The word command stands four times in the chapter, at verses 4, 6, 10 and 12. John Chrysostom notes that the first letter only urged the church about work, while this letter commands it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The repeated word marks how far the matter had gone.John Chrysostom, Homily on 2 Thessalonians 5, on 2 Thessalonians 3:10. | 2 Thessalonians 3:4, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Thessalonians 3:12 |
| Undisciplined, three times | The word undisciplined stands at verses 6, 7 and 11. Adam Clarke explains the Greek as out of their rank, soldiers who do not keep their place. At verse 7 Paul applies the word to himself in the negative, as the pattern the idle should have followed.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Thessalonians 3:11. | 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 2 Thessalonians 3:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:11 |
| Working and busybodies | Verse 11 says the idle were accomplishing nothing but being busybodies. The Greek sets a word for working beside a word for working around, so the idle are busy in the wrong place. Adam Clarke gives the Greek and reads them as lounging at home or going about as religious gossips.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Thessalonians 3:11. | 2 Thessalonians 3:11 |
| Grace and peace, at the start and the close of the letter | The letter opens with grace and peace at 1:2. It closes with the Lord of peace giving peace at 3:16 and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ at 3:18. Theophylact of Ohrid pictures the two greetings as walls around everything said between them.Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians, on 2 Thessalonians 3:18. | 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, 2 Thessalonians 3:18 |
How the chapter is built
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 and 2 ask for prayer for the spread of the word and for rescue from wicked men. Verses 3 to 5 rest the church's safety on the faithful Lord. Verses 6 to 15 are the charge about the undisciplined: the command to keep away from them in verse 6, Paul's own example in verses 7 to 9, the rule of verse 10, the command to the idle in verses 11 and 12, and the church's part in verses 13 to 15. Verses 16 to 18 close the letter. Albert Barnes notes that the first letter had raised the same fault in the mild language of exhortation, and that this letter speaks with more weight (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on 2 Thessalonians 3:6).
The debated reading: why they stopped working
The chapter gives the fault and leaves its cause unstated. Matthew Henry suggests that the church's generous care for its poor encouraged some to live in idleness, knowing the church would feed them (Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 3:11). Adam Clarke links the second letter to a wrong reading of the first letter's words on the coming of the Lord (Commentary on the Bible, on 2:1), and the store's historical context for this chapter reads the idleness in that light. Each reading is stated by its holder and the page settles neither.
The debated reading: how far the separation goes
Verse 14 tells the church not to associate with the disobedient man, and verse 15 tells it to warn him as a brother. Albert Barnes reads this as the true spirit of church discipline, dealing with an erring brother as a brother still (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on 3:15). Nicholas of Lyra allows that the church may speak with him while it shuns him (Commentary, on 3:14). Tertullian argued from verse 6 that if the church must withdraw from an idle brother, it must withdraw all the more from a fornicator (On Modesty).
Where the chapter reaches
The rule of verse 10 applies the charge of 1 Thessalonians 4:11. Paul's own labor stands in Acts 18:3, Acts 20:34 and 1 Thessalonians 2:9, and his right to support is argued at 1 Corinthians 9. The discipline of verses 14 and 15 stands with Matthew 18:15 to 17 and 1 Corinthians 5, and the signature of verse 17 with 1 Corinthians 16:21 and Galatians 6:11.
Keep studying
Studies5
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians, on 2 Thessalonians 3:18 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians, on 2 Thessalonians 1:3.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Basil of Caesarea; Haimo of Auxerre, Commentary (church-history corpus); J. B. Lightfoot, Notes on the Epistles of St Paul; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Leo the Great, Letter 129 To Proterius, Bishop of Alexandria; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Polycarp of Smyrna, Epistle to the Philippians 11 and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians.