2 Thessalonians 3.7b-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Never Conducted Themselves in an Undisciplined Manner
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday November 23, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 3:7b-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Never Conducted Themselves in an Undisciplined Manner
Lesson # 63
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. 7 For you yourselves are well aware of the manner in which each and every one of you for your own benefit are under obligation to make it your habit of imitating each one of us because each one of us absolutely never conducted ourselves in an undisciplined manner among each one of you. (Lecturer’s translation)
2 Thessalonians 3:7 continues the final major section of Second Thessalonians and which section ends in 2 Thessalonians 3:15.
This verse contains two causal clauses with the first introduced by the post-positive conjunction gar while the second is introduced by the conjunction hoti.
The first emphatically asserts that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was well aware of the manner in which each of them were under obligation to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
This statement presents the reason for the previous command in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, which was issued by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy by means of the name or authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, this indicates that the Thessalonians must disassociate themselves from those in their community who are disobeying the apostolic command to work “because” each of them were well aware of the manner in which they were obligated to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
In other words, the Thessalonians knew without a doubt that three men worked other jobs in order to support themselves financially so as to leave them an example to follow.
Now, the second causal clause in 2 Thessalonians 3:7 asserts that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy absolutely never conducted themselves in an undisciplined manner when living among the individual members of the Thessalonian Christian community.
It is presenting the reason why each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was for their own benefit under obligation to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy who worked for a living to support themselves financially while living with the Thessalonians.
Therefore, this indicates that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was well aware of the manner in which each of them were obligated to make it their habit of imitating Paul, Silvanus and Timothy “because” each of these three men absolutely never conducted themselves in an undisciplined manner while living among each of them.
Now, in this second causal clause, the verb atakteō (ἀτακτέω) pertains to not submitting to Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching, which required that the Thessalonians work for a living to support themselves financially and not be idle like many unregenerate Greek people were doing in their culture in the first century A.D.
This verb is directly related to the adverb of manner ataktōs (ἀτάκτως), which appeared in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and pertains to not submitting to discipline and order.
They are both related to the adjective ataktos (ἄτακτος), which appears in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 and means “those who are undisciplined” since the word pertains to refusing to work for a living.
Now, as we noted in our study of 2 Thessalonians 3:6, the verb peripateō, which means “to live your life in a particular manner” is modified by the adverb of manner ataktōs (ἀτάκτως), which pertains to not submitting to discipline and order.
Therefore, the latter speaks of a member of the Thessalonian Christian community living an undisciplined lifestyle.
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 of them to work and not be idle like many in their culture were doing in the first century who were unregenerate.
Now, it is important that the reader must understand that when Paul speaks of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community in 2 Thessalonians 3:7, he is not only referring to those in this community who were obeying his apostolic teaching to work but also those who were not disobeying this teaching.
Therefore, he is emphasizing that his, Silvanus and Timothy’s relationship to the individual members of this community who were obedient to Paul’s apostolic teaching to work and those who were not.
Thus, each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was without excuse because each one of them was well aware that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy worked for a living in order to support themselves financially even though they had the right to exact remuneration for their services in teaching them the gospel.
They were under obligation to work because they were children of God who were under the authority of God the Father as a result of being declared justified through faith in His one and only Son Jesus Christ.
The Father and the Son through the Spirit communicated the command to work through Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, who were the spiritual fathers of the Thessalonian Christian community for two reasons.
The first is that they led them to faith in Jesus Christ resulting in their justification and thus they became children of God and secondly, they also discipled them in the sense that they trained them in the manner in which the Father wanted them to live their lives.
Now, as we noted, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy worked for a living in order to support themselves financially despite the fact that they had the right to receive remuneration from the Thessalonians to support themselves.
In fact, in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, Paul mentions that even though he, Silvanus and Timothy would have had the right to impose their authority on the Thessalonians so as to exact remuneration from them, they chose not.
He asserts that he, Silvanus and Timothy were never greedy while proclaiming the gospel to them and worked hard to support themselves with jobs on the side.
They did this to silence their critics who accused them of being like the philosophers of the day who exploited people for money.
1 Thessalonians 2:1 For you yourselves in contrast to those who oppose us, possess the conviction brothers and sisters that our reception which was among all of you is absolutely not characterized as being without results. 2 But in fact, although we previously suffered, yes, we were verbally and physically abused in Philippi as each one of you are well aware of, for our benefit we courageously communicated the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God (the Father) in the presence of each of you by means of our God’s (the Spirit) power in the face of great opposition. 3 For our appeal was absolutely never from error, nor motivated by impurity nor by means of deception. 4 In fact, on the contrary, just as each one of us are approved by this God to be entrusted with communicating this gospel, so each of us are speaking as absolutely never pleasing people but rather God, who does test our hearts. 5 So therefore, each one of us never at any time conducted ourselves with flattering speech as each one of you are well aware of, in fact, nor motivated by greed-God is a witness. 6 Indeed, nor by seeking at any time honor from people, whether from any one of you or from others, 7 although each one of us for our own benefit possess the power to impose our authority as Christ’s apostles. However, on the contrary, each of us conducted ourselves as little children in the midst of each of you. Like a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children, 8 so in the same way, because each one of us possesses great affection for each and every one of you, each one of us was more than happy to not only share with each one of you the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God, but also our very own lives. For each and every one of you had become very dear to each one of us. 9 For in fact each one of you brothers and sisters does remember our difficult, yes exhausting hard work: While each one of us made it our habit of working hard during the day as well as during the night to support ourselves in order to not enter into imposing a financial burden on anyone of you, each of us publicly proclaimed to each of you with authority as heralds the one and only gospel originating from the one and only God. (Lecturer’s translation)
The first assertion in verse 9 states that the Thessalonian Christian community did remember Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s difficult, exhausting hard work and then, the second assertion explains the first.
It states that these three men publicly proclaimed to the Thessalonians the gospel of God while at the same making it their habit of working hard during the day as well as the night to support themselves in order to not enter into imposing a financial burden on them.
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were never greedy and never sought honor in the form of remuneration even though they had the right to do so as apostles of Christ which is confirmed by the fact that they worked hard day and night to support themselves financially.
In other words, the fact that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy worked hard day and night to support themselves financially while proclaiming the gospel to them provided evidence or proof that they were never greedy with them and never sought honor in the form of remuneration from them.
It also indicates that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy shared not only the gospel with the Thessalonians but their very own lives.
This is confirmed by the fact that they worked hard day and night to support themselves financially even though they had the right to demand remuneration from them for proclaiming the gospel to them.
In other words, the fact that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy worked hard day and night to support themselves financially while proclaiming the gospel to them provided evidence or proof that they shared not only the gospel with the Thessalonians but their very own lives.
The assertions recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:9 make clear that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were bi-vocational, which means that not only did they perform the task of communicating the gospel to the non-believers and believers in Thessalonica, but they also carried another job.
Acts 18:3 indicates that Paul was a tent-maker.
Therefore, when he was teaching the gospel to the Thessalonians, he was working as a tent-maker.