2 Thessalonians 3 Commentary

Paul asks for prayers that his efforts to spread the gospel elsewhere would be as fruitful as they were with the Thessalonians. He tells the Thessalonians that he is confident that they will continue to grow in their faith, their obedience, and their perseverance. God and Christ strengthen us against the actions of the Devil.

There is an issue within the Thessalonian church which Paul deals with before concluding the epistle. Apparently, there are some believers who are refusing to work and are not providing for themselves. It is possible they were doing this because they believed that since Jesus was coming back, they could take it easy while they waited for His return. These people whom Paul calls "undisciplined" are living off the work of others, as well as using their idle time to stir up conflict by acting as busybodies.

Paul's solution is for the Thessalonians to stop feeding these people and get them back to work. Paul prescribes that if they refuse to work, then the community should ignore them until they repent. These troublemakers shouldn't be viewed as enemies, but as brothers (which they are; they are fellow believers in Christ who are living out a mistaken perspective). They can be restored to God's will for their lives, but it will involve the Thessalonians directly confronting them and admonishing them to work to take care of themselves, rather than to be a burden on the church. 

Paul signs his own special mark (or signature) at the end of the letter, showing that he authored the epistle. This is possibly because imposters were pretending to be Paul and were writing false, misleading letters to the Thessalonians. Paul blesses his readers with words of goodwill from God, that the Thessalonians would experience His peace and favor always.