The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 5

you in the Churohea of God ; tb1tt is, in those can merit se.lvation ttS a reward from God is Churohea with wliich we come in contact; not containe,l in ll_1is passage. As all meu namely, the Church Rt Corinth and the are smnors, salvation con ouly be obtained Churches in Achnin.. It would appear from thl'ough the merits and medil\tion of Christ. this that several Churches ha<l been found,,d llut with this grace of God justice i" not in Achaia, as, for e:irnmple, the Church of e.bolishe,l; the rigl,teous wih be rewarded Cenohrea (Rom. xvi. 1). For your patience for their faith and pa lience ( comp. Heb. vi. and faith; not to be weokened es a Hebraism 10; also Heh. Jd.. 6; Luke vi. 35 • l Cor. 0 for" yonr patient faith," or "for the patience iii. 8; 2 Johu 8): ~f t~e kingdom of God; of your faith ; " nor is faith to be taken in the nl\mc\y, the llless1e.mc krngdom which Chri•t se,;se of faitl,fulness or fidelity (Llincmann); will establish nt the ndvent: here the but, e.s in the previous verse, it denotes heuvenly state. For which; for the se.ke of "foitb in Cbrist." Patience is steadfast which. Ye also suffer; or re.ther, are suffer- endurance, which, in order to be of any value ing ; the sufferings beiug continued down to in the sight of God, must be combined with the time when the apostle wrote this Epistle. faith ; stoical endurance is n.it here nor any- Ver. 6.--Seeing it is; or rather, if indeed where else inculcated in Scripture. In all it is; ifso be tha.t it is (R.V.). A hypotheti- your persecutions and tribulations-afllio- cal sentence, not, however, introducing e.n tions - that ye endure; or, are enduring; the uncertain or conditional fact, but an em- persecntion which arose when Paul we.s at phatic assertion-what is felt by all to be The.ssalonica being continued. The patience true. A righteous thing with God. Not and faith of the Thessalonfo.ns shone the only will the justice of God be displayed in more brilliantly amid persecution and afflic- the rewards of the righteous, in countin" tion, even e.s tlie stars shine brigl,test in them worthy of the kingdom of God fo~· the dark night. To be a true Christian in which they suffer, but it will also be dis- the time of peace is a great matt..r; but to played in the punishments to be inflicted on be a true Christian in the season of persecu- their persecutors. To recompense tribula- tion is a greater ; faith is then tested in the tion to them that trouble you. We have furnace. here an example of one of the most common Ver. 5.-Which is a me.nilest token. A defects of our English Version in rendering sentence in apposition, so that the words, cognate words by different terms, and thus " which ia," printed in italics, ought to be Cl'eating needless perplexities and giving rise omitted. By " token " is here meant pledge to erroneous interpretations; the words or proof. The reference is not simply to the " tribulation" and "trouble" are cognate, 'fhessa.lonians, but to tlie whole clause-to e.nd hence the verse ought to be rendered as the fact of the 'rhc.salonians steadfastly en- in the R.V., "If so be that it is a righteous during persecutions and affliction; in other tliing with God to recompense affliction to words, to their sulforings for the sake of the them that afflict you.'' gospel. Of the righteoua-just-judgment Ver. 7.-And to you who are troubled- of God. Not to be referred to the present afflicted-rest. The word "rest" here is a ,jtate, and particularly to sufferings perfect- noun in the accusative, not a verb, as Eng- ing tlie Thessalonians and pre1,aring them lish readers mil!:ht at the fost glnnce sup- for the kingdom of God (Obhausen); but to pose. It literally denotes relnxo.tion, ease. the future juclgment. These words imply The meaning of the passage is that it is a tue.t the sufferings of tlie righteous and the righteous thing with God to recompense prosperity of their wicked persecutors was rest to you who a.re afflicted. The recom- a clear proof that tuere shell be e. future pense of the persecutors-those who afflict, is state of retribution, when the inequalities of effliction; the recompense of the persecuted the present state of things will be adjusted, -the afflicted, is rest (comp. Matt. xi. 28, 2!!). wlien the apparent violations of justice will The rest or relaxation here mentioned is be rectified, and when ruatters will be com- that which awaits believers, not in this pletely reversed-when tlie persecutors will world, but in the next, " where the wicked be punished and the persecuted rewarded cease from troubling, and the weary are at (comp. Phil. i. 28, "And in notliing terrified rest " (Job iii. 17), " There remaineth a Ly your adversaries; which is to them an rest for the prople of God•· (Heb. iv. 9). evident token of perdition, but to you of The happiness of heaven on its negntive salvation e.nd tuatof God"). The.t; in order side, as freedom from e.arthly nffiictiun nn<l that, indicating the purpose of God's dis- peri;ecution. is here slated. It is l'est to the pt:w,ation. Ye may be 0011I1ted worthy. weary, freedom to tlie enslaved, releai;e from Paul here finds, in the faith and patience of sorrow, suffering, and p11i11, relaxation from the Thel!Bll.lonians nmid per.ecution, an evi- toil, ease from noise and turmoil1 the quiet dence of a state of reward, 118 well as in the J,aven of peace after bei11g tossea about in enV!lties nf their persecutors an evidence of the tempeotuous ocean. With us j that ill, noL Ii al&tt. of pnuishmeut. ·r1ie i,lca tl1:ot l>lttll with us believers in general, or with WI the  ea. L 1-12.] 'l'HE .SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIA.NB. I