2 Tesalonika 2:13-14

Call to Stand Firm

2:13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters ¹  loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning ²  for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2:14 He called you to this salvation ³  through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ 

2 Korintus 3:3

3:3 revealing ⁵  that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, ⁶  written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets ⁷  but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Korintus 3:6

3:6 who made us adequate ⁸  to be servants of a new covenant ⁹  not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

[2:13]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

[2:13]  ² tc ‡ Several mss (B F G P 0278 33 81 323 1739 1881 al bo) read ἀπαρχήν (aparchn, “as a first fruit”; i.e., as the first converts) instead of ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς (ap’ arch", “from the beginning,” found in א D Ψ Ï it sa), but this seems more likely to be a change by scribes who thought of the early churches in general in this way. But Paul would not be likely to call the Thessalonians “the first fruits” among his converts. Further, ἀπαρχή (aparch, “first fruit”) is a well-worn term in Paul’s letters (Rom 8:23; 11:16; 16:5; 1 Cor 15:20, 23; 16:15), while ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς occurs nowhere else in Paul. Scribes might be expected to change the text to the more familiar term. Nevertheless, a decision is difficult (see arguments for ἀπαρχήν in TCGNT 568), and ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς must be preferred only slightly.

[2:14]  ³ tn Grk “to which,” referring to the main idea of v. 13.

[2:14]  ⁴ sn That you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Paul the ultimate stage of salvation is glorification (Rom 8:30).

[3:3]  ⁵ tn Or “making plain.”

[3:3]  ⁶ tn Grk “cared for by us,” an expression that could refer either to the writing or the delivery of the letter (BDAG 229 s.v. διακονέω 1). Since the following phrase refers to the writing of the letter, and since the previous verse speaks of this “letter” being “written on our [Paul’s and his companions’] hearts” it is more probable that the phrase “cared for by us” refers to the delivery of the letter (in the person of Paul and his companions).

[3:3]  ⁷ sn An allusion to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1; Deut 9:10-11.

[3:6]  ⁸ tn Or “competent.”

[3:6]  ⁹ sn This new covenant is promised in Jer 31:31-34; 32:40.