1 Thessalonians 3:1–13 · Small Group Bible Study
① The Biblical Text
1 Thessalonians 3:1–13 (NKJV)
1 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone,
2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith,
3 that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.
4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know.
5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain.
6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you—
7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith.
8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,
10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith?
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.
12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,
13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
② Devotional
“For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.” — 1 Thessalonians 3:8
Paul left Thessalonica under pressure, not by choice. He worried about the young believers he had been forced to leave behind — not because he doubted them, but because he loved them and knew the tempter was at work. So he sent Timothy, not because he could spare him, but because he could not bear not knowing.
When Timothy returned with good news — their faith was holding, their love was real — Paul's relief was total. He used the word reserved for preaching the gospel: that is how good the news felt. Your faithfulness became someone else's lifeline. Your standing fast gave your pastor the strength to keep going.
Before your group meets, notice that Paul did not pray for their comfort or safety first. He prayed for their love to abound — and then for their hearts to be established in holiness. Those two things, in that order, are still the shape of a thriving faith.
③ Commentary
Teacher preparation resource — full text organized under outline headings.
④ Self-Study Guide
For use during the group meeting.
| Verse | Greek Word (Lexical Form) / English Translation | Strong's # / Transliteration / Grammatical Form | Definition & Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| v. 2 | στηρίζω to establish | G4741 stērixai Aor. Inf. Act. | STR: To fix firmly, to set fast, to establish — the basic gloss captures the physical image directly. MRV: Classically used of driving a stake or pillar into the ground so it cannot be moved — a concrete image of grounding rather than an abstract idea. Significance: Timothy was sent specifically to stērizai the Thessalonians — to anchor them so that tribulation could not topple them. The same verb returns in v.13, where Paul prays that God himself would finish what Timothy began. |
| v. 2 | διάκονος minister | G1249 diakonon Acc. Sg. Masc. | STR: One who serves, a servant, attendant, minister — the root behind the English ‘deacon.’ VINE: Elsewhere used of the formal office of deacon (1 Tim. 3:8–13), but Vine notes the word's basic functional sense of service is broader than any office — its use here of Timothy is functional, not titular. Significance: Paul calls Timothy God's diakonos — not a formal officeholder but a servant of God in the gospel. The unusually full description (brother, minister, fellow laborer) may compensate for his youth and inexperience. |
| v. 2 | παρακαλέω to encourage | G3870 parakalesai Aor. Inf. Act. | STR: To call to one's side, to encourage, exhort, comfort — the core gloss is sufficient. VINE: The same root gives the Holy Spirit's title Paraclete (John 14:16) — the One called alongside to help — showing this word's consistent NT association with active, present support rather than distant sympathy. Significance: Timothy was sent to come alongside them and help them in their afflictions — not merely to console from a distance but to stand with them in it. |
| v. 3 | σαίνω shaken | G4525 sainesthai Pres. Inf. Pass. | STR: To shake, disturb, unsettle. MRV: Originally used of a dog wagging its tail — an image of something that could either attract or unsettle — Vincent notes the vividness this brings to the picture of a faith being worked loose. Significance: Paul's concern is not that they would merely feel discomfort, but that tribulation would destabilize something foundational if they were unprepared for it. |
| v. 3 | κεῖμαι appointed | G2749 keimetha Pres. Ind. Mid./Pass. 1st Pl. | ATR: The present tense pictures a settled, ongoing state — not a single decree in the past but a condition believers continually occupy. Significance: We are not merely susceptible to tribulation — we are appointed to it. This is part of the calling, built into the structure of the Christian life from the beginning. |
| v. 5 | πειράζω the tempter | G3985 ho peirazōn Pres. Ptc. Act. Nom. Sg. Masc. (substantival) | STR: To tempt, to test with intent to cause failure — the substantive participle ‘the tempter’ names Satan by his characteristic activity. LXX: The same word-group renders Israel's testing of God and being tested in the wilderness narratives, carrying forward the sense of hardship used as a proving ground for trust. Significance: The tempter's strategy is to use tribulation as leverage against the believer's trust in God. Paul's concern was whether the pressure of persecution had undone what the gospel had built. |
| v. 6 | εὐαγγελίζω brought good news | G2097 euangelisamenou Aor. Ptc. Mid. Gen. Sg. Masc. | STR: To bring or announce good news — the same verb family behind ‘gospel.’ THAY: Thayer notes its technical, reserved use for proclaiming the saving message — Paul's application of this specific word to Timothy's report is a deliberate, weighty echo. Significance: Timothy's report about the Thessalonians was, to Paul, like gospel news — that is the weight and joy it carried. |
| v. 7 | παρακαλέω we were comforted | G3870 parekeklēthēmen Aor. Ind. Pass. 1st Pl. | ATR: The aorist passive marks a decisive, completed relief — a specific moment comfort arrived, not a gradual easing. Same root as v.2, now received rather than given. Significance: Affliction is a two-way street; so is comfort. Paul was comforted concerning them by their faith — the faithfulness of one part of the body strengthens another. |
| v. 8 | στήκω you stand fast | G4739 stēkete Pres. Ind. Act. 2nd Pl. | STR: To stand firm, hold one's ground — the basic gloss is sufficient. MRV: A military term in secular Greek for holding a position under attack — Vincent notes the image of a soldier who does not break ranks. Significance: If you stand fast in the Lord, Paul says, I live. Their firmness was not merely their own victory — it was his vitality. |
| v. 10 | καταρτίζω perfect / complete | G2675 katartisai Aor. Inf. Act. | STR: To fully equip, complete, mend, restore. VINE: Used elsewhere of mending torn fishing nets (Matt. 4:21) and of restoring a fallen believer gently (Gal. 6:1) — usage across the NT centers on bringing something genuine to its intended completeness. Significance: Paul prays to complete what is lacking — not to fix what is broken, but to bring to full strength what is genuine but still developing. |
| v. 12 | περισσεύω abound | G4052 pleonasai kai perisseusai Aor. Opt. Act. 3rd Sg. | STR: To abound, overflow, exceed the measure. VINE: The same word describes the Philippians' gift that ‘abounded’ in Phil. 4:18 — usage elsewhere shows the word's consistent sense of generous excess, not bare sufficiency. Significance: The optative mood marks this as Paul's heartfelt wish in prayer. He does not pray for adequate love but for love that overflows its container — to one another and to all. |
| v. 13 | ἀμέμπτως blameless | G274 amemptōs Adverb | STR: Without fault, without grounds for accusation — the core gloss is sufficient. ATR: As an adverb governing the purpose clause, the grammatical force describes the manner of the result God will produce — not sinless perfection but a life with no legitimate charge against it. Significance: The heart established in love has nothing to hide at the coming of the Lord. Blameless does not mean sinless — it means free of any reasonable charge before God and men. |
| v. 13 | παρουσία coming | G3952 parousia Dat. Sg. Fem. | STR: Presence, arrival, coming — the technical NT term for the return of Christ. VINE: Consistently used across the NT for both the Rapture and the Second Coming; here — coming with his saints rather than for them — usage elsewhere helps distinguish this occurrence as the public, triumphant return. Significance: This is the public, triumphant Second Coming, distinct from the Rapture. Paul's prayer is that these believers would be found blameless when that day arrives. |
| Category | Abbreviations |
|---|---|
| Cases (Nouns / Adjectives) | Nom. (Nominative) · Gen. (Genitive) · Dat. (Dative) · Acc. (Accusative) · Voc. (Vocative) |
| Number | Sg. (Singular) · Pl. (Plural) |
| Gender | Masc. (Masculine) · Fem. (Feminine) · Neut. (Neuter) |
| Verb Mood | Ind. (Indicative) · Imp. (Imperative) · Subj. (Subjunctive) · Opt. (Optative) · Inf. (Infinitive) · Ptc. (Participle) |
| Verb Tense | Pres. (Present) · Imperf. (Imperfect) · Fut. (Future) · Aor. (Aorist) · Perf. (Perfect) · Plpf. (Pluperfect) |
| Verb Voice | Act. (Active) · Mid. (Middle) · Pass. (Passive) |
| Verb Person / Number | 1st Sg. / 1st Pl. · 2nd Sg. / 2nd Pl. · 3rd Sg. / 3rd Pl. |
Review the outline as a group before moving to the discussion questions.
| Outline Point (Commentary) | Commentary Summary |
|---|---|
| I.A–D — Paul's Caution (3:1–5) | Timothy sent from Athens to establish and encourage the Thessalonians because tribulation is appointed, not accidental. |
| II.A–C — Paul's Consolation (3:6–10) | |
| III.A — Paul and the King of His Life (3:11) | |
| III.B — Paul and the Compensation of His Love (3:12) | |
| III.C — Paul and the Coming of His Lord (3:13) |
Leader answer boxes are drawn from the Commentary and Greek Word Study above.
1. Verse 3 says believers are ‘appointed’ to tribulation (keimai). What does this mean for how we should interpret suffering — and how does it change our response to it?
Keimai means to be set or destined — not merely susceptible to suffering but placed into it as part of the calling. Paul told the Thessalonians this before it happened. When it came, it was confirmation of the word, not contradiction of it. Suffering is not evidence God has abandoned us; it is the predictable consequence of faithful gospel reception in a hostile world. Prepared people are not shaken people.
2. Paul uses euangelizō (the gospel word) to describe Timothy's report in verse 6. What does that word choice reveal about the weight of what he heard?
Euangelizō is the word Paul reserves for preaching the good news of salvation. By using it here for Timothy's report, Paul is saying that hearing about the Thessalonians' faithfulness was, to him, as weighty and as relieving as hearing the gospel itself — not a small administrative update but news that revived him.
3. Verse 8 says ‘we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.’ Is this hyperbole, or does Paul mean something literal? What does it reveal about pastoral ministry?
Paul means it. His own vitality — his sense of life, his ability to press on in affliction and distress — was genuinely connected to the faithfulness of his converts. The body of Christ is not a collection of independent units; what happens to one member affects others. The pastor is especially bound to the flock in this way.
4. Paul prays for love that ‘abounds’ (perisseuō, v.12) as the path to holiness (v.13). Why does Paul connect love and holiness in this sequence rather than addressing holiness directly?
Holiness in the NT is not primarily rule-keeping — it is the fruit of a rightly ordered love. A heart overflowing in love for others has little room for the self-centeredness that produces most sin. Paul's sequence is deliberate: abound in love → established in holiness → blameless at the coming of Christ. Holiness is the outcome of love, not the other way around.
5. Paul names two persons of the Godhead in verse 11 but uses a singular verb (‘direct’). What does this grammatical detail signal about how Paul prays to the Father and the Son?
Each person is marked by its own article — ‘the God and Father,’ ‘the Lord of us, Jesus Christ’ — yet the verb that follows is singular. Paul is not confused about there being two persons; he prays to both as one, because Father and Son are one in purpose and in power. It is a small grammatical window into a high Christology, expressed in the ordinary language of prayer rather than formal doctrine.
| Verse | Key Truth | Key Greek Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 3:1 | Paul could not endure not knowing — love drove the mission to send Timothy from Athens | — |
| 3:2 | Sent to establish and encourage — the two needs of every young faith | Stērizō · Parakaleō |
| 3:3–4 | Suffering is not a surprise — believers are appointed to it, and Paul had told them so in advance | Sainō · Keimai |
| 3:5 | Satan uses tribulation to try to make the work of the gospel vain | Peirazō |
| 3:6 | Timothy's good report: their faith and love held — news as good as the gospel itself | Euangelizō |
| 3:7–8 | Their standing fast gave Paul life in the midst of his own affliction | Parakaleō · Stēkō |
| 3:9–10 | Gratitude overflows into night-and-day prayer for what is still lacking | Katartizō |
| 3:11 | Paul asks God directly — Father and Son as one — to clear the road back to them | — |
| 3:12 | Prayer for love to abound, to one another and to all | Perisseuō |
| 3:13 | Love leads to holiness; holiness leads to blamelessness at the parousia | Amemptōs · Parousia |
⑤ Application
These applications arise directly from the text and sermon. Consider each personally and as a member of your local church.
1 Thessalonians 3:3–4 — “...that no one should be shaken by these afflictions... we told you before... that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened.”
Commentary §I.C (The Petition) and Greek Word Study — σαίνω, κεῖμαι
Paul taught about coming suffering while he was still present with the Thessalonians — before it happened. When it arrived, they were not caught off guard. Preparation is one of the greatest gifts a teacher can give a new believer. We are appointed to tribulation. It is not a detour — it is the road. A faith that expects smooth sailing will be shaken. A faith that has been taught otherwise will hold.
Personal Reflection: Is there someone in your life — a new believer, someone just beginning to follow Christ, someone you disciple — who has not yet been prepared for the reality of suffering in the Christian life? What would it look like to have that conversation before the trial comes, not after?
Practical Step: This week, have one honest conversation with a younger believer about suffering — not to discourage, but to equip. Share a passage, a personal experience, or simply the words of verse 3: ‘we are appointed to this.’ Preparation is a form of love.
1 Thessalonians 3:5–6 — “...I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you... Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love.”
Commentary §I.D (The Plan) and §II.A (The Announcement Paul Received)
Paul could not rest until he knew the state of the Thessalonians' faith. He was not checking a program outcome — he was worried about people he loved, in the hands of a tempter who was working against them. Timothy's honest report — their faith is holding, their love is real — was gospel news to Paul. Authentic pastoral care requires authentic availability. If no one knows how you are really doing, no one can give a genuine report.
Personal Reflection: Is there someone in your church — a pastor, a small group leader, a trusted friend — who actually knows the current state of your faith? Not the Sunday morning version, but the real one: where you are struggling, where the tempter has been pressing, where your faith feels thin?
Practical Step: Before this week's group meeting, tell one person the truth about where your faith is right now. Not a performance review — just honesty. That vulnerability is the beginning of the kind of community Paul had with the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 3:7–8 — “...we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.”
Commentary §II.B (The Affection Paul Revealed) and §II.C.1 (His Life Linked to Theirs)
‘We live, if you stand fast.’ Paul is not being dramatic. He means it. The faithfulness of one part of the body is the strength of another. Your standing firm does not only benefit you — it benefits everyone connected to you. The inverse is equally true: your wavering, your drift, your quiet giving up — it costs others something. The interconnectedness of the body of Christ is real, and it runs in both directions.
Personal Reflection: Think of one person whose faithfulness has ever carried you — someone whose standing firm gave you the courage to keep going. Have you told them? And in the other direction: who might be quietly sustained by your faithfulness right now, even without knowing it?
Practical Step: Send a message this week to someone whose faith has strengthened you. Tell them specifically what their steadfastness has meant. That act of acknowledgment is itself an act of love that abounds.
1 Thessalonians 3:12–13 — “...may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all... that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness... at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Commentary §III.B (Paul and the Compensation of His Love) and §III.C (Paul and the Coming of His Lord)
Paul's prayer is not for adequate love but for abounding love — love that exceeds the measure, that overflows toward one another and to all. And the goal of that overflowing love is holiness: a heart established and blameless at the coming of Christ. Paul does not pray ‘try harder to be holy.’ He prays for the flood that, when it fills the heart, crowds out what would make it unclean. Holiness is love's fruit, not its prerequisite.
Corporate Reflection: As a group: where is our love currently managing — doing enough to get by — rather than abounding? Is there someone inside the group who is not receiving overflowing love? Is there someone outside the group — a neighbor, a coworker, a family member — toward whom our love has run dry?
Practical Step: Pray Paul's prayer for your group this week, out loud if possible: ‘Lord, make us increase and abound in love to one another and to all.’ Then ask him to show you one specific person toward whom that love should overflow — and do one concrete thing for them before you meet again.
For further study on the Spirit-filled life as the root of abounding love and practical holiness, see Charles C. Ryrie, Balancing the Christian Life (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1969; rev. 1994) — FGR Category ②.
Introduction
How to handle tribulation — that is what this passage is about. We need to see that we are not out of the woods yet. The Lord may come at any time, and at the same time, we are here, and we know that things are not getting better. They are getting worse, and they will continue to do so until the Lord takes us out of here.
The background for this chapter is in Acts 17. Paul was forced to leave Berea and went from there to Athens. Some brothers from Berea went with him to make sure he got there safely. Paul told them: when you go back, tell Silas and Timothy to come to Athens and meet me. Apparently they did so, because as chapter three opens, Paul sent Timothy back to the Thessalonians — leaving him and Silas alone in Athens. Paul stayed in Athens, reasoning with the Jews and Gentile worshipers in the synagogue, and then with philosophers in the marketplace. Then Silas and Timothy, not finding Paul in Athens, went on to Corinth as previously planned (Acts 18:5) — and that is where they found him. Paul is writing this letter from Corinth, looking back at what happened when he sent Timothy to Thessalonica.
I. Paul's Caution — 3:1–5
A. The Place — 3:1
Because Paul had been forced to leave his converts, and because he and Silas had been hindered from returning to Thessalonica, Paul could scarcely bear not knowing how they were doing. They had endured all kinds of tribulation. He had been chased out. What was happening to them now? He did not know. So he sent Timothy back to find out how the young church was making out. The place he is speaking of is Athens — and it was there that he remained alone while Timothy made the journey.
B. The Proposal — 3:2
1. The Messenger Chosen — 3:2a
Why Timothy? Silas could not go — perhaps he had already been sent elsewhere. But the choice of Timothy was significant. Paul gives him three titles in a single verse: brother, minister of God, fellow laborer in the gospel. That is a remarkable commendation for a young man. The word ‘minister’ here is diakonos — the word behind ‘deacon’ — but used in its functional, not its official, sense. This especially full description of Timothy may have been necessary because of his age and inexperience. Paul did not send just anyone. He sent someone he trusted completely, someone the Thessalonians already knew, someone whose character matched the seriousness of the mission.
2. The Messenger Charged — 3:2b
The purpose of the sending was twofold: to establish them and to encourage them concerning their faith. These are the two great needs of a young church under pressure: something solid to stand on, and someone to stand with them.
a. To Establish Them
To establish is to make them firm and solid in their faith. Faith can refer to two things: the doctrine we believe — an objective faith — and our belief, our trust, in that doctrine — a subjective faith. Jude 3 speaks of contending ‘for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ — that is the objective sense. The more a new believer knows about the doctrine, the greater will be his trust in the doctrine and in the God who gave it. That is why Jesus instructed the apostles to teach as an essential part of the discipling process (Matt. 28:19–20). Timothy's mission was to firm up both — the content believed and the confidence with which it was held.
b. To Encourage Them in the Faith
The word for encourage is parakalesai. The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete — the One called alongside to help. Timothy was sent to do the same: to come alongside them and help them in their afflictions.
C. The Petition — 3:3–4
1. Suffering Faced — 3:3
The word ‘shaken’ is striking. Paul's concern is not that they would merely feel uncomfortable, but that they would be destabilized — that the trials would knock loose something foundational. The desired result of Timothy's ministry was not that there should be no tribulation, but that they would not be shaken by it. And he anchors his word of comfort in a remarkable statement: we are appointed to this. Tribulation is not a surprise. It is not a sign that something has gone wrong. It is part of the calling.
2. Suffering Foretold — 3:4
The imperfect tense indicates that Paul told them again and again while he was with them that they would suffer tribulation. Paul did not wait until persecution came to teach about persecution. He taught it while he was with them, as standard preparation for the Christian life. Then he says, ‘it happened’ — even while Paul was still there. Their faith was not surprised, because their teacher had prepared them, and they knew he was right.
D. The Plan — 3:5
1. The Anxiety Confessed — 3:5a
No news is not necessarily good news. Paul was concerned because he knew their situation first-hand — the enemies were dangerous people, and not knowing the latest was the worst part of all. This was not the first time such concern gripped him. In 2 Corinthians 2:12–13 he wrote that even with a door opened to him at Troas to preach Christ's gospel, he had no rest in his spirit because he did not find Titus his brother — so he took his leave and departed for Macedonia to find him. Concern is proper when it leads to calling on the Lord for help and to being available to be part of that help.
2. The Adversary Confronted — 3:5b
Paul's concern was that they might not be able to meet the challenge of the enemy on their own. Satan's strategy in times of tribulation is to use the pressure of suffering to erode faith. Paul had seen it happen. He wanted to know: had the tempter succeeded? Had the pressure of persecution undone what the gospel had built? His labor — his life poured out in Thessalonica — could it be for nothing? If they were defeated by the enemy, the labors of the missionary team would be in vain. So he sent Timothy to help.
II. Paul's Consolation — 3:6–10
A. The Announcement Paul Received — 3:6
Timothy's report was entirely good. Their faith was holding. Their love was real. They thought well of Paul and longed to see him — the same longing he had for them. The word ‘good news’ here is euangelizō — the word for preaching the gospel. Paul uses it deliberately: Timothy's report about the Thessalonians was, to Paul, like gospel news. It was that good, that relieving, that life-giving.
B. The Affection Paul Revealed — 3:7
Affliction is a two-way street; so is comfort. When Paul wrote this letter, he was in Corinth, facing the same kind of resistance there that he had faced in Thessalonica (cf. Acts 18). His own situation was not easy — his own troubles were real. But the news from Thessalonica was so good that it carried him through his own difficulties. Their faith was his comfort. That is the interconnectedness of the body of Christ — what happens to you affects me. Your faithfulness is my strength.
C. The Achievement Paul Reviewed — 3:8–10
1. His Life Linked to Theirs — 3:8
That is one of the most striking statements in all of Paul's letters, and it is not hyperbole. His converts were not just statistics. They were a large part of his life: he loved them and lived in them.
Did someone lead them astray? Paul was outraged.
Did someone attack them? Paul leaped to their defense.
Were they suffering persecution? Paul's heart ached for them.
He wept with those who wept; he rejoiced with those who rejoiced; he wrote to them and kept in touch with them — the lists of names in his letters bear that out. We do not even have all of his letters (four to Corinth alone). Paul was linked very closely with them. The stability of these believers — their standing firm in the Lord — is connected to his own sense of life and vitality. When they thrive, he lives. The pastor is bound to the flock in ways that go deeper than duty.
2. His Life Lived for Them — 3:9–10
a. His Praise to God for Them — 3:9
We can rephrase Paul's rhetorical question this way: ‘We cannot thank God enough for you, because of all the joy you have brought to our hearts by your endurance in these trials.’ Paul gives God the credit for their behavior — he does not take credit for it himself. He commends them, but also recognizes and acknowledges the hand of God at work in their lives. His gratitude overflows into joy — he says it twice, rejoicing and joy — and joy overflows into prayer.
b. His Prayers to God for Them — 3:10
The news from Timothy was very welcome to Paul, but it did not end his prayer and his desire to see them. His prayers continued night and day — not all night and all day, but in the night and in the day, and the intensity is captured in the Greek hyperekperissou, meaning abundantly beyond all measure. He is not putting in prayer time; he is pouring himself out in prayer, asking for two things: to see them again, and to complete what is still lacking in their faith. Paul discerned from Timothy's report that there was still some lack in their faith — he will address some of it in chapters 4 and 5. No faith is finished. There is always more to be built, more to be strengthened, more to be established.
III. Paul's Craving — 3:11–13
A. Paul and the King of His Life — 3:11
1. Whom He Saw — 3:11a
The two persons of the Godhead are distinguished by an article — ‘the’ — with each one: the God and Father, and the Lord of us, Jesus Christ. Yet the verb that follows (‘direct,’ v.11b) is singular, showing that although two persons are named, they are considered as one. Paul saw one God in two persons.
2. What He Sought — 3:11b
Paul still wanted to see and help them. Satan had blocked the way before (2:18) — now Paul asks God himself, both Father and Son named together, to direct the path. The verb ‘direct’ is in the optative mood in Greek — the mood of wish or prayer. Father and Son are one in purpose and in power, and Paul prays to both as to one. He wants to come back. He prays for it directly and specifically.
B. Paul and the Compensation of His Love — 3:12
They already love each other, but Paul is making a strong request — again the optative mood — that their love might increase and overflow even more. That figure of overflowing shows that love wells up from within the believer naturally. It is to flow not just to Christians in the church, but to all men everywhere. Paul adds ‘just as we do to you’ — he is modeling what he is asking for. The love he is praying they would have is the love they have already experienced from him.
C. Paul and the Coming of His Lord — 3:13
1. The Review of the Saints by the Lord — 3:13a
The word ‘establish’ (stērizai) is the same word Paul used in verse 2 for Timothy's strengthening of the Thessalonians in their faith. What the minister begins, God completes. Paul did not pray that they would be sinless — that was impossible. He prayed that they would be blameless (cf. 2:10) — that after they sinned they would deal with it as God requires, and so be free from any reasonable charge by their fellow men. Before God they should be holy, separated to God in their hearts and habits. The goal of the love in verse 12 is the holiness in verse 13 — these are not two separate requests but one continuous movement: love produces holiness, and holiness makes the heart blameless at the coming of the Lord.
2. The Return of the Saints with the Lord — 3:13b
The coming referred to here — parousia — is the return of Christ with all his saints, distinct from the Rapture: here Christ comes with his saints rather than coming for them. This is the Second Coming in its public, triumphant sense. The holy ones accompanying Christ at His coming are probably the souls of the saints who have departed this life and gone to be with Christ, whose bodies will be resurrected when He comes (cf. 4:16) — that is, they are Christians rather than angels. Paul's prayer is that when that day arrives, these believers would be found blameless, their hearts established and their lives marked by the holiness that comes from abounding love.
Lord, thank You for this Word.