Read or listen The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians 3 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Prayer is important – 2 Thes. 3:1-3

The beginning of verse 1 reveals that "finally" Paul is beginning to close his letter.

Paul presents two intercessory prayer requests to the Thessalonians (verses 1 and 2):
- that the gospel would spread
- that Paul and his companions would be protected so that opponents would not be able to stop them from spreading the gospel.

The end of verse 2 is a reminder to us that even the most powerful proclamation of the gospel does not always bear fruit. There have always been those who do not want to accept the gospel, and there always will be. Some of them actively oppose the gospel. In Paul's day, many of the opposers of the gospel were Jews. In the book of Acts, we see how time and again the Jews tried to silence Paul.

God does want all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:3-4), so verse 2 should not be interpreted as meaning that some people are inevitably, forcibly excluded from the kingdom of God. God has given man the opportunity to refuse to follow Jesus, and unfortunately many use that opportunity.

The Greek word for “unworthy” in verse 2 is “atopoi,” which literally means “out of place.” Evil is always something that is not part of God’s original plan. Evil is a sign, a symptom of being somewhere other than where one should be.

There are four types of people involved in missionary work (verses 1-2):
- Those who pray for missions
- Missionaries, proclaimers of the gospel
- Those who accept the gospel
- Those who do not accept the gospel and who may begin to oppose it.

There is a place for all Christians in missionary work: not everyone can leave abroad, but everyone can be pray for mission.

At the end of verse 3, "the evil one" can also be written with a capital letter as "Evil", in which case it would mean personal evil, the adversary of God, the Enemy of the Soul, or the Antichrist.

Even everyday work must also be done – 2 Thes. 3:4-15

Some of the Christians in Thessalonica had stopped taking care of their everyday responsibilities and began to live with the support of other Christians. The idea of ​​verse 10 is not that the poor and the unable to work should not be cared for, but it is talking about those who are able but refuse to work. Christian congregations cared for those who did not have the opportunity to earn their own living (compare Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37). Paul is talking about those who relied on the help of others and refused to work without a good reason.

Paul had already spoken of the same problem in 1 Thessalonians (4:11-12, 5:14). Perhaps the situation had worsened or Paul’s exhortation was not taken seriously. This time Paul puts his entire apostolic authority behind his command. The “we” in verse 6 apparently does not refer to Paul and his companions Timothy and Silas, who were with Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:5), but to all the apostles. Anyone who does not want to listen to the Lord’s apostle should be excluded from normal church life as a sign that such behavior is unacceptable. Even today, the well-being of the church depends on whether or not people there want to listen to the apostles.

Paul taught the Thessalonians in three ways:
- By his speeches, in which he conveyed to them the contents of the Scriptures (=Old Testament) and tradition, teaching, and Christian faith (verse 6)
- By his example (verses 7-9)
- By his letters (verse 14).

The Didache, the teaching of the twelve apostles, advises that itinerant preachers should be supported for only two days. After that, they had to start working. These teachers wanted a free livelihood as a reward for their teaching. Paul states that as a preacher of the gospel he would have had the right to demand "maintenance" (verse 9, 1 Cor. 9:14), but he had refused it.

"the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel."
(1 Cor. 9:14)

Today the question of "paid priesthood" is purely practical: it has been felt better that certain individuals can devote themselves full-time to the ministry of the gospel. But it must be remembered that this does not in the least limit or render unnecessary the work of all Christians in advancing the gospel, that is universal priesthood.

What kind of punishment Paul demands for the disobedient is unclear. Apparently they were not completely removed from the congregation, since they were still to be considered “brothers” (verse 12). It has been suggested that this meant disfellowshipping, but that is only a guess. In any case, Paul considered it absolutely necessary to make it clear to these neglectful ones that their actions were not approved.

Church discipline

In Matthew 18:15-18, Jesus gives instructions on church discipline:

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

1. First, a private rebuke
2. Then, witnesses
3. Then, a public rebuke before the congregation
4. If that does not help, the person must be expelled from the congregation (compare also 1 Cor 5:9-11).

The Bible’s teaching on church discipline can be summarized in five principles:

1. Church discipline can only be used against those who have committed serious offenses. Disagreements must be reconciled, but church discipline must be applied to a Christian who rejects the apostolic teaching by word or deed.
2. The basic nature of church discipline is to separate the offender. There are different degrees of separation, compare verses 14-15 and 1 Cor 5:9-11.
3. The matter is decided by the congregation. In verse 14, the literal translation would be "mark him" (NKJV), which refers to a joint decision of the congregation.
4. Church discipline is to be administered in a spirit of love (compare Mark 10:21 Jesus loved the rich man).
5. The goal of church discipline is repentance.

Closing greetings - 2 Thes. 3:16-18

Paul dictated his letter (Rom 16:22), but as was customary at the time, he added a handwritten "signature" at the end of the letter (cf. Gal 6:11), which was also a guarantee of the authenticity of the letter (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:2).

When Paul speaks of the "Lord of peace" (Christ) in verse 16, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 he spoke of the God of peace. In the Old Testament the Messiah was called the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6-7).

The letter ends with the same blessing as the First Thessalonians.