“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;”
My Notes
What Does 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Mean?
Paul thanks God for the Thessalonians with specific language: their faith grows exceedingly and their love for each other abounds. The growth is not static. It is increasing — exceedingly in faith, abounding in love.
"We are bound to thank God" — the thanksgiving is obligatory. Not optional politeness. Paul feels bound — compelled by the reality of their growth — to give thanks. The evidence demands the gratitude.
"Your faith groweth exceedingly" — the Greek (huperauxano) means to grow beyond measure, to increase excessively. The faith is not just growing. It is over-growing — exceeding expectations, surpassing what seemed possible.
"The charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth" — the love is not limited to a few standouts. Every one of you all — comprehensive, communal, universal within the church. And the love abounds — overflows, exceeds, spills over the edges.
Paul celebrates a church where faith and love are both increasing — faith toward God and love toward each other. The vertical and horizontal are both growing simultaneously.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does 'groweth exceedingly' describe — faith that is increasing beyond measure?
- 2.How does every single person's love abounding describe the health of a community?
- 3.Why does persecution often accelerate rather than diminish spiritual growth?
- 4.Where has your faith plateaued rather than growing exceedingly?
Devotional
Your faith groweth exceedingly. Not just growing. Exceedingly growing — beyond measure, beyond what was expected, beyond what Paul thought possible. The Thessalonians' faith was not plateauing. It was exploding.
The charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth. Every one. Not a few exceptional members. Every single person. And the love abounds — overflows, exceeds, pours out in every direction toward each other.
We are bound to thank God. Paul cannot not thank God. The growth is so evident, so undeniable, that thanksgiving is obligatory. The reality of what God is doing in Thessalonica demands acknowledgment.
Faith growing exceedingly. Love abounding toward each other. Both at the same time. The vertical relationship (faith toward God) and the horizontal relationships (love toward each other) are both increasing. That is the picture of a healthy church.
Is your faith growing — exceedingly, beyond measure? Or has it plateaued — maintaining but not increasing? Is your love for other believers abounding — overflowing, exceeding — or has it settled into routine?
The Thessalonians under persecution (v.4) were growing in faith and love. The pressure did not diminish the growth. It accelerated it. The circumstances that should have crushed them produced the most vigorous spiritual growth Paul had seen.
The hardest seasons sometimes produce the most exceeding growth. The faith that grows under pressure is the faith Paul was bound to thank God for.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
We are bound to thank God,.... Since all blessings, temporal and spiritual, come from him: and that always: seeing he is…
We are bound to thank God always for you; - See the notes on 1Th 1:2. “As it is meet.” Since it is fit or proper.…
Your faith groweth exceedingly - The word ὑπεραυξανει signifies to grow luxuriantly, as a good and healthy tree planted…
Here we have,
I. The introduction (Th2 1:1, Th2 1:2), in the same words as in the former epistle, from which we may…
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren The case is put in the same way in ch. 2Th 2:13 ("we are bound to…
Cross References
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