B. Thanksgiving (1:2-3)
B. THANKSGIVING (1:2-3)
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul here begins a practice that carries through most of his later letters, where the greeting is immediately followed by a thanksgiving report. In so doing he is simply radically Christianizing a commonplace phenomenon in certain kinds of letters from the Greco-Roman world.45 In this first instance, however, we are confronted by twin difficulties: (1) it is not clear when the actual content of the thanksgiving ceases and something else that looks very much like a narrative of past relationships takes over;46 and (2) our verses 2-10 are comprised of two very long and complex sentences (vv. 2-5 and 6-10). So any breaking up of this material is generally arbitrary on the part of the interpreter — although reasons can be given for whatever one does.
This commentary will follow the paragraph structure of the TNIV, since, under any view, verse 4 serves as a janus between the thanksgiving and the subsequent narrative recall of the Thessalonians’ conversion and their relationship with Paul. On the one hand, it is linked to verses 2-3 both grammatically and in content, and thus is still part of the thanksgiving proper. On the other hand, when Paul begins to remind them specifically of the nature of their election mentioned in verse 4, in terms of their own experience of it (v. 5), the thanksgiving gives way to an extensive recollection for the Thessalonians’ sakes of the events of their conversion (vv. 6-10), including especially a long “defense” of the apostles’ conduct while among them (2:1- 3:10).
In any event, one should be aware of how the whole sentence (vv. 2-5) “works” in the way it falls out. The structure of the sentence is easy enough to see:
We always thank God for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering your faith, love, and hope, knowing your election.
Thus Paul says that in prayer he and his apostolic companions give thanks for them by doing two things: always mentioning them in prayer as they constantly remember their faith, love, and hope; and all of this because they also know that these latter are the evidence of the Thessalonians’ election. But right at that point Paul goes on to spell out the evidential aspects of their election/conversion, and with that what began as a thanksgiving report begins to tail off into a sustained narrative, where he reminds them first of their conversion and its being well known elsewhere in Greece (1:5-10). So for all practical purposes the actual content of the thanksgiving report itself is found in these two verses.47
2 What is said in this first part of the thanksgiving report will become typical of all of Paul’s later thanksgivings. The thanksgiving takes place in the context of prayer, which in the ordinary “logic” of things should be the first thing up. That is, while we pray for you, we continually give thanks for you. But this is a “thanksgiving report,” not a “prayer report,” hence the first participle (“making mention”) simply gives the context for the apostles’ repeated thanksgivings for the Thessalonians believers — in all instances as the three of them pray for them. It is for “all of you,” as they are constantly mentioned in prayer. The plural “we,” which is found here and in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, occurs elsewhere only in Colossians 1:3, even where others are included in the salutation (as, e.g., in 1 Corinthians). But in contrast to all of Paul’s other letters, with the partial exception of 2 Corinthians, it here continues throughout the letter — except for 2:18; 3:5; and 5:27. This is probably significant in this case, in that even though Paul was undoubtedly the “point person” for the attack against the apostles that lies behind 2:1-12, he will regularly remind the Thessalonians that all three of them were in that original ministry together.
The focus of the thanksgiving is “for all of you,” where Paul (typically) expresses thanksgiving for people, not for “things” or “experiences.” The “all” in this case is probably not so much a matter of emphasis as such, but a way of putting upfront that all of the members of the believing community, including some who will need to be mildly corrected in this letter, are part of the newly formed ekklēsia of believers in Thessalonica. At least there is nothing in the letter itself to suggest that Paul’s giving thanks “for all of you” hints at some kind of internal unrest in the community, as it very likely does in some other letters (e.g., Romans, Philippians). At the time of this writing the believing community in Thessalonica would not have been very large, and Paul’s and his companions’ memory of them is still fresh, and thus inclusive — even of the “disruptive idle” noted in 5:14, who had been anticipated in 4:9-12.
The more difficult, but not especially significant, decision regarding the clause that makes up our verse 2 is the placement of the adverb “contin-ually,” which comes at the end of the verse in the Greek text. The Nestle-Aland Greek text punctuated the sentence so as to make the adverb go with the participle that begins verse 3, and in this they have been followed by many others, including a goodly number of English translations. Thus, “we continually remember before our God and Father your work, etc.”48 But here is a case where Pauline usage elsewhere, plus the structure of the first two clauses, seems to favor the TNIV and others. Although Paul uses this word only four times in his letters,49 in each case it is in connection with prayer and thanksgiving, never with “remembering.” Moreover, taking it in this case as the conclusion of the first clause, rather than as the beginning of the next one, makes for a clause that is finely balanced with verse 3, which begins with “remembering” and concludes with “before our God and Father.” In this latter case most English versions rightly bring the final modifier upfront for the sake of good English. So too with this clause, which makes most sense as one finds it above, “and continually mention you in our prayers.”
We should note further that the logic of Paul’s sentence implies that he and Silas and Timothy give thanks for the Thessalonians — always — while at the same time they are interceding for them in prayer — continually. Thus in this earliest letter Paul puts intercession and thanksgiving together, which we learn from other letters was his constant habit.
3 With a second participial clause Paul returns to the thanksgiving with which this long sentence began. The content of the clause itself is basically manageable in terms of understanding what he is trying to communicate to the Thessalonians in their present adversity. Nonetheless, some of the details require discussion, which can best be presented by offering a more “literal” rendition of Paul’s clause (in his word order, and picking up from the main verb): “we always thank God for all of you . . . , remembering your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope of our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.”
We begin at the end, by noting that in this third mention of God in the letter, and thus in the Pauline corpus, God is once again designated as “Father,” but in this case with the possessive “our.” Thus for Paul the risen and exalted Christ Jesus is our heavenly “Lord,” while the eternal God, because of the coming of the Son, is now regularly referred to as our Father.50 How this came about, including the role of the Spirit in the process, is spelled out in some detail in Galatians 4:4-7. The ease with which this is said here indicates that such talk about God has long been in place and has likewise been part of Paul’s instruction of these early Gentile believers.
Otherwise, three matters are at issue in the sentence: (a) how the final phrase, “in the presence of our God and Father,” is intended to function: as a modifier of the phrase “of our Lord Jesus Christ” or of the opening participle, “remembering”; (b) whether the genitive, “of our Lord Jesus Christ,” modifies only the final phrase (“endurance of hope”), or is intended to do triple duty in the same way as the single “your” with which the clause begins; (c) the nature and meaning of the phrases that make up the crucial triad: faith, love, and hope.
The first two items are essentially structural and thus affect only one’s overall understanding of the clause. Regarding the final phrase (“in the presence of our God and Father”), it is remotely possible — especially in light of verse 10 below — that Paul is thinking of “the Lord Jesus Christ” as now in the Father’s presence; but it is difficult to see how that is a cause for present thanksgiving with regard to the Thessalonians themselves. More likely, therefore, as suggested above on verse 2 and in keeping with the word order there, Paul intended this as an inclusio with the participle, “remembering,” as the TNIV has it.51 Thus, Paul envisions himself and Silas and Timothy as being “in the presence of our God and Father,” as they offer joyful thanksgiving to God for the Thessalonian believers.
In light of this more certain expression of “inclusio” in Paul’s clause, it is possible that he also intended both “our” and “of the Lord Jesus Christ” to do triple duty. That is, just as the TNIV and other translations recognize that the “your” goes with each of the three nouns in the Christian triad, so also the final phrase may go with each of the three. If so, then not only is their “hope in our Lord, Jesus Christ,” but so also is their “work” a product of their “faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ,” and their labor is prompted by their “love for Christ.” While one cannot be certain here, it does fit the pattern of such inclusios that recur in these two letters.52
One may note further that in such a reading of Paul’s clause, the whole takes the form of a kind of triple inclusio. The focus is clearly on the inner set of three, which are enclosed by the possessive “your” and “the Lord Jesus Christ,” where the Thessalonians are the subject of the verbal ideas in the triad of faith, love, and hope and the Lord Jesus Christ is the object in at least the first and third instance. That is, their faith and hope are in or toward Christ, while their “love” is most likely toward others. All of this in turn is enclosed by the outer set having to do with Paul’s “remembering [these virtues] before our God and Father.”
What is crucial in the clause are the reasons for the thanksgiving, which seem intended primarily as encouragement to the Thessalonians. Indeed, one should read these words first of all in light of chapters 2 and 3, knowing that they are expressed in response to Timothy’s return with an essentially good report about the Thessalonian believers, even though they are now in the throes of considerable persecution (see 2:14; 3:2-5). Paul’s gratitude to God for them finds expression in terms of the especially Christian triad — faith, love, hope — which appears here for the first time in Christian literature. It appears again in 5:8, and thereafter in Paul’s letters on a recurring basis.53 At the same time, however, especially in light of the rest of the letter, one needs to take equally seriously the first words in each of the phrases (work, labor, endurance).54
It has been common to read the first two of these (“work of faith, labor of love”) as Christian platitudes, having to do with various forms of service and duty directly related to the gospel itself. The reason for this is easy to see; for even though Paul in later letters uses both nouns and their corresponding verbs to speak both of “the work of the Lord” and of “working with one’s own hands,”55 in the context of the divine triad one’s instincts are to think exclusively of the former (doing “the Lord’s work”). However, since Paul’s later thanksgivings regularly anticipate issues that will be addressed in the letter, sometimes where correction is needed in the community,56 that seems most likely to be the case here as well. Thus Paul, by way of thanksgiving, is commending the whole community, a net thrown wide enough here to embrace those who also need to get on board in these matters.
Unfortunately a “literal” rendering of these three phrases has also led to further misunderstanding on the part of many readers. Thus “labor of love,” for example, is quite understandable at one level since it has made its way into common English parlance, as having to do with certain activities as motivated by love for those involved. But whether that is its meaning here is highly questionable. Furthermore, “work of faith” and “patience of hope” are especially ambiguous in English, unless they are turned into possessives: “faith’s work” and “hope’s patience.” Thus the T/NIV — and a few others57 — have turned all three of them into meaningful phrases that capture the “result /reason” sense of the three genitives.58
The first phrase, “your work of faith,” has been an especially troubling idea for many Protestants, especially in light of the emphatic contrasts in Galatians and Romans between “faith in Christ Jesus” vis-à-vis “works of law.” But that is an unfortunate misunderstanding of the concern of these latter two letters, not to mention a misreading of Paul, who in both letters is referring specifically to Gentiles’ being required to “do” certain aspects of the Jewish law (circumcision, sabbath, food laws). At the same time Paul is quite insistent that true faith can best be seen in the “good works” that it produces, as Galatians 5-6 make especially clear.59 His language here reflects much the same idea. True faith in Christ — as with true faith in the Old Testament — expresses itself in “work.”60 And, in any case, in this earliest letter “faith” is a much broader term than the more narrowly defined use in (most of) Galatians and Romans.61 Moreover, “work” itself takes many forms in Paul’s letters. Sometimes it expresses the activities of “ministry” (e.g., 1 Cor 3:13; 15:58); sometimes in doing good toward others (Gal 6:9-10; Col 1:10; Eph 2:10); and sometimes it has to do with what Paul himself has accomplished for God (1 Cor 9:1). In the present case, the term probably has no specific referent, except that it would most likely include the first two items just noted.
The more difficult phrase is the second one, “your labor of love.” First of all, the word “labor” in this phrase puts a bit more emphasis on the idea of toil and hardship, although it is also used in a more generic way for “work” of all kinds, including “laboring for the gospel” (e.g., 1 Cor 3:8; 15:58). Indeed, for the majority of interpreters this is the only meaning of the phrase.62 But such a reading seems to be a much too generic, rather than a case-specific, understanding of the phrase. After all, early on in the narrative that follows (2:9), Paul reminds the Thessalonians that the missionaries themselves did both kinds of “work.” Thus in the same sentence he reminds them that he and Silas “worked (ergazomenoi) night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone” and did so “while we preached the gospel of God to you.”63
In light of 4:9-12 in this letter, therefore, where Paul urges these believers to “mind your own business and work with your hands,” a matter to which he returns in full measure in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, he most likely is here anticipating that corrective word with this laudatory note. In thanking them all for their “work produced by faith” (probably Christian service) and “labor prompted by love” (probably manual labor), Paul is thus offering genuine thanks for those among them who are doing this very thing, even though for others it will be a matter needing correction. Thus rather than thanking God for them with Christian platitudes, Paul is in fact giving thanks for things that are both at work among them and at the same time need some correcting or bolstering. This also means that the word “love” in this case refers to “love for others,” rather than out of love for Christ.
The final phrase, “endurance inspired by hope,” is the least ambiguous of the three. Whatever else was true of these early believers, they were eagerly awaiting the final glory that would be theirs (and ours) at the coming of Christ. Indeed, the possibility is that they have been overly eager. In any case, such expectation is part of being a follower of Christ. Not only does one labor because of faith in Christ and labor with one’s own hands out of love for others (so as not to burden them), but all of this is done with the firm expectation that what Christ began at his resurrection will be brought to ultimate consummation at his coming. One’s hope rests secure in the risen Lord, the once crucified Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. “Hope,” therefore, in Paul is a “content” word, meaning a word that has to do with his absolute certainty about the future based on Christ’s resurrection, not a word of wishfulness about a less than sure tomorrow.
Thus the primary thrust of the thanksgiving to this point is altogether on the outworking of the Thessalonian believers’ coming to faith in Christ in terms of their living for Christ by caring for others. But that is not all, important as it is, so Paul will go on next to remind them of the dynamic nature of their conversion in its own right, which he spells out in our verse 5.
Much can be learned from listening carefully to Paul’s thanksgiving reports, especially since it is easy to limit thanksgiving to “things” or to “blessings” that people receive. But in this first recorded letter two things stand out: (1) that he actually tells the people for whom he is praying what he is thankful for in terms of their ongoing relationship with Christ; and (2) that he thanks God for the very things that will also need some correctives. And this is not “buttering them up,” as it were, so as to let the “have it” later on. Rather, it is gratitude to God for what God has been, and is, doing in and among them. It should perhaps further be noted that Paul thinks of thanksgiving as a part of prayer, and he is especially quite ready to thank God for his friends, even when he well knows that they will need some of the correctives that follow.