Asbury Bible Commentary – B. First Prayer (2:16-17)
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B. First Prayer (2:16-17)

B. First Prayer (2:16-17)

Paul knows that the Thessalonians cannot stand firm on their own, so he follows his exhortation with a prayer that God would help them.

As in 1Th 3:11, Paul addresses his prayer both to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God. When coupled with the singular number of the verbs loved and gave, indicating a collective subject (Marshall, 211), the verse gives further evidence of Paul’s high Christology. The verb tenses suggest that Paul has a past, completed event in mind, Christ’s death, as the supreme demonstration of God’s love.

The gift of God is eternal encouragement, the long-term hope of the Christian (Best, 321). Every good deed and word is the present issue of the past gift of salvation and the future hope.