Глава III

An exhortation to prayer for the success of the Apostolic evangelism and for the evangelist himself (1-5), the testament of the Apostle to the Thessalonians regarding the disorderly, idle and disobedient (6-13) and an indication of brotherly measures towards them (14-15). Calling the readers peace from the Lord, a personal greeting and sending down the grace of Christ (16–18). The exhortation part of the message begins with this chapter, and one cannot help but notice that in its structure our message comes very close to the first, dividing into two parts - narrative-expository, and exhortation. The latter, as in 1 Thess., begins with the expression το λοιπόν. 2 Thess. 3:1. Pray therefore for us, brethren, that the word of the Lord may spread and be glorified, as it is with you, 2 Sol.3:2. and so that we can get rid of disorderly and crafty people, for not everyone has faith. Ap. asks f. to pray for the success of the gospel preaching, so that it would have the same success with the Corinthians as with them. “Let the word of the Lord flow and be glorified” - glorified; τρέχη και δοξάζηται – in Greek. The first verb emphasizes the living and active nature of the word of God, and the desire of the Ap. for it to spread more and more, and the second indicates the internal recognition expressed in the glorification of S. B. (cf. Ps 146 and Ps 19) and following his recognition. In the second verse of Ap. more specifically indicates why he asks for prayers f. communities - to get rid of corrupt and evil people. Who is Ap referring to here? Paul? That certain persons are meant here is indicated by the term των. But where to look for them? It is unlikely that these enemies are Judaists, the struggle against whom flared up later. There is no reason to look for them among Christians themselves, for the expression “not everyone has faith” actually means: “faith is not the lot of everyone,” and has a broader application than to just the circle of the faithful. This means that these enemies must be sought among the unbelieving Judaism (in this case Corinthian), which persecuted and persecuted the evangelist of Christ everywhere. This is confirmed by Acts (Acts 17:5, 13, 18:12, etc.). 2 Sol.3:3. But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and keep you from the evil one. From the lack of faith in people Ap. turns his thought to the “faithfulness” of G.I. Christ, who will undoubtedly establish F. and protect them “from the evil one.” This expression involuntarily brings to mind G.’s prayer, where we also pray for deliverance from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). Ap. m.b. here he involuntarily quotes the words of Christ. In view of the fact that in the New Testament του πονηρού is understood mainly as a nomen mascalinum, here the expression “from the evil one” also undoubtedly refers not to the principle of evil in the general sense, but to Satan, whose representative was discussed in 2 Thess. 2. 2 Sol.3:4. We are confident about you in the Lord, that you do and will do what we command you. 2 Sol.3:5. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. Trusting in the faithfulness of the Lord, Ap. also believes that f. carry out and will fulfill everything that he commands them - ά παραγγέλορμεν. But what these words refer to is clear from Art. 5 and 6, etc. Ap. prays that the Lord - i.e. I. Chr. directed their hearts “into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” The love of God is here not only an objective attribute of the Divine, but also the guiding principle of our heart. The patience of Christ - τοϋ Χριστού - with a member, which emphasizes the connection of the patience in question, not just with the earthly suffering of the Savior, but with these same sufferings, as the inevitable lot of the suffering youth of Jehovah (Milligan, op. cit. p. 112). 2 Sol.3:6. We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to distance yourself from every brother who acts disorderly, and not according to the tradition that was received from us, Here is the instruction of Ap. regarding “their behavior disorderly,” which was already discussed in 1 Ph. (1 Thess. 5:13–14 – cf. 1 Thess. 4:11–12). But there it was still a reminder that evil was beginning to manifest its existence. Here is Ap. deals with a well-established fact - the “disorderliness” of some members of the community, the meaning of which is explained below, in 2 Thess. 3:11. “Those who act disorderly” are some members of f. churches which, holding a false view of the parousia (“the day of Christ is now at hand” - 2 Thessalonians 2:2), abandoned the normal way of life, and indulged in idleness and interference in the peaceful course of life of others. The Apostle exhorts f. to stay away from such people, and not only by virtue of the teaching taught to them, but also by attention to the personal example of the evangelist himself. 2 Sol.3:7. for you yourselves know how you should imitate us; for we did not commit outrages among you, 2 Sol.3:8. They ate no one’s bread for free, but labored and toiled night and day, so as not to burden any of you— 2 Sol.3:9. not because we do not have power, but to give ourselves to you as a model for us to follow. The latter, living among them, did not commit outrages, but lived by the labor of his hands. Ap. already earlier, in 1 Thess. 2:9, touched on this issue; but there it was about his unselfishness and disinterest; here he moves on to the other side of his working life in F. - its independence. Ap., as a minister of the Gospel, could count on the support of the community (see 1 Cor 9:3–18), and had the right (εξουσία) to demand it, but he did not use this power in F. in order to set an example to others with his working lifestyle; he worked himself so that by his dependence on others “he would not put any obstacle to the gospel of Christ” (1 Cor 9:12). 2 Thess. 3:10. For when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, he should not eat. Here Ap. apparently quotes a Jewish proverb based on the words of V.Z. from the book. Gen.3:19. Compare "Teaching of the 12 Apostles", XII:3. 2 Sol.3:11. But we hear that some among you act disorderly, do nothing, but fuss; “We hear” - indicates that before Ap. “recently” news arrived from F. that some are leading a “disorderly life.” False aspirations regarding the parousia probably gave rise to a significant number of “ideological” slackers who, relying on the “eschatological turmoil,” did nothing, abandoned a normal lifestyle, and b. m. unintentionally became an economic burden to f. communities, poking around everywhere, and disrupting with their uninvited interference, the order in the lives of others (περιεργαζομένους - in this verse there is a play on words - μηδέν εργαζομένους, άλλα περιεργαζομένους ). All their energy was spent in idle excitement over unfounded aspirations regarding the “quick” end of the earthly order of things. 2 Sol.3:12. We admonish and convince such people by our Lord Jesus Christ, so that they, working in silence, eat their bread. Such Ap. convinces, having calmed down internally, to surrender to work in order to “eat your own bread.” Here Ap. probably uses a saying borrowed from the rabbis. 2 Sol.3:13. But you, brothers, do not lose heart in doing good. From this verse the instructions of Ap. that part of the church that was alien to the riots condemned in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, but which could fall under the evil influence of the “disorderly ones.” “Don’t be cold, you do good” – in Russian – “do not lose heart in doing good” – μη εγκακήσητε (Textus Reseptus εκκακήσητε) καλοποιούντες. Ἐγκακέω – from κακός – in the sense of cowardly, cowardly. Καλοποιεω - means I act nobly, rather than “doing good to others.” Hence the idea of ​​the verse: do not be discouraged, do not be faint-hearted in the noble course of life you have undertaken. 2 Sol.3:14. If anyone does not listen to our words in this message, take note of him and do not communicate with him in order to shame him; Νουθετείν - to admonish, to remind someone of his duty, although with a tinge of slight censure, but at the same time exhortation. 2 Sol.3:15. but do not consider him an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 2 Sol.3:16. May the Lord of peace Himself always give you peace in everything. The Lord is with you all! “Lord of the world” - G.I. Christ, if we rely on the fact that the word Κύριος in Apostle. P. always refers to G.I. Christ. But compare 1 Thessalonians 5:23. - “With all of you” - not excluding those whom Ap. I just denounced “disorderly behavior.” 2 Sol.3:17. Greetings with my Pauline hand, which serves as a sign in every epistle; I write like this: Here is Ap. P. makes a personal addition to the message, probably in order to eliminate any doubt in the message, in view of the fears and assumptions he expressed in 2 Thessalonians 2:2. - “In every message.” Regarding these words, the English scientist Bishop. Lightfoot asks: “It is impossible to give any other explanation for this expression except that it is probably Ap. wrote many messages that did not reach us? This question must be answered in the negative. Messages to f. were written in 52–53... The missionary activity of the Apostle must have begun no later than 45 AD. However, not a single message has reached us written earlier than the epistles to f. First Epistle to Cor. was written in 57. In chronological order, this was the third message from the existing ones after the first two to F. Should one think that these messages were the only creations of Ap., standing alone in a period of time embracing 12 years, during which Ap. was he constantly in communication with churches scattered everywhere? Even if this were conceivable in itself, it would still be difficult to reconcile with the expression (in any epistle) in our text. How could Ap. to say “in every epistle” when, with the sole exception of the first epistle to F., he wrote absolutely nothing during the previous eight years, and was not forced to write anything during the next five years?” (Lightfoot, op. cit. p. 136). One must think that the correspondence of Ap. was much wider and greater than one might think on the basis of only the messages that have reached us. - “I write like this” - here is Ap. probably alludes to the nature of his handwriting - compare Gal 6:11. 2 Sol.3:18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. The greeting is similar to the greeting in 1 Thess., with the exception of the word “with all,” which Ap. inserts here, wanting to send his wishes to all members of the Christian community in F., including here “those who walk unruly.” You might be interested in: