2 Thessalonians 3:1 - Meaning and Application

In these words, notice first that the apostle asks for the prayers of his friends: “Finally, brothers, pray for us” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). He always remembered them in his own prayers, and he did not want them to forget him and his fellow workers. Instead, he wanted them to carry them on their hearts before God’s throne of grace.

This is one way the fellowship of believers is kept alive. It is not only by praying together, or with one another, but also by praying for one another when we are apart. In that way, people who are far away can still meet at the throne of grace. Even those who cannot do or receive any other kindness can still give and receive real, great kindness this way.

It is also the duty of people to pray for their ministers, not only for their own pastors, but for all faithful ministers. And ministers need those prayers, so they should ask for them. How humble this great apostle was, and how good his example is. Though he was powerful in prayer himself, he did not look down on the prayers of the least Christian, but wanted a share in them.

Notice, too, what he wanted them to pray for. First, he asked for the success of the gospel ministry: “that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored” (2 Thessalonians 3:1). This was Paul’s great concern. He cared more that God’s name be honored, his kingdom advanced, and his will done than for his own daily bread.

He wanted the word of the Lord to run, as the original says, to move forward, gain ground, and spread quickly. The interest of true religion in the world should go forward, not backward, and not just go forward, but move fast. All the forces of hell were then, and still are, raised against the word of the Lord, trying to block its spread and success.

So we should pray that every obstacle be removed, so the gospel may reach the ears, hearts, and consciences of people. We should pray that it will be honored in the conviction and conversion of sinners, in silencing those who argue against it, and in the holy conduct of believers. God, who gave honor to the law, will also glorify the gospel and make it honorable, and in doing so he will glorify his own name.

Good ministers and good Christians can gladly be small, or even nothing, if Christ is made great and his gospel is honored. Paul was then at Athens, or perhaps, as some think, at Corinth, and he wanted the Thessalonians to pray that he would have as much success there as he had in Thessalonica, so that it might go just as well with others as it had with them. If ministers have been used well in one place, they should want to be used well in every place where they preach the gospel.

Second, he asked for the safety of gospel ministers: “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people” (2 Thessalonians 3:2). He was not asking for promotion, but for protection. Those who oppose the preaching of the gospel and persecute faithful preachers are wicked and unreasonable people. They act against reason and against religion, and they are guilty of great folly and great evil.

There is not only unbelief in atheism and false religion, but also in vice, immorality, and especially persecution. That is where the greatest folly in the world is found, as well as the greatest sin. God’s servants need spiritual protection as well as help, because they are like standard-bearers, and they are often the main targets. So all who care about Christ’s cause in the world should pray for them.

“For not all have faith” means that many do not believe the gospel. They will not receive it themselves, and it is no surprise if such people work hard to oppose the gospel, discredit the ministry, and shame the ministers of the word. Many also have no true honesty or conscience. We cannot safely trust them, and we should pray to be delivered from people who have no conscience or honor and who do not care what they say or do. Sometimes we are in as much or even more danger from false friends than from open enemies.

Paul then encourages them to trust God. We should not only pray to God for his grace, but also trust his grace and expect to receive what we ask. There are two blessings we may expect from God’s grace: being established, and being kept from evil. Even the best Christians need both.

He prays that God would establish them. He had already prayed this for them (2 Thessalonians 2:17), and now he encourages them to expect it. We do not stand unless God holds us up. Unless he keeps our steps in his ways, our feet will slip and we will fall.

He also asks that God would keep them from evil. We need God’s grace not only to begin the good work, but also to continue in it until the end. The evil of sin is the greatest evil, but there are also other evils from which God preserves his saints, including the evil in the world, and indeed from all evil, until he brings them to his heavenly kingdom.

The reason we can depend on God’s grace is this: “The Lord is faithful.” He is faithful to his promises, and he is the God who cannot lie. He will not change what he has spoken. Once he has promised, his performance is sure.

He is also faithful in every relationship he has with his people. He is a faithful God and a faithful friend, and we may depend on him to fulfill all that those relationships require. Let us be careful to be true and faithful in our promises, and in every relationship we have, to this faithful God.

Paul adds one more ground of hope that God would do this for them, since they were doing, and would continue to do, the things commanded of them (2 Thessalonians 3:4). Paul had confidence in them, and that confidence rested on his confidence in God, because in man there is no sure confidence by himself. Their obedience is described as doing what he and his fellow workers commanded, which was no different from obeying the commandments of the Lord.

The apostles had no larger commission than to teach people to obey what the Lord had commanded (Matthew 28:20). And just as Paul’s past experience of their obedience gave him reason to expect future obedience, so our keeping God’s commandments gives us reason to hope that whatever we ask from God, we will receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him (1 John 3:22).

Paul then offers a short prayer for them (2 Thessalonians 3:5). It is a prayer for spiritual blessings. He asks for two things of greatest importance:

That their hearts may be brought into the love of God, so that they may love God as the most excellent and lovely Being, the best of all beings. This is not only the most reasonable thing and necessary for our happiness, it is happiness itself. It is a large part of heaven’s joy, where this love will be made perfect.

We can never reach this on our own. God must direct our hearts by his grace, because our love is always ready to wander after other things. We suffer great harm when our affections are misplaced. It is our sin and our misery to set our hearts on the wrong objects. If God sets our love right toward himself, the rest of our affections will also be put in order.

A patient waiting for Christ may be joined with this love of God. There is no true love for God without faith in Jesus Christ. We must wait for Christ, which means we believe he came once in the flesh and will come again in glory. We must look for that second coming and be careful to get ready for it. This waiting must be patient, with courage and steady endurance through whatever we face in the meantime.

We need patience, and we need God’s grace to live it out. This is Christian patience, the patience of Christ, as some understand the phrase. It is patience for Christ’s sake and after Christ’s example.