2 Thessalonians 3:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

NIV: But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

NASB: But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

CSB: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen and guard you from the evil one.

NLT: But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

KJV: But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

NKJV: But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

In this verse Paul and his coworkers express their confidence in the Lord. Because God is faithful, He could be trusted to strengthen the Thessalonians and protect them from Satan. Because God is faithful He will not allow evil men to gain a victory over believers.

The Bible assures us that God is completely trustworthy. Even when circumstances seem dim, He is faithful to sustain His people and bring good out of bad (Romans 8:28–29). Even when the prophet Jeremiah grieved over the fall of Jerusalem, he took courage in knowing that God is faithful. He wrote in Lamentations 3:21–23, "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." The Lord is faithful to provide for our daily needs (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19), and to provide the way of escape when we are tempted and tried (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Second Thessalonians 3:1–5 requests prayer that, as Paul spread the gospel, it would bear fruit as it had when the Thessalonians received it. His appeal also includes a hope that he would be delivered from wicked men. He expresses confidence that the Lord would strengthen his readers and protect them from Satan. He is certain the Thessalonian believers would obey his commands, and he prays that they would love God and adhere to Paul's teachings.

Paul expresses confidence that the Thessalonians would do what he commanded. He addresses the sin of idleness in the lives of some of the believers at Thessalonica, commanding the church to avoid an idle brother. Paul also points to his own example of diligence, when he refused to rely on charity. Paul clearly separates charity for the needy from foolishly supporting those who are merely lazy: If anyone is not willing to work, don't feed him. The letter ends with a prayer for peace among the Thessalonian believers. Paul also assures his readers that 2 Thessalonians is authentic because it bears his signature.

The prior chapter explained the events which would precede the ''day of the Lord:'' a time of severe judgment. Among these were a time of deep spiritual rebellion and the rise of a figure referred to as the ''man of lawlessness.'' Chapter 2 ended with a reference to the Thessalonians being established in good works. This chapter continues that theme, focusing on the need for Christians to exhibit a strong work ethic. This extends to the way the church applies charity, not wasting it on those who are capable of work, but simply choose not to. These thoughts complete Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians.

Second Thessalonians follows Paul's earlier letter to the same group of Christian believers. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul had praised them for their faithfulness and given them reassurances about the day of the Lord. This included teachings on the rapture and a description of death as ''sleep'' from a Christian viewpoint. In this second letter, Paul corrects possible misunderstandings about those ideas. Among his teachings here are the importance of a good work ethic and God's impending judgment on sin, including judgment on those who persecute the Christian church. Paul also provides the Thessalonians with reassurances that they have not somehow missed out on Christ's return.

Accessed 11/21/2024 1:30:52 PM