In the third chapter of what is termed: Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he addresses how trouble should be dealt with as that pertains to the believer. First, he mentioned trouble coming from folks outside the church, and this should be handled through prayer, guided by trust in the Lord that he will keep the believing community from the terror of wicked men (2Thessalonians 3:1-5).[1] On the other hand, trouble that originates from within the believing community should be dealt with kindly but forthrightly (2Thessalonians 3:6-15). The one who is causing the trouble must be avoided, not treated as a stranger, but he needs to understand that what he is doing isn’t acceptable behavior and he must stop.
Paul told his readers that the Lord would be faithful to strengthen or establish the believing community into what might be called a legitimate and recognized group of society. In other words, folks would know them and know what they represent (2Thessalonians 3:3). Moreover, in the same verse Paul seems to contrast what might be called the norm for him in the work of the Gospel and what would usually be the norm for the disciples of Christ, who were converted through his Gospel. He used the word wicked (G4190) men in 2Thessalonians 3:2, asking for prayer to be delivered out of their hands. In other words, wicked (G4190) and unreasonable folks (G824) would loom large in Paul’s work, and he needed the Lord to protect him from their evil intents. Nevertheless, Paul used the same word in 2Thessalonians 3:3 to describe how the Lord would work in the lives of the believing community. Paul tells them that not only would the Lord be faithful in strengthening and establishing them as his disciples, but he would also keep (G5442) them from the wicked (G4190) folks, like those who trouble Paul’s work. In other words, what might be described as a regular occurrence for Paul would be a rare event for the believing community.[2] So, Paul wasn’t saying the believing community would never suffer hardship, only that that hardship would rarely escalate to the place where the believing community’s very existence would be in jeopardy.
In 2Thessalonians 3:4 Paul describes how the word of God is so powerful. Notice that Paul claims he has confidence in the Lord that the believing community at Thessalonica both did and would continue to do just as Paul commanded them, according to his Gospel. In other words, the word of God, the Gospel, has power when believed. The Gospel is not believed and spread by the power or strength of man; neither is it by human power that one is a faithful disciple of the Lord (Ephesians 2:4-10). On the contrary, the believer finds new strength within himself that he didn’t have before. Therefore, confidence can be placed in the Lord to turn the hearts of the believer and to strengthen them in their walk with him.
Therefore Paul was able to pray that the Lord would guide his people at Thessalonica into a full awareness of his love for them, and, in doing so, this would strengthen them with the patience or endurance of Christ, especially in times of persecution (2Thessalonians 3:5). In other words, as part of the new creation (2Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15), believers in Christ are created anew in Christ and empowered to do good works, which the Lord had foreordained to be done by his people.
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[1] That is, this would be the norm. There may occur trouble as an exception to this rule whereby wicked men would inflict harm upon the believing community, but the norm would be the Lord would keep such people away.
[2] Persecution would occur for all of Jesus’ disciples (2Timothy 3:12), and one cannot say that such persecution would never come to violence, whereby the lives of all would be in danger. However, this kind of thing wouldn’t be a normal occurrence for those persecuted in the name of Christ. It would be normal only for those who plowed the fields of humanity for the sake of the Gospel.
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