Ephesians 4:19 speaks of persons who ‘have abandoned themselves to depravity, greedily indulging in every kind of vileness’. And how should society defend itself against those who have ‘abandoned themselves to depravity’? The consequences of depravity always spill over into the surrounding society, and according to Psalm 5:5-6 the Lord hates such people, and so presumably will not ‘draw’ them (John 6:44). 1 John 5:16-17 teaches that certain sinners are beyond the reach of prayer, they have passed the point of no return. If someone cannot be saved, then he needs to be neutralized (because of the harm he causes to others)—we need to ask God to teach us how to do this.
*2:2 They deliberately chose to pay a personal price to reach the Thessalonians. Are we prepared to do the same for the increase of Christ's Kingdom today?
†2:4 They knew who they were and what they were about. They deny any form of delusion or hidden agenda—they were honest and aware. To be entrusted with the Gospel is a serious privilege.
‡2:4 There it is: if you want to be a serious servant of God, His approval must be more important to you than that of the people around you.
§2:6 Wow! If all Christian workers could say the same—no impurity, no deception, no flattery, no greed, no seeking glory—the church and the world would be different than they presently are.
*2:6 By his use of the plural, Paul is saying that Silvanus and Timothy were also apostles, presumably.
†2:7 The basic meaning of the noun is ‘nurse’, but the reference to ‘her own children’ has led some to translate it as ‘mother’. I take the point to be that whereas a professional nurse is supposed to take good care of anyone in her charge, she will be especially careful with her own children.
‡2:9 It is clear that they supported themselves financially by working (making tents, or whatever). Between working, evangelizing and discipling (teaching), their sleeping time was probably short. So when could they be alone with God? In prison Paul had lots of time for contemplation (and writing letters), but not in Thessalonica. God places us in different situations at different times, and those situations place different demands upon us.
§2:12 They really involved themselves in the lives of their converts, a deliberate (and costly) investment, that produced remarkable results. God is calling us into His Kingdom and glory.
*2:13 Whether written or spoken, any word from God is powerful, and changes lives.
†2:14 Israel was God's congregation, but not in Christ Jesus.
‡2:15 I take it that by “the Jews” Paul is referring to the leaders (John used the phrase in the same way).
§2:16 I did the best I could with this last sentence, but the concept seems difficult. The verb is in the past and it is the wrath (not just any old wrath). I get the impression that ‘the Jews’ described here had passed the point of no return (like Pharaoh and the plagues—at first he hardened his own heart, but after a while God hardened it and his doom was sealed) and were just making their accounting worse and worse, ‘filling up the measure’—from God's perspective the “full impact” had already been decreed. When someone passes the point of no return, Satan takes over, and they just get worse and worse. (If you think about it, you can probably come up with some examples.) Ephesians 4:19 speaks of persons who ‘have abandoned themselves to depravity, greedily indulging in every kind of vileness’. And how should society defend itself against those who have ‘abandoned themselves to depravity’? The consequences of depravity always spill over into the surrounding society, and according to Psalm 5:5-6 the Lord hates such people, and so presumably will not ‘draw’ them (John 6:44). 1 John 5:16-17 teaches that certain sinners are beyond the reach of prayer, they have passed the point of no return. If someone cannot be saved, then he needs to be neutralized (because of the harm he causes to others)—we need to ask God to teach us how to do this.
*2:17 I find the degree of emotional attachment described here to be surprising—perhaps a natural consequence of having poured himself into them as he did.
†2:18 I, for one, would like to know just how the enemy managed it.
‡2:19 The Greek manuscripts are evenly divided between “Jesus” and ‘Jesus Christ’. I follow the best line of transmission.
§2:19 The Thessalonian believers represented ‘the fruit of their labor’, evidence that they had been faithful servants, to be presented to the Lord at the Accounting.