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So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
Therfore brethren stonde fast and kepe the ordinaunces which ye have learned: whether it were by oure preachynge or by pistle.
Oure lorde Iesu Christ hym silfe and God oure father which hath loved vs and hath geven vs everlastynge consolacion and good hope thorowe grace
comforte youre hertes and stablysshe you in all doctrine and good doynge.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast and keepe the instructions, which ye haue bene taught, either by worde, or by our Epistle.
Now the same Iesus Christ our Lord; and our God euen the Father which hath loued vs, and hath giuen vs euerlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in euery word and good worke.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv15–16 He deduces this exhortation on good grounds from what…
He deduces this exhortation on good grounds from what goes before, inasmuch as our steadfastness and power of perseverance rest on nothing else than assurance of divine grace. When, however, God calls us to salvation, stretching forth, as it were, his hand to us; when Christ, by the doctrine of the gospel, presents himself to us to be enjoyed; when the Spirit is given us as a seal and earnest of eternal life, though the heaven should fall, we must, nevertheless, not become disheartened. Paul, accordingly, would have the Thessalonians stand, not merely when others continue to stand, but with a more settled stability; so that, on seeing almost all turning aside from the faith, and all things full of confusion, they will, nevertheless, retain their footing. And assuredly the calling of God ought to fortify us against all occasions of offense in such a manner, that not even the entire ruin of the world shall shake, much less overthrow, our stability.
15 Hold fast the institutions. Some restrict this to precepts of external polity; but this does not please me, for he points out the manner of standing firm. Now, to be furnished with invincible strength is a much higher thing than external discipline. Hence, in my opinion, he includes all doctrine under this term, as though he had said that they have ground on which they may stand firm, provided they persevere in sound doctrine, according as they had been instructed by him. I do not deny that the term παραδόσεις is fitly applied to the ordinances which are appointed by the Churches, with a view to the promoting of peace and the maintaining of order, and I admit that it is taken in this sense when human traditions are treated of, (Matthew 15:6.) Paul, however, will be found in the next chapter making use of the term tradition, as meaning the rule that he had laid down, and the very signification of the term is general. The context, however, as I have said, requires that it be taken here to mean the whole of that doctrine in which they had been instructed. For the matter treated of is the most important of all — that their faith may remain secure in the midst of a dreadful agitation of the Church.
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Papists, however, act a foolish part in gathering from this that their traditions ought to be observed. They reason, indeed, in this manner — that if it was allowable for Paul to enjoin traditions, it was allowable also for other teachers; and that, if it was a pious thing to observe the former, the latter also ought not less to be observed. Granting them, however, that Paul speaks of precepts belonging to the external government of the Church, I say that they were, nevertheless, not contrived by him, but divinely communicated. For he declares elsewhere, (1 Corinthians 7:35,) that it was not his intention to ensnare consciences, as it was not lawful, either for himself, or for all the Apostles together. They act a still more ridiculous part in making it their aim to pass off, under this, the abominable sink of their own superstitions, as though they were the traditions of Paul. But farewell to these trifles, when we are in possession of Paul’s true meaning. And we may judge in part from this Epistle what traditions he here recommends, for he says — whether by word, that is, discourse, or by epistle. Now, what do these Epistles contain but pure doctrine, which overturns to the very foundation the whole of the Papacy, and every invention that is at variance with the simplicity of the Gospel?
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v15 The conclusion remaineth then, that we continue in the…
The conclusion remaineth then, that we continue in the doctrine which was delivered unto us by the mouth and writings of the Apostles, through the free good will of God, which comforteth us with an invincible hope, and also in all godliness our whole life long.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–17 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions…
15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Ver. 15. Stand fast] Though never so many fall from the faith. Falling stars were never but meteors. God also will have the tree of his Church to be shaken sometimes, that rotten fruit may fall off; and that there may be a shedding of the good from temporaries.
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Hold the traditions] Hold fast by these, that ye may stand the faster.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv15–17 The former verses contained consolation, this is an exhortation:…
The former verses contained consolation, this is an exhortation: the apostle had assured them of their being elected and called, yet exhorts them to their duty. Assurance of salvation doth not encourage negligence; the apostle takes his argument from thence to quicken them:
Therefore, & c. And that which he exhorts them to is:
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1. To stand fast; a military word, speaking as a captain to his soldiers; so 1Co 16:13; Eph 6:14; having before foretold a great apostacy that would come. Or because he had told them of the great glory they had been called to the obtaining of by the gospel, he exhorts them to stand fast, which implies a firm persuasion of mind and constant purpose of will, and stands opposite to hesitation and despondency.
2. To hold the traditions which they had been taught. The word tradition signifies any thing delivered to another; especially meant of doctrines. The Pharisees’ doctrine is called tradition, Mat 15:3; and so the true doctrines of the gospel, being such as the apostles delivered to the people; as the doctrine of the Lord’s supper is said to be delivered, 1Co 11:23; and so Rom 6:13.
Whether by word, or our epistle; by word of mouth in public preaching, or private instruction. The apostle had both preached and written to these Thessalonians, before he wrote this Second Epistle. And that the papists should hence infer that there are matters of necessary consequence in religion, not contained in the Scriptures, is without ground. These they call traditions, some whereof are concerning faith, others concerning manners, others ritual, with respect to the worship of God, or the external polity of the church. But who can assure us what these are? What a door is here opened to introduce what men please into the church, under pretence of tradition! Who were the persons the apostle intrusted to keep these traditions? Why should he not declare the whole system of gospel truths he had received from Christ in writing, as well as part? Why should he conceal some things, when he wrote others? And doth not the apostle assure Timothy that All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof for correction, for instruction; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works? 2Ti 3:16,17. What need then traditions? And how can we know that they are by Divine inspiration, as we are assured all Scripture is? Our Saviour reproved the Pharisees about their traditions, when from hence they would observe and impose ceremonies of washing hands, cups, and platters, Mat 15:2-6, yea, and by them make the commandments of God of none effect; which the apostle cautions the Colossians about, Col 2:8; and whereof Paul declares his zeal before his conversion, Gal 1:14; and we find men’s zeal still more about them than moral duties, and express institutions of God’s worship. All the apostle’s doctrine,
whether by word or epistle, he calls by the name of traditions in the text here, and he commends the Corinthians, 1Co 11:2, that they kept the traditions delivered to them; but were not they all committed to writing in some place or other of his Epistles? And which were, and which were not, who can be certain? And why should traditions be confined only to those things which the apostle did not write? He exhorts the Thessalonians to hold the traditions which they had been taught, whether by word or epistle. And if they hold them with strength, as the word is, by this means they would stand fast.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Our apostle having abundantly comforted the Thessalonians in the…
Our apostle having abundantly comforted the Thessalonians in the former verses, from their election and vocation, he closes the chapter with an exhortation to them to perseverance and constancy in the truth; Therefore, brethren, stand fast.
Observe, 1. The illative particle, therefore that is, because God hath chosen and called you, and given you such assurance of his favour, and such advantages against error and seduction, therefore let it be your care to persevere; assurance of salvation doth not encourage negligence, but engage to greater diligence.
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Observe, 2. The duty inferred: stand fast; it is a military word, used by captains to their soldiers, to prevent a cowardly and treacherous revolt; he had been describing a great apostasy that would come, now bids them be upon their guard and stand fast.
Observe, 3. The means directed to, in order to their steadfastness and perseverance, namely, to hold the traditions which they had been taught, either by word or by epistle.
Here note, (1.) The act, hold, with a strong hand, hold against all assaults, whether of error or persecution.
(2.) The object, the traditions taught, either by word, or by epistle.
Where mark, That all the apostle’s doctrines, whether preached when amongst them, or written to them in his absence from them, he calls traditions; so that holding the traditions here, is nothing else but perseverance in apostolical doctrine.
From the whole note, 1. That what assurance soever we have of God’s preserving us in the truth, yet are we bound to use all possible care and caution in order to our own preservation.
Note, 2. That it is our duty to stand fast in the faith of Christ, and professions of godliness, whatsoever dangers or temptations we may be exposed to.
Note, 3. That the doctrine of Christianity taught by the apostles is a tradition, and that holding this tradition is the best means for standing fast in the faith of Christ.
Note, 4. That while the apostles were in being, there were two ways of delivering the truth, namely, by word of mouth and writing; Whether by word or our epistle.
Note, 5. That now, when they are long since dead, and we cannot receive the doctrine of life from them by word of mouth, we must stick to the scriptures and written word, against all pretences to unwritten traditions, or pretended revelations, because the scriptures are a perfect rule both for our faith and practice.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v16 In these words we have the apostle's earnest prayer…
In these words we have the apostle's earnest prayer for them, in which observe,
I. To whom he prays: Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father. We may and should direct our prayers, not only to God the Father, through the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also to our Lord Jesus Christ himself; and should pray in his name unto God, not only as his Father but as our Father in and through him.
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II. From what he takes encouragement in his prayer - from the consideration of what God had already done for him and them: Who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Th2 2:16. Here observe, 1. The love of God is the spring and fountain of all the good we have or hope for; our election, vocation, justification, and salvation, are all owing to the love of God in Christ Jesus. 2. From this fountain in particular all our consolation flows. And the consolation of the saints is an everlasting consolation. The comforts of the saints are not dying things; they shall not die with them. The spiritual consolations God gives none shall deprive them of; and God will not take them away: because he love them with an everlasting love, therefore they shall have everlasting consolation. 3. Their consolation is founded on the hope of eternal life. They rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and are not only patient, but joyful, in tribulations; and there is good reason for these strong consolations, because the saints have good hope: their hope is grounded on the love of God, the promise of God, and the experience they have had of the power, the goodness, and the faithfulness of God, and it is good hope through grace; the free grace and mercy of God are what they hope for, and what their hopes are founded on, and not on any worth or merit of their own.
III. What it is that he asks of God for them - that he would comfort their hearts, and establish them in every good word and work, Th2 2:17. God had given them consolations, and he prayed that they might have more abundant consolation. There was good hope, through grace, that they would be preserved, and he prayed that they might be established: it is observable how comfort and establishment are here joined together. Note therefore, 1. Comfort is a means of establishment; for the more pleasure we take in the word, and work, and ways of God, the more likely we shall be to persevere therein. And, 2. Our establishment in the ways of God is a likely means in order to comfort; whereas, if we are wavering in faith, and of a doubtful mind, or if we are halting and faltering in our duty, no wonder if we are strangers to the pleasures and joys of religion. What is it that lies at the bottom of all our uneasiness, but our unsteadiness in religion? We must be established in every good word and work, in the word of truth and the work of righteousness: Christ must be honoured by our good works and good words; and those who are sincere will endeavour to do both, and in so doing they may hope for comfort and establishment, till at length their holiness and happiness be completed.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Therefore, brethren, stand fast,.... In the doctrine of the…
Therefore, brethren, stand fast,.... In the doctrine of the Gospel in general, and in the article of Christ's second coming in particular, and not in the least waver about the thing itself, nor be shaken in mind, and troubled as if it was just at hand; and the rather it became them to be concerned that they stood fast in the truth, and persevered unto the end, since there was to be a falling away, and the mystery of iniquity was already working, and antichrist would shortly appear, whose coming would be with all deceivableness, of unrighteousness; and they had the greater encouragement to continue firm and unmoved, seeing they were chosen from eternity unto salvation through sanctification and belief of the truth, and were called in time by the Gospel to the enjoyment of the glory of Christ in another world.
And hold the traditions which ye have been taught: meaning the truths of the Gospel, which may be called traditions, because they are delivered from one to another; the Gospel was first delivered by God the Father to Jesus Christ, as Mediator, and by him to his apostles, and by them to the churches of Christ; whence it is called the form of doctrine delivered to them, and the faith once delivered to the saints: and also the ordinances of the Gospel which the apostles received from Christ, and as they received them faithfully delivered them, such as baptism and the Lord's supper; as well as rules of conduct and behaviour, both in the church, and in the world, even all the commandments of Christ, which he ordered his apostles to teach, and which they gave by him; see Th2 3:6. And so the Syriac version here renders it, "the commandments": and these were such as these saints had been taught by the apostles, under the direction of Christ, and through the guidance of his Spirit; and were not the traditions of men or the rudiments of the world, but what they had received from Christ, through the hands of the apostles:
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whether by word, or our epistle, that is, by "our" word, as well as by our epistle, and so the Arabic version reads; these doctrines, ordinances, and rules of discipline were communicated to them, both by word of mouth, when the apostles were in person among them, and by writing afterwards to them; for what the apostles delivered in the ministry of the word to the churches, they sent them in writing, that they might be a standing rule of faith and practice; so that this does not in the least countenance the unwritten traditions of the Papists; and since these were what were taught them, "viva voce", and they received them from the mouth of the apostles, or by letters from them, or both, it became them to hold and retain them fast, and not let them go, either with respect to doctrine or practice.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v15 Hold - Without adding to, or diminishing from, the…
Hold - Without adding to, or diminishing from, the traditions which ye have been taught - The truths which I have delivered to you. Whether by word or by our epistle - He preached before he wrote. And he had written concerning this in his former epistle.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast] Their obtaining eternal…
Verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast] Their obtaining eternal glory depended on their faithfulness to the grace of God; for this calling did not necessarily and irresistibly lead to faith; nor their faith to the sanctification of the spirit; nor their sanctification of the spirit to the glory of our Lord Jesus. Had they not attended to the calling, they could not have believed; had they not believed, they could not have been sanctified; had they not been sanctified they could not have been glorified. All these things depended on each other; they were stages of the great journey; and at any of these stages they might have halted, and never finished their Christian race.
Hold the traditions which ye have been taught] The word παραδοσις, which we render tradition, signifies any thing delivered in the way of teaching; and here most obviously means the doctrines delivered by the apostle to the Thessalonians; whether in his preaching, private conversation, or by these epistles; and particularly the first epistle, as the apostle here states. Whatever these traditions were, as to their matter, they were a revelation from God; for they came by men who spake and acted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and on this ground the passage here can never with any propriety be brought to support the unapostolical and anti-apostolical traditions of the Romish Church; those being matters which are, confessedly, not taken from either Testament, nor were spoken either by a prophet or an apostle.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v15 2Th 2:15-17. Therefore, brethren, stand fast — In your…
2Th 2:15-17. Therefore, brethren, stand fast — In your adherence to the truth and possession of the grace of the gospel; and hold — Without adding to or diminishing from them; the traditions which ye have been taught — The instructions which have been delivered to you; whether by word — When we were present with you; or our former epistle — He preached to them before he wrote, and he had written concerning the things which he wished them to hold fast in his former epistle. The name traditions is here given by the apostle “to the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, on a double account; first, because they were delivered by Christ and by the Spirit to the apostles, merely on the authority of revelation; and, secondly, because the apostles delivered them to the world on the same authority, without attempting to prove them by any other argument. And this precept, hold the traditions, applies to no instructions or directions but those which the apostles and other inspired teachers delivered to the world as revelations from God. And though the inspired teachers, to whom these doctrines were revealed, communicated them to the world first of all by word of mouth, they cannot now be known to be theirs, but by their holding a place in those writings which are allowed to be the genuine productions of these inspired teachers. The traditions, therefore, on which the Church of Rome lays so great a stress, are of no manner of value.” Now our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father — Here again, as in 1Th 3:11, prayer is addressed by the apostle to Christ as well as to the Father, and in the same words; who hath loved us — As a father loves his children; and hath given us everlasting consolation — Hath opened to us the sources thereof in his gospel, or furnished us with the means of it; and of good hope — That is, a well-grounded hope, namely, of the glorification of both our bodies and souls; through grace — 1st, Justifying us, and entitling us to that felicity; 2d, Sanctifying us, and preparing us for it; and, 3d, Strengthening us, and enabling us to withstand our spiritual enemies, and do and suffer the will of God to the end, and thereby bringing us to it. Comfort your hearts — Under all the afflictions you endure for the gospel; and establish you in every good word and work — That is, in every good doctrine and practice, in opposition to all the efforts of your enemies to seduce you, whether visible or invisible.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Therefore - In view of the fact that you…
Therefore - In view of the fact that you are thus chosen from eternity, and that you are to be raised up to such honor and glory.
Stand fast - Amidst all the temptations which surround you; compare the notes on Eph 6:10-14. And hold the traditions which ye have been taught On the word “traditions,” see the notes on Mat 15:2. It means properly things delivered over from one to another; then anything orally delivered - any precept, doctrine, or law. It is frequently employed to denote that which is not written, as contradistinguished from that which is written (compare Mat 15:2), but not necessarily or always; for here the apostle speaks of the “traditions which they had been taught by his epistle;” compare the notes, 1Co 11:2. Here it means the doctrines or precepts which they had received from the apostle, whether when he was with them, or after he left them; whether communicated by preaching or by letter. This passage can furnish no authority for holding the “traditions” which have come down from ancient times, and which profess to have been derived from the apostles; because:
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(1)There is no evidence that any of those traditions were given by the apostles;
(2)Many of them are manifestly so trifling, false, and contrary to the writings of the apostles, that they could not have been delivered by them;
(3)If any of them are genuine, it is impossible to separate them from those which are false;
(4)We have all that is necessary for salvation in the written word; and,
(5)There is not the least evidence that the apostle here meant to refer to any such thing.
He speaks only of what had been delivered to them by himself, whether orally or by letter; not of what was delivered from one to another as from him. There is no intimation here that they were to hold anything as from him which they had not received directly from him, either by his own instructions personally or by letter. With what propriety, then, can this passage be adduced to prove that we are to hold the traditions which professedly come to us through a great number of intermediate persons? Where is the evidence here that the church was to hold those unwritten traditions, and transmit them to future times?
Whether by word - By preaching, when we were with you. It does not mean that he had sent any oral message to them by a third person.
Or our epistle - The former letter which he had written to them.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Therefore--God's sovereign choice of believers, so far from being…
Therefore--God's sovereign choice of believers, so far from being a ground for inaction on their part, is the strongest incentive to action and perseverance in it. Compare the argument, Phi 2:12-13, "Work out your own salvation, FOR it is God which worketh in you," &c. We cannot fully explain this in theory; but to the sincere and humble, the practical acting on the principle is plain. "Privilege first, duty afterwards" [EDMUNDS].
stand fast--so as not to be "shaken or troubled" (Th2 2:2).
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hold--so as not to let go. Adding nothing, subtracting nothing [BENGEL]. The Thessalonians had not held fast his oral instructions but had suffered themselves to be imposed upon by pretended spirit-revelations, and words and letters pretending to be from Paul (Th2 2:2), to the effect that "the day of the Lord was instantly imminent."
traditions--truths delivered and transmitted orally, or in writing (Th2 3:6; Co1 11:2; Greek, "traditions"). The Greek verb from which the noun comes, is used by Paul in Co1 11:23; Co1 15:3. From the three passages in which "tradition" is used in a good sense, Rome has argued for her accumulation of uninspired traditions, virtually overriding God's Word, while put forward as of co-ordinate authority with it. She forgets the ten passages (Mat 15:2-3, Mat 15:6; Mar 7:3, Mar 7:5, Mar 7:8-9, Mar 7:13; Gal 1:14; Col 2:8) stigmatizing man's uninspired traditions. Not even the apostles' sayings were all inspired (for example, Peter's dissimulation, Gal 2:11-14), but only when they claimed to be so, as in their words afterwards embodied in their canonical writings. Oral inspiration was necessary in their case, until the canon of the written Word should be complete; they proved their possession of inspiration by miracles wrought in support of the new revelation, which revelation, moreover, accorded with the existing Old Testament revelation; an additional test needed besides miracles (compare Deu 13:1-6; Act 17:11). When the canon was complete, the infallibility of the living men was transferred to the written Word, now the sole unerring guide, interpreted by the Holy Spirit. Little else has come down to us by the most ancient and universal tradition save this, the all-sufficiency of Scripture for salvation. Therefore, by tradition, we are constrained to cast off all tradition not contained in, or not provable by, Scripture. The Fathers are valuable witnesses to historical facts, which give force to the intimations of Scripture: such as the Christian Lord's day, the baptism of infants, and the genuineness of the canon of Scripture. Tradition (in the sense of human testimony) cannot establish a doctrine, but can authenticate a fact, such as the facts just mentioned. Inspired tradition, in Paul's sense, is not a supplementary oral tradition completing our written Word, but it is identical with the written Word now complete; then the latter not being complete, the tradition was necessarily in part oral, in part written, and continued so until, the latter being complete before the death of St. John, the last apostle, the former was no longer needed. Scripture is, according to Paul, the complete and sufficient rule in all that appertains to making "the man of God perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (Ti2 3:16-17). It is by leaving Paul's God-inspired tradition for human traditions that Rome has become the forerunner and parent of the Antichrist. It is striking that, from this very chapter denouncing Antichrist, she should draw an argument for her "traditions" by which she fosters anti-Christianity. Because the apostles' oral word was as trustworthy as their written word, it by no means follows that the oral word of those not apostles is as trustworthy as the written word of those who were apostles or inspired evangelists. No tradition of the apostles except their written word can be proved genuine on satisfactory evidence. We are no more bound to accept implicitly the Fathers' interpretations of Scripture, because we accept the Scripture canon on their testimony, than we are bound to accept the Jews' interpretation of the Old Testament, because we accept the Old Testament canon on their testimony.
our epistle--as distinguished from a "letter AS from us," Th2 2:2, namely, that purports to be from us, but is not. He refers to his first Epistle to the Thessalonians.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv15–17 15. Therefore—In view of the gracious things from the…
15. Therefore—In view of the gracious things from the divine side, 2Th_2:13-14, perform your duty of perseverance in faith.
Stand fast—In contrast with be shaken of 2Th_2:2.
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Traditions—His written or verbal deliverances to them. These traditions they had received from him personally. They have no connexion with the pretended traditions of the Romish Church, which have no valid proof of authenticity, and yet are reckoned by Romanists as authoritative part of “the word of God,” co-ordinate with the Scriptures.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–17 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast) So then (R.V.), as…
15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast) So then (R.V.), as in 1Th_5:6 (see note): the practical conclusion in which the Apostle gathers up all he has been saying in this letter. “Since the Lord’s return is delayed and its time uncertain, and in prospect of the coming of Antichrist, whose deceptive influence is already secretly at work,—inasmuch as God by our means has made you heirs of His glorious kingdom—Stand Fast.” Comp. 1Co_15:58; Col_1:23,—where, as in this place, hope is the incentive to steadfastness.
and hold the traditions which ye have been taught] “Hold” is an emphatic word: stand firm and hold fast (Ellicott) gives the Greek sense more adequately.
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In traditions which you were taught there is no suggestion of the Romanist idea of Tradition, conceived as an authority distinct from the written Word of God; for the Apostle continues, whether by word or latter of ours (the pronoun belongs to both nouns). He bids them hold by what he had taught, whether it came through this channel or that, provided it were really from himself (comp. 2Th_2:2, and ch. 2Th_3:14; 2Th_3:17). He is now beginning to communicate with the Churches by letter, and stamps his Epistles with the authority of his spoken word. The sentence asserts the claim of the true Apostolic teaching, as against any who would “beguile” the Church away from it. Comp. 1Co_11:2 : “I praise you that in all things you remember us, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.”
The Apostle’s “traditions” included, besides doctrine, also the “charges” (or “commands”) he gave on matters of morals and practical life (ch. 2Th_3:4; 1Th_4:2). The body of Christian doctrine, brought to its finished form, he calls in his last letters “the deposit” (1Ti_6:20; 2Ti_1:12; 2Ti_1:14); while his practical teaching is “the charge” (or “commandment”), 1Ti_1:5; 1Ti_1:18.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–17 (15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast.—Such an exhortation is, in…
(15) Therefore, brethren, stand fast.—Such an exhortation is, in itself, conclusive against a theory of irreversible predestination. “Because God chose you from eternity, and called you in time, therefore stand your ground.” If it were impossible for them to quit their ground, it would be needless to exhort them to maintain it. If it were possible for them to quit their ground, and yet be as well off after all, it would be needless also. At the same time, the “therefore” draws a conclusion, not from 2Th_2:14 alone, but sums up the whole disquisition of the chapter: “Now that you are reminded of the true Advent doctrine.”
Hold the traditions.—The very same word as in Mar_7:3-4; Mar_7:8, “holding the tradition of the elders;” also in the same metaphorical sense in Col_2:19; Rev_2:13. The action expressed is a vigorous and pertinacious grasp, as (for instance) of the lame man clutching the Apostles in Act_3:11. St. Chrysostom remarks: “It is plain from hence that they used not to deliver all their tradition by letter, but much without writing besides, and that both are equally worthy of belief. Therefore, let us consider the Church’s tradition worthy of belief. It is tradition: ask no further questions.” What were these “traditions” which it was so essential to keep? The context shows that the particular traditions which were most consciously in St. Paul’s mind at the moment, were his eschatological teachings, given to them while he was among them—the lore of which he has been briefly reminding them in this chapter (2Th_2:5-6): for the exhortation is practically a resumption of that given in 2Th_2:2-3. “Instead of being seduced by the forgers of prophecies or of communications from us, remember the careful instructions we gave you once for all.” At the same time, he speaks generally, and we must not limit his words to that particular tradition. Whatever can be traced to apostolic-origin is of the essence of the faith. They are to “hold tenaciously” all his traditions, and these would include instructions doctrinal (as 1Co_15:3; Jud_1:3), ceremonial (1Co_11:2; 1Co_11:23), and moral (2Th_3:6; 2Pe_2:21). As a matter of controversy, it is not so remarkable that he should exhort his converts to cling to his own oral teaching (“whether by word”) as that he should at so early a period call their special attention to what was gradually to supplant (at least, in doctrinal matters) all independent unwritten tradition—the Holy Scripture (“our Epistle”). St. Paul can speak on occasion as contemptuously of the “traditions of men” as our Lord did (Col_2:8). Of course, it depends entirely on the individual character of any tradition whether, and to what extent, it is to be “held” or condemned as “human.” In the Church no mutually contradictory traditions can be held together’; and therefore any tradition “by word” which is in disagreement with the written tradition (i.e., Scripture) stands necessarily condemned.
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By word, or our epistle.—The “our” belongs to both:” whether by word or epistle of ours.” Unless, St. Paul had written them some other letter, now lost, this proves that the “First” Epistle was in reality the earlier written. “Have been taught” should be “were taught”—the historic tense.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions. Traditions…
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions. Traditions generally denote statements orally delivered and reported; here the word denotes the apostle"s instructions in Christianity, whether these are given by word of mouth or by letter. Which ye have been taught, whether by word; referring to the apostle"s preaching when in Thessalonica. Or our Epistle; referring to the First Epistle to the Thessalonians.
Retention of Scripture.
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Whilst we reject the false and wrong, we must hold fast to the true and right. This is an age of testing.
1. We must examine the evidences of the Word of God.
2. We must endeavour to find out its meaning by careful study, and byprayer for the guidance and teaching of God"s Spirit.
3. We must bring all doctrines and opinions to the test of Scripture, anddraw our belief from the Word of God, and not from the opinions and traditions of men.
4. We must ever walk up to the light which we have. The Spirit ispromised to guide us into all truth, and if we depend upon him and follow his guidance, we shall not be suffered to go astray.
Exhortation to a steadfast maintenance of apostolic traditions.
stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our Epistle.
I THE GROUND OF THIS EXHORTATION. It was their election and calling. There is a perfect consistency between the Divine election and the obligations of Christian duty.
II THE NECESSITY OF CHRISTIAN STABILITY. It was specially needful at Thessalonica, in the midst of the agitations and shakings and restlessness that prevailed on the subject of the second advent. Believers were not "to be carried about by every wind of doctrine," lest "being led away with the error of the wicked, they should fall from their own steadfastness." They were to "hold fast the beginning of their confidence," and not "be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
1. There is safety in stability.
2. There is comfort in it.
3. It gives glory to God.
4. It gives strength and encouragement to the weak and vacillating.
III THE MANIFESTATION OF THIS STABILITY. "Hold fast the traditions.
1. They were of two kinds, oral and written. "Whether by word, or our Epistle.
(1) They included apostolic doctrines form of doctrine delivered to them.
(2) Apostolic ordinances, such as baptism and the Lord"s Supper, which they had received from the apostles, as the apostles from the Lord.
(3) Apostolic rules and usages for the government of the Church.
2. The traditions in question afford no warrant for the Roman, Catholic doctrine of traditions handed down through ages. Because:
(1) The word is here applied to both oral and written teaching.
(2) The traditions were not handed down from some one anterior to the apostle, and from the apostle handed down to the Thessalonians; nor were they committed to the Thessalonians to be handed down to future ages. They were handed over directly by the apostle to the Thessalonians.
(3) The doctrine of tradition dishonours the Scriptures, because the traditions are said to be necessitated by the defectiveness and obscurity of Scripture. T.C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv15–17 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions
2Th_2:15
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions
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Inspired traditions viewed in relation to the ministry and the Church
(Text and 2Th_2:13-14):--
I.
The doctrines which constitute these traditions.
1. That human redemption had its rise in sovereign favour (2Th_2:13).
2. That we are indebted solely to the Scriptures for our knowledge of salvation.
3. That Christ is the central truth of the Bible.
4. That sanctification by the Spirit through belief of the truth is obligatory on all Christians.
II. The duties of the Church in regard to these traditions.
1. Stability. Stand fast.
2. Fidelity. Hold. (J. Woodward.)
The Scripture sufficient without unwritten traditions
I. Our duty is to stand fast in the faith of Christ and profession of godliness whatever temptations we have to the contrary. Stand fast, being a military word, alludes to a soldiers keeping his ground, and is opposed to two things--
1. A cowardly flight, i.e., our being overcome in the evil day. Wherefore we are exhorted to put on the armour of God (Eph_6:13), which helps us to withstand and to stand. The first is the act of a soldier, the second the posture of a conqueror. Here we make our way to heaven by conflict and conquest; hereafter we triumph.
2. A treacherous revolt, or yielding to the enemy, by complying with those things which are against the interest of Christ for advantage sake (2Ti_4:10; Heb_12:15-16).
II. The means of standing fast is to hold the traditions taught by the apostles.
1. The doctrine of Christianity is a tradition.
(1) Matters not evident by the light of nature or revelation must be either an invention or a tradition.
(a) An invention is something in religion not evident by natural light, nor agreeable to sound reason, but is some cunningly devised fable, obtruded by various artifices upon the belief of the world (Ecc_7:29; Rom_1:21-22).
(b) The gospel is none of this sort, but a tradition, or delivery of truth upon the testimony of One come from God to instruct the world, and reduce it to Him (Heb_2:3-4). Christ delivered it to the apostles, and the apostles to others (2Ti_2:2), until it came to us. This testimony is as binding as if we had heard Christ or the apostles, for we have their word in writing. And that these are their writings appears by the constant tradition of the Church, the acknowledgment of enemies, the blessing of God upon them to the conversion of souls, their power to protect the Church and promote its conquests, and their survival in spite of persecution and debate.
(2) The Christian religion must needs be a tradition.
(a) Because it is built on matter of fact, viz., that the Son of God came from God to bring us to God, confirming the truth of His mission by such miracles as showed Him to be the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. Now a testimony or tradition is needful in matters of fact which must be confined to some time or place. Christ could not be always working, dying, rising, etc., everywhere. Those things were once to be done in one place before competent witnesses. But because the knowledge of them concerned all the world they were by them attested to others (Act_1:8-22; Act_2:32; Act_3:15; Act_10:39-41.)
(b) Because it is matter of faith, or doctrine, built upon matter of fact. We cannot properly believe a thing but upon testimony. If one asks, Do you believe the sun shines? you answer, No, I see it. Do you believe that twice two make four? No, I know it. But if he should ask Do you believe that the sun is bigger than the earth? you reply, Yes, not because it appears so, but because competent judges tell you such is the case. Apply it now to the mysteries of the gospel. They cannot be seen by the eye, for they are invisible; nor comprehended by the reason, for they are above it; but we believe them because revealed to prophets and apostles. And this is more certain than sense. The eye may be deceived, and reason may err, but it is impossible for God to deceive or be deceived (1Jn_5:9).
2. The holding this tradition is the great means of standing fast in the faith of Christ and the confession of His name. For in it there is sure direction to walk by, and sure promises to build upon (2Pe_1:16-17; 1Jn_1:2-4). By this we have all that belongs--
(1) To faith. There can be no faith till we have a sure testimony of Gods revelation; for faith is a believing such things as God hath revealed, because He hath revealed them.
(2) Nor obedience, for that is doing what God commands, because He commands (1Th_4:3; 1Th_5:18; 1Pe_2:15).
(3) Nor certain expectation of happiness. We are never safe till we know by what rule Christ will judge us (Rom_2:16; 1Th_1:8).
III. Since the apostles have gone to God, and we cannot receive their doctrine by word of mouth, we must stick to the written word.
1. Because we are taught to do so by Christ and the apostles (Mat_15:2; Luk_16:31; Act_26:22; 2Pe_1:19).
2. Because these things were written for our sakes (1Jn_1:4). They knew the slipperiness of mens memory, and the danger of corrupting Christian doctrine, if there were not a sure authentic record left; therefore they wrote fully.
3. Because the Scriptures are perfect, and give us a knowledge of those things which concern--
(1) Our faith. If there be enough written for that, we need not unwritten traditions to complete our rule (Joh_20:30-31). What would men have more?
(2) Our duty; that is sufficiently provided for (Tit_2:12); therefore we need no other rule.
(3) Our happiness: the doctrine that is able to make us wise unto salvation, is enough for us (2Ti_3:15; 2Ti_3:17). (T. Manton, D. D.)
Scripture and tradition
There was a flute in the Temple, says the Talmud, preserved from the days of Moses; it was smooth, thin, and formed of a reed. At the command of the king it was overlaid with gold, which ruined its sweetness of tone until the gold was taken away. There were also a cymbal and a mortar, which had become injured in the course of time, and were mended by workmen from Alexandria, summoned by the wise men, but their usefulness was so completely destroyed by this process that it was necessary to restore them to their former condition. Are not these things an allegory? Do they not imply that by overlaying the written Law with what they called gold, but what was in reality the dross and tinsel of tradition, the rabbis had destroyed or injured its beauty and usefulness. (Archdeacon Farrar.)
Stand fast
Let us stand fast as men who are appointed to keep their places until their guard is relieved by the coming of their Lord. If you have won the day, oh, do keep it! You must not suppose that the whole of religion is wrapped up in the day or two, or week or two which surround conversion. Godliness is a life long business.
1. Stand fast doctrinally. In this age all the ships are pulling up their anchors. Now, put your anchors down. Learn no teaching but what Christ teaches you. If you see a truth in Gods Word, grip it; and if it be unpopular, grip it the more. The one watchword now for the whole army of God is, Stand fast.
2. Stand fast practically. All the barriers are broken down. People try to make the Church and world meet. Therefore, it becomes Christians to gather up their skirts, and be more precise than ever they were.
3. Mind that you stand fast experimentally. Pray that your inner experience may be a close adhesion to your Master. Stand fast without wandering into sin. Only so will you be preserved from the vortex of iniquity. Stand fast without wearying. Stand fast without dallying with any kind of error. The weather is very bad just now spiritually. Stand fast because of your citizenship. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv15–16 15. Therefore, stand fast. In view of your calling.…
15. Therefore, stand fast. In view of your calling. Hold the traditions. Instructions.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv15–16 2Th_2:15. Stand fast.—Ready for any shock which may come…
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
2Th_2:15. Stand fast.—Ready for any shock which may come unexpectedly through the insidious methods of Antichrist. Hold the traditions.—As if the apostle said, keep a strong hand on them. Tradition is that which is handed over from one to another. Compare 1Co_11:23. “I received of the Lord … I delivered unto you.… He was betrayed.” Here the words “delivered” and “betrayed” represent a doing, of which the word for “tradition” is the act completed. Paul handed over that which his Lord charged him to transmit; Judas handed over Christ to the Jews.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF 2Th_2:15
Christian Steadfastness.
In all ages the people of God have been assailed with the weapons of a subtle and plausible philosophy which has sought to supplant the simple truth of the gospel with human opinions. The evil heart of man chafes under the righteous restrictions of the truth, and in its angry and delirious opposition has sought to rid itself of God and of all the laws that bind it to a life of obedience and holiness. And when it fancies it has succeeded in demolishing the truths it hated and against which it rebelled, it is aghast at the desolation it has wrought and recoils in alarm from the dark, horrible gulf to the brink of which it had forced itself. Stricken with bewilderment and despair, man strives to construct a religion for himself, and he seeks to substitute his own wild ravings for the truths of divine revelation. It is the attempt of a bold, impious infidelity to put error in the place of truth, philosophy in the place of religion, human opinion in the place of God. The exhortation of this verse is always timely.
I. Christian steadfastness is an important and ever-present duty.—
1. It is necessary to growth and maturity in personal piety. Trees must grow or die. So it is with piety: it must grow or perish. No plant or tree can thrive that is being perpetually plucked up and transplanted; nor can the soul prosper unless it is steadfastly rooted in the soil of truth. Darwin describes a marine plant—the Macrocystis pyrifera—that rises two hundred feet from the depths of the Western Ocean and floats for many fathoms on the surface, uninjured among the waves and breakers, which no masses of rock, however hard, can long withstand. It maintains its strength by clinging tenaciously to the rocks far down below the surface of the sea. So personal piety grows and flourishes by maintaining a firm hold of the Rock of Ages.
2. It is necessary in bearing witness for Christ.—The value of a lighthouse or a landmark to the mariner is, that he can rely on always finding it in the same place. And the value of Christian testimony is that it is not erratic and changeful, but stable and reliable: it hesitates not to witness for Christ in any place. Fifty years ago at a dinner-party in the west end of London, the conversation was dishonouring to Christ. One guest was silent, and presently asked that the bell might be rung. On the appearance of the servant he ordered his carriage, and with polished courtesy apologised to his host for his enforced departure, saying, for I am still a Christian. This gentleman was the late Sir Robert Peel.
3. It is a stimulating example to the weak and faltering.—There are timid, feeble followers of Christ who, until they become well grounded, lean on others; and if their exemplars vacillate and change, so do they. Few have the courage to break away from a pernicious example. When travelling on the Continent, Dr. Duff made the acquaintance of Cardinal Wiseman, and for some time travelled with him; but when at Antwerp he saw the cardinal prostrate himself before the Virgin, he courteously but firmly bade him “good-bye.”
II. Christian steadfastness is shown in an unflinching maintenance of apostolic doctrine.—“Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” These traditions were the doctrines preached by the apostles. For some years after the ascension of Christ, there was no written gospel or epistle. The truth was taught orally by those who were living witnesses of the facts on which the doctrines—or traditions—were based.
1. Apostolic doctrine must be clearly apprehended.—It must therefore be diligently studied, and the truth sifted from the mass of errors with which false teachers surround it. What is not intelligently comprehended cannot be firmly held.
2. Apostolic doctrine must be earnestly embraced.—Not simply discussed, not simply admired and praised, but prayerfully and cordially accepted—taken in as spiritual food, and systematically fed upon to give strength and stamina to the soul.
3. Apostolic doctrine must be firmly held and stoutly defended against all errors.—“Hold the traditions.” Believe them when tempted to disbelieve; defend them when assailed by the enemy. A brave Athenian, who wrought deeds of valour in the battle of Marathon, seized with his right hand a stranded galley filled with Persians. When his right hand was cut off, he seized the boat with his left, and when that was smitten, he held on with his teeth till he died. The grasp of truth by a Christian believer should not be less tenacious than the dogged heroism of a heathen warrior.
III. Christian steadfastness is emphatically enforced.—“Therefore, brethren, stand fast.” Though misunderstood and misrepresented, though savagely opposed by the enemies of the truth, stand fast. As the wings of the bird are strengthened by the resistance of the atmosphere in which it floats, so your graces will be strengthened by the opposition with which you resolutely contend. In order that your own personal piety may be matured, that your witnessing for Christ may be unmistakable, and that your example may be a stimulating encouragement to others, “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.”
Lessons.—
1. The unstable are the prey of every passing temptation.
2. The word of God is the unfailing source of moral strength.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv15, 17 15. “Then, therefore, brethren, stand and hold the commandments…
15. “Then, therefore, brethren, stand and hold the commandments which you have been taught, whether by our word or epistle.” “Traditions,” in E.V., is by no means a good translation, as that word in modern use conveys the idea. of something vague and shadowy transmitted to us. There is no such an idea in the original. He simply exhorts them to be steadfast, and hold pertinaciously all of his teaching, whether oral, in their presence, or epistolary in their absence.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v16 2 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
EVERLASTING CONSOLATION AND GOOD HOPE
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2Th 2:16-17.
This is the second of the four brief prayers which, as I pointed out in my last sermon, break the current of Paul’s teaching in this letter, and witness to the depth of his affection to his Thessalonian converts. We do not know the special circumstances under which these then were, but there are many allusions, both in the first and second epistles, which seem to indicate that they specially needed the gift of consolation.
They were a young Church, just delivered from paganism. Like lambs in the midst of wolves, they stood amongst bitter enemies, their teacher had left them alone, and their raw convictions needed to be consolidated and matured in the face of much opposition. No wonder then that over and over again, in both letters, we have references to the persecutions and tribulations which they endured, and to the consolations which would much more abound.
But whatever may have been their specific circumstances, the prayer which puts special emphasis on comfort is as much needed by each of us as it could ever have been by any of them. For there are no eyes that have not wept, or will not weep; no breath that has not been, or will not be, drawn in sighs; and no hearts that have not bled, or will not bleed. So, dear friends, the prayer that went up for these long since comforted brothers, in their forgotten obscure sorrows, is as needful for each of us--that the God who has given everlasting consolation may apply the consolations which He has supplied, and ‘comfort our hearts and stablish them in every good word and work.’
The prayer naturally falls, as all true prayer will, into three sections--the contemplation of Him to whom it is addressed, the grasping of the great act on which it is based, and the specification of the desires which it includes. These three thoughts may guide us for a few moments now.
I. First of all, then, note the divine hearers of the prayer.
The first striking thing about this prayer is its emphatic recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ as a truth familiar to these Thessalonian converts. Note the solemn accumulation of His august titles, ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.’ Note, further, that extraordinary association of His name with the Father’s. Note, still further, the most remarkable order in which these two names occur--Jesus first, God second. If we were not so familiar with the words, and with their order, which reappears in Paul’s well-known and frequently-used Benediction, we should be startled to find that Jesus Christ was put before God in such a solemn address. The association and the order of mention of the names are equally outrageous, profane, and inexplicable, except upon one hypothesis, and that is that Jesus Christ is divine.
The reason for the order may be found partly in the context, which has just been naming Christ, but still more in the fact that whilst he writes, the Apostle is realising the mediation of Christ, and that the order of mention is the order of our approach. The Father comes to us in the Son; we come to the Father by the Son; and, therefore, it is no intercepting of our reverence, nor blasphemously lifting the creature to undue elevation, when in one act the Apostle appeals to ‘our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father.’
Note, still further, the distinct address to Christ as the Hearer of Prayer. And, note, last of all, about this matter, the singular grammatical irregularity in my text, which is something much more than a mere blunder or slip of the pen. The words which follow, viz., ‘comfort’ and ‘stablish,’ are in the singular, whilst these two mighty and august names are their nominatives, and would therefore, by all regularity, require a plural to follow them. That this peculiarity is no mere accident, but intentional and deliberate, is made probable by the two instances in our text, and is made certain, as it seems to me, by the fact that the same anomalous and eloquent construction occurs in the previous epistle to the same church, where we have in exact parallelism with our text, ‘God Himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,’ with the singular verb, ‘direct our way unto you.’ The phraseology is the expression, in grammatical form, of the great truth, ‘Whatsoever things the Father doeth, these also doth the Son likewise.’ And from it there gleam out unmistakably the great principles of the unity of action and the distinction of person between Father and Son, in the depths of that infinite and mysterious Godhead.
Now all this, which seems to me to be irrefragable, is made the more remarkable and the stronger as a witness of the truth, from the fact that it occurs in this perfectly incidental fashion, and without a word of explanation or apology, as taking for granted that there was a background of teaching in the Thessalonian Church which had prepared the way for it, and rendered it intelligible, as well as a background of conviction which had previously accepted it.
And, remember, these two letters, thus full-toned in their declaration, and taking for granted the previous acceptance of the great doctrine of the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, are the earliest portions of the New Testament, and are often spoken about as being singularly undogmatic. So they are, and therefore all the more eloquent and all the more conclusive is such a testimony as this to the sort of teaching which from the beginning the Apostle addressed to his converts.
Now is that your notion of Jesus Christ? Do you regard Him as the sharer in the divine attributes and in the divine throne? It was a living Christ that Paul was thinking about when he wrote these words, who could hear him praying in Corinth, and could reach a helping hand down to these poor men in Thessalonica. It was a divine Christ that Paul was thinking about when he dared to say, ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father.’ And I beseech you to ask yourself the question whether your faith accepts that great teaching, and whether to you He is far more than ‘the Man Christ Jesus’; and just because He is the man, is therefore the Son of God. Brethren! either Jesus lies in an unknown grave, ignorant of all that is going on here, and the notion that He can help is a delusion and a dream, or else He is the ever-living because He is the divine Christ, to whom we poor men can speak with the certainty that He hears us, and who wields the energies of Deity, and works the same works as the Father, for the help and blessing of the souls that trust Him.
II. Secondly, note the great fact on which this prayer builds itself.
The form of words in the original, ‘loved’ and ‘given,’ all but necessarily requires us to suppose that their reference is to some one definite historical act in which the love was manifested, and, as love always does, found voice in giving. Love is the infinite desire to bestow, and its language is always a gift. Then, according to the Apostle’s thought, there is some one act in which all the fulness of the divine love manifests itself; some one act in which all the treasures which God can bestow upon men are conveyed and handed over to a world.
The statement that there is such renders almost unnecessary the question what such an act is. For there can be but one in all the sweep of the magnificent and beneficent divine deeds, so correspondent to His love, and so inclusive of all His giving, as that it shall be the ground of our confidence and the warrant for our prayers. The gift of Jesus Christ is that in which everlasting consolation and good hope are bestowed upon men. When our desires are widened out to the widest they must be based upon the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and when we would think most confidently and most desiringly of the benefits that we seek, for ourselves or for our fellows, we must turn to the Cross. My prayer is then acceptable and prevalent when it foots itself on the past divine act, and looking to the life and death of Jesus Christ, is widened out to long for, ask for, and in the very longing and asking for to begin to possess, the fulness of the gifts which then were brought to men in Him.
‘Everlasting consolation and good hope.’ I suppose the Apostle’s emphasis is to be placed quite as much on the adjectives as on the nouns; for there are consolations enough in the world, only none of them are permanent; and there are hopes enough that amuse and draw men, but one of them only is ‘good.’ The gift of Christ, thinks Paul, is the gift of a comfort which will never fail amidst all the vicissitudes and accumulated and repeated and prolonged sorrows to which flesh is heir, and is likewise the gift of a hope which, in its basis and in its objects, is equally noble and good.
Look at these two things briefly. Paul thinks that in Jesus Christ you and I, and all the world, if it will have it, has received the gift of an everlasting comfort. Ah! sorrow is more persistent than consolation. The bandaged wounds bleed again; the fire damped down for a moment smoulders, even when damped, and bursts out again. But there is one source of comfort which, because it comes from an unchangeable Christ, and because it communicates unfailing gifts of patience and insight, and because it leads forward to everlasting blessedness and recompenses, may well be called ‘eternal consolation.’ Of course, consolation is not needed when sorrow has ceased; and when the wiping away of all tears from off all faces, and the plunging of grief into the nethermost fires, there to be consumed, have come about, there is no more need for comfort. Yet that which made the comfort while sorrow lasts, makes the triumph and the rapture when sorrow is dead, and is everlasting, though its office of consolation determines with earth.
‘Good hope through grace.’ This is the weakness of all the hopes which dance like fireflies in the dark before men, and are often like will-o’-the-wisps in the night tempting men into deep mire, where there is no standing--that they are uncertain in their basis and inadequate in their range. The prostitution of the great faculty of hope is one of the saddest characteristics of our feeble and fallen manhood; for the bulk of our hopes are doubtful and akin to fears, and are mean and low, and disproportioned to the possibilities, and therefore the obligations, of our spirits. But in that Cross which teaches us the meaning of sorrows, and in that Christ whose presence is light in darkness, and the very embodied consolation of all hearts, there lie at once the foundation and the object of a hope which, in consideration both of object and foundation, stands unique in its excellence and sufficient in its firmness. ‘A good hope’; good because well founded; and good because grasping worthy objects; eternal consolation outlasting all sorrows--these things were given once for all, to the whole world when Jesus Christ came and lived and died. The materials for a comfort that shall never fail me, and for the foundation and the object of a hope that shall never be ashamed, are supplied in Jesus Christ our Lord. And so these gifts, already passed under the great seal of heaven, and confirmed to us all, if we choose to take them for ours, are the ground upon which the largest prayers may be rested, and the most ardent desires may be unblamably cherished, in the full confidence that no petitions of ours can reach to the greatness of the divine purpose, and that the widest and otherwise wildest of our hopes and wishes are sober under-estimates of what God has already given to us. For if He has given the material, He will apply what He has supplied. And if He has thus in the past bestowed the possibilities of comfort and hope upon the world, He will not slack His hand, if we desire the possibility to be in our hearts turned into the actuality.
God has given, therefore God will give. That in heaven’s logic, but it does not do for men. It presupposes inexhaustible resources, unchangeable purposes of kindness, patience that is not disgusted and cannot be turned away by our sin. These things being presupposed it is true; and the prayer of my text, that God would comfort, can have no firmer foundation than the confidence of my text, that God has given ‘everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.’ ‘Thou hast helped us; leave us not, neither forsake us, O God of our salvation.’
III. The last thing here is the petitions based upon the contemplation of the divine hearers of the prayer, and of the gift already bestowed by God.
May He ‘comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.’ I have already said all that perhaps is necessary in regard to the connection between the past gift of everlasting consolation and the present and future comforting of hearts which is here desired. It seems to me that the Apostle has in his mind the distinction between the great work of Christ, in which are supplied for us the materials for comfort and hope, and the present and continuous work of that Divine Spirit, by which God dwelling in our hearts in Jesus Christ makes real for each of us the universal gift of consolation and of hope. God has bestowed the materials for comfort; God will give the comfort for which He has supplied the materials. It were a poor thing if all that we could expect from our loving Father in the heavens were that He should contribute to us what might make us peaceful and glad and calm in sorrow, if we chose to use it. Men comfort from without; God steals into the heart, and there diffuses the aroma of His presence. Christ comes into the ship before He says, ‘Peace! be still!’ It is not enough for our poor troubled heart that there should be calmness and consolation twining round the Cross if we choose to pluck the fruit. We need, and therefore we have, an indwelling God who, by that Spirit which is the Comforter, will make for each of us the everlasting consolation which He has bestowed upon the world our individual possession. God’s husbandry is not merely broadcast sowing of the seed, but the planting in each individual heart of the precious germ. And the God who has given everlasting consolation to a whole world will comfort thy heart.
Then, again, the comforted heart will be a stable heart. Our fixedness and stability are not natural immobility, but communicated steadfastness. There must be, first, the consolation of Christ before there can be the calmness of a settled heart. We all know how vacillating, how driven to and fro by gusts of passion and winds of doctrine and forces of earth our resolutions and spirits are. But thistledown glued to a firm surface will be firm, and any light thing lashed to a solid one will be solid; and reeds shaken with the wind may be turned into brazen pillars that cannot be moved. If we have Christ in our hearts, He will be our consolation first and our stability next. Why should it be that we are spasmodic and fluctuating, and the slaves of ups and downs, like some barometer in stormy weather; now at ‘set fair,’ and then away down where ‘much rain’ is written? There is no need for it. Get Christ into your heart, and your mercury will always stand at one height. Why should it be that at one hour the flashing waters fill the harbour, and that six hours afterwards there is a waste of ooze and filth? It need not be. Our hearts may be like some landlocked lake that knows no tide. ‘His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.’
The comforted and stable heart will be a fruitful heart. ‘In every good word and work.’ Ah! how fragmentary is our goodness, like the broken torsos of the statues of fair gods dug up in some classic land. There is no reason why each of us should not appropriate and make our own the forms of goodness to which we are least naturally inclined, and cultivate and possess a symmetrical, fully-developed, all-round goodness, in some humble measure after the pattern of Jesus Christ our Lord. Practical righteousness, ‘in every good word and work,’ is the outcome of all the sacred and secret consolations and blessings that Jesus Christ imparts. There are many Christian people who are like those swallow-holes, as they call them, characteristic of limestone countries, where a great river plunges into a cave and is no more heard of. You do not get your comforts and your blessing for that, brother, but in order that all the joy and peace, all the calmness and the communion, which you realise in the secret place of the Most High, may be translated into goodness and manifest righteousness in the market-place and the street. We get our goodness where we get our consolation, from Jesus Christ and His Cross.
And so, dear friends, all your comforts will die, and your sorrows will live, unless you have Christ for your own. The former will be like some application that is put on a poisoned bite, which will soothe it for a moment, but as soon as the anodyne dries off the skin, the poison will tingle and burn again, and will be working in the blood, whilst the remedy only touched the surface of the flesh. All your hopes will be like a child’s castles on the sand, which the next tide will smooth out and obliterate, unless your hope is fixed on Him. You may have everlasting consolation, you may have a hope which will enable you to look serenely on the ills of life, and on the darkness of death, and on what darkly looms beyond death. You may have a calmed and steadied heart; you may have an all-round, stable, comprehensive goodness. But there is only one way to get these blessings, and that is to grasp and make our own, by simple faith and constant clinging, that great gift, given once for all in Jesus Christ, the gift of comfort that never dies, and of hope that never deceives, and then to apply that gift day by day, through God’s good Spirit, to sorrows and trials and duties as they emerge.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv15–17 So then, brethren, stand fast [in contrast to being…
So then, brethren, stand fast [in contrast to being shaken, as stated in verse 2], and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours . [God was doing his part in calling and in sanctifying, and so the Thessalonians are here exhorted to do their part in firmly adhering to the truth which they had believed. For if one would hold the gospel salvation he must hold the gospel truths. These truths are here called traditions; for, though inspired truths, they were as yet falling from the lips of living men, and were not yet reduced to writing, though we see by these two epistles of Paul that the New Testament record was in process of construction.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v16 through grace
through grace
Grace (in salvation). vs. 1Ti 1:14; 1Ti 1:15; Rom 3:24. (See Scofield "Joh 1:17") .
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v16 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Paul ends with a blessing from God.
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Now
Paul uses this word here to mark a change in topic.
may our Lord ... who loved us and gave us
The words "our" and "us" refer to all believers. (See: Inclusive "We")
Lord Jesus Christ himself
Here "himself" gives additional emphasis to the phrase "Lord Jesus Christ." (See: Reflexive Pronouns)
comfort and establish your hearts in
Here "hearts" represents the seat of emotions. AT: "comfort you and strengthen you for" (See: Metonymy)
every good work and word
"every good thing you do and say"
translationWords
lord
Jesus
God the Father
love
eternity
confidence
grace
heart
works
word
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15–17 2:15 Ever since the founding of the Thessalonian church,…
2:15 Ever since the founding of the Thessalonian church, Paul had been concerned for the stability of their faith (1 Thes 3:2, 5, 8; 4:1-2) and their adherence to his teaching (2 Thes 3:6; 1 Cor 11:2; 15:3; see Jude 1:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.