b. Prayer for the converts (2:16–17)
4. Thanksgiving and encouragement (2:13–17)
a. Thanksgiving (2:13–15)
13. Paul turns to the bright future which, by contrast with that of ‘the lawless one’ and his followers, awaits his Thessalonian friends. In words reminiscent of 1:3, he emphasizes the obligation that rests on him and his companions to give thanks continually for what God has done in and for the converts. The word order, with its stress on obligation, may be an intentional recalling of the language of the opening of the epistle, and a re-emphasizing of the point that any modest disclaimer of the Thessalonians that they were unworthy of the praise accorded them in the first epistle was out of place. The writers simply had to give thanks for the very real work of God so plainly manifest in these humble believers.
They are brothers loved by the Lord (cf. 1 Thess. 1:4), where Lord means Jesus. Paul uses this term often and it is specially appropriate here, where he has been speaking of the might of Antichrist. Those loved by the Lord have nothing to fear from such a one. Paul is not setting out a doctrine of the Trinity, but all three Persons are mentioned (as in Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:4–6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4–6; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:2; Jude 20–21).
Paul gives thanks for the election of the Thessalonians and uses an unusual word for chose (heilato); it is not found elsewhere in the New Testament in this sense (though it is used in LXX of the choosing of Israel in Deut. 26:18, and in a compound form in Deut. 7:6–7; 10:15). Several words are employed for election, which may indicate that it is many-sided. The Thessalonians were chosen from the beginning, which Findlay and others understand as the beginning of the preaching of the gospel in Thessalonica. This exact expression is not found elsewhere in Paul, but other writers use it for the beginning of all things (e.g. Matt. 19:4; 1 John 2:13), and the idea that election took place before the world is familiar in Pauline writings (cf. Eph. 1:4). We should take it this way here (cf. NEB ‘from the beginning of time’). Some MSS read ‘first-fruits’ (aparchēn rather than ap’ archēs), and this is accepted by Moffatt, Bruce, Whiteley, GNB, etc. But the evidence favours from the beginning.
Election is ‘for salvation’ and this is further defined as through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. The first expression points us to the setting apart of the whole person for the service of God, something that can be accomplished only in the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:2). The second is concerned rather with the response of faith to the gospel (understanding truth as in vv. 10, 12). The combination brings out the primary function of the Holy Spirit, but also the necessity for our response.
14. Paul moves from the eternal purpose in the mind of God (‘from the beginning’) to the manifestation of that purpose in time (he called you) and its future consummation (in the glory; cf. Rom. 8:28–30; 1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24). The divine call is of central importance. Paul uses the term ‘call’ with the implication that it has not only been made, but answered. The terminology of the Gospels is different; there many may be ‘called’ but few ‘chosen’ (e.g. Matt. 22:14). But, while the terminology is different, the essential idea is not, and the primacy of the divine is clear in both. For our gospel see comment on 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
Sharing in the glory is not something additional to salvation (v. 13), but a filling out of part of its content. For share see the note on peripoiēsis (1 Thess. 5:9). The glory of our Lord Jesus Christ is in view in all the gospel; when people receive the gospel they become sharers in Christ’s glory (cf. John 17:22; Rom. 8:17). That glory has already been manifested in part (John 1:14; 13:31), but its fullness is yet to appear (see 1:10 and comment).
Denney speaks of these last two verses as ‘a system of theology in miniature’, a statement justified by the richness of their content. Important aspects of the Christian message are not mentioned, such as the cross and the resurrection, but they are implied in what is said. And for people subject to the difficulties and perplexities of the Thessalonians, what is said must have been extremely satisfying.
15. So then (ara oun; see comment on 1 Thess. 5:6), since God has so clearly included you in his great purpose, and since that purpose cannot be defeated even by Satan and ‘the lawless one’, brothers (note the affectionate address in this serious exhortation), stand firm, neither frightened by the magnitude of the opposition, nor unsettled by uncertainties about the details of the end. Paul is appealing to the known truth of the gospel as a safeguard against being stampeded by the kind of thing his friends found difficult.
Paradoseis, translated teachings but better ‘traditions’ (NASB, NEB, JB, etc.), draws attention to the derivative nature of the gospel (cf. 1 Cor. 11:23; 15:3). It stands for all Christian teaching, oral or written. The essential thing is that it is handed on by one to another and that it was received in the first place from God. ‘The prominent idea of paradosis … is that of an authority external to the teacher himself’ (Lightfoot). Milligan points out that the word is used in the inscriptions of ‘Treasure Lists and Inventories … the articles enumerated being “handed over” ’. This is another way of putting the truth (insisted on in 1 Thess. 2:13, etc.) that the gospel is not of human origin; the preacher is never at liberty to substitute his own thoughts for what he has received. The traditions came both by word of mouth and by our (hēmōn) letter (probably 1 Thessalonians). It does not matter in which form God’s word was delivered. Either way it was authoritative.
b. Prayer for the converts (2:16–17)
16. As in the first epistle, Paul brings the main section of the letter to a close with a prayer for the Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thess. 3:11–13), and some of the wording is markedly similar. He places our Lord Jesus Christ himself before God our Father, probably because the Lord Jesus has been much in mind in the preceding section. Paul’s usual habit is to mention the Father first, but the order is sometimes reversed, as in the well-known ‘grace’ (2 Cor. 13:14; cf. Gal. 1:1). The facts that the Lord Jesus is so closely associated with the Father, and that on occasion he is placed first, are evidence of the way Paul thought of him. Clearly he did not distinguish him sharply from the Father and this is seen in the fact that the verbs ‘encourage’ and ‘strengthen’ in the next verse are both singular, despite the double subject. Paul saw the Father and the Son as in some sense one (see also on 1 Thess. 3:11).
After God our Father Paul has two participles linked with a common article (loved and gave); these probably refer to the Father only, although it is grammatically possible that they refer also to the Son. Both are in the aorist, which seems to mean that loved refers primarily to the manifestation of the love at Calvary, and that gave likewise points to God’s initial gift. Eternal encouragement underlines the thought that this good gift of God is lasting; it cannot be shaken by anything now or through eternity. The eschatological note is continued in good hope. The religions of the day found little place for hope, but hope rings through the New Testament, and it is much more than the mild optimism that often passes for hope in modern times. In the New Testament hope has something of the note of certainty about it, because it is grounded in the divine nature and rests on the divine promises. Here it is the gift of grace (see comment on 1 Thess. 1:1), and a hope based on God’s grace can never be disappointed (cf. Rom. 5:5). It is a good hope, not confined to minor issues of the here and now, but reaching over into the coming age.
17. For the singular verbs see comments on verse 16 and for their meanings those on 1 Thessalonians 3:2. Paul prays for a comprehensive strengthening of his converts; every good deed and word includes all things, great and small. The Christian is to be busy. As Barclay says, ‘The Christian is not called to dream, but to fight … He is called not only to the greatest privilege in the world, but also to the greatest task in the world.’ Hearts refers to the depths of the inner being; Paul is praying that his friends will be strengthened inwardly, at the very core.