2 Thessalonians 2:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

“Who loved us and gave us eternal consolation.” What is this consolation? The hope of future blessings. Do you see how, by prayer, he tries to encourage their hearts, setting before them the guarantees and signs of God’s ineffable providence for them? “May He comfort,” he says, “your hearts and establish you in every good word and work,” that is, through every good work and word. The consolation of Christians consists in this: they not only desire to do something good, but also what is pleasing to God.

See how he humbles their pride. “Who gave consolation,” he says, “good hope by grace.” At the same time, he gives good hopes concerning the future. If God gave them so much by grace, then much more will He give them future blessings. Certainly, he says, I have said this, but everything depends on God.

“He who gave,” he says, “eternal consolation.” What is this consolation? He means hope for the future. This hope, the hope of future blessings, supports our hearts when they are shaken by temptations. God gave it to us not according to merits, but according to grace. The Apostle said this in order to humble their pride. Do you see how, by prayer, he encourages their hearts, setting before them the guarantee and sign of God’s providence for them? For if He gave consolation to those who had labored not at all, much more will He give it to those who labor for the faith. Therefore, be in full hope.

It follows clearly from the apostolic words that the Apostles did not hand everything down to the faithful through epistles. They also communicated much without writing. In particular, they personally established many things concerning the rites and ceremonies of the Church in the churches they founded, although they did not record them in their epistles. Must all this be trampled down and forgotten?

Against the Lutheran fear of accepting something non-apostolic by departing from Scripture, one of our interpreters of the word of God, Bishop Theophan, well observes: “Gold miners gather not only what is plainly gold, but often earth and sand, and in greater quantity, for fear of missing some grain of gold, even if it is not visible. Those who reject tradition ought to have acted in the same way. Much, of course, was introduced after the Apostles, but on the basis of apostolic tradition and in the same spirit. In this common mass, what is directly apostolic is also hidden. Is the apostolic precious? It is precious to everyone. Therefore, one ought to preserve everything preserved by the Church, out of serious fear that, while fearing to accept what is not apostolic, one might lose what is apostolic. To trample upon the apostolic is already a destructive matter. But to receive with respect what is not immediately apostolic, yet agrees in everything with the apostolic and is permeated by its spirit, can cause no harm. The only legitimate fear is lest one accept something contrary to the apostolic. But the Church herself watches over this, having as a constant law to reject every tradition which, appearing under the name of apostolic, is contrary to apostolic teaching.”

Christians must always keep all this clearly in their consciousness, but especially in prayer. Once we have felt this greatest nearness of God, already manifested to us, we cannot fail to hope that He will also grant us everything further needed for our abiding in faith and for attaining salvation. “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). He is the One who establishes us and has given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor 1:32). And the fruits of the Spirit are peace and joy (Gal 5:22).

“Do you see how, by prayer, he tries to encourage their heart, setting before them the guarantees and signs of God’s ineffable providence for us? Consolation consists precisely in remaining unshaken. For the one who is not shaken endures with great longsuffering whatever he may have to bear. By contrast, the one whose mind is shaken cannot perform a single good and noble deed. Like every paralytic, the soul wavers when it lacks the conviction that it is attaining a good end” (St. John Chrysostom).

Finally, lest they again incline toward wrong thoughts, as though by their own efforts and labors alone they could continue and bring to completion the work God had begun in them, he adds a prayer for their establishment in faith and in good life.

By this he teaches them also to ask God for help in everything they undertake and do as Christians, with a view to salvation. The efforts are ours, but the success of the efforts is from God.

God sees the efforts and gives help. Help is fitting for one who strives but is powerless to do the work as he should. It is not fitting for one who lies in carelessness and makes no effort to move even one member.

Saint Chrysostom says: "Again prayer follows exhortation." Theophylact adds: "As though he said: I said, 'stand fast,' but everything is from God."

In his prayer the Apostle first mentioned God's bounties, as is done in all our Church prayers. One who prays must always enliven within himself the hope of receiving what is requested.

This is accomplished by bringing God's bounties to remembrance. The subject of the prayer is precisely what he had just commanded. He said: stand fast and hold the traditions.

Now he says, as it were: may the Lord help you in this, establishing you in every good word and work, in right dogmas and virtuous life.

"Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father." He begins with the Lord and Savior, the incarnate Son of God, and ascends to God the Father. For such is also the path of ascent for us, the fallen, to God the Father.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and men, the mediator who restored the union of men with God. Everything for us is from the Lord. He is in us, and we are in Him.

But in Him and with Him is God the Father also, present, seen, and felt. So it is in reality, and so it is in word.

Saint Chrysostom, according to the circumstances of his flock, draws another inference here, which we too must keep in mind. He says: "Where now are those who diminish the Son because He is named after the Father in the communication of the grace of baptism?

"Here, on the contrary, the Apostle first says, 'our Lord Jesus Christ,' and only afterward, 'God and Father.'" Theodoret completes the thought: "He is not teaching that the Son is greater than the Father.

"By changing the order, he shows equality of honor. Here he refutes the blasphemy of Arius and Eunomius, and clearly makes known that the order of names does not signify a difference of dignity."

Let us add this. Having mentioned two persons of the Godhead, God the Son and God the Father, and having already spoken earlier of God the Holy Spirit in the words "in sanctification of the Spirit," the Apostle turns to Them as to one God.

He says, "who loved," "who gave," "may He comfort and establish." In mentioning two or all three persons of the Godhead, the Apostles did not divide or triple the one God in their consciousness.

By this they teach us also always and in everything to contemplate the three hypostases in the one God, indivisibly and without confusion. They teach us to believe that the grace which saves us is the grace of the one God, worshiped in the Trinity.

It acts in believers indivisibly and without confusion, since the salvation of each person is accomplished "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet 1:2).

To enliven hope for receiving what is requested, the Apostle first sets forth God's love for us. This is the source of all God's bounties, ceaselessly pouring upon us every kind of good.

He says, "who loved." Then he sets forth the generous giving already shown to us in deed: "who gave." What has God already given? "Eternal comfort and good hope."

But "eternal" carries the thought beyond the limits of time, and hope is expectation of the future. On what, then, should one base the heart's assurance that, though this gift is future, it is as certain as if it were already possessed in deed?

On the grace of the Holy Spirit, received and held by all believers from the time of baptism: "in grace." Having given grace, God also gave eternal comfort and good hope.

Grace is the pledge, or earnest, of receiving the future also (2 Cor 1:22). In the grace received there is a guarantee of the certain reception of eternal comfort and good hope.

Elsewhere, after pointing out that God did not spare His Son for our salvation, the Apostle cried out: "How will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom 8:32).

So here, having pointed to the grace received, he wishes to impress upon us that after this we should understand everything promised as actually possessed.

Eternal comfort and good hope stand in the following relation to one another. The grace of the Holy Spirit, descending into the heart, fills it with comfort and joy, for "the fruit of the Spirit is joy, peace" (Gal 5:22).

This gladdening of the heart occurs in time, yet it is not from temporal phenomena, but from the divine realm, which is beyond time. Moreover, once begun, it is appointed not to end, but to continue through all ages and all eternity.

Finally, having been born and unfolding more and more, it points beforehand to the future blessings "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man" (1 Cor 2:9).

Thus from eternal comfort, as its fruit, good hope develops. It is either a comforting hope, good, pleasant, and sweet in its effect on the heart, or the hope of comforting and gladdening blessings.

From received comfort hope is born, and hope in turn elevates comfort. This mutual action makes them inseparable. Our ancient interpreters understand them as though they express one thing: the hope of eternal blessings.

Theodoret paraphrases these words thus: "who gave the hope of future blessings." Oecumenius and Theophylact ask: "What is eternal comfort?" Both give one answer: "The hope of future blessings, which for this reason the Apostle also calls good."

That the Apostle sets this forth here precisely to enliven hope for receiving what he desires in this prayer is indicated by Saint Chrysostom. He says: "Do you see how, through prayer, he strives to encourage their heart, setting before them guarantees and signs of God's ineffable providence for them?"