When He shall come [not with gV/<rrgu^, was believed or accounted faithful].
11. E/'g o, for which object) We strive for this in prayer. — ag/w<r?j, would make you worthy) There is no dignity in us before we are called, 2 Tim. i. 9. It is not until afterwards conferred upon us in that way, which is presently described. — o Qzbg ^uv) our God, whom, we serve. — zvdoxiav, good pleasure) on the part of God. — wiffrzus, of faith) on your part.
12. To ovo/xce, the name) We confer nothing on the Lord, whereas the Lord really confers upon us salvation ; and hence His name is glorified in us ; and we ourselves moreover in Him. — ;^a/>/v, grace) with this grace in view, he mentioned a
of goodness, ver. 11.
I. ' ' Epurupev, we beseech) There are five divisions of the epistle, of which the principal one begins here.
I. THE INSCKIPTION, i. 1, 2.
With prayer, 11, 12.
III. THE DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE MAN OF SIN, who
is to come before Christ, ii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Whence he comforts the saints against that calamity, 9,
10, 13, 14. With the addition of exhortation and prayer, 15, 16, 17.
IV. AN EXHORTATION TO PRAYER, accompanied also with a
prayer for them, iii. 1, 2.
And an exhortation to reduce to order the brethren who are walking disorderly, with a prayer also for them subjoined, 6, 7, 16.
with respect to [not by, as Engl. Vers.]. The particle is intended for clearly indicating the subject in hand, not for adjuration ; although the subject under discussion ought in itself to rouse the Thessalonians : comp. vvrep, 2 Cor. v. 20.1 — Jnvrfuv- ayw/Jjs, (final) gathering together) which will take place at the time of the coming of Jesus : care must be taken lest any falls away. Believers are already gathered in to the Lord ; but that gather ing together then at last will be the complete and crowning one. This is the force of the double compound when it is broken into its component parts : comp. Heb. x. 25, note.
2. 2«Xsu05ji/a/,2 be moved) in mind. — Qpos?ffdai9 be troubled) in your affections or emotions. That readily occurs in the case of those who are too eager to know future events. — vvsu/uarog) vvevpa, a prophesying spirit. — Xo'you — kvtfroXSfc, word — letter) ver. 15. — u$ di ypuv) as coming through us. This was the ground on which the Thessalonians might be moved. A genuine epistle of Paul might indeed be wrongly explained ; but there might also be fraudulently imposed on them a letter written by another person ; ch. iii. 17. — us on sv'earrjxev, as if it were immedi ately at hand) This word signifies to be exceedingly near ; for svsffr&s means present. It is therefore declared that the day of Christ is not so immediately near. The epistles to the Thessa lonians are the oldest of the apostolic epistles. Hence it is evi dent that the apostles, in speaking of the nearness of the day of Christ, were not in error, but spoke with full knowledge. — roD Xpicrov, of Christ) to Whom Antichrist is opposed, in a sense of the word long used in the Church.3
3. Kara /ayd'tva rportov, by no means) He indicates three means in which they might be deceived, ver. 2. — 6V/, because) Supply from what goes before, the negative particle with the substantive verb, it does not come to pass (that day shall not come), unless, etc. But this ellipsis shows euXa/Ss/a, pious, reverent caution.
1 " We are ambassadors for Christ," i.e. with respect to Him. He and His Gospel are the foundation of our mission. — ED.
2 Literally, tossed, agitated as persons on the sea, o-aAof. — ED.
3 The Germ. Vers., however, prefers the reading Kvpi'ov, following the margin of both Ed.— E. B.
ABD(A) corrected, Grfg Vulg., Orig. 1,668ft, read Kvpiov. Rec. Text, without good authority, Xpwrov. — ED.