Vi. Godly Discipline (3:6-15)
i Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith.
Paul follows his prayer for the Thessalonians with a request that they should pray for him. He was a very great apostle, but his greatness consisted not so much in sheer native ability (though he had his share of that) as in his recognition of his dependence on God. It arises out of this that he so often requests the prayers of those to whom he ministers. He did not see himself as high above them, but as one with them. He valued their intercessions and sought their prayers.
1 Thus, as he passes from the major section of this letter to that which follows, I he does so with a request for prayer. He puts his imperative "pray" in an emphatic position, which leaves no doubt as to the importance he attaches to it, and he puts it in the present continuous tense, so that it means "pray continually." He looks not for a perfunctory petition, but for continuing prayer (though perhaps we should not press the tense; Paul often asks people to pray for him and this may be another example of his recognition of his continuing need for prayer support). In the first letter he had requested prayer (1 Thess. 5:25). Now he specifies the objects for prayer. The first of them concerns "the word [NIV has "message"] of the Lord." This means the preaching of the gospel message (as in 1 Thess. 2:13). Paul wants it to "run" ("spread rapidly," NIV), a piece of vivid imagery in our present verse and probably going back ultimately to "his word runs swiftly" (Ps. 147:15). It is clear that when Paul first preached in Thessalonica there were spectacular results. Many were speedily converted. It is this kind of free movement of the word of God that he has in mind. With this he couples the idea of the word's being "glorified" (NIV, "honored"; cf. Acts 13:48). People are led to glorify the word when they observe what it does. There may also be a glance at the idea that, when the word is operative in the way spoken of, it displays its glories before people. Both verbs are in the present subjunctive, and the significance of this continuous tense should not be overlooked. Paul is not looking for a single striking manifestation of the word, but for its continuous swift advance and its continual arousing of admiration.
"Just as it was with you" reminds us of Paul's difficulties at the time of writing. Since his departure from Thessalonica he had been compelled to leave Berea, he had had little success in Athens, and he was meeting opposition in Corinth. He had begun his work in that city by reasoning in the synagogue, but the Jews opposed him; he then concentrated on the Gentiles. He was evidently somewhat disheartened, for the Lord spoke to him in a vision to encourage him (Acts 18:1-11). He himself said that he came to the Corinthians "in weakness and fear, and with much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3). In these difficult times he recalls the glorious days in Macedonia, days that were continuing, judging from the reports he was receiving. There is no "it was" in the Greek, and it is not required. The statement is very general.2 Paul is probably including both the first days of the mission in Thessalonica and the days when he was writing. It is worth noting that the account in Acts 17 does not picture the mission in Thessalonica as outstandingly successful; evidently the writers of the New Testament were not concerned to highlight every success. But from this passage it is clear that the mission to Thessalonica had been very successful and that the success continued after the first preachers went on to other work.
2 The second petition is that Paul may be delivered from his enemies. Both the use of the aorist tense in the verb "delivered"3 and the article with "wicked and evil men" point to a definite situation. Paul is not asking for prayer that he might be kept safe in his constant journeys and preachings. He writes in the light of his particular situation. He writes knowing that his friends are aware of his difficulty. He looks to them to join him in prayer that he may be delivered out of it. It seems most natural to understand his enemies as those Jews who opposed his preaching (so Marshall, though Best remains dubious). We know that they dogged his steps at Corinth as they did in other places (Acts 18:5, 12ff.). His request reminds us of similar words elsewhere (Rom. 15:3 1).
The word rendered "wicked" (REB, "wrong-headed") is used of persons only here in the New Testament (it is used of things in Luke 23:41; Acts 25:5, where it is translated "wrong," and in Acts 28:6, where the rendering is "unusual"). Basically it signifies what is out of place. When it is used in an ethical sense it denotes that which is improper, and thus unrighteous ("perverse," Best). Joined with "evil" it refers to the malignant temper of those who were setting themselves in opposition to the apostle as he sought to propagate the faith.
B. GOD'S FAITHFULNESS (3:3-5)
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
Following his request for prayer for himself Paul goes on to a little prayer for his correspondents, prefaced by some words of encouragement. He has drawn attention to some of their shortcomings, and he will do this again before this letter ends. But he does not leave them in any doubt as to his confidence in them. Specifically he makes it clear that he expects them to obey the directions he has given them.
3 As so often in his writings, Paul turns away from the difficulties of people to the God on whom all must depend. He does not shut his eyes to the very great difficulties of his situation, as his request for prayer plainly shows. But he knows that the really significant factor is the character of his Lord, not the might of the enemy. His usual practice is to refer to the faithfulness of God (1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; 2 Cor. 1:18).5 It is quite in keeping with the whole drift of the present passage, however, for him to speak of "the Lord." From the time of the mention of the Man of Lawlessness onward Paul has been constantly referring to "the Lord." The repetition is part of the way in which he seeks to inspire his converts. The reiteration of the lordship of their Leader means a corresponding belittlement of the forces of evil. Paul emphasizes the faithfulness of the Lord as an existing reality by inserting the verb "is." Normally in Greek this verb would not be necessary in a sentence of this kind. In none of the three passages listed above, for example, where God is said to be faithful is the verb inserted. Its presence here gives emphasis and certainty to the thought. The Lord is really faithful.6
There are two things that he looks for the Lord to do, and it is a little unexpected that he speaks of them being done to the Thessalonians rather than to himself. He has been speaking of his own difficulties and requesting their prayers. We expect accordingly that he will go on to say that he is confident that the Lord will deliver him. But the concern of the pastor for his flock rises above any personal considerations. Paul speaks of what the Lord will do for them and not of what he will do for him. First, the Lord will "strengthen" them (for this verb see on I Thess. 3:2). The faithfulness of the Lord means that his people will not be left to the mercy of any and every temptation that may assail them, but they will be settled in the faith.
Second, the Lord will protect them. The verb hardly calls for comment, though it is not very common in the Pauline writings. It is not joined with the verb "strengthen" anywhere else in the Greek Bible. It is not certain whether the last expression in this verse should be understood as "the evil one" (NIV), or as "evil" (KJV); the Greek could mean either. We have the same problem in the Lord's Prayer, and elsewhere in the New Testament. Most commentators agree that the reference to a person is probable here. It fits the context better, for the preceding chapter has been concerned with evil persons, not with the general concept of evil.? There is also the point made by Calvin, "I prefer, however, to interpret it of Satan, the head of all the wicked. For it were a small thing to be delivered from the cunning or violence of men, if the Lord did not protect us from all spiritual injury."
4 From the thought of the faithfulness of the Lord Paul proceeds to express his confidence, a confidence that rests in that same Lord, that his friends will do what he enjoins them. It is not clear with what we should take "confidence." The meaning may be "We have confidence in the Lord" (NIV, cf. Moffatt, "we rely upon you in the Lord"), or "we, in the Lord, have every confidence" (JB), or "the Lord gives us confidence in you" (GNB).8 The word order favors the first view, but in the end they come to much the same. Paul is putting his trust basically in the Lord. But he is expecting the Lord so to work in the lives of his friends that they will respond to the commands laid on them. The connection of thought is not obvious, but then the connection of thought is not obvious in a number of places in this letter. It is a true letter. Paul writes to his friends as his thoughts come to him, and there is not the carefully marshalled argument of the theological treatise. These words show us something of the tactfulness of Paul. Though the things of which he speaks are not defined, it seems fairly clear that he is leading up to the injunctions of verses W. He wants the Thessalonians to obey his directions, but he begins by expressing his complete and continuing confidence in them (we should not miss the significance of the fact that his verb is in the perfect). Always he loves to praise where he can. His confidence does not rest in them as people: "in the Lord" shows clearly where the basis of his certainty lies. He says that they both "are doing and will continue to do" the things in question. The emphasis is probably on "will continue to do." As Findlay points out, had he been thinking only of their present or past performances he would probably have used a verb like "know" (as he does, for example, in 2 Cor. 9:2), instead of "have confidence" (CGT).
He is preparing the way for the commands that follow. The verb "command" denotes an authoritative order (see the note on the cognate noun, 1 Thess. 4:2). It is probably not without significance that this is the verb he will employ in verses 6, 10, and 12.
5 This verse has important links of thought both with what precedes and what follows. Paul has been speaking of his confidence in the Thessalonians, but it is a confidence in the Lord and what he will do in them, and not simply a confidence in people. Thus immediately after his expression of confidence he breaks into prayer. It is only as the Lord works in them that his confidence will prove to have been justified. And if the fact that he prays follows significantly on the preceding verse, the content of the prayer has an important bearing on what follows. Paul is about to deal with certain people who are idle and insubordinate. He never shirks an issue, and his directions when he comes to them are blunt enough. But it is not part of his plan to give needless offense, and the reference to the love of God is timely.9 It reminds them that Paul speaks as one who himself owed everything to the love of God and who loved God himself, and also that they are in the same position. There should be no resentment among people whose thoughts are fixed on God's love. Similarly the reference to "Christ's perseverance" is in point when people's idleness is about to be rebuked.
"The Lord" here is Jesus; we have another indication of the place Paul accorded him in this prayer addressed to him. The verb "direct" (see on 1 Thess. 3:11) signifies the removal of all obstacles so that the way is cleared. The noun "heart" (see on 1 Thess. 2:4) stands for the whole of the inner life. Paul's prayer, then, is that the Lord will lead his friends to concentrate their thinking, their emotions, and their will on the love and steadfastness to which he refers.
Conformably to this, "the perseverance of Christ" (again NIV removes the ambiguity and thus half the possible meaning) will denote first the attitude of Christ, and then the answering attitude on the part of the Thessalonians.'' "Perseverance," here as elsewhere, will denote "steadfastness" or "endurance" (see the note on I Thess. 1:3). The Thessalonians are being reminded of the constancy exhibited by the Master, which forms the pattern on which they should model themselves.