2 Thessalonians 3:16-18
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
16 Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. 17 The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The closing prayer sums up the heart of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy for the Thessalonians. It begins with asking for God’s peace on them from the God of peace. Only God in Christ can reconcile us to Himself through the suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He truly is the God of all peace, and we can therefore find it nowhere else. The prayer reminds them and us that the Lord is with us; not only does He work on our behalf to make us holy, He also lives within us as the Holy Spirit. They end with God’s grace in Christ on them all. That is why they wrote this letter by Paul’s own hand. Usually Paul would have a scribe write for him, but this needed the personal expression to convey the heart of a shepherd for these dearly loved to comfort and challenge them in their continuing walk with God in Christ by His Spirit. Amen.
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