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2Th_3:5. A fresh involuntary effusion of piety on the part of the apostle, by means of which he calls down the divine blessing on every action of man as a condition of its success. Theodoret: ʼΑμφοτέρων ἡμῖν χρεία , καὶ προθέσεως ἀγαθῆς καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν συνεργείας . To assume that 2Th_3:5 was added by Paul, because he could not yet entirely trust the Thessalonians (de Wette), is without foundation.
ὁ κύριος ] Christ, as in 2Th_3:3-4.
κατευθύναι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ ] direct your hearts to the love of God, namely, in order to be filled and pervaded by it, not in order to remain contemplating it (Koppe, Olshausen).
ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ] is not “amor a deo praeceptus” (Clericus), or “amor, quem deus hominum quasi infundit animis” (Pelt), also not the love of God to men, which was to be the pattern for Christian brotherly love (Macknight, Koppe), or, more specially, the manifestation of the love of God in Christ and in His work of redemption (Olshausen, Riggenbach); but love toward God (Gen. object.). Paul wishes the Thessalonians to be inspired with it, because it is the centre uniting all commandments; comp. Mat_22:37 ff.
καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ] Oecumenius, Ambrose, Faber Stapulensis, Erasmus, Vatablus, Cornelius a Lapide, Beza, Bernard a Piconio, and Benson, to whom recently Hofmann has attached himself, understand by this the patient waiting for Christ, that is, for His coming. Erroneous, because—(1) ἀναμονήν (comp. 1Th_1:10) would require to be written instead of ὑπομονήν ; and (2) the idea of patient waiting, by which addition the statement becomes only suitable, would require to be expressly brought forward by an additional clause. The stedfastness of Christ (Gen. possessiv.) is meant, inasmuch as the endurance which the Christian manifests in tribulation for the sake of the gospel is in its nature nothing else than the stedfastness which was peculiar to Christ Himself in His sufferings. Comp. the analogous expression τὰ παθήματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ , 2Co_1:5, and Meyer in loco. The simple genitive cannot express stedfastness for the sake of Christ, as it is usually explained.