1 Thessalonians 3:11–13

3:11 Having just acknowledged that Paul and his colleagues are still praying to return to Thessalonica (3:10), Paul now delivers a benediction that begins with petition to God.

Nearly two thousand years later, it seems unexceptional that Paul directed his prayers to both “our God and Father” and “our Lord Jesus” (cf. 1:1; 3:13; also, e.g., Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Thess. 2:16). However, this would have been shocking in Paul’s day among Jews and Gentiles outside the church. In fact, there is much theology implicit in Paul’s wording. First, he intimately associates Jesus with God the Father, calling Jesus “Lord” (a common OT title for God) and praying to the Lord Jesus alongside God the Father. This implies a very high Christology, affirming Jesus’ deity. It also displaces the Roman emperor and all other “lords,” whose claims for deity were rejected by Jews and Christians. Second, God is called “our . . . Father,” reminding us that through Jesus’ atoning work, Christians have been adopted into communion with God (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6–7). Jesus himself taught his followers to call God “Father” (e.g., Matt. 5:16, 45; 6:6, 9; 23:9; Mark 14:36).

This benediction contains two specific petitions, both employing the Greek optative mood in order to convey a prayerful request. In the first petition, Paul asks God the Father and the Lord Jesus to “direct our way to you.” Paul’s desire to return to the Thessalonians, which has been a theme of many preceding verses (esp. 2:17–18; 3:1–2, 5, 10), culminates with this entreaty.

3:12 This verse introduces Paul’s second petition, namely, that the Thessalonians would grow further in love for others. Paul has already lauded the Thessalonians for their love (3:6). By combining two optative verbs with overlapping meaning (“increase and abound”), Paul stresses the church’s need for continued growth in love while acknowledging that such love is already present (cf. comments on 4:9–12). When Paul mentions “love for one another and for all,” he certainly includes loving other churches and likely also invites them to serve as loving witnesses to everyone in their circle of acquaintances (cf. 1 Thess. 5:15; Gal. 6:10). Paul caps this discussion with a reminder that he and his colleagues love the Thessalonians (“as we do for you”), inviting them to love others in the way such love had been modeled to them.

The reader would rightly associate loving one another with the OT commandment to love our neighbors (Lev. 19:18, 34; Deut. 10:19), with Jesus’ strong emphasis on loving others (e.g., Matt. 5:43–48; 22:37–40; Luke 10:25–37; John 13:34–35; 15:12–17), and with broader NT theology (e.g., Heb. 13:1; James 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:22). Paul also emphasizes love for others throughout his epistles (e.g., Rom. 12:9–10; 13:8–10; 1 Cor. 16:14; Gal. 5:14; Eph. 5:2), noting that love is the greatest Christian virtue (1 Cor. 13:1–13).

3:13 Such love for others has a purposeful intent: Christian holiness. Drawing on OT vocabulary of purity and sanctification, Paul looks for the congregation’s hearts to be established as “blameless” and holy. The route toward holy living that Paul emphasizes here is through loving others.

As Paul concludes this brief benedictory prayer, he again mentions (as an inclusio with 3:11) God the Father and the Lord Jesus. Paul prays for the sanctification of the Thessalonian believers, rooted in love, to be established so that it will stand firm in the judgment at Christ’s return. This reference to the future return of Christ with his saints signals a topic that will soon be addressed (4:13–5:11; cf. also 1:10).