Commentary on 2 Thessalonians (Super II Epistolam ad Thessalonicenses Lectura)

Above he instructed them concerning the things to come at the last times; here he instructs them concerning certain matters which they were to carry out in particular. Here first the instruction is set down; second, the conclusion of the epistle, at the place, but he himself, the God of peace. Likewise, first he admonishes them how they should conduct themselves toward him; second, he shows what confidence he himself has concerning them, at the place, but faithful is God; third, how they should conduct themselves toward others who walk disorderly, at the place, but we declare to you.

Concerning the first, first he sets down the prayer; second, what is to be asked in the prayer, at the place, that the word.

He says therefore, as for the rest, namely because you are sufficiently instructed, pray for us. Rom. XV, 30: I beseech you therefore, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the charity of the Holy Spirit, that you help me in your prayers for me to God. And this is owed as a debt, because those who are cared for have a care for the good of the flock. Hebr. XIII, 7: remember your prelates, who have spoken to you the word of God, et cetera.

Second, he shows what is to be asked, namely that the impediments to preaching be removed; and therefore he says that the word of God may run, because it cannot be totally impeded, but only delayed. Therefore he says, may it run. Col. IV, 3: praying at the same time also for us, that the Lord may open to us a door of speech, to speak the mystery of Christ. Likewise, that it may be made clear, namely through a clear and lucid exposition, among the unlearned and the wise, just as also among you. Rom. I, 14: I am a debtor to the wise and to the unwise. Prov. XIV, v. 6: the teaching of the prudent is easy. Likewise through miracles, which are demonstrations of the faith. For every science is made clear through demonstrations, and this is to be prayed for. Act. IV, 29: grant to your servants to speak your word with all confidence, et cetera.

Likewise, second, prayer must be made for the preachers, that they be freed from troublesome and evil men, namely the false apostles, who are troublesome in disputing, evil in seducing. Or from persecutors who have devised iniquity in their heart. And the reason for the petition is that not all have faith, because although they may seem to have it, they do not however have the true faith. Is. LIII, v. 1: Lord, who has believed our report? Rom. X, 16: not all obey the Gospel.

Then, when he says, but faithful, etc., he sets down the confidence which he has concerning them. And first he does this; second, he prays for them, at the place, but the Lord, et cetera. Now confidence depends on him who gives grace, and on men who are of free will, that they be directed in grace. He says, first, on the part of God: I trust that you will pray, and you will be heard, because the Lord is faithful, who will confirm you in the good things which he has worked in you. I Petr., last chapter: he will perfect, confirm, and establish, et cetera. And he will guard against evil, both of fault and of punishment. If however they should fall into the evils of punishment, it is for their good, because to those who love God all things work together unto good, as is said in Rom. VIII, 28.

Second, on their part he says, but we trust concerning you, brothers, namely from the grace which you have received, but in the Lord, not in your own strength. Hebr. VI, 9: but we trust of you, most beloved, better things, and nearer to salvation, et cetera. Because whatever we command, etc., that is, because you will persevere. Ex. XXIV, 7: all the words which the Lord has spoken, we will do.

Then, when he says, but the Lord, etc., he prays for them, saying, but may the Lord direct, namely that you may arrive. Now it belongs to man to prepare the soul, and to the Lord to govern the tongue, as is said in Prov. XVI, 1. And a little after: the heart of man disposes his way, but it belongs to the Lord to direct his steps, namely to the appointed prize. And therefore he says, may he direct our hearts, not only our outward works; and this in the charity of God. Now there are two things by which we advance on the way of salvation, namely the good things which we do, and the evils which we endure. But works are not good, unless directed to the end of charity. I Tim. c. I, 5: the end of the commandment is charity, et cetera. Likewise neither is patience good, except through Christ. Lc. XXI, 19: in your patience you will possess your souls. Matth. V, 11: blessed will you be, when men shall curse you. And therefore he says, and the patience of Christ, that is, the endurance of evils on account of Christ, or after his example. I Petr. II, 21: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example, et cetera.

Then, when he says, but we declare, etc., he shows how they should conduct themselves toward disorderly men. And first he sets forth the edict; second, he expounds it, at the place, for you yourselves, etc.; third, he shows the necessity of setting forth the edict, at the place, we have heard.

He says therefore: thus you live, and thus I trust; but because there are certain evil men among you, we declare, etc., namely to the perfect, in the name, et cetera. For this belongs to the prelate. Is. LVIII, 1: declare to my people their wicked deeds, and to the house of Jacob their sins, et cetera. Ez. III, 18: I will require his blood at your hand. And the edict follows, saying that you withdraw, et cetera. From this it was introduced into the Church that evil men be avoided, and this lest the weaker be defiled by association with them. Eccli. XIII, 1: he who touches pitch will be defiled by it. I Cor. c. V, 6: a little leaven corrupts the whole lump. Likewise for the healing of the sinner, that shame may turn to his salvation. Eccli. IV, 25: there is a shame that brings sin, and there is a shame that brings glory. Nor should this be done indiscriminately, but with deliberation and maturity. I Cor. V, 4: you being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus, to deliver such a man to Satan for destruction, et cetera. And thus here it is said, that you withdraw, et cetera. Nor should excommunication be made, except for some sin, because here it is said, disorderly, et cetera. And this is when something is evil in itself, and against the order of natural law, as the Gloss expounds. I Cor. XIV, 40: that all things be done honestly and according to order among you. Rom. XIII, 1: all things that are, are ordained by God. Or because it is forbidden, and against the teaching of the Church. Hence he says, and not according to the tradition, et cetera. Above, in the second chapter of this epistle: hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.

Then, when he says, for you yourselves, etc., he expounds with respect to the last thing he had said, namely, according to the traditions, showing what this tradition is, and how they received it from him. Now this tradition is that they should not be idle, or meddlesome. And first he shows how they received it by example; second, how by word. Likewise, first he shows that he avoided restlessness; second, how; third, he assigns the reason.

He says therefore, concerning the tradition which they received, you know, etc., because prelates are to be imitated not in all things, but in those things which are according to the rule of Christ. I Cor. IV, 16 and c. XI, 1: be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ. And in what? Because we were not restless among you. For the Thessalonians were very generous. I Thess. IV, 9: concerning brotherly charity we have no need to write to you, for you yourselves have learned, et cetera. And for this reason the poor lived idly, and out of idleness gave themselves to undue works, not pertaining to them. And this was restlessness. And therefore he says, because we were not restless, et cetera. I Thess. IV, v. 11: give your effort, that you may be quiet, et cetera.

Likewise, neither did we eat bread for nothing, etc., because he worked with the works of his hands. Act. XX, 34 it is said: you yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who are with me. And Prov., last chapter: she does not eat the bread of idleness. Num. XVI, 15: you know that I have not even taken so much as an ass from them, et cetera. But in labor and weariness. Not a little, but night and day, that is, continually, because at times he had to preach and teach, and he spent the remainder in labor, lest we should burden any of you. II Cor. XII, 13: what is it in which you had less than the rest, except that I did not burden you?

Then, when he says, not as though, etc., he assigns the reason for his manual labor. Where he first excludes a false cause, second sets down the true one. A false cause indeed would be if someone were to say that it was not lawful for him to accept support from them. And therefore he says, not as though we did not have, rather we did have, the power of living from the support of the faithful. I Cor. IX, 13: those who serve the altar, partake with the altar. Matth. X, v. 10: the laborer is worthy of his food. I Cor. c. IX, 14: so also the Lord has ordained for those who preach the Gospel, to live from the Gospel. And thus from the Gospel there are two kinds of men having the power to live from the support of others, namely those who serve the altar, and preachers.

Then, when he says, but that you, etc., he sets down the true cause. For we find a twofold cause why the apostle labored with his hands: one among the Corinthians; another here. For those were avaricious, and would have taken it hard, as is said there. But the cause why he labored here was the idleness of these. And therefore he says, that we might give a pattern, etc., namely of laboring. I Tim. IV, 12: be an example to the faithful in word, in conduct, in charity, in faith, in chastity. I Petr. V, 3: made a pattern of the flock. Another cause is given in the Gloss, I Cor. IV, namely when we do not find one who gives to us, and then he labored. A fourth cause was, that like the monks of Egypt they should not be idle. Eccli. XXXIII, 29: idleness has taught much evil. Hence those who have no employment in duty, or study, or reading, live idly at great peril.

Above, the Apostle showed what he handed on to them by his own example, namely that they should not be restless, but that they should work; here he shows how he handed this on in the present passage by words and by deeds. Hence he says *when we were*, as if to say: that we might give you a model, we did what we taught, because we declared this, that, etc.

These words, as the Gloss says, and Augustine in the book *On the Works of Monks*, certain men were perverting, to mean that it is not lawful for the servants of God to work with their hands, on account of what is said in Matthew 6:34: *be not solicitous*, etc. For they say that this work pertains to solicitude for sustenance. And on account of this they referred this to spiritual works; as if to say: if anyone does not want to do meritorious and spiritual works, he is not worthy to eat. But this is against the intention of the Apostle, who says *we declared* that we ourselves did so, namely in labor and weariness.

But what is the meaning of *because if anyone does not want*, etc.? Is this a counsel or a precept? And it seems to be a precept, because below it is said: *if anyone does not obey our word*, etc. Therefore all are bound to work with their hands. Whoever therefore does not work with his hands, but stands idle, sins mortally.

I answer. It must be said that it is a precept, but a thing is commanded in two ways: simply, or under a condition. That which is of itself necessary for salvation is commanded simply, and these are the works of the virtues. But under a condition, as when such is the case that the precept cannot be kept without manual work. Now it is commanded to man that he sustain his own body, for otherwise he is a murderer of himself. Genesis 2:16: *of every tree of Paradise you may eat*, etc. By precept, therefore, man is bound to nourish his own body, and likewise we are bound to all the things without which the body cannot live. Hence whoever does not have another means by which to sustain his body lawfully, either by possession or by lawful business, is bound to labor, lest he steal. Ephesians 4:28: *he who stole, let him now steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands*, etc. It is therefore a precept, when one cannot otherwise live lawfully. Hence he says *if anyone does not want to work, neither let him eat*. One or the other of two things is therefore necessary, that a man may eat, namely either that he have a possession, or that he procure it lawfully. Psalm 127:2: *the labors of your hands, for you shall eat*, etc. 1 Thessalonians 4:11: *work with your hands, as we commanded you*, etc.

Then when he says *we have heard*, etc., he sets forth the necessity of this precept, because the Apostle says this not so much from the office of a teacher, as on account of a vice of the people. Therefore first he sets forth the fault which induces the necessity of the precept; second he applies a remedy, at the place *but to those who*, etc. He says therefore *we have heard*, etc.; as if to say: therefore I do not conceal this precept, because we have heard that certain ones, etc. For the soul of man must always be occupied about something, and therefore it is necessary that the idle suffer restlessness about unlawful things. 1 Thessalonians 4:11: *give heed that you be quiet*, etc. And he adds *but acting curiously*, namely about the affairs of others. Proverbs 21:25: *desires kill the slothful*.

Then he applies a remedy, when he says *but to those who*, etc. And first on the part of those sinning, second on the part of the others, at the place *but you*, etc. He says therefore, to those who are of this sort *we declare* — severely, as a prelate — and *we beseech* — charitably, as their father — that their own bread, not another's but owed to them, namely lawfully acquired, *with silence*, that is, without restlessness, not running about, they eat. Isaiah 30: the cultivation of justice is silence. Ezekiel: idleness taught much malice.

Then when he says *but you*, etc., on the part of the others not sinning he applies a twofold remedy. First, namely, that they not cease from doing good; second, that they correct those men, at the place *but if anyone*, etc. He says therefore *but you*, etc., as if to say: do not fail in doing good, even though the idle abuse it. Galatians 5: *doing good, let us not fail*, etc. And this is necessary, even if they should work with their hands, and nothing should be lacking to them, because assistance to others is necessary.

Then when he says *but if anyone*, etc., he signifies that they be corrected, and first he shows in what order they are punished; second he shows the effect of the punishment, at the place *that they may be ashamed*; third the end, at the place *and do not*, etc. As to the order indeed: first, he sets forth the fault, second its manifestation, third its punishment. The fault is disobedience; and therefore he says *but if anyone does not obey*. 1 Kings 15:23: *to resist is as it were the sin of divination, and to be unwilling to acquiesce is as it were the crime of idolatry*. The manifestation and the conviction is set forth, when he says *note this man by an epistle*, that is, make him manifest, but through an inquiry into the truth. Job 29:16: *the cause which I did not know, I investigated most diligently*. Their punishment is the sentence of excommunication; hence he says *and do not mingle with him*, etc. 1 Corinthians 5:11: *with such a one not even to take food*. 2 John, v. 10: *do not receive him into the house, nor say to him, hail*.

Here note that excommunication is inflicted for disobedience; he must, however, be convicted. Hence he says *if anyone does not obey*, by your epistle, *note this man*, that is, signify him to us, that he may be punished; and yet you meanwhile are not to mingle with him. But the effect of the punishment is that he be ashamed, and from this come to his senses. Ecclesiasticus 4:25: *there is a shame that brings sin, and there is a shame that brings glory*. But the end and intention ought to be his correction, which charity intends; hence he says *and do not regard him as*, because it ought not to be done out of the rancor of hatred, but out of zeal for charity; as if to say: let your avoiding of him not be done out of the hatred of enmity. Matthew 5:44: *love your enemies, do good to those who hate you*. And therefore he says *but correct him as a brother*. In which charity is shown. Psalm 132:1: *behold how good, and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in one*, etc.

Then when he says *but he himself*, etc., he concludes the epistle. And first the conclusion is set forth; second the salutation, which is as it were the seal of the epistle, at the place *the salutation*, etc. Again the first is divided into two, because he first wishes them the gifts of God, second God himself, at the place *the Lord be*, etc.

As to the first he says *he himself*, etc. God is said to be of peace with respect to two things. For peace consists in two things, namely that a man be in concord with himself, and with others. And neither can be had sufficiently except in God: because he is not in concord with himself sufficiently except in God, and less so with others, because then the affection of man is in concord within itself when that which is desired according to one thing suffices with respect to all, which nothing can be except God. Psalm 102:5: *who fills your desire with good things*. For whatever other things, besides God, do not suffice for all, but God suffices. John 16:33: *in me you shall have peace*, etc. Likewise men are not united among themselves, except in that which is common among them, and this is above all God. And therefore he says *may the God of peace give* — not a temporal peace, but an everlasting one, that is, a spiritual one, which begins here, and is perfected there. Psalm 147:3: *who has placed peace as your borders*, etc. And this *in every place*, and in the whole world among the faithful.

As to the second he says *the Lord be with you all*, because nothing else is well possessed, unless he himself be possessed through faith and charity.

*My salutation*, he says this on account of unfaithful men perverting his epistles. Galatians, last chapter: *see with what letters I have written to you with my own hand*, etc. *Which is a sign*, etc. *Grace*, that is, the gratuitous gift of God, which renders you pleasing to God, etc. John 1:17: *grace and truth came through Jesus Christ*.