Chapter 3
Exhortations
Lecture 1
Moral instruction
3:1 For the rest, brethren, pray for us that the word of God may run and may be glorified, even as among you: [n. 63]
3:2 And that we may be delivered from importunate and evil men: for not all men have faith.
3:3 But God is faithful, who will strengthen and keep you from evil. [n. 66]
3:4 And we have confidence concerning you in the Lord that the things which we command, you both do and will do.
3:5 And may the Lord direct your hearts, in the charity of God and the patience of Christ. [n. 68]
3:6 And we charge you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they have received of us. [n. 69]
3:7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. For we were not disorderly among you. [n. 71]
3:8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nothing: but in labor and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you.
3:9 Not as if we did not have power: but that we might give ourselves as a pattern unto you, to imitate us. [n. 74]
63 . Above, he instructed them about what will happen in the last days. Here he instructs them about certain things that they particularly needed to do. And
first, he sets out his instruction;
second, the conclusion of the epistle, at now may the God of peace himself .
And first he advises them about how they should relate to himself;
second, he says what he is confident about concerning them, at but God is faithful ;
third, how they should relate to others who walk in a disorderly manner, at and we charge you .
Concerning the first, first, he speaks of prayer;
second, what should be asked for in prayer, at that the word of God .
64 . He says, therefore, for the rest , since you are sufficiently instructed, pray for us . I beseech you therefore, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Holy Spirit, to help me by your prayers to God on my behalf (Rom 15:30). And this is his due, because those in authority have the duty of tending to the advantage of the flock. Remember those who are put over you, who have spoken to you the word of God (Heb 13:7).
65 . Second, he states what should be prayed for, namely, that impediments to preaching be removed; and so he says that the word of God may run . Since it cannot be entirely impeded, but can be slowed down, he says run . Praying at the same time for us, that the Lord may open to us a gate for the word, to speak the mysteries of Christ (Col 4:3).
Likewise that it may be glorified , namely by a clear and lucid exposition, among the simple and among the wise, even as among you . I am a debtor both to the wise and to the foolish (Rom 1:14). The learning of the wise is easy (Prov 14:6). And also by miracles, which are demonstrations of the faith. For all knowledge is made glorious by demonstrations, and this is something to be prayed for. Grant your servants to speak your word with all confidence (Acts 4:29).
And second, it is necessary to pray for the preachers that they may be freed from importunate and evil men , namely from false apostles, who are importunate in arguing and evil in deceiving. Or from persecutors, who pondered wickedness in their hearts. And the reason for this prayer is that not all men have faith , for although they seem to have it, nonetheless they do not have true faith. Lord, who has believed what we have heard? (Isa 53:1). Not all obey the Gospel (Rom 10:16).
66 . Then when he says but God is faithful , he sets out the confidence he has concerning them. And
first, he does this;
second, he prays for them, at and may the Lord .
67 . Now his confidence depends on the one who gives grace and on men who have free will, that they may be directed by grace.
He says first, on the side of God: I have confidence that you will pray and will be heard because God is faithful, who will strengthen you in the good things he has worked in you. God himself will perfect, confirm, and establish you (1 Pet 5:10). And keep you from evil , namely the evil of sin and punishment. Yet if they do suffer the evil of punishment, it is for their good, because all things work together for the good of those who love God (Rom 8:28).
Second, on their side he says and we have confidence concerning you , brothers, namely based on the grace you have received, but in the Lord , not in your own strength. We have confidence in you, beloved, of things better and nearer to salvation (Heb 6:9). That the things which we command, you both do and will do , i.e., that you will persevere. All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do (Exod 24:7).
68 . Then when he says and may the Lord , he prays for them, saying may the Lord direct your hearts , namely that you may reach the goal. It belongs to man to prepare his soul, but to direct the tongue belongs to the Lord (Prov 16:1). And a little further down it says, a man’s heart arranges his way, but the Lord directs his steps (Prov 16:9), namely, to his destined reward. And this is why he says, may the Lord direct your hearts , not only our exterior works, and this in the charity of God .
Now there are two things through which we advance on the way of salvation, namely the good things we do and the bad things we endure. But works are not good unless they are directed to the goal of love. The goal of the precept is love (1 Tim 1:5). Neither is patience good except through Christ. In patience you will possess your souls (Luke 21:19). Blessed are you when men speak evil of you (Matt 5:11). And this is why he says and the patience of Christ , i.e., endurance of bad things for Christ’s sake, or after his example. Christ has suffered for you, leaving you an example (1 Pet 2:21).
69 . Then when he says, and we charge you , he shows how they should relate to disorderly persons. And
first, he sets out a rule;
second, he explains it, at for you yourselves ;
third, he shows why the rule he has set out is necessary, at for we have heard .
70 . He says, therefore: Thus you live, and thus we have confidence, but because there are some wicked men among you, we charge you, brethren , namely, you perfect, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ . For this has to do with prelates. Announce to my people their wicked doings, and to the house of Jacob their sins (Isa 58:1). I will require of you the blood of that man (Ezek 3:18).
There follows the rule: that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they have received of us . The practice of avoiding wicked men was introduced in the church to prevent weaker men from being contaminated by associating with them. Whoever touches pitch shall be defiled by it (Sir 13:1). A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Cor 5:6). And for the healing of the sinner, so that his embarrassment might lead to his salvation. There is an embarrassment that leads to sin, and there is an embarrassment that leads to glory (Sir 4:25). And this should not be done indiscriminately, but with deliberation and maturity. Gather yourselves, and by my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus deliver such a man to Satan for destruction (1 Cor 5:4). And thus it says here that you withdraw yourselves .
But excommunication should only be inflicted because of some sin, because it says here disorderly . And this is when something is evil in itself and against the order of the natural law, as the Gloss explains. But let all things be done decently and according to order (1 Cor 14:40). All things that are from God are ordered (Rom 13:1). Or because it is forbidden and against the teaching of the church. Hence he says and not according to the tradition which they have received of us ; hold the traditions, which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle (2 Thess 2:15).
71 . Then when he says for you yourselves , he explains the last thing he said, namely according to the tradition , showing what this tradition is and how they received it. Now the tradition is that they were not idle or curious. And
first, he shows how they received it by example;
second, how they received it by word.
And first, he shows that he avoided troublesomeness;
second, how he did so;
third, he gives the reason.
72 . He says, therefore, you yourselves know the tradition that you received, because prelates should not be imitated in every respect but in those things that are according to the rule of Christ. Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ (1 Cor 4:16). And in what respect? For we were not disorderly among you . For the Thessalonians were very generous. Concerning the love of the brotherhood I have no need to write to you, for you yourselves have learned from God to love one another (1 Thess 4:9). And for this reason poor people were living in leisure, and because of their leisure they devoted themselves to undue activities that did not pertain to them. And this was troublesomeness. And this is why he says we were not disorderly . And that you endeavor to be quiet (1 Thess 4:11).
73 . Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nothing: but in labor and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you , because he labored with the work of his hands. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me (Acts 20:34). She has not eaten her bread idle (Prov 31:27). You know that I have never accepted so much as a donkey from them (Num 16:15). But in labor and toil , not just a little, but night and day , i.e., continually, because sometimes he had to preach and teach and the rest of his time he devoted to work, lest we should be chargeable to any of you . What have you had less than the others, except that we did not burden you? (2 Cor 12:13)
74 . Then when he says not as if , he gives the reason he worked with his own hands. Here he first sets aside a false reason, and, second, he gives the true reason.
It would be a false explanation of his manual labor to say that he was not permitted to receive some payment from them. And so he says not as if we did not have power , nay, rather, we did have power to live off of what was received from the faithful. He who serves the altar partake of the altar (1 Cor 9:13). The workman deserves his food (Matt 10:10). Thus the Lord also ordained those who announce the Gospel to live from the Gospel (1 Cor 9:14). And so based on the Gospel there are two kinds of men who have power to live off of what they receive from others, namely those who serve at the altar and those who preach.
75 . Then when he says but that we , he sets out the real reason. For we find two reasons why the Apostle worked with his hands, one among the Corinthians and another here. For the Corinthians were greedy and would have born with him only reluctantly, as is said there. But the reason why he worked here was their laziness, and so he says that we might give ourselves as a pattern , namely of working. Be an example to the faithful in word, in way of life, in love, in faith, in chastity (1 Tim 4:12). Being made patterns for the flock (1 Pet 5:3).
Another reason is given in the Gloss on 1 Corinthians 4, namely that when he did not find anyone who would give him anything, then he worked.
A fourth reason was so that, like the monks of Egypt, they might not be idle. Idleness teaches great wickedness (Sir 33:29). Hence those who are not engaged in some duty, either of studying or of reading, put themselves in danger when they live in idleness.
Lecture 2
Avoid the disorderly
3:10 For also, when we were with you, this we declared to you: that if any man will not work, neither let him eat. [n. 76]
3:11 For we have heard there are some among you who walk disorderly: working not at all, but curiously meddling. [n. 78]
3:12 Now we charge those who are such and beseech them by the Lord Jesus Christ that, working with silence, they would eat their own bread. [n. 80]
3:13 But you, brethren, do not be weary in doing good. [n. 82]
3:14 And if any man does not obey our word by this epistle, note that man and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. [n. 84]
3:15 Yet do not esteem him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. [n. 87]
3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. The Lord be with you all. [n. 88]
3:17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand: which is the sign in every epistle. So I write.
3:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
76 . Above, the Apostle shows what he taught them by his own example, namely that they should not be troublesome but should work. Here he shows how he handed this on to them by words and deeds when he was with them. Hence he says when we were with you , as though to say: In order to give you a pattern to follow, we did what we taught, since this we declared to you: that if any man will not work, neither let him eat . As the Gloss says, and as Augustine says in his book De Operibus Monachorum , some twisted these words to say that servants of God are not permitted to work with their hands, on account of what is said in Matthew: be not anxious (Matt 6:34). For they said that this work belongs to an anxious way of life. And because of this, they interpreted this passage as referring to spiritual works, as though to say: if anyone is not willing to perform meritorious and spiritual works, he is not worthy to eat.
But this is contrary to the Apostle’s intention, who says we declared that we acted this way, namely with labor and weariness.
77 . But what does he mean when he says if any man will not work, neither let him eat ? Is this a counsel or a precept? And it seems to be a precept, because it says below, and if any man does not obey our word by this epistle, note that man and do not keep company with him . Therefore all are bound to work with their hands. Therefore whoever does not work with his hands, but stands about idle, sins mortally.
I respond. One should say that it is a precept, but something can be laid down as a precept in two ways: either simply, or given a certain condition. Whatever is necessary for salvation is laid down as a precept simply; and these are works of the virtues. But something can be laid down as a precept under a certain condition when, for example, the situation is such that without manual labor a precept cannot be kept. Now it is a precept for man that he sustain his own body, for otherwise he commits homicide against himself. Eat of every tree of paradise (Gen 2:16). Therefore a man is bound by precept to nourish his body, and we are similarly bound to everything without which the body cannot live. So anyone who does not have some other means of lawfully sustaining his body, whether it be possessions, or a lawful business, is bound to work, lest he turn to thievery. Whoever was a thief, let him steal no more, but rather labor by working with his own hands (Eph 4:28). It is therefore a precept when a man cannot otherwise lawfully live. Hence he says if any man will not work, neither let him eat . Therefore one of two things is necessary for a man to be able to eat, namely that he either have possessions or that he lawfully obtain them. You shall eat the works of your hands (Ps 127:2). Work with your hands, as we commanded you (1 Thess 4:11).
78 . Then when he says for we have heard , he says why this precept is necessary, for the Apostle says this not so much on the basis of a duty to teach as because of the people’s fault. And so
first, he sets out the sin that makes the precept necessary;
second, he applies a remedy, at now we charge .
79 . He says, therefore, for we have heard , as though to say: the reason I do not hide this precept is that we have heard there are some among you who walk disorderly, working not at all . For a man’s soul must always be occupied with something, and so necessarily the idle suffer from an unrest regarding unlawful things. Endeavor to be quiet (1 Thess 4:11). And he adds but curiously meddling , namely in the affairs of others. Desires kill the lazy (Prov 21:25).
80 . Then he applies a remedy, when he says now we charge . And
first, on the side of those who are sinning;
second, on the side of the others, at but you, brethren .
81 . He says, therefore, now we severely charge those who are such , speaking as a prelate, and beseech them lovingly, as their father, that they would eat their own bread , not another’s bread but what is due them, namely what has been lawfully acquired, with silence , i.e., without being troublesome, without running about. The service of justice is silence (Isa 32:17). Idleness teaches great wickedness (Ezek 33:29).
82 . Then when he says but you, brethren , he applies two remedies on the side of the others who are not sinning.
First, that they should not cease doing good;
second, that they correct them, at and if any man .
83 . He says, therefore, but you, brethren, do not be weary in doing good , as though to say: do not grow weary in doing good, even though the idle are abusing it. Doing good, we do not grow weary (Gal 6:9). And this is necessary even if they are already working with their hands and do not lack anything, because it is necessary to bring aid to others.
84 . Then when he says and if any man , he commands that they be corrected, and
first, he shows the order in which they should be punished;
second, he shows the effect of the punishment, at that he may be ashamed ;
third, the goal, at yet do not esteem .
85 . In order therefore he sets out first the sin, second its manifestation, and third its punishment.
The sin is disobedience, and so he says and if any man does not obey . Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey (1 Sam 15:23).
He sets out its manifestation and proof when he says by this epistle, note that man , i.e., make him known, but through a search for the truth. The cause I did not know I diligently investigated (Job 29:16).
Their punishment is the sentence of excommunication; hence he says and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed . With such a man do not even eat (1 Cor 5:11). Do not receive him in your home or say ‘hail’ to him (2 John 10).
Here notice that excommunication is imposed for disobedience, but the man punished should be proven guilty. Hence he says if any man does not obey , by your epistle note him , i.e., communicate it to us that he may be punished. And in the meantime, do not keep company with him .
86 . But the effect of the punishment is that he may be ashamed and so recover. There is an embarrassment that leads to sin, and there is an embarrassment that leads to glory (Sir 4:25).
87 . Now the goal and intention should be his correction, which love intends, so he says yet do not esteem him as an enemy , because his correction should not arise from hateful spite but from a loving eagerness. You should not avoid him out of the sort of hatred you would have for an enemy. Love your enemies, and do good to those who hate you (Matt 5:44). And this is why he says but admonish him as a brother . This shows love. Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity (Ps 132:1).
88 . Then when he says now may the Lord , he concludes the epistle. And
first, his conclusion is set out;
second, a greeting, which is a kind of seal on the epistle, at the salutation .
And the first is in two parts, because
first, he wishes God’s gifts for them;
second, he wishes God himself for them, there at the Lord be .
89 . As regards the first he says now may the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place . God is said to be the God of peace in relation to two things. For peace consists of two things, namely that a man be in harmony with himself and that he be in harmony with others. And both can only be had sufficiently in God. For apart from God a man does not have harmony with himself, much less with others, because a man’s emotions are in harmony with themselves when what is sought to fulfill one desire suffices to fulfill all desires, and nothing but God can do this. Who satisfies your desires with good things (Ps 102:5). For anything else but God will not be enough for all desires, but God is enough. In me you have peace (John 16:33). Similarly, men are only united amongst themselves in that which is had in common among them, and this is most of all God.
And this is why he says may the Lord of peace himself give , not temporal peace, but everlasting peace , i.e., spiritual peace, which begins here and is completed there. Who makes your ends peace (Ps 147:3). And this in every place , and among the faithful in all the world.
90 . As regards the second, he says the Lord be with you all , because a man has nothing else well unless he has God through faith and love.
91 . The salutation of Paul, with my own hand . He says this because of unbelievers who were twisting his epistles. See with what kind of letters I write to you with my own hand (Gal 6:11). Which is the sign in every epistle. So I write .
The grace , i.e., God’s gratuitous gift that renders us pleasing to God; of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen . Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).