2 Thessalonians 3:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

NIV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

NASB: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

CSB: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

NLT: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

KJV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

NKJV: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

In this verse Paul pronounces a benediction. He invokes the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for all the Thessalonian believers. His use of the pronoun "our" emphasizes the personal relationship he and the Thessalonians had with Jesus. They belonged to him, but in a real sense he also belonged to them. Faith had joined them together eternally.

Divine grace is God's unmerited favor. By grace God saves us. Ephesians 2:8 states plainly, "For by grace you have been saved." Grace enables us to withstand trials. When Paul was undergoing a difficult trial or malady, he prayed that the Lord would remove what he called his thorn in the flesh, but the Lord did not remove it. However, He assured Paul that His grace was sufficient for him (2 Corinthians 12:8–9).

That same all-sufficient grace is available to all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Second Timothy 2:1 teaches us that divine grace strengthens us. Titus 2:11–13 credits God's grace with "training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." So Paul's benediction was a fitting conclusion to his letter.

Second Thessalonians 3:16–18 concludes Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians with a prayer, an assurance that his letter is authentic and not a forgery, and a benediction. The letter began with a condemnation of the church's persecutors, but it ends with a commendation, as Paul commends the church to the Lord and His grace.

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.