The apostle’s concern and love for the Thessalonians.
Because he could not come himself, as he desired, he sent Timothes, 6 At vvhose returne novv vnderstanding it as they stand still stedfast, notvvithstāding al those persecutions, he reioyceth excedingly: to praying that he may see them agaīst, 12 and for their increase in 〈◊〉.
1For which cause, forbearing no longer, we thought it good to remain at Athens alone.Per la qual cosa non potendo noi più pazientare, abbiam creduto meglio di rimaner soli in Atene;FOR the vvhich cause forbearing no longer, it pleased vs to remaine at Athens, alone.Propter quod non sustinentes amplius, placuit nobis remanere Athenis, solis: 2And we sent Timothy, our brother and the minister of God in the gospel of Christ, to confirm you and exhort you concerning your faith:E abbiamo mandato Timoteo nostro fratello, e ministro di Dio nel vangelo di Cristo, per confermarvi, e consolarvi nella vostra fede:And vve sent Timothee our brother, & the minister of God in the Gospel of Christ, to confirme you and exhort you for your faith,et misimus Timotheum fratrem nostrum, et ministrum Dei in Evangelio Christi, ad confirmandos vos, et exhortandos pro fide vestra: 3That no man should be moved in these tribulations: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.Affinchè nissuno si conturbi per queste tribolazioni: imperocché voi stessi sapete, che a questo siam destinati.that no man be moued in these tribulations, for your selues knovv, that vve are appointed to this.ut nemo moveatur in tribulationibus istis: ipsi enim scitis quod in hoc positi sumus. 4For even when we were with you, we foretold you that we should suffer tribulations: as also it is come to pass, and you know.Imperocché anche quando eravamo con voi, vi predicevamo, che noi avremmo sofferte tribolazioni, com' anche avvenne, e voi lo sapete.For euen vvhē vve vvere vvith you, vve foretold you that vve should suffer tribulatiōs, as also it is come to passe, & you knovv.Nam et cum apud vos essemus, prædicebamus vobis passuros nos tribulationes, sicut et factum est, et scitis. 5For this cause also, I, forbearing no longer, sent to know your faith: lest perhaps he that tempteth should have tempted you: and our labour should be made vain.Per questo ancora non potendo più tenermi, mandai a riconoscere la vostra fede: per timore, che il tentatore non vi avesse tentati, e non riuscisse vana la nostra fatica.Therfore I also forbearing no lōger, sent to knovv your faith: lest perhaps he that tempteth, hath tempted you, & our labour be made vaine.Propterea et ego amplius non sustinens, misi ad cognoscendam fidem vestram: ne forte tentaverit vos is qui tentat, et inanis fiat labor noster. 6But now when Timothy came to us from you and related to us your faith and charity, and that you have a good remembrance of us always, desiring to see us as we also to see you:Adesso poi tornato a noi Timoteo da voi, e avendo a noi recata la buona nuova della fede, e carità vostra, e come avete mai sempre buona memoria di noi, e siete bramosi di vederci, come noi pure (di veder) voi:But now Timothee cōming vnto vs frō you, & reporting to vs your faith & charitie, and that you haue a good remēbrance of vs alvvaies, desiring to see vs, as vve also you:Nunc autem veniente Timotheo ad nos a vobis, et annuntiante nobis fidem et caritatem vestram, et quia memoriam nostri habetis bonam semper, desiderantes nos videre, sicut et nos quoque vos:
7Therefore we were comforted, brethren, in you, in all our necessity and tribulation, by your faith.Abbiam perciò ricavato gran consolazione da voi, o fratelli, in mezzo a tutte le nostre necessità, e tribolazioni mediante la vostra fede;therfore vve are cōforted, brethrē, in you, in al our necessitie & tribulation, by your faith,ideo consolati sumus, fratres, in vobis in omni necessitate et tribulatione nostra, per fidem vestram, 8Because now we live, if you stand in the Lord.Conciossiachè se voi siete costanti nel Signore, ora si che viviamo.because novv vve liue, if you stand in our Lord.quoniam nunc vivimus, si vos statis in Domino. 9For what thanks can we return to God for you, in all the joy wherewith we rejoice for you before our God,Imperocché qual ringraziamento possiam noi render a Dio rispetto a voi per tutto il gaudio, che noi proviamo per causa vostra dinanzi al nostro Dio?For vvhat thankes giuing can vve render to God for you, in al ioy vvherevvith vve reioyce for you before our God,Quam enim gratiarum actionem possumus Deo retribuere pro vobis in omni gaudio, quo gaudemus propter vos ante Deum nostrum, 10Night and day more abundantly praying that we may see your face and may accomplish those things that are wanting to your faith?Dì, e notte lo preghiamo sempre più di vedere la vostra faccia, e di supplire a quello che manca alla vostra fede?night and day more aboundantly praying that vve may see your face, and may accomplish those things that vvant of your faith.nocte ac die abundantius orantes, ut videamus faciem vestram, et compleamus ea quæ desunt fidei vestræ ? 11Now God himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.Or lo stesso Dio, e padre nostro, e il Signor nostro Gesù Cristo indirizzi i nastri passi verso di voi.And God him self and our Father, and our Lord IESVS Christ direct our vvay to you.Ipse autem Deus, et Pater noster, et Dominus noster Jesus Christus, dirigat viam nostram ad vos. 12And may the Lord multiply you and make you abound in charity towards one another and towards all men: as we do also towards you,E faccia il Signore, che abbondiate, e sovrabbondiate di carità e tra di voi, e verso di tutti, come noi pure verso di voi:And our Lord multiplie you, and make your charitie abound one to an other, & tovvard al men: as vve also in you,Vos autem Dominus multiplicet, et abundare faciat caritatem vestram in invicem, et in omnes, quemadmodum et nos in vobis: 13To confirm your hearts without blame, in holiness, before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all his saints. Amen.Onde i vostri cuori scevri di colpa siano confermati nella santità dinanzi a Dio, e padre nostro, per la venuta del Signor nostro, Gesù Cristo, con tutti i suoi santi. Così sia.to cōfirme your hartes vvithout blame, in holinesse, before God and our Father, in the comming of our Lord IESVS Christ vvith al his Sainctes. Amen.ad confirmanda corda vestra sine querela in sanctitate, ante Deum et Patrem nostrum, in adventu Domini nostri Jesu Christi cum omnibus sanctis ejus. Amen.
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Witham
Forbearing no longer. That is, not being able to be at rest, for not seeing you, nor hearing concerning you. (Witham)
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Witham
That we are appointed thereunto. That is, meet with trials and troubles in this world, as our Saviour Christ foretold. (Witham)
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Witham
We live. That is, we live in joy and comfort, if you stand firm in the faith of Christ, as you ought. (Witham)
The news that you stand steadfast in the Lord, reanimates me under all my sufferings, and as it were raises me to life again from the shadow of death, under which I am placed. O that I could see you, to complete the work of instructing you in the faith, which I have begun.
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That we may see you face. Though epistles in absence give great comfort, and help to confirm the faith once delivered, it is by preaching that the faith of Jesus Christ and true religion are both begun and accomplished.
Witham
And may accomplish those things that are wanting to your faith? That is, give you fuller instructions. (Witham)
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Witham
And may the Lord multiply you. That is, increase the number of Christians among you. (Witham)
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Concordance Act. 18, 5.
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Though letters or epistles in absēce giue great comfort and confirmation in faith, yet it is preaching in presence by vvhich the faith of Christ and true religion is alvvais both begunne and accomplished.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 5.5
… “I have tasted,” saith he, “of the grace, and I do not willingly put up with the delay.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 42
… Wherefore does he send away Timothy and Erastus? Of this I suppose he says, “Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone. He sent away,” it says, “two of those who ministered to him” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 11
Here he shows his great love, seeing that for this purpose he sent him, and this was the cause of his journey; and so when writing to the Thessalonians, he said, “Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone, and sent Timothy our brother.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 3
Chap. iii. 1, 2 . “Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone.” Instead of saying, “we chose.” “And sent Timothy, our brother and God’s minister and our fellow-worker in the Gospel of Christ.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Thessalonians 1
Having said in his former Epistle that “we pray night and day to see you, and that we could not forbear, but were left in Athens alone,” and that “I sent Timothy” (from
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 2
… For on their [the Macedonians’] account he feared and saith, “We sent,” unto you, “Timothy…to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no man be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that hereunto we are appointed.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 140.1
1. Our Lords have bidden me, brethren, and in them the Lord of all, to bring this Psalm to your understanding, so far as God giveth me to. May He help your prayers, that I may say those things which I ought to say, ye to hear, that to all of us the Word of God may be profitable. For all it doth not profit, for “all have not faith.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 78
… So again in war, when the commander falls, the chief tribune assumes the command, not in the attempt to lay violent hands on the place of power, but because he cares for his men. So too the thrice blessed Timothy when sent by the divine Paul took his place.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 7
… it is what God also saith concerning the Prophets, “I have slain them by the words of my mouth.” ( Hos. vi. 5 .) But how was it that they fainted, when another was afflicted? He means, they were troubled, were distressed. This also he says when writing to the Thessalonians, “that no man be moved by these afflictions.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 3
Ver. 3 . “That no man be moved by these afflictions.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 3
Ver. 4 . “For verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Thessalonians 3
… For behold, they heard him saying these things when present, and again they had need to be reminded of them. For as when they had heard concerning afflictions, “For verily,” he says, “when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.18
… and she quoted His own words, “In your patience ye shall win your souls”: as well as those of the apostle, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”: and in another place, “we are to suffer affliction”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Concerning Lowliness of Mind 6
… and often for this very purpose alone sent, now Timothy, and now Tychicus; and about him he says, “That he may know your circumstances, and encourage your hearts:” and about Timothy; “I have sent him, being no longer able to contain myself; lest in some way the tempter have tempted you.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints 2.12
… For temptation is moreover beneficial by which we are not deceived or overwhelmed, but proved, according to that which is said, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me.” Therefore, with that hurtful temptation which the apostle signifies when he says, “Lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain,”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 1
… For he says, “Him therefore I hope to send forthwith.” ( Philip. ii. 23 .) But here it was not so; but he had just returned to him, so that he naturally joined in the letter. For he says, “Now when Timothy came from you unto us.” (
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Christian Doctrine 3.4
8. And not only these, but also those ambiguities that do not relate either to punctuation or pronunciation, are to be examined in the same way. For example, that one in the Epistle to the Thessalonians: Propterea consolati sumus fratres in vobis .
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 55
… Not so again the apostle: “For whether,” saith he, “one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” And the words of him who gives these admonitions, are at one time, “What is my hope or joy? are not even ye?” at another, “Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 15
Since we both showed our care for you and have been wholly successful. As he said also in another place, “Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord;” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 8
… Is it that thou mayest gain any end for thyself? No, saith he, in no wise; it is that I may save others. And yet surely they who beseech, do so for things which are of importance to themselves. True; and this, saith he, is of importance to myself, according to what he says also elsewhere in his writings, “Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord;” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 13
“So.” How? Unmoved. See how he addeth praise after exhortation, “my joy and my crown,” not simply joy but glory too, not simply glory but my crown too. Which glory nought can equal, since it is the crown of Paul. “So stand fast in the Lord, my beloved,” i.e. in the hope of God.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on 2 Timothy 2
Moral. Such ought a Teacher to be, so to regard his disciples, to think them everything. “Now we live,” he says, “if ye stand fast in the Lord.” And again, “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ?” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 54.4
… In so far as ye do this, ye are like Mary. And with greater facility do ye do that which Mary doeth, than I who have to distribute. Yet if I say ought, it is Christ’s; therefore doth it feed you, because it is Christ’s. For the Bread is common to us all, of which I too live as well as you. “But now we live, if ye, Brethren, stand fast in the Lord.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 4
Ver. 9, 10 . “For what thanksgiving can we render again unto God for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith?”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 11
… “For as many as were possessors,” etc. And with great respect they did this: for they did not presume to give into their hands, nor did they ostentatiously present, but brought to the Apostles’ feet. To them they left it to be the dispensers, made them the owners, that thenceforth all should be defrayed as from common, not from private, property.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans 32
… ix. 3 ) which was counted worthy to love Christ as no other man loved Him: which despised death and hell, yet was broken down by brothers’ tears, (for he says, “what mean ye to weep and to break mine heart?”) ( Acts xxi. 13 ) which was most enduring, and yet could not bear to be absent from the Thessalonians by the space of an hour! ( 1 Thess. ii. 17 ;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 98.5
… “And though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and that which is lacking in your faith in Christ.” And in that to the Thessalonians: “Night and day,” he says, “praying more abundantly, that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.”
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 3.25
… and so too when he prays for the Thessalonians, in saying, ‘Now God Himself even our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, may He direct our way unto you
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.10
87. Again, that thou mayest know that the Father is, and the Son is, and that the work of the Father and of the Son is one, follow the saying of the Apostle: “Now may God Himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 4
Ver. 11, 12 . “Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you: and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… And writing to the Thessalonians he says “Now God Himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you.”
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St Basil the Great † AD 379 De Spiritu Sancto 21
… And parallel with this is that other passage, “and the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do towards you; to the end He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 3.14
… For you read as follows: “The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, as we also do toward you, to the stablishing of your hearts without blame in holiness before God and our Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 43.1
… In these cases, it seems to me that I have discharged the obligation laid on me by that love which the Holy Spirit teaches us to render, not only to our own, but to all, saying by the apostle: “The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Grace and Free Will 38
… not because they chose Him that they were chosen. There could be no merit in men’s choice of Christ, if it were not that God’s grace was prevenient in His choosing them. Whence the Apostle Paul pronounces in the Thessalonians this benediction: “The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace 5
… For why do ye not rather suffer wrong? Why are ye not rather defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong and defraud; and that, your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not possess the kingdom of God?” Let us hear him also praying: “And the Lord,” says he, “multiply you, and make you to abound in love one towards another and towards all men.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Letters of the Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyprus 147
… to the end he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 24
… “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord God, Jesus Christ, at His coming?” Likewise: “Before God, even our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the whole company of His saints.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 4
Ver. 13 . “To the end He may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
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1. FOR WHICH REASON WE COULD NOT BEAR IT ANY LONGER. — In Greek μηκέτι στέγοντες, that is, no longer enduring, supply, "the desire of knowing your affairs and being with you," for this reason we sent Timothy, as it were an intermediary to you. IT SEEMED GOOD TO US TO REMAIN AT ATHENS ALONE. — You will say: In Acts xvii, 15, it is said that Paul summoned Silas and Timothy from Beroea and Thessalonica to himself at Athens; therefore he did not remain alone at Athens. I answer: He summoned them, but immediately sent them back to Thessalonica; which, although it is not stated in Acts xvii, is nevertheless gathered from this, and from the fact that in Acts xviii, 5, Silas and Timothy are said to have come again to Paul, no longer at Athens, but acting at Corinth: if they came, therefore after their mutual meeting, of which Acts xvii, 15 speaks, they again departed from him.
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2. A MINISTER OF GOD. — The Greek and Syriac texts add, καὶ συνεργὸν ἡμῶν, and our fellow-worker. TO CONFIRM YOU, AND TO EXHORT YOU CONCERNING YOUR FAITH, — that is, for the sake of securing the stability and growth of your faith. Thus Theophylactus. Secondly, more simply, the Greeks and the Syriac take περί in the sense of ὑπέρ, that is, over, which corresponds to the Hebrew על al, as if to say: That I may confirm and exhort you over your faith, or concerning your faith, or in your faith: for the Hebrew al signifies all these things.
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3. THAT NO ONE BE MOVED IN THESE TRIBULATIONS (persecutions by Jews and Gentiles); FOR YOU YOURSELVES KNOW THAT WE ARE APPOINTED THEREUNTO. — The Syriac renders it, we are destined for this, namely, to endure persecutions and tribulations. St. Chrysostom: "He did not say simply, We are tempted; but, We are appointed thereunto; because it is, we are made for this, this is our work, this is our life, and you seek rest?" Let therefore each Christian say with St. Sebastian that which Jeremiah says of himself in the type of Christ and of each Christian, and sings in Lamentations iii, 12: "He hath set me as a mark to the arrow, he hath shot into my reins the daughters of his quiver," that is, his arrows, namely tribulations. Let each patient one say with St. Job, chapter xvi, verse 13: "He hath set me up as a mark to him," that is, as a target, at which all their darts may be shot by enemies. Let all Christians hear this, says Theophylactus, that they are indeed appointed and called for this, namely, to bear the cross with Christ and for Christ with fortitude. Thus we are, says Chrysostom, soldiers of Christ, if we arm ourselves with the weapons of patience. Thus we are martyrs of Christ, if we overcome the devil: for if you suffer and endure, the devil will flee. The Apostle foretold this in a general statement in II Timothy iii, 12: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Indeed Christ himself, in John xvi, 33: "In the world," he says, "you shall have distress; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." "God follows this principle," says Seneca, in the book On the Constancy of the Wise Man, "in good men, which teachers follow in their disciples, who demand more labor from those in whom there is more certain hope; and which generals follow in soldiers, who send the best soldiers to the hardest tasks. Thus he tries fire in Mucius, poverty in Fabricius, exile in Rutilius, torture in Regulus, poison in Socrates, death in Cato. As stern parents educate their sons more harshly, so God educates his own, and this so that from these, indeed from pains and losses, they may gather strength. Let them therefore say: We have been deemed worthy by God, in whom he might test how much human nature can suffer (indeed how much both grace and the love of God can suffer). Behold a man worthy of God, a strong man composed with evil fortune; behold a spectacle worthy of God." These and many more things are scattered throughout Seneca in the place cited.
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5. FOR THIS REASON ALSO I, NO LONGER ABLE TO BEAR IT (namely, the desire of knowing your faith and your affairs: of which verse 1), SENT (Timothy) TO KNOW YOUR FAITH. LEST BY ANY MEANS HE THAT TEMPTETH YOU (and by tempting should overcome you, and should cast you down from faith or constancy) SHOULD HAVE TEMPTED YOU. — The Greek ὁ πειράζων is a participle, which in the manner of Hebrew is put for a common noun, that is, he that tempts, whose art it is to tempt, namely Satan, of whom in Matthew iv, 3.
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8. SINCE NOW WE LIVE, IF YOU STAND IN THE LORD. — As if to say: Although we are afflicted even unto death, yet since we have heard of your steadfastness and faith, which you have in the Lord, we are as it were revived and raised from the dead. Anselm exclaims here: "O how tender were the bowels of the Apostle, when he yearned after his children with such burning love, that he said: Now we live, if you stand in the Lord! He feared greatly lest his disciples, seeing so many reproaches of persecution in their preacher, should despise faith in God, against which the impending insults of sufferings might prevail. And therefore he grieved less in torments, but rather feared for his children on account of the temptation of his torments: he made little account of the wounds of his body in himself, while he dreaded in his children the wounds of the heart." And a little further on: "He was secure concerning his reward, even if his disciples should fall, and yet as if in their fall he would lose the reward of his labor, he said he lived in their state: for he did not wish to live with them falling, but with them standing in the Lord, so that his fruit might be whole for them, and his reward with God full of joys."
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9. WHAT THANKSGIVING CAN WE RENDER TO GOD FOR YOU (concerning you) IN ALL JOY (over all joy), WITH WHICH WE REJOICE ON YOUR ACCOUNT (steadfast in faith amid adversities) BEFORE OUR GOD, — in the presence of our God: for this is the Greek ἔμπροσθεν.
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10. NIGHT AND DAY MORE ABUNDANTLY (ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ, as if to say: Beyond abundantly, that is, as Ambrose says, most abundantly, eminently, wonderfully, beyond measure: thus Vatablus) PRAYING, — that is, we pray. For the Hebrews use the participle for the indicative. THAT WE MAY SEE YOUR FACE, AND MAY FILL UP THOSE THINGS THAT ARE WANTING IN YOUR FAITH.
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12. AND MAY THE LORD MULTIPLY YOU, — so that the number of the faithful, which I was forced to leave, may be multiplied and increased in number. AND MAKE YOU ABOUND IN CHARITY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, AND TOWARD ALL. — Thus the Roman text, but the Greek texts have, καὶ περισσεύσαι τῇ ἀγάπῃ εἰς ἀλλήλους, καὶ εἰς πάντας, that is, and may make you abounding, or overflowing in mutual charity among you, and toward all: but although the case is changed, the sense comes to the same thing. AS WE ALSO DO TOWARD YOU, — supply, in the charity already mentioned we have abounded toward you. Thus Anselm.
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TO CONFIRM YOUR HEARTS (it can be referred to Paul, as if to say: I have abounded in charity toward you, so that I might confirm your hearts in holiness. Secondly and better, you refer it to God, as if to say: May God make charity abound in you for this purpose, that He may confirm your hearts), without blame (in Greek ἀμέμπτως, that is, irreproachable) in holiness (so that they may be confirmed in holiness in such a way that no one can complain of them and their impurity or vice, and this) BEFORE GOD (that is, in the presence of God, so that God may find nothing to blame in your hearts, but may judge them to be wholly holy), in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, — supply, so that your hearts may be and be found holy and without blame in the coming of Christ, when He shall come with all the Saints to judgment. For the Apostle, full of the Spirit, here heaps together many things which his affection suggested, and is not concerned about words, but omits and understands certain words, according to Canon 38. Truly St. Chrysostom here, homily 4: "Paul, he says, when he saw the tears of certain beloved ones, was so broken and crushed, that adamant, that he said: What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I resist all things, save one love: that conquers and overcomes me." 13. TO CONFIRM YOUR HEARTS. — In Greek it is, εἰς τὸ καταρτίσαι τὰ ὑστερήματα τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, as if to say: So that I may perfect the joints, members and connections, which are still wanting in your faith, so that thus the body of your faith may be made whole and perfected in all its parts as it were in members. For the Greek καταρτίζειν is said of a body which is made whole in its joints and members, completed and perfected. In the same sense Paul said he was filling up τὰ ὑστερήματα, that is, those things which are wanting in the sufferings of Christ, Colossians 1, 24, as if to say: I desire to see you, so that I may complete and perfect the imperfect evangelization of mine and your instruction, which I was forced to break off on account of the persecution of the Jews.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Commemoravit tribulationes quas passi erant, et remedium quod proposuit eis impendere, hic ostendit quomodo eis subvenisset visitando per Timotheum. Et primo agit de missione nuntii; secundo de relatione facta per eum, ibi nunc autem; tertio de effectu relationis in apostolo, ibi ideo consolati. Item prima in tres, quia primo praemittit causam quare misit eum; secundo qualem misit; tertio causam propter quam misit. Dicit ergo propter quod, id est, quia impedivit nos Satanas, tamen vos estis gloria nostra; ideo non sustinentes pondus amoris inclinantis ad vos. Is. I, 14: facta sunt mihi molesta, et cetera. Gen. XLV, 1: non se poterat ultra cohibere. Placuit nobis, scilicet Paulo et Silvano, remanere Athenis solis et misimus Timotheum, quia erat apostolo convenientissimus. Phil. II, 20: neminem habeo tam unanimem, qui sincera affectione pro vobis sollicitus sit. I Cor. IV, 17: misi ad vos Timotheum, qui est filius meus charissimus et fidelis in domino. Fratrem, per charitatem adiuvantem. Prov. XVIII, 19: frater qui iuvatur a fratre, quasi civitas firma. Et ministrum. Ecclesiae dignitas est. II Cor. XI, 23: ministri Christi sunt, et ego, et cetera. Mittit autem ad confirmandos eos et referendum sibi. Deinde cum dicit ad confirmandos, etc., ostendit quod mittitur ad confirmandum. Et primo facit hoc; secundo ponitur ratio confirmationis, ibi ipsi enim.
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Dicit ergo ad confirmandos vos et exhortandos, quia per exhortationes animus hominis confirmatur. Iob IV, 4: vacillantes confirmaverunt sermones tui. Lc. XXII, v. 32: et tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos. Et indigetis exhortari pro fide vestra, ut nemo moveatur in his tribulationibus. Eccli. c. X, 4: si spiritus potestatem habentis ascenderit super te, locum tuum ne dimiseris. Est autem ratio duplex confirmans.
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Una ex ordinatione divina: ipsi enim scitis, etc., quasi dicat: ita voluit Deus, ut per tribulationes in caelum intraretis. Act. XIV, 22: per multas tribulationes oportet vos intrare in regnum Dei, et II Tim. III, 12: omnes qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Iesu, persecutionem patientur. Per hanc viam ivit Christus. Lc. ult.: oportebat Christum pati et resurgere, et sic intrare in gloriam suam. Alia ratio est ex parte praenuntiationis, quia praevisa minus feriunt.
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Unde dicit nam et cum apud, etc., id est, quia ego praedixi vobis tribulationes, quas estis passi in istis annis, misi ad cognoscendum, etc., qualiter scilicet essetis fortes in fide. Prov. XXVII, v. 23: diligenter agnosce vultum pecoris tui, et greges tuos considera. Is qui tentat, scilicet Diabolus. Matth. IV, 3: accedens tentator, Glossa: cuius officium est tentare. Sed contra: tentant mundus et caro. Iac. c. I, 14: unusquisque tentatur a concupiscentia sua, et cetera. Item Gen. XXII, 1: tentavit Deus Abraham, et cetera. Respondeo. Tentare est experimentum de aliquo sumere. In hoc considerandum est ad quid velit sumere, et quomodo. Nam hoc est dupliciter: vel ut ipse cognoscat, vel ut alium cognoscere faciat. Primo modo Deus non tentat, ipse enim scit quid est in homine Io. II, 25. Secundo modo sic: Deus enim tentavit Abraham, scilicet ut alii scirent fidem eius. Sed primo modo tentare est dupliciter, scilicet ut promoveat ad bonum, sicut episcopus promovendos examinat; vel aliquis tentat ut decipiat, et hoc est Diaboli, quia scilicet inquirit conditionem hominum, ut secundum diversas conditiones ad diversa vitia ad quae proni sunt inducat. I Petr. V, 8: adversarius vester Diabolus, et cetera. Officium ergo eius est tentare ad decipiendum. Mundus autem et caro dicuntur tentare materialiter, quia per ea, ad quae ipsa inclinant, sumitur experimentum de homine, utrum firmus sit ad mandata Dei et dilectionem. Si enim vicerit concupiscentia, non perfecte diligit Deum. Et similiter quando res mundi vel terrent, vel afficiunt. Et inanis, quia si tentationi non resistitis, labor vester esset inanis. Gal. IV, 11: timeo vos ne forte sine causa laboraverim in vobis. Ez. XVIII, 24: omnes iustitiae eius quas operatus est, non recordabuntur. Inanis autem dicitur, respectu mercedis aeternae; tamen bona ante peccatum commissa ad aliquid valent, quia post poenitentiam reviviscunt, et disponitur quis faciliter ad convertendum.
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Deinde cum dicit nunc autem, etc., ostendit quomodo retulit Timotheus bona eorum pertinentia ad Deum et apostolum: ad Deum fidem et charitatem. Gal. VI, 15: in Christo Iesu, neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque praeputium, sed nova creatura. Sed fidem, etiam ad apostolum; unde dicit et quia memoriam. Eccli. XLIX, 1: memoria Iosiae in compositione operis facta, opus pigmentarii, et cetera. Prov. X, 7: memoria iusti cum laudibus, et cetera. Desiderantes videre nos, sicut et nos quoque vos. Augustinus: durus est animus, qui dilectionem, et si non velit impendere, noluit rependere. Is. LI, 2: attendite ad Abraham patrem vestrum, et cetera.
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Deinde cum dicit ideo consolati, ponitur effectus relationis triplex, scilicet spiritualis consolationis, gratiarum actionis, ibi quam enim, et orationis multiplicatae, ibi nocte. Dicit ergo: quia talia audivimus de vobis, licet necessitates temporalium immineant et tribulationes corporales, tamen consolati sumus. Ps. XCIII, 19: secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum in corde meo consolationes tuae laetificaverunt animam meam, et cetera. II Cor. I, 3: benedictus Deus et pater domini nostri Iesu Christi, pater misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis, et cetera. Et hoc per fidem vestram, id est, audiens firmitatem fidei vestrae, quoniam vivimus, et cetera. Quasi dicat: tantum diligo statum vestrum, quod reputo me per ipsum vivere. Gen. c. XLV, 28: sufficit mihi si adhuc Ioseph filius meus vivit. Deinde cum dicit quam enim, etc. ponitur secundus effectus relationis factae, scilicet gratiarum actio; quasi dicat: non sufficio, quod aliquam condignam gratiarum actionem agam Deo pro vobis. Mich. VI, 6: quid dignum offeram domino, et cetera. Ps. CXV, v. 12: quid retribuam domino pro omnibus, et cetera.
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Referendae sunt tamen gratiarum actiones in omni gaudio, quod omnino non est exterius, sed quo gaudemus propter vos, in conscientia, ante dominum, qui videt eam. Vel ante dominum, quia de proximo placet Deo. I Cor. XIII, 6: congaudet veritati, et cetera. Deinde cum dicit nocte, etc., ponitur tertius effectus relationis, et primo proponit multiplicitatem orationis, secundo ostendit quid orando optet, ibi ipse autem, et cetera.
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Dicit ergo: gratias agimus de praeteritis, nec tamen deficimus quin oremus pro futuris, imo nocte ac die, id est, adversis et prosperis. Ps. LIV, 18: vespere et mane ac meridie narrabo, et cetera. Quae desunt, et cetera. Non quidem quae erant de necessitate fidei, sed aliqua secreta, quae necdum apostolus eis praedicavit in sua novitate. I Cor. III, 1: non potui loqui vobis quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus, et cetera. Io. XVI, 12: multa habeo vobis loqui, quae non, et cetera. Deinde cum dicit ipse autem Deus, etc., demonstrat quid optet eis. Et circa hoc primo ostendit quid petat, ibi ad confirmanda. Petit autem duo: unum ex parte sua, ut posset ire ad eos.
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Unde dicit ipse Deus et pater noster, et cetera. Io. XX, 17: ascendo ad patrem meum et patrem vestrum, et cetera. Prov. XVI, 1: hominis est praeparare animum, et domini gubernare linguam. Aliud ex parte eorum. Unde dicit vos autem multiplicet, scilicet in fide. II Reg. XXIV, v. 3: adaugeat dominus populum suum centuplum, quam sunt, et cetera. Et ut augeantur merita.
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Unde dicit et abundare faciat charitatem vestram, quae semper in via crescere potest. Col. III, 14: super omnia charitatem habete, quod est vinculum perfectionis. Et primo, invicem; secundo, in omnes. Gal. VI, 10: operemur bonum ad omnes: maxime autem ad domesticos fidei. Et ponit exemplum de seipso, dicens quemadmodum, etc., quasi dicat: sicut et ego diligo vos. II Cor. VII, 3: in cordibus nostris estis ad commoriendum et ad convivendum. Sed ad quid petit?
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Ad confirmanda corda vestra sine querela, id est, ut nullus possit conqueri de vobis. Lc. I, 6: incedentes in omnibus mandatis et iustificationibus sine querela. Et sanctitate ante Deum, scilicet qui cor videt. Lc. I, 75: in sanctitate et iustitia coram ipso, et cetera. Et hoc apparet in adventu domini nostri Iesu Christi, ut vos inveniat sanctos; qui adventus erit cum omnibus sanctis eius, id est, sitis in conspectu eius, sicut sunt omnes sancti ante eum.
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1. Propttr quod non sustinentes amplius, placuit nobis remanere Athenis, solis. Latinus interpres syntaxim grammaticam neglexit, cum alioqui Graeca oratio probe constet, quam Ambrosianus ita reddit: Idcirco jam non amplius tolerantes, optimum duximus, ut Athenis soli relinqueremur. Et seucus est: Cum igitur desiderium vestri non ferrem diutir.s, nec tamen aditus ad vos daretur: visum fuit adventum et praesentiam meara per alium mihi conjunctissimum, ac velut altemm me, suppleri: sic ut ego solue; tam fideli ac necessario comite destitutus, reiiuquerer ac remanerem Athenis. Neque enim Graeca vox residere significat, ut Erasmus vertit: sed relinqui. Quo verbo Apostolus ad exprimendum affectum innuere voluit desolationem snarn, quam passus sit ob absentiam Timothei ad Thessalonicenses missi. Hic jam satis apparet, Apcstolum de se solo pluraliter teneri desiderio invisendi eos: optans, ut in loqui. Nam Timotheum ipse sermo sequens excludit: Silam quoque sive Silvanum eodem tempore in Macedoniam fuisse profectum colligitur ex Actor. 18., ult legitur, una cum Timotheo ad Paulum Corinthi agentem e Macedonia fuisse reversus.
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2. Et misimus Timotheum fratrem nostrum: ut per eum meam praesentiam vobis exhiberem; fratrem suum vocat, quod eum, ut sincerum operis evangelici bO tum, fraterno amore diligeret: quem etiam hoc nomine commendat Philipp. 2. Et ministrum Dei in evangelio Christi. Graeca sic habent: Et ministrum Dei et cooperarium nostrum in evangelio Christi. Haec partim ad comraendationcra Timolhei dicuntur, ut intelligant Thessal^nicenses, qualem virum ad ipsos Paulus pro se miserit: partim ad significandum, quam necessarium evangelii cooperarium passus fuerit ipsorum causa a se abesse. Hanc Timothei missionem Lucas Act. 17., ubi commemorat ea quae Paulus Athenis egit, omnino tacuit: quod non mirum, cum et alia multa Pauli acta constet esse ab eo praetermissa. Cur autem miserit ad eos Timotheum, exponit verbis sequentibus.
Ad confirmandos oos ct exhortandos pro fide vestra. Graece, de fide vestra, vel, ut quidam Graecorum codices habent, nostra: tametsi vestra rectius, suftYagantibus item tractatoribus Graecis. Nam et paulo post ait: Misi ad cognoscendam fidem vestram. Sensus est: ut vos in fide confirmaret et exhortaretur ad perseverantiam; sive, ut consolaretur vos super negotio fidei vestrae, ne quis propter adversitates, quibus evangelium passim exagitatur, despondeat animum. Nam verbum Graecum TiapaxaAsaai commune est ad exhortari et consolari, atque etiam ad d^precari, quod hoc loco legit Am brosianus.
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3. Vt nemo moveatur in tribulationibus istis. Id est, ut ne quisquam vestrum turbetur, terreatur, commoveatur ob afflictiones istas et pressuras, quas et vidistis coram, et postea audistis, me pati propter evangelium. Graeca vox oatveo&at proprie quatere significat: sed hic ad animum transfertur. Porro de suis afflictionibus Apostolum loqui sequentia docent:
Ipsi enim scitis, quod in hoc positi sumus; quasi dicat: Novum vobis videri non debet, quod haec patiar: neque enim ignoratis, me in hoc ipsum delectum ac praedestinatum esse a Deo, ut passionibus meis, quas evangelii causa sustineo, Christinomen illustrem. Respicit ad illud, quod de ipso Dominus dixerat ad Ananiam: Vas electionis est mihi iste, ut portet nomen meum coram gentibus et regibus et filiis Israel. Ego enim ostendam illi, quanta oporteat eum pro nomine meo pati. Act. 9. Quidam istud: quod in hoc positi sumus, exponunt generaliter de omnibus Christi fidelibus; nam generales ipsius Apostoli sententiae sunt: Quoniam per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei Actor. 14. et: Omnes, qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Jesu, persecutionem patientur 2 Tim. 3. Ve rum specialiter Apostolum loqui de seipso. probabilius est: idque etiam exigit subsequens probatio.
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4. Nam et cum apud vos essemus, praedicebamus vobis, passuros nos tribulationes. Singulariter intellige: Praedicebam vobis, fore ut evangeliicausapa terer afflictiones, persecutiones, periculi*; praedicebat autem, vel nova revelatione divinitus accepta, vel de ea re certus ex veteri oraculo ad Ananiam facto. Sicut et factum est, et scitis. Loquitur de tumultu adversum se concitato, quum esset Thessalonicae: quanquam et ad alias persecutiones, quas post suum inde discessum passus fuerat, extendi potest sententia. Quod enim ait, et scitis, intelligi potest, partim experientia, partim fama et relatu aliorum.
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5. Propterea et ego amplius non sustinens, misi ad cognoscendam fidem vestram. Quod supra dixerat utens numero plurali, nunc repetit in singulari, quo magis erga eos paternam animi sui solicitudinem declaret. Ilaec igitur, inquit, causa est, ob quam ego vestri desiderium non diutius ferens, miserim ad vos Timotheum, ut cognoscerem, quemadmodum se haberet fides vestra; num firma esset et constans, an aliqua parte labefactata. Id enim significant verba sequentia.
Ne forte tentaverit vos is, qui tentat. Neforte, Graece, ne quo modo, quae et Ambrosiani lectio est. Idem pro participio Graeco, quod noster irterpres in verbum resolvit, is qui tentat, legit ille tentator; quod et in nostra versione ejusdem participii loco legitur Matth. 3. et accedens tentator. Voluit enim tam Apostolus quam Evangelista eo vocabulo, velut diiboli epitheto, significare non actum aliquem transeuntem, sed voluntatem ac studium tentandi, id est, ad malum solicitandi homines: adeo utglossa interlinealis a D. Thoma probata, subscribente etiam Cajetano, dicat, illud esse diaLoli officium; quod tamen improprie dictum intellige: sicut idem S. Thomas explicat 1. p. q. 114. art. 2. Nam proprie quidem officium est, quod quisque facere debet: ac proinde locum non habet nisi in bonis. Sed officium diaboli dicitur homines tentare, quatenus illud tanquam officium suum studiosissime exercet. Est autem sensus hujus partis ita supplendus: Utpote qui metuam, ne quo pacto tentator ille, scilicet diabolus, occasione mearum afflictionum vos tentaverit, ac tentatione impulerit ad aliquem fidei defectum.
Et inanis fiat labor noster. Sensus: Atque ita labor, quem vobis instituendis insumsi, reddatur irritus et infructuosas; quamvis enim Apostolo salva manerent praemia sui laboris, ipso dicente 1 Cor. 3. Unusquisque propriam mercedem accipiet secundum suum laborem: inanis tamen erat luem labor futurus ex parte eorum, quibus praedicaverat, si nullum apud eos fructum stabilem fecisset. Ex hoc loco, ut ex multis aliis, apertissime docemur, posse hominem fidelem et justificatum a fide et charitate excidere: et opera bona por subsequens peccatum ita mortificari, ut praemio ipsis alioqui debito frustrentur.
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6. Nunc autem veniente Timotheo ad nos a vobis, et annuneiantc nobis fidem et charitatem vestram. Participia praeteriti temporis sunt in Graeco, quae et Ambrosianus textus per verba ejusdem temporis expressit. Verum, inquit, cum nuper admodum rediisset a vobis ad nos Timotheus, et annuntiasset, quod in Graeco est, evangelizasset, id est bonum nuntium retulisset fidei et chr.ritatis vestrae perseverantis et inconcussae. Hic Timothei reditus ad Paulum Corinthi agentem fuisse videtur, cujus meminit Lucas Actor. 18. dicens: Cum venisset autem de Macedonia Silas et Timotheus. Nec mirum, nullam hic Silr.e fieri mentionem: quamvis enim una redirent a Macedonia Silas et Timotheus; non tamen ex eadem Macedoniae parte, neque ex eadem legatione.
Et quia memoriam nostri bonam habetis sjmper, id est, cumque nuntiasset, vos retinere bonam et honorificam nostri memoriam, eamque jugem ac perpetuam. Audite hic discipuli, inquit Theophylactus in hunc locum scribens, et discite, praeceptorum vestrorum mentionem semper facere cum laude: vobisipsis namque id proderit, non illis. — Desiderantes nos videre: sicut nos quoque vos. Per hoc significat se ab illis ut praeceptorem a discipulis redamari: quod ut sibi gratissimum commemorat.
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7. Ideo consolati sumus > fratres } in vobis, in omni necessitate et tribulatione nostra, per fidem vestram. Propter haec inquit, a Timotheo nuntiata, consolationem accepi in vobis, sive per vos, id est, per fidem vestram, super omni afflictione et periculis, in quibus versor, quasi dicat: Nihil istorum malorum grave duco, posteaquam cognovi, fidem vestram, de qua metuebam, esse in tuto. Necessitatem vocat Apostolus non indigentiam, ut quidam interpretantur, sed, Hebraea phrasi, pressuras et pericula. Unde est illud Psalmi 24. De necessitatibus meis erue me.
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8. Quoniam nunc vivimus, si vos statis in Domino. Tale est quod dicit: Nam etsi versor in quotidianis mortibus, propter insidias et pericula, quae me circumstant (quotidie e^im morior, ait 1 Cor. 15.), tamen horum omnium oblitus, vivere mihi videor et salvus esse, si res vestrae salvae sunt, si vos in fide Christi Domini constantes permanetis. Significatio est ingentis gaudii, quod ex iis, quae Timotheus nuntiaverat, percepit.
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9. Quam enim gratiarum actionem possumus Deo retribuere pro vobis. Graece, de vobis. Similiter Ambrosianus: Et sensus est: quas enim gratias referre Deo possum de vobis, qui perstitistis in fide? quasi dicat, nallas satis dignas ac tanto beneficio pares. Ut autem ostendat, bonum illud, de quo gratias agit, ad se quoque pertinere: continua oratione subjungit:
In omni gaudio, quo gaudemus propter vos ante Deum nostrum. Clarior est Arubrosiani lectio: Super omni gaudio, quo gaudemus propter vos coram Deo nostro? Omne gaudium, more Hebraeo, vocat gaudium immensum et perfectum; quemadmodum et jocobus Apostolus dicens: Omne gaudium existimate fratres mei etc Jacobi 1. Addens autem, ante Deum nostrum, id est, in conspectu Dei nostri, significat, hoc gaudium suum non esse mundanum aut carnale, sed spirituale ac Deo probatum, utpote de bono spirituali conceptum. Innuit autem his verbis Apostolus, et suum gaudium et illorum fidem atque constantiam esse donum ac beneficium Dei. Nam gratiarum actio non est nisi de beneficiis acceptis.
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10. Nocte ic die abundantius orantes, ut videamus faciem vestram. Abundantius, Graece ad verbum, super exabundanti, quasi dicat superquam abundanter. Ambrosius legit, abundantissime, Erasmus vertit, supra modum. Itaque significatur oratio vehementer intensa; sicut ea parte, nocte ac die, multum extensa et continua. Cur autem tantopere precibus a Deo contendat, ut faciem illorum videat, id est, corpore ipsis praesens sit, declarat id, quod sequitur.
Et compleamus ea, quae desunt fidei vestrae. Ambrosianus, et suppleamus: quod verbum magis respondet Graeco xaxapTiCetv; cujus haec sunt significata, componere seu coagmentare, instaurare, rvificere, resrarcire. Utitur eo Matthaeus capit. 4. reficientes retia sua. Et Apostolus Gal. 6. Hujusmodi instruite sive instaurate in spirilu lenitatis: quemadmodum ibi expositum est. Alibi significat aptare aut perficere, ut Luc. 6. Rom. Potest igitur complementum, de quo hic est sermo, varie exponi. Complet enim sive supplet ea, quae desunt fidei cujuppiam, qui eum plenius instruit in iia, quae sunt religionis Christianae, docens ea quae nondum ar.divit; ut cum quis imperfecte catechizatus est. Hoc modo complementum fidei acceperunt Apollo Alexandrinus. et Ephesii quidam tantum scientes baptisma Joannis, et au Spir:tu3 sanctus esset, ignorantes. Actor. 18. et 19. Complet etiam fidem, qui consolatione et exhortatione sua id agit, ut quis firmus et constans sit in fide: pro quo complemento rogabant Apostoli, quando dicebant: Dowine, adauge nobis fidem y Luc. 17. Tertio complet fidem alicujus, qui perfectius eum instituit in fide; non quidem alios a prioribus articulos aut alia £dei mysteria tradens r sed eadem diligentir.s explicans, et rationibus illustrans, atque contra infideles confirmans. Primus et tertius lnodus complementi potissimum hic significari videntur. Unde et inrYa de resurrectione mortuorum plenius eos instruit; et in 2. epistola de die judicii errorem removet ac docet, quaenam tempus illud praecedere debeant. Modus secundus huc pertinere non videtur; jam enim Timotheus illud ofiicium suppleverat missus nimirum, ut supra dictum est, ad exhortandos eos et confirmandos in fide.
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11. Ipse autem Deus et Pater noster. Id est. Deus, qui idem est et pater noster, ea nimirum ratione, qua nos sibi in filios adoptavit. Et Dominus noster Jesus Christus dirigat viam nostram ad vos. Verba sunt optantis cum precatione, ut piosperum iter ad eos habeat, ea facturus quae dixit. An autem exauditus fuerit, haud omnino constat; tametsi verisimile est exauditum fuisse, ex iis quae narrantur Act. 20. de secunda profectione Pauli in Macedoniam.
3:12
12. Vos autem Dominus multiplicet, et abundare faciat charitatem invicem et in omnes. Alterum adjungit votum seu precationem, eamque magis necessariam, qua eis optat a Deo charitatis augmentum ct plenitudinem. Ambrosianus legit, charitate in invicem, casu ablativo. Quae lectio consonat cum Graecis; ut probabile sit, nostrum etiam interpretem ita vertisse. Quod enim quidam codices addito pronomine habent, charitatem vestram in invicem, longiu9 ab originali textu recedit, et in antiquioribus MSS. non reperitur; multiplicet auteru dixit interpres pro eo, quod est, nbundare faciat; atque hujus significatum adhuc auget verbum sequens, ut sensus Apostoli sit: Precor, ut vos Christus Dominus abundare et exuberare faciat mutua inter vos charitate; nec solum inter vos. sed erga omnes homines, etiam infideles et vestrae salutis inimicos.
Quemadmodum et nos in vobis. Graece, in vos. Estque ea lectio in codice Laud. Est enim eadem praepositio StCj quae proxime. Partem hanc quidam concludunt sub eadem precatione, quasi sit sensus: Quemadmodum et nos abundare faciat charitate erga vos. Sed cum nos in Graeco nominativi casus sit non accusativi, rectius est, ut cum Graecis commentatoribus expcnamus in hunc sensum: quemadmodum ego charitate abundo erga vos omnes, ut qui etiam mori paratus sim pro vestra salute. Convenit haec expositio cum aliis locis, in quibus Apostolus se proponit imitandum illis, ad quos scribit, dicens: Imitatores mei estote etc.
3:13
13. Ad confirmanda corda vestra sine querela in sanctitate. Continuatio est bonae precationis qua dixerat: Vos autem Dominus multiplicet etc. Nam illud, quemadmodum et nos in vobis, parenthetice interpositum est. Pro duabus vocibus, sine querela } in Graeco nomen est compositum, quod verti potest irreprehensibilin, ut ad corda referatur; quomodo legit Ambrosianus, et vertit Erasmus. Potest etiam verti, irreprehensibiles, ut quodam hyperbato referatur ad pronomen, vos autem etc. Quod amplexus est Hentenins Oecumenii interpres. Quae sane constructio, etsi durior, non tamen aliena a consuetudine sermonis Paulini. Adde, quod usu scripturae corda non vocantur irreprehensibilia, ant sine querela, sed homines; quatenus ita vivunt externa conversatione cum aliis, ut non dent locum reprehensioni aut querelae. Proinde videtur Apostoli sententia sic explicanda: Dominus vos abundare faciat charitate, ita ut per eam confirmet corda vestra in omnibono; vos, inquam, reddendo irreprehensibiles atque eine offensione viventes quoad externam conversatioaem; idque cum sanctimonia, id est, puritate et munditia privata animi et corporis. De qua sanctimonia latius agit ac praecipit cap. soquenti.
Ante Deum et Patrem nostrum. Ambrosianus, coram Deo et Patre nostro; id est, ut tales sitis in conspectu Dei patris nostri, quem nihil latet; et non solum in oculis hominum, qui tantum vident ea, quae foris apparent. Periphrasis est verae sanctitatis. In adventu Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Id e3t, utque tales inveniamini in adventu Christi judicis, recepturi ab eo ^loriosam mercedem cum omnibus sanctis ejus. Vel sic intellige, in adventu Christi Domini venturi:
Cum omnibus sanctis suis. Juxta illud Zach. 14. Veniet Dominus Deus meus, omnesque sancti cum eo. Vel potius hoc modo: Ut in adventu Christi tales sitis et inveuiamini cum omnibus sanctis ejus, id e3t, cum omnibus per ipsum sanctificatis; quibus tunc ab eo dicetur: Venite benedicii patris mei etc. Hic locus contra nostrae aetatis haereticos liquido monstrat veram justitiam et sanctitatem, et quae Dei judicium sustinere possit, habeii in hac vita; semper tamen augendam et nerficiendam, nec unquam omnino perfectam, quamdiu hic vivitur. Amen. Id est, fiat: tametsi Graeci codices hoc non addunt.
3:1
St. Paul visited it on his second missionary journey, probably in 51 (Acts 17:15-34; 1 Thess. 3:1). Alone, he awaits the arrival of Silas and Timothy from Berea. …
Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki)
… The Jews stirred up riots and forced the missionary to take refuge first in Beroea and then in Athens, where Paul had Silas and Timothy join him (Acts 17:15; 18:5), whom he then sent back to T. (1 Thess 3:1).
3:5
… minds of those who do not believe, so that they cannot be enlightened by the gospel of the glory of Christ" (II Cor. 4:41), by means of the captious "wisdom of this world" (I Cor. 2:6) and the "depths of S." (Apoc. 2:24). "The tempter" (ὁ παρᾶς ἄννε: I Thess. 3:5; I Cor. 7:5; cf. Mt. 4:1-3) induces men to lie to God (Act. 5:3); his method is falsehood (Io. 8:44) and to seduce he "transfigures himself into an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:14). …
… Satan's great activity lies in multiform and incessant temptation (v.); so that St. Paul defines him as "he who tempts" (ὁ πειρᾶζων; I Thess. 3, 5): he tempts, that is, he puts to the test (seduction or violence, pleasure or pain, intoxication or dejection, empowerment or denial of the self), in order to compromise or impede …
… Not all temptations come directly from the devil, yet he is often their author and Holy Scripture calls him the tempter par excellence (I Thess. 3:5; Mt. 4:3). Diabolical temptations are mostly worked out within man. The devil has a limited power, according to divine permission, nor can he determine the free will to sin. He acts …
3:10
Epistles I-II to the Thessalonians
Having succeeded in driving out the Apostle after barely three weeks, without having allowed him to complete the teaching on the truths of Christianity (I Thess. 3, 10), the Jews now hope to erase every trace of his work; they resort to violence and calumny; they portray Paul as a charlatan, vain, cowardly, who has abandoned those who believed in …
3:12
V. THE INCREASE OF CHARITY AND PROGRESSIVE PURIFICATION. — St. Paul recommends: "Grow in c." (Eph. 4:15); "I am praying that your c. may increase more and more" (Phil. 1:9); "may the Lord make you grow and abound in c. among yourselves and toward all, as we also do toward you" (I Thess. 3:12). C. must grow in us until death, because the Christian is here below a wayfarer (viator) who walks toward God with the "steps of love" (gressibus amoris, St. Gregory the Great), growing in love.
3:13
2. Circumstances of the universal divine judgment. — The judge will be the God-Man (Jn. 5, 22; Acts 10, 42; Rom. 14, 10; II Cor. 5, 10), who will appear from the heights of heaven, preceded by the Cross (Mt. 24, 30), surrounded by hosts of angels and saints (Mt. 24, 31; Mk. 8, 38; Lk. 9, 26; I Thess. 3, 13; II Thess. 1, 7), in a luminous halo of clouds and fire (Mt. 25, 30; 26, 64; Mk. 13, 26; 14, 62; Lk. 21, 27; Acts 7, 30; I Thess. 4, 17; II Thess. 1, 8), seated on a throne of majesty …
… the definitive (I Cor. 10:11 "the ends of the ages have come upon us") as "first fruits," then it will mark the end in the full attainment of the goal (ibid. 15:23-28), when Jesus will reappear in the glory in which he will introduce all the elect (I Thess. 3:13; 4:14-17; II Thess. 1:7-10; cf. St. Ignatius, Ad Eph. 15:3).
… But it has fundamentally an intellectual character, as a correspondence to the preaching of evangelical truth (cf. Rom. 8:13-17; II Cor. 10:5; I Thess. 3:13; Heb. 11:1), which entails the submission of the mind to God, a rectification of reason, so that both the vision of life and moral practice become theocentric, finalistic, almost divine …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Rheims 1582), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.