the Week of Proper 8 / Ordinary 13
Click to donate today!
Read the Bible
2 Thessalonians 2:15
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalContextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
stand: 1 Corinthians 15:58, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Philippians 4:1
hold: 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 11:2
the traditions: Romans 16:17, Jude 1:3,*Gr.
whether: 2 Thessalonians 2:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:14
Reciprocal: 1 Corinthians 15:2 - keep in memory Galatians 5:1 - Stand 1 Thessalonians 5:21 - hold 1 Timothy 6:20 - keep Titus 1:9 - Holding
Cross-References
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
And in the seuenth day God ended his worke whiche he had made. And the seueth day he rested from all his worke which he had made.
God finished the work he was doing, so on the seventh day he rested from his work.
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.
And God fillide in the seuenthe dai his werk which he made; and he restide in the seuenthe dai fro al his werk which he hadde maad;
And on the seuenth day God ended his worke, which hee had made: And he rested on the seuenth day from all his worke, which he had made.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Therefore, brethren, stand fast,.... In the doctrine of the Gospel in general, and in the article of Christ's second coming in particular, and not in the least waver about the thing itself, nor be shaken in mind, and troubled as if it was just at hand; and the rather it became them to be concerned that they stood fast in the truth, and persevered unto the end, since there was to be a falling away, and the mystery of iniquity was already working, and antichrist would shortly appear, whose coming would be with all deceivableness, of unrighteousness; and they had the greater encouragement to continue firm and unmoved, seeing they were chosen from eternity unto salvation through sanctification and belief of the truth, and were called in time by the Gospel to the enjoyment of the glory of Christ in another world.
And hold the traditions which ye have been taught: meaning the truths of the Gospel, which may be called traditions, because they are delivered from one to another; the Gospel was first delivered by God the Father to Jesus Christ, as Mediator, and by him to his apostles, and by them to the churches of Christ; whence it is called the form of doctrine delivered to them, and the faith once delivered to the saints: and also the ordinances of the Gospel which the apostles received from Christ, and as they received them faithfully delivered them, such as baptism and the Lord's supper; as well as rules of conduct and behaviour, both in the church, and in the world, even all the commandments of Christ, which he ordered his apostles to teach, and which they gave by him; see 2 Thessalonians 3:6. And so the Syriac version here renders it, "the commandments": and these were such as these saints had been taught by the apostles, under the direction of Christ, and through the guidance of his Spirit; and were not the traditions of men or the rudiments of the world, but what they had received from Christ, through the hands of the apostles:
whether by word, or our epistle, that is, by "our" word, as well as by our epistle, and so the Arabic version reads; these doctrines, ordinances, and rules of discipline were communicated to them, both by word of mouth, when the apostles were in person among them, and by writing afterwards to them; for what the apostles delivered in the ministry of the word to the churches, they sent them in writing, that they might be a standing rule of faith and practice; so that this does not in the least countenance the unwritten traditions of the Papists; and since these were what were taught them, "viva voce", and they received them from the mouth of the apostles, or by letters from them, or both, it became them to hold and retain them fast, and not let them go, either with respect to doctrine or practice.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Therefore - In view of the fact that you are thus chosen from eternity, and that you are to be raised up to such honor and glory.
Stand fast - Amidst all the temptations which surround you; compare the notes on Ephesians 6:10-14. And hold the traditions which ye have been taught On the word “traditions,” see the notes on Matthew 15:2. It means properly things delivered over from one to another; then anything orally delivered - any precept, doctrine, or law. It is frequently employed to denote that which is not written, as contradistinguished from that which is written (compare Matthew 15:2), but not necessarily or always; for here the apostle speaks of the “traditions which they had been taught by his epistle;” compare the notes, 1 Corinthians 11:2. Here it means the doctrines or precepts which they had received from the apostle, whether when he was with them, or after he left them; whether communicated by preaching or by letter. This passage can furnish no authority for holding the “traditions” which have come down from ancient times, and which profess to have been derived from the apostles; because:
(1)There is no evidence that any of those traditions were given by the apostles;
(2)Many of them are manifestly so trifling, false, and contrary to the writings of the apostles, that they could not have been delivered by them;
(3)If any of them are genuine, it is impossible to separate them from those which are false;
(4)We have all that is necessary for salvation in the written word; and,
(5)There is not the least evidence that the apostle here meant to refer to any such thing.
He speaks only of what had been delivered to them by himself, whether orally or by letter; not of what was delivered from one to another as from him. There is no intimation here that they were to hold anything as from him which they had not received directly from him, either by his own instructions personally or by letter. With what propriety, then, can this passage be adduced to prove that we are to hold the traditions which professedly come to us through a great number of intermediate persons? Where is the evidence here that the church was to hold those unwritten traditions, and transmit them to future times?
Whether by word - By preaching, when we were with you. It does not mean that he had sent any oral message to them by a third person.
Or our epistle - The former letter which he had written to them.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast — Their obtaining eternal glory depended on their faithfulness to the grace of God; for this calling did not necessarily and irresistibly lead to faith; nor their faith to the sanctification of the spirit; nor their sanctification of the spirit to the glory of our Lord Jesus. Had they not attended to the calling, they could not have believed; had they not believed, they could not have been sanctified; had they not been sanctified they could not have been glorified. All these things depended on each other; they were stages of the great journey; and at any of these stages they might have halted, and never finished their Christian race.
Hold the traditions which ye have been taught — The word παραδοσις, which we render tradition, signifies any thing delivered in the way of teaching; and here most obviously means the doctrines delivered by the apostle to the Thessalonians; whether in his preaching, private conversation, or by these epistles; and particularly the first epistle, as the apostle here states. Whatever these traditions were, as to their matter, they were a revelation from God; for they came by men who spake and acted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; and on this ground the passage here can never with any propriety be brought to support the unapostolical and anti-apostolical traditions of the Romish Church; those being matters which are, confessedly, not taken from either Testament, nor were spoken either by a prophet or an apostle.
