2 Thessalonians 3:5a-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Intercessory Prayer Request for the Thessalonians is Related to the Word of the Lord

2 Thessalonians 3:4 Now, each one of us is confident about each and every one of you because of your faith in and love for the Lord that what we are commanding, each one of you both are making it your habit of practicing, and each one of you will continue to practice. 5 On the other hand, may the word of the Lord guide the hearts of each and every one of you into experiencing God’s love and love for God so as to experience Christ’s perseverance and perseverance for Christ. (Lecturer’s translation)

2 Thessalonians 3:5 stands in contrast to the statement in 2 Thessalonians 3:4.

Verse 5 presents a Spirit inspired intercessory prayer which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy offered up to the Father on behalf of the Thessalonian Christian community.

These three men share this request with the Thessalonians because they wanted to encourage them to continue to grow spiritually and also to teach them what they should pray for themselves.

This intercessory prayer request that the word of the Lord Jesus Christ would guide the hearts of each member of this community into experiencing God’s love and love for God as well as Christ’s perseverance and perseverance for Christ.

Specifically, it requests that the word of the Lord Jesus Christ guide the hearts of each member of this community into experiencing God’s love for them which produces love for God as well as Christ’s perseverance for them, which produces in them perseverance for Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:4 asserts that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were confident about each member of the Thessalonian Christian community because of their faith in and love for the Lord that they were practicing and would continue to practice what they were commanding them in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15.

Therefore, the contrast is between Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s confidence in the Thessalonians that they were practicing and would continue to practice the commands and prohibitions in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 and their need to love God and persevere for the Lord Jesus Christ by exercising faith in the word of the Lord.

Love for God is produced in the Thessalonians by the Thessalonians exercising faith in God’s love for them, which is communicated in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Also, persevering for Christ is produced by the Thessalonians exercising faith in the gospel, which presents the Lord’s perseverance in accomplishing the Father’s will in order to deliver them from His wrath when they were His enemies.

Why did Paul, Silvanus and Timothy ask the Father in prayer in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 that the “Lord” Jesus Christ and not the Father or the Spirit would guide the Thessalonians into experiencing God’s love for them and love for God as well as experiencing Christ’s perseverance for them and perseverance for Christ?

The reason is that all that they requested would all be accomplished through faith in the Word of the Lord, which Paul’s apostolic teaching manifested.

Thus, the noun kurios, “Lord” contains the figure of metonymy which means the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is put for His Word.

It is only through faith in the Word of the Lord that the Thessalonians would experience God’s love for them since this love is communicated to the child of God by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of the Lord, i.e. the Scriptures, Paul’s apostolic teaching.

It is experienced through faith in this teaching, which produces obedience, which manifests love for the Lord.

Also, it is only through faith in the Word of the Lord that the Thessalonians would love God since it is through obedience to the Word of the Lord which faith produces, that manifests the fact that one loves God.

It is only through faith in the Word of the Lord that the child of God experiences God’s love for them which empowers them to love God and others with this love.

Furthermore, it is only through faith in the Word of the Lord that the child of God experiences Christ’s perseverance since this perseverance is also communicated to the child of God by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of the Lord, i.e. Paul’s apostolic teaching, the Scriptures.

It too is experienced through faith in this teaching, which manifests obedience to God which produces perseverance for Christ in the child of God.

Lastly, it is only through the faith in the Word of the Lord that the child of God experiences persevering for Christ since persevering for Christ is accomplished through exercising faith in the Spirit’s teaching that Christ persevered for them.

This faith manifests in obedience to the Lord, which manifests the fact that one loves the Lord which enables the child of God to persevere for the Lord.

The contents of First and Second Thessalonians constituted the Word of the Lord since they were inspired by the Holy Spirit and revealed the Father’s will for them to be conformed into the image of the Father’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The teaching Paul and Silvanus communicated to the Thessalonians prior to being driven out of the city of Thessalonica because of persecution also constituted the Word of the Lord.

The teaching Timothy communicated to the Thessalonians in the place of these two men also constituted the Word of the Lord.

This teaching constituted the gospel about Jesus Christ and originated from Him through the Spirit.

God the Father’s love for the Thessalonians was communicated in the gospel and when they exercised faith in the gospel, they experienced this love.

This same faith produced in them obedience to the various commands and prohibitions presented in the gospel and which obedience manifested the fact that they loved God.

Consequently, Christ’s perseverance, which He demonstrated on behalf of the Thessalonians, would be produced in the Thessalonians when they exercised faith in the gospel, which presents Christ’s perseverance on behalf of them and all of sinful humanity and which perseverance originates from the Trinity’s attribute of love.

The verb kateuthynō (κατευθύνω) is expressing the idea of the word of the Lord Jesus Christ guiding, directing and leading the hearts of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community into experiencing God’s love for them, which produces in them the experience of loving God.

It is also expressing the idea of the word of the Lord guiding, directing and leading the hearts of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community into experiencing Christ’s perseverance for them, which produces in them the experience of persevering for Christ.

The implication of Paul’s use of this verb kateuthynō here in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 is that the word of the Lord Jesus Christ would clear away all obstacles, which would prohibit the Thessalonians from loving God and persevering for Him.

For example, the temptations of Satan’s cosmic system, which appeal to the sin nature, would be removed by faith and obedience in the gospel of Jesus Christ because it replaces love for the things of Satan’s cosmic system with love for the Father (cf. 1 John 2:15-17).

Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Spirit inspired request in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 meant that they wanted the Thessalonians to experience a greater insight and understanding and application of God’s love for them, which was manifested through Christ’s perseverance for them.

The purpose of this request is that the Thessalonians would love God more and more and persevere in doing the Father’s will as the Lord did on behalf of them.

The optative mood of the verb kateuthynō indicates that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s are making a “polite request” to the Father.

It is also expressing Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s “polite request” to the Father that the Lord Jesus Christ would guide, direct and lead the hearts of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community into experiencing Christ’s perseverance for them, which produces in them the experience of preserving for Christ.

Now, it is also very important that we understand that the optative mood of the verb kateuthynō in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 does not indicate that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ since this verse simply presents the content of the prayer these three men offered up to the Father for the Thessalonians.

So therefore, 2 Thessalonians 3:5 does not record the act of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy praying to the Lord Jesus Christ but rather it simply records the content of what these three men asked the Father to do for them.

This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the Lord Jesus Himself and the other writers of the New Testament all taught that all prayer is to be addressed to the Father and not the Lord Jesus (John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rom. 8:15; Eph. 3:14; 5:20; Col. 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 1:6).

Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 3:5 is merely communicating to the Thessalonians what these three men prayed to the Father for them in Jesus’ name.

It is expressing to the Thessalonians their Spirit inspired desire for the Thessalonians spiritually.

These verses are thus communicating to the Thessalonians the content of the petition Paul, Silvanus and Timothy politely offered to the Father for them in prayer in Jesus’ name.

The purpose of which is to express again to the Thessalonians, the great concern Paul, Silvanus and Timothy had for them spiritually.

So therefore, 2 Thessalonians 3:5 does not teach that the Lord Jesus is the recipient of prayer from believers along with the Father since the Lord Jesus and the other writers of the New Testament all taught that there is a protocol to prayer.

They teach that the Christian is to pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit.

Just as there is only one way for salvation, which is through faith in Jesus Christ, so also there is only one way to pray.