Request for Prayer
1Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
Warning Against Idleness
6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching[1] you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
14If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.
Special Greetings
16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
17I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
The third and final chapter of 2 Thessalonians is 18 verses in length. Let’s take a look:
1) V1-5 – 1Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
Paul wraps up with a request for prayer, not so much for himself as for the word of God, the gospel, to “spread rapidly and be honored.” He relied wholehearted on prayer for the success of his ministry and the fruition of God’s will (Romans 15:30-31; 2 Corinthians 1:11; Philippians 1:19). He understands what Vincent Cheung says: “We ask God to make His word effective in us and in those who hear us. We ask God to sanctify us by His Spirit and through the truth. We ask God to help us stand firm and hold to the doctrines that have been passed on to us in the apostolic and biblical traditions. To strengthen our brothers, we remind them of the promises and the faithfulness of Christ, and then we ask God to encourage their hearts by a direct action in the soul through these doctrines. Thus Christian life and ministry place all the emphasis on intellectual doctrines, but place all the expectation on gracious divine action to render these doctrines effective in us and in others.”
In v2, Paul reveals his desire to be delivered from evil (Matthew 6:13). He longs for prayer in that regard, and he acknowledges why this prayer is necessary; as Calvin says, “Faith is a gift of God that is too rare to be found in all.” In that acknowledgement, Paul implies that people of faith are to live holy lives, different from the wicked people of the world (Matthew 13:24-30). Paul also encourages all believers in v3 to rely on the faithfulness of God in answering this prayer, not only for Paul, but for all of His children (Malachi 3:6; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 10:13; 2 Corinthians 1:18; James 1:17).
In v4-5, Paul exhibits confidence in the Thessalonians and prays that God would continue to preserve them in their diligence. They loved God and waited patiently for Christ, all the while loving one another.
2) V6-12 – 6In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching [or tradition] you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ 11We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat.
Paul issues a command “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…to keep away from every brother who…does not live according to the teaching” (Matthew 18:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 3:10-11). He’s speaking of idle individuals who refused to work and instead went house to house as “busybodies” (v11), meddling in others’ business and relying on others for food and sustenance. Calvin says that Paul “forbids that their indolence should be encouraged by indulgence.” In other words, “keep away from” such professing Christians, because they were literally “disorderly;” their lifestyle did not conform to sound doctrine. Perhaps by avoiding them, they will be shamed into repentance and orderly lives, as well as prevented from further dishonoring the church. If not, their profession would be called into question.
In v7-9, Paul repeats the example given in his previous letter (1 Thessalonians 2:9-12), that of his hard work while in Thessalonica, and he urges his audience to follow his model behavior.
From v10, we see that the Thessalonian Christians were tending toward idleness even while Paul was there with them; thus, he gave them the command to keep food from those who don’t work (Psalm 128:2; Proverbs 10:4). As noted earlier, Paul calls these people, not busy, but busybodies (v11), as they were probably nosy, getting into others’ business, instead of tending to their own. Calvin notes, “In the Greek participles there is, an elegant play upon words, which I have attempted in some manner to imitate, by rendering it as meaning that they do nothing, but have enough to do in the way of curiosity… Idle persons are, for the most part, chargeable, that, by unseasonably bustling about, they give trouble to themselves and to others. For we see, that those who have nothing to do are much more fatigued by doing nothing, than if they were employing themselves in some very important work; they run hither and thither; wherever they go, they have the appearance of great fatigue; they gather all sorts of reports, and they put them in a confused way into circulation. You would say that they bore the weight of a kingdom upon their shoulders.” He also suggests that in saying “he shall not eat,” the apostle Paul “does not mean that he gave commandment to those persons, but forbade that the Thessalonians should encourage their indolence by supplying them with food.” This command would have significant impact on welfare in our nation. Those disorderly needed “to settle down and earn” their food.
Vincent Cheung says, “Paul had said, ‘warn those who are idle’ in his first letter (1 Thessalonians 5:14), but apparently that did not eradicate the problem. So when he receives report that some of them remain idle (2 Thessalonians 3:11), he brings up the matter again in this second letter. This time he takes on a more urgent tone, first appealing to ‘the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,’ and then issuing a ‘command’ to compel the brothers to take decisive action against those who persist in idleness. Rather than earning their own food, they live on the charity of others – they are loafers and freeloaders. And not being busy with meaningful labor, they meddle in other people’s business.” And it’s interesting that Paul doesn’t issue a command to the actual people who are idle. I wonder if he thinks that they are false brothers. He issues commands to those brothers who are not idle regarding how to deal who those professing brothers who are idle. Paul’s written example here serves as illustration of how to deal with the problem.
3) V13-18 – 13And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 14If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 16Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 17I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
After saying not to share bread with the idle, in order to make sure that the Thessalonians didn’t take this command too far, Paul exhorts them to perseverance in good deeds in v13. Calvin says, “Paul admonishes us, that, although there are many that are undeserving, while others abuse our liberality, we must not on this account leave off helping those that need our aid. Here we have a statement worthy of being observed – that however ingratitude, moroseness, pride, arrogance, and other unseemly dispositions on the part of the poor, may have a tendency to annoy us, or to dispirit us, from a feeling of weariness, we must strive, nevertheless, never to leave off aiming at doing good.”
Next, Paul teaches in v14 that the goal of removing oneself from the presence of an unrepentant professing Christian is repentance (1 Timothy 5:20). “Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.” This shame would hopefully, by God’s grace and kindness, lead the sinner to repent and be restored into fellowship. Calvin says, “I have no doubt that [Paul] refers to excommunication; for, besides that the disorder to which he had adverted deserved a severe chastisement, contumacy is an intolerable vice. He had said before, Withdraw yourselves from them, for they live in a disorderly manner (2 Thessalonians 3:6). And now he says, Keep no company, for they reject my admonition. He expresses, therefore, something more by this second manner of expression than by the former; for it is one thing to withdraw from intimate acquaintance with an individual, and quite another to keep altogether aloof from his society. In short, those that do not obey after being admonished, he excludes from the common society of believers. By this we are taught that we must employ the discipline of excommunication against all the obstinate persons who will not otherwise allow themselves to be brought under subjection, and must be branded with disgrace, until, having been brought under and subdued, they learn to obey.” Yet at the same time, this discipline must be meted with comfort (2 Corinthians 2:7); therefore, Paul adds to treat these idle, professing brothers as brothers, not as enemies (v15).
After such a conflict of excommunication and comforting a straying believer, peace is needed. So Paul issues a benediction of peace from the Lord of peace in v16. He may also be showing a desire that such unruly persons as described previously do not disrupt the peace of the church, granted by God. Finally, since the Thessalonians may have received a fraudulent letter, claiming to be from him, here in v17, Paul writes with his own hand, not by amanuensis, “the distinguishing mark in all” his letters. And he concludes in v18 with a worthy blessing, that “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”
Footnotes
- 3:6 Or tradition
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.