2 Thessalonians 3:16–18 Text
16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16–18 (ESV)
Interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18
Topic and Main Point of 2 Thess 3:16–18
The topic of the final passage in 2 Thessalonians is assurance. The apostles make one petition (3:16a) and three claims (3:16b–18) that should give the Thessalonians assurance, especially in light of the topics raised in this letter.
- Jesus will give you peace (3:16a)
- Jesus is with you (3:16b)
- This letter really is from us, the apostles (3:17)
- Jesus’ grace is with you (3:18)
The main point of 3:16–18 may be difficult to discern because there is no single main clause to which everything else modifies. However, because the topic is assurance and the main point elaborates on the topic, we can state the main point as follows: we (the apostles) guarantee that Jesus really is with you (the Thessalonians) and that this letter really is from us (the apostles).
As will be seen, the assurance that Jesus is with the Thessalonians (3:16b) is the basis for the prayer of peace in verse 16a and the grace in verse 18. The declaration and handwritten proof that this letter is from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy assures the Thessalonians that they are not being deceived like they have been in the past (see 2:2).
2 Thessalonians 3:16a
2 Thessalonians 3:16a is a petition (or prayer). The petition is made to “the Lord,” who is Jesus. The term “Lord” always refers to Jesus throughout 2 Thessalonians unless the context is clear that “God our Father” is in view. 2 Thessalonians 1:1–2 sets this precedent by mentioning “the Lord Jesus Christ” twice and “God our Father” twice, showing that “God” refers to the Father and “Lord” refers to Jesus.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:1–2, emphasis added
Further, 2 Thessalonians ends with a comment about the grace of “our Lord Jesus Christ” (3:18).
Jesus is called “the Lord of Peace” in 3:16a. To call Jesus “the Lord of Peace” means that Jesus is the one who produces and gives peace. The genitive “of Peace” is a genitive of product, meaning it is that which is produced by the head noun. “The Lord” (the head noun) produces or gives “peace” (the genitive noun of product).
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy highlight the peace-giving nature of Jesus because he is about to petition Jesus to give peace to the Thessalonians. The apostles can confidently approach Jesus with this specific request for peace because Jesus is the one who can uniquely answer this request: he is the Lord who gives peace!
The petition is that the Lord who gives peace would give the Thessalonians peace: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way” (3:16a). The request is not that the Thessalonians would have peace at one particular moment, place, or way, but that their lives may be eternally characterized by peace, which is what the prepositional phrases “at all times” and “in every way” indicate.
The apostles pray for continual peace upon the Thessalonian believers because circumstances in their lives have robbed them of their peace. Note the following events mentioned throughout the letter of 2 Thessalonians that have robbed the believers of peace:
- They are being persecuted and afflicted for their belief in Jesus (1:4, 7).
- They have been deceived into believing Jesus already returned and did not gather them to himself; this resulted in the Thessalonians being deeply disturbed (2:1–3).
- They must enact church discipline upon their unruly brothers, which could result in strife and even division (3:6–15).
The apostles’ prayer for peace addresses both internal and external circumstances. They desire the Thessalonian believers to have an inner peace by not being disturbed or shaken by persecution or lies, as well as an external peace in that there is harmony amongst the believers, especially when the erring brothers repent (3:12). Paul never prays for persecution to cease prior to Jesus’ return, so the petition for peace most likely does not include an immediate cessation of persecution, but for an acceptance of persecution, knowing that it makes the Thessalonians worthy of the kingdom of God (1:5). The apostles are clear that cessation of persecution will happen when Jesus returns (1:7).
2 Thessalonians 3:16b
The claim in 3:16b is that Jesus (“the Lord”) is with the Thessalonian believers: “The Lord be with you all.” Verse 16b could be either another petition like 16a or a claim. If it is another petition, then the apostles are requesting that Jesus be with the Thessalonian believers with the confidence that he will be with them. If verse 16b is a claim, then the apostles are telling the Thessalonian believers that Jesus is with them, giving them more confidence that Jesus will indeed give them peace.
The ambiguity of the Greek text is brought out in the King James translation: “The Lord be with you all.” The King James Version italicises the word “be” because it is not in the Greek text. In fact, there is no verb in the Greek text; it must be supplied. The question is whether or not the word should be “is” making the sentence a claim of fact or “be” making the sentence a second petition.
Personally, I think the context demands the verb “is” be supplied because the claim that Jesus is with the Thessalonian believers will grant them assurance that he will give them the peace for which the apostles petitioned. The apostles are essentially saying this: “May Jesus who gives peace give you peace; we know he will give you peace because he is with you.”
2 Thessalonians 3:17
Paul claims that the letter of 2 Thessalonians is genuinely from him: “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine” (3:17).
Paul proves the letter of 2 Thessalonians is from him by writing 3:17–18 himself: “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand . . . . it is the way I write” (3:17). Paul would dictate his letters to another person who would write down what he said. The person who wrote down Paul’s words is called an amanuensis. However, to show that the letter genuinely was from Paul, he would write the final greeting at the end of the letter himself. The final greeting in 2 Thessalonians is 3:17–18. Having Paul’s own handwriting not only verified him as the author, but also Silvanus and Timothy (1:1).
Because Paul wrote the final greeting in his letters with his own unique handwriting, if a manuscript of one of Paul’s letters from the first century were found with the final greeting written in a different handwriting, this would be a strong case of having found one of Paul’s original letters. A find like this would be very exciting for Christians and the scholarly world.
Paul needed to give assurance to the Thessalonians that this letter was genuinely from him because the Thessalonians had been deceived in the past by letters seeming to be from the apostles but were in fact not from the apostles: “[do] not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us” (2:2).
2 Thessalonians 3:18
The final claim of 2 Thessalonians is that the grace of Jesus is with all the Thessalonians: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all” (3:18). Once again, the verb “be” has been supplied, which is why it is italicised in the KJV. The verb could also be “is.” The nuance here is the same as 3:16b (see my comments there). Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy conclude their letter by proclaiming Jesus’ grace is with the Thessalonians. As such, they can have assurance and confidence that Jesus will do what he claims and that the prayers of the apostles will be answered.
Because of Jesus’ grace, he will make the Thessalonians worthy of the Kingdom of God on behalf of which they suffer (1:4–5, 11), he will grant them relief from their suffering at his return (1:7), he will fulfil their desire to do good and their work which is borne from their faith (1:11), he will gather them to himself when he returns (2:1), he will give them his glory (2:14), he will comfort them (2:16), he will establish them in every good word and work (2:17), he will guard them against Satan (3:3), he will instil a desire within them to follow the apostles’ instructions (3:4), he will direct their hearts toward loving God and remaining steadfast to Jesus (3:5), and he will strengthen them to continue working to support themselves (3:13).
Summary of 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy give assurance to the Thessalonian believers that Jesus is with them and, as such, he will give peace to them and shed his grace upon them. Paul also gives assurance to the Thessalonian believers that the present letter is actually from him by writing the final two verses himself with his own hand.
Another helpful way of summarizing a passage is by producing an outline. An outline can help you remember the main points and the argument of a passage at a glance and is a useful tool for teaching a passage.
I. May Jesus Give You Peace (3:16a)
A. At all times (v 16a)
B. In every way (v 16a)
II. Jesus Is with You All (3:16b)
III. This Letter Is from Us: Paul Wrote the Greeting (3:17)
IV. The Grace of Jesus Is with You All (3:18)
Application of 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18 to Modern Christians
There are three points of application that can be drawn from 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18.
1. Pray the Apostles Prayer (3:16a)
The apostles pray that Jesus would give continual peace to his disciples because they lacked peace at the time of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy’s writing. As seen above, this peace is both an internal peace and an external peace. Modern Christians should pray the same prayer for themselves when they lack peace. Modern Christians should also pray the same prayer for those Christians they know who lack peace. This prayer should be made with the confidence that Jesus will grant peace (see this chapter’s Exegetical Insight).
2. Believe the Apostles Claims about Jesus (3:16b, 18)
The apostles claim that Jesus is with the Thessalonian believers and that he sheds his grace upon them, fulfilling his promises through the apostles’ letters (Scripture). Modern Christians need to believe these claims. Jesus is continually present with his disciples through the Holy Spirit (John 14–16; Romans 8). Further, because disciples of Jesus are saved, Jesus has already shed his grace upon them and, thus, will continue to shed his grace upon them by fulfilling all his promises.
3. Believe the Letter of 2 Thessalonians Is a Letter Written by the Apostle Paul (3:17)
It has become commonplace in the biblical studies academic community to deny that Paul wrote certain letters bearing his name. Sadly, these erroneous assertions have infiltrated the church, though not to the degree it has been adopted by the academic community. Modern Christians need to believe that Paul wrote the letter entitled 2 Thessalonians. We can and should trust the early church to have seen Paul’s handwriting at the end of this letter and at the end of all Paul’s letters. Thus, we should trust the early church to have authenticated all the letters bearing Paul’s name as genuinely from him, which is why they were labelled Scripture and are a part of our Bibles. If 2 Thessalonians or any of the letters bearing Paul’s name were written by a non-apostle, then their content cannot be trusted to be Jesus’ teachings and they do not need to be heeded by Jesus’ disciples.
Prayer Based on 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18
To pray 2 Thessalonians 3:16–18, we simply need to pray the prayer of verse 16. Pray a prayer similar to the following:
Dear Jesus, Lord of Peace, my life is in turmoil. Circumstances in my life have greatly troubled me and thrown me into confusion. Please grant me inner peace. Settle my mind and help me trust you and your promises. My relationships are also in turmoil. Please grant me peace with my family, friends, and church. Please grant harmony to my life. Please also give your peace to [insert name/s here]. Thank you for being with me constantly. Thank you for shedding your grace upon me and being trustworthy to fulfill all your promises. This knowledge gives me peace; help me to never forget it. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.