하나님나라를 꿈꾸며(Kingdom of God)

9 For swhat thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly tnight and day uthat we may see you face to face and vsupply what is lacking in your faith?

s [ch. 1:2]

t 2 Tim. 1:3

u ch. 2:17; [Rom. 1:10]

v See 2 Cor. 13:9

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 살전 3:9–10.

9 우리가 우리 하나님 앞에서 너희로 말미암아 모든 기쁨으로 기뻐하니 너희를 위하여 능히 어떠한 감사로 하나님께 보답할까

10 주야로 심히 간구함은 너희 얼굴을 보고 너희 믿음이 부족한 것을 보충하게 하려 함이라

 대한성서공회, 성경전서: 개역개정, 전자책. (서울시 서초구 남부순환로 2569: 대한성서공회, 1998), 살전 3:9–10.

9절) ‘우리 하나님 앞에서’라는 표현은 ‘엠프로스덴 투 데우 헤몬’이다. 여기서 ‘엠프로스덴’은 ‘면전에서’라는 의미로 신전의식을 의미한다. ‘In front of God’, 하나님 앞에서의 정신은 우리 신앙에 있어서 매우 중요하다. 여기서 바울의 기쁨은 개인의 감정적인 것의 만족이 아니라 하나님 앞에서의 기쁨인 것이다. 복음이 전해졌고 이 복음을 듣고 궁핍과 환난 가운데서 흔들리지 않은 믿음으로 서 있는 데살로니가 성도들, 바로 이 일을 하나님이 이루셨다라는 인식과 믿음이 있기에 ‘하나님 앞에서’ 기뻐하는 것이다. 

이어지는 표현은 ‘너희로 말미암아’이다. 바울은 이 과정에서 본인의 수고와 노력을 강조할 수도 있었을 것이다. 하지만 데살로니가 성도들로 말미암은 소식으로 인해서 기뻐하고 있는 것이다. 

-  γάρ links vv. 9f. to what precedes it as an inference in the form of a question (τίνα γὰρ εὐχαριστίαν δυνάμεθα τῷ θεῷ ἀνταποδοῦναι περὶ ὑμῶν, “for what thanksgiving are we able to return to God concerning you?”). Two things are implicit in this question. First, Paul was profoundly thankful for the continuing faithfulness of the Thessalonians. Frame (134) suggests that ἀνταποδοῦναι (“return”), which may be used either in a negative sense (cf. 2 Thes. 1:6; Rom. 12:19) or in a positive sense, as it is here (cf. Rom. 11:35), is stronger than ἀποδιδόναι. Following Milligan he argues that it has the nuance of “complete return.” With τίνα (“what”) it suggests that Paul felt unable to give sufficient thanks to God for the tremendous sense of relief and joy he experienced at hearing the good news concerning his converts at Thessalonica. Second, that Paul wished to give thanks to God for the Thessalonians suggests that the apostle had a powerful awareness of God’s working in and among his converts to enable them to remain true to their new beliefs and behavior patterns as Christians.

While the phrase περὶ ὑμῶν (“concerning you”) shows that Paul’s feeling of thankfulness was based on his readers’ steadfastness in the gospel, the phrase ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ χαρᾷ ᾗ χαίρομεν διʼ ὑμᾶς (“for all the joy with which we rejoice on account of you”) designates the immediate cause of his desire to give thanks to God. Best (144) claims that ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ χαρᾷ (“for all the joy”) was intended as a deliberate balancing of ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ καὶ θλίψει (“in all our distress and tribulation”) in v. 7. For this reason he translates ἐπί in both cases as “in.” Apparently Best understands ἐπί in v. 9 in the sense of “manner,” so that the prepositional phrase explains the manner of Paul’s thanksgiving. This, however, obscures the fact that εὐχαριστίαν ἀνταποδοῦναι (“to return thanksgiving”) is the semantic equivalent of εὐχαριστεῖν (“to give thanks”) and therefore that ἐπί is dependent on it and expresses the basis for the action contained in the verbal idea “to return thanksgiving.” For this reason ἐπί should be translated by a preposition like “for” or even “on account of” to indicate Paul’s motivation for rendering thanks, which is the tremendous joy he experienced because of the Thessalonians’ continuing faith. The reason for this joy and the ensuing thanksgiving can be seen if we look back at 2:19f., where Paul tells the readers that they are his “glory and joy” before the Lord Jesus at his coming, but this of course depended upon their remaining faithful. Thus when Paul discovered that they had continued in their commitment to Christ as Lord it was a source of tremendous joy for him, as well as a source of encouragement (3:7), and led to his desire to express in an adequate way his sense of thankfulness to God. The fact that “the joy with which we rejoiced” was ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θεοῦ (“before God”) implies that his rejoicing was done in the context of prayer.

 Charles A. Wanamaker, The Epistles to the Thessalonians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990), 137–138.

-  3:10 Although Timothy’s report about the Thessalonians’ faith and love was very positive, he also shared with Paul some areas of concern. So Paul prays that God will allow him to return to the church and “supply what is lacking.” Since Satan prevents Paul from going back (2:18) and doing this in person, the apostle does it instead by means of a letter: the second half of this letter (4:1–5:22) takes up those matters where their faith is “lacking.”

 Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2154.

-  Paul indicates the constancy of his prayer requests for the Thessalonians in the words νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ δεόμενοι (“night and day praying earnestly”). The unusual adverb ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ communicates the intensity of Paul’s prayer as well as the intensity of the desire that lies behind his prayer request. As Bruce (68) notes, “Paul is fond of compounds expressing superlativeness” (cf. ὑπερπερισσεύειν in Rom. 5:20; 2 Cor. 7:4; ὑπεραυξάνειν in 2 Thes. 1:3; ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ in 1 Thes. 5:13; ὑπερλίαν in 2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11, etc.). ὑπερεκπερισσοῦ δεόμενοι literally means something like “making requests quite beyond all measure.”

Paul mentions two things concerning which he petitioned God. First, he reports to his readers that he prayed εἰς τὸ ἰδεῖν ὑμῶν τὸ πρόσωπον (“to see you face to face”). He had already told them that he desired to do this (2:17f.; 3:7), and by mentioning it here as a part of his regular prayer life he reiterates his genuine commitment to return to the Thessalonians. This seems to reflect very clearly the occasion of the letter. Paul seeks to keep open the possibility of his own return to Thessalonica while reassuring his readers of his continuing concern for them.

Second, he explains why he wished to return. Because his departure from the Thessalonians was apparently abrupt, he tells his converts that he wants to return καταρτίσαι τὰ ὑστερήματα τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν (“to complete the deficiencies of your faith”). Paul has in mind the opportunities that a visit would afford for giving his converts further personal instruction and exhortation, the very thing that his letters were intended to do in his absence (cf. Lyons, Pauline Autobiography, 218). The neuter plural τὰ ὑστερήματα (“deficiencies”) when taken with the genitive τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν (“of your faith”) indicates a concern not for a lack of faith on the part of his readers but for the need to deepen their understanding and encourage their Christian behavior. Timothy had been sent to begin this task (3:2), but Paul informs his readers that he still wishes to come to them and personally continue their instruction in the faith. Paul shows here a profound awareness of the need to continue the process of resocializing the Thessalonians into the Christian way of life (see comments on 2:11f.). Although he desired to do this in person, his letter to the Thessalonians was intended to serve as a substitute for his presence, just as Timothy had substituted for him when he had visited them. In the light of this, we may understand 4:1–5:22 as an attempt by Paul to make good the deficiencies in his converts’ understanding of their new faith and its requirements with respect to their ethical conduct. Thus 3:10 helps to prepare for the parenetic material in chaps. 4–5.

 Charles A. Wanamaker, The Epistles to the Thessalonians: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1990), 138–139.