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"Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love and patience of
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1: 3).
This is enlarged in verses 9 and 10:--
"Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His
Son from heaven . . . even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1: 9, 10).
That the verses 9 and 10 are an expansion of verse 3 seems to be clear from the
structure:--
I Thess. 1: 3-10.
A | 1: 3. | a | Work of faith.
b | Labour of love.
c | Patience of hope.
B | 4, 5. "For." The gospel to. | d | Not only.
e | But also.
f | What manner.
C | 6. Followers of us.
D | 6. The word received.
C | 7. Examples to others.
B | 8, 9. "For." The word from. | d | Not only.
e | But also.
f | What manner.
A | 9, 10. | a | Turned to God.
b | Serve God.
c | Wait for His Son from heaven.
A comparison between the original words for "patience" and "waiting" is very
suggestive. "Patience" is hupomone, from hupomeno, and "to await" is anameno. The
word meno, "to abide", is common to both; to one is added hupo, "under", and to the
other ano, "above". There is a wealth of meaning here. We may not be able to find
English equivalents for these words, but the instructed believer will appreciate the dual
teaching. He finds strength to "remain under" because in spirit he "remains above". So
in Col. 3: we are exhorted to set our mind on things above (ano); and in Phil. 3: we
learn that our citizenship already exists in heaven, and from that standpoint we expect the
Saviour.
The words of verse 3, "Patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ", should, literally, be
rendered, "The patience of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ", a reading which must be
taken into account when seeking the meaning of II Thess. 3: 5, which, as the margin
shows, should read: "The love of God, and the patience of Christ." The bearing of
I Thess. 1: 3 and 10 seems to justify the A.V. in its rendering of II Thess. 3: 5, unless of
course we interpret I Thess. 1: 3, as the patience of hope that characterized the Lord
Himself, which, however, does not fit the context.
It is time we looked at the testimony of the epistle as a whole to the second coming.