2 Thessalonians 3.1-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Request the Thessalonians Intercede in Prayer for Them
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday October 24, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Request the Thessalonians Intercede in Prayer for Them
Lesson # 50
2 Thessalonians 3:1 Correspondingly, each one of you, brothers and sisters, please begin and continue to make it your habit of occupying yourselves with praying on behalf of each one of us that the message originating from and about the Lord would be propagated so that it is honored just as it in fact is honored among all of you. (Author’s translation)
2 Thessalonians 3:1 marks a transition to the next major section of the letter in that it is marking a transition from the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 to the contents of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2.
Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 3:1 marks a transition from the intercessory prayer that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy offered to the Father in prayer on behalf of the Thessalonians to a prayer request which these three men presented to the Thessalonians that the gospel would be propagated throughout the Roman Empire and that these three would be delivered from perverse and evil people.
Now, the contents of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 is not only an addition to the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, but it also corresponds to the latter.
This interpretation is indicated by the use of the articular adjective loipos, which functions adverbially.
Some interpret this word as meaning “finally” in that it is marking the end of the letter.
However, there is one more major section of the body of the letter to come, namely 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.
Rather, I believe loipos means “correspondingly” since the word is not only marking an addition but also functioning as a marker of correspondence.
This would indicate that the contents of 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2 are not only an addition to the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 but they also correspond with the latter.
This interpretation is indicated by a comparison of the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 with 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2.
The former contains Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s intercessory prayer for the Thessalonians.
On the other hand, the latter records Paul, Silvanus and Timothy requesting that the Thessalonians intercede in prayer for them.
Therefore, loipos introduces the intercessory prayer request for these three men in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2, which is not only an addition to the one they offered for the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 but also corresponds to it since they both speak of intercessory prayer.
Now, as was the case in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2:1, 13 and 15, Paul here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 addresses each member of the Thessalonian Christian community with the term adelphos, “brothers and sisters” which indicates that the Thessalonians were Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s spiritual brothers and sisters.
It describes them as Christians or in other words, it describes them as having been declared justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and thus regenerated by the Spirit.
It denotes that Paul, Silvanus, Timothy and the Thessalonian Christian community are related to each other and the Lord Jesus Christ through regeneration.
Therefore, this term emphasizes the equality of those sinners declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior (cf. Gal. 3:26-28; Col. 3:11).
This term appears 15 times in First Thessalonians (2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13, 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25) and seven times in Second Thessalonians (1:3; 2:1, 13, 15; 3:1, 6, 13).
This word adelphos, “brothers and sisters” is functioning as a nominative for vocative or nominative of address, which is expressing a “solemn” request here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2.
So therefore, Paul “solemnly” requests here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 that the Thessalonian Christian community would intercede in prayer for himself, Silvanus and Timothy.
The present imperative conjugation of the verb proseuchomai is an ingressive-progressive present imperative which has the force of beginning an action and continuing to perform it habitually.
Therefore, the idea of the present imperative conjugation of this verb here is that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community must “begin” and “continue” to make it their habit of interceding in prayer to the Father on behalf of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
It implies that the Thessalonians were not doing so.
However, this is not a rebuke of the Thessalonians but rather it is a prayer request, which Paul has never presented to the Thessalonians before.
This is indicated by the fact that the contents of 1 and 2 Thessalonians reveal he never made this request of the Thessalonians.
The apostle Paul employs a hina content clause, which presents what he wanted the Thessalonians to begin and continue to make it their habit of occupying themselves with praying to the Father for them.
The first request is that the message originating from and about the Lord would be propagated throughout the Roman Empire.
The expression ho logos tou kyriou (ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου), “the message originating from and about the Lord” also appears in 1 Thessalonians 1:8 and retains the same meaning and referent here in 2 Thessalonians 3:1.
The noun logos, “the message” refers to the content of the gospel message proclaimed to the Thessalonians by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
It refers to the Spirit inspired revelation which originated from the Father and the Son and was communicated to the Thessalonians by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy through the Spirit and is now recorded in the New Testament.
Therefore, the word pertains to the Spirit inspired revelation which originated from the Lord Jesus Christ and is about His person and work on behalf of all of sinful humanity and reveals the Father’s will for the members of the human race.
The noun kurios, “Lord functions here as both a genitive of source and an objective genitive.
The former would then indicate that the gospel message which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonian Christian community “originated from” the Lord Jesus Christ.
The latter would indicate that the gospel message which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonian Christian community was “about” or “concerning” the Lord Jesus Christ.
So therefore, the expression ho logos tou kyriou (ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου), “the message originating from and about the Lord” refers to the gospel message, which originated from the Lord Jesus Christ and was about Him and was inspired by the Holy Spirit and reveals the Father’s will.
Now, in 2 Thessalonians 3:1, Paul’s second request is that the message originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ would be honored by all people throughout the Roman Empire.
It is not only connected to the first request but is actually presenting the result of the first.
Therefore, this would indicate that Paul wanted the gospel message originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ to be propagated throughout the Roman Empire “with the result that” it was honored among the people in the Empire just as it was among the Thessalonians.
The verb doxazō (δοξάζω), “it is honored” is expressing the idea of the gospel message originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ being recognized by the people of the Roman Empire as being worthy of great respect.
Specifically, it speaks of the sinner accepting the gospel by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, which is indicated by the fact that Paul asserts in the comparative clause to follow that the Thessalonians honored the gospel and of course they responded favorably to the gospel by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior.
Paul then employs the clause kathōs kai pros hymas (καθὼς καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς), “just as it in fact was honored among all of you,” which is making an emphatic comparison with the previous result clause.
Specifically, it makes an emphatic comparison between the gospel message originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ being honored by the people living throughout the Roman Empire and it being honored by the Thessalonian Christian community.
He is emphasizing the fact that the gospel message originating from and about the Lord Jesus Christ was honored by the Thessalonian Christian community and specifically, it speaks of them accepting the gospel by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.
The Thessalonians’ reception of the gospel message is also mentioned by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 9-10 and 2:13.
Now, when Paul asserts in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 that he desires the gospel message to be honored by all people, he means that he desires all people to be saved by believing in this message, which is indicated by the comparative clause, which we noted asserts that the gospel message was honored by the Thessalonians.
We know the Thessalonians believed the gospel message, which would indicate that when Paul speaks of all people honoring this message, he means that they would believe this message.
This attitude of Paul’s reflects the attitude of God since 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 reveal that He desires all people to be saved.
Of course, not all people will be saved which is indicated by Revelation 20:11-15, which asserts that many people will experience the wrath of God in the eternal lake of fire because of their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Savior who is the propitiation of not only the sins of the church but all people (1 John 2:2).