2 Thessalonians 3:6-The Thessalonians Must Disassociate Themselves From Those in Their Community Who Live an Undisciplined Lifestyle

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now, we command each and every one of you brothers and sisters by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to disassociate yourselves from any brother or sister who is living an undisciplined lifestyle. Consequently, they are not living according to the traditions, which they received from each one of us. (Lecturer’s translation)

In 2 Thessalonians 3:6, the apostle Paul issues a command to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community regarding their relationship to those in their community who are unrepentantly disobedient to his Spirit inspired teaching, which required them to all work for a living and not be idle.

This command required each member of the Thessalonian Christian community to disassociate themselves from any brother or sister who is living an undisciplined lifestyle.

In other words, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were communicating in writing to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community the command to practice church discipline with those who rejected their apostolic teaching, which required that they work and not be idle.

The verb parangellō here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 means “to command, order” since the word pertains to giving instructions to or direct somebody with authority to do something.

Therefore, this verb parangellō is expressing the idea that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were communicating in writing to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community the command to keep away from those in their community who were living an undisciplined life which is not according to the teaching they received from these three men.

In other words, it is expressing the idea that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were communicating in writing to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community the command to practice church discipline with those who rejected their apostolic teaching, which required that they work and not be idle.

Now, interestingly, Paul employs the noun parangellō rather than parakaleō which he employs many times in both First and Second Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thess. 2:12; 3:2, 7; 4:1, 10, 18; 5:11, 14; 2 Thess. 2:17; 3:12).

However, here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, he employs parangellō rather than parakaleō because he wants to emphasize the importance of administering church discipline to these individuals in the Thessalonian Christian community who were disobeying his teaching to work and not be idle.

Paul addresses each member of the Thessalonian Christian community with the masculine plural form of the noun adelphos (ἀδελφός), which means “spiritual brothers and sisters.”

Paul not only addresses each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community with this word but also those in this community who were unrepentantly disobedient to Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Spirit inspired teaching which required them all to work for a living rather than be idle.

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 word adelphos, “brothers and sisters” is functioning as a vocative or nominative of address, which is expressing the fact that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are issuing a “solemn” and thus extremely important command here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 employs the prepositional phrase en onomati tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou (ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NET) to modify the verb stello, which expresses the idea of disassociating oneself with someone.

It actually presents the means by which Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are issuing this command to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

It is expressing the idea that these three men issued this command to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community “by means of the name (i.e., the authority) of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

This interpretation of the prepositional phrase en onomati tou kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou (ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 is supported by 1 Thessalonians 4:2.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, in addition to this brothers and sisters each one of us is requesting, yes urgently, authoritatively encouraging each and every one of you on the basis of the Lord Jesus’ commands that as each of you received from each of us instruction how each of you are obligated to make it your habit to live in a manner so as to make it your habit of pleasing God (as each one of you are in fact making it your habit of living) that each of you make it your habit of excelling more and more. 2 For each and every one of you are well aware of what type of commands each one of us gave to each one of you by means of the authority of the Lord Jesus (Lecturer’s translation)

As was the case in 2 Thessalonians 1:12, the noun onoma (ὄνομα) here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 means “name” and has a five-fold sense: (1) It signifies the “personality” of the Lord distinguishing Him from the heathen gods. (2) It signifies the “character” of the Lord representing who He is as the unique theanthropic person in creation, the God-man. (3) It signifies the Lord’s “work” in creation and for the salvation of sinful humanity through His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father. (4) It signifies the “reputation” of the Lord before the human race as the Creator and Redeemer of the human race. (5) It signifies the “authority” of the Lord Jesus over the church and over every human being, angel and all of creation as a result of being the Creator.

However, here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, this word is emphasizing the “authority” of the Lord Jesus Christ because Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are issuing the Thessalonians a Spirit inspired command to practice church discipline with those among them who were disobeying their command to work and not be idle.

The verb stello here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 pertains to staying clear from someone and not associating with them in any way or to purposely to avoiding association with someone and is used in relation to the administration of church discipline.

Specifically, it refers to the Thessalonians practicing the final stage of church discipline with regards to those in their community who were unrepentantly disobedient to Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Spirit inspired command to work for a living and not be idle.

This final stage of church discipline required the Thessalonian Christian community to not have any association with a member of their community who is stubbornly unrepentant in disobeying this command to work after having gone through the three stages of church discipline mapped out by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:15-17.

This interpretation is indicated by the fact that the final stage of church discipline as taught by the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples in Matthew 18:15-17 requires that the church disassociate themselves from an unrepentant member of their community after going through the three stages of church discipline.

The fourth stage is excommunication.

The prepositional phrase apo pantos adelphou ataktōs peripatountos (ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ ἀτάκτως περιπατοῦντος), “from any brother or sister who is living an undisciplined lifestyle,” which is modifying this verb stello, is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community “separating from” or “dissociating” themselves from any member of their community who unrepentantly rejects Paul’s apostolic teaching to work and not be idle.

The purpose of this excommunication of this unrepentant member of the Thessalonian Christian community was to get them to repent, which would involve confession of sin followed by obedience to Paul’s apostolic teaching.

The practice of this discipline was to protect the testimony of the Christian community in relation to the non-Christian community.

Now, in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, this verb peripateō is modified by the adverb of manner ataktōs (ἀτάκτως), which pertains to not submitting to discipline and order and is related to the adjective ataktos (ἄτακτος), which appears in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and means “those who are undisciplined” since the word pertains to not submitting to discipline and order.

Therefore, in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, the adverb of manner ataktōs (ἀτάκτως) means “undisciplined” since the word pertains to not submitting to discipline and order.

Therefore, it speaks of a member of the Thessalonian Christian community living an undisciplined lifestyle, which is identified in 2 Thessalonians 3:7-15 as not working and being idle, which Paul says here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 is in defiance of his apostolic teaching.

Thus, this word ataktōs speaks of a member of the Thessalonian Christian community living an “undisciplined” lifestyle as a result of rejecting Paul’s apostolic teaching for each member of the Thessalonian Christian community to work and not be idle.

Now, as we noted, 2 Thessalonians 3:6 is composed of a command which required that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community disassociate themselves from any brother or sister who was living an undisciplined lifestyle.

This command is followed by a result clause, which presents the result of these disobedient members of the community living an undisciplined lifestyle.

It asserts that they were not living according to the traditions, which they received from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.

The noun paradosis(παράδοσις), “the traditions” which appears here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, also appeared in 2 Thessalonians 2:15.

In the latter, the noun paradosis means “the traditions” and refers to the teachings that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonians regarding the eschatological day of the Lord while in the presence of these three men and through the contents of First and Second Thessalonians.

However, here in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, this word paradosis refers to the command that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy communicated to the Thessalonians which required that they work for a living and not be idle like those in their culture in the first century A.D. who were unregenerate.

The Thessalonian Christian community was taught these traditions when Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were living in their presence and through the contents of First and Second Thessalonians.