Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Thessalonians 3:8
For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
8. for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord ] “if ye stand fast:” the pronoun bears the emphasis. St Paul felt as though his life was wrapped up in this Church. A load of apprehension was lifted from his mind, and he resumed his work at Corinth with the sense of renewed health and vigour, saying to himself, “Yes, now one really lives!” For in truth
“The incessant care and labour of his mind
Had wrought the mure, that should confine it in,
So thin, that life looked through and would break out.”
His heaviest burden, weighing down body and mind alike, was “the care of the Churches” (2Co 11:28-29).
This passage, like the Epistle to the Galatians and the Second to Corinth, shews St Paul as a man of high-strung and ardent nature, sensitive in his affections to an extreme degree. His whole soul was bound up with the Churches he had founded (comp. ch. 1Th 2:8, and note). They were his “children,” his “loved and longed for,” his “joy and glory, and crown of boasting.” He lived for nothing else. Read in illustration of this 2Co 7:2-16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord – This is equivalent to saying, My life and comfort depend on your stability in the faith, and your correct Christian walk; compare Martial 6:70. Non est vivere, sed valere, vita – Life consists not merely in living, but in the enjoyment of health. See also Seneca, Epis. 99, and Manilius, 1Th 4:5, as quoted by Wetstein. The meaning here is, that Paul now enjoyed life; he had that which constituted real life, in the fact that they acted as became Christians, and so as to show that his labor among them had not been in vain. The same thing here affirmed is true of all faithful ministers of the gospel. They feel that they have something that may be called life, and that is worth living for, when those to whom they preach maintain a close walk with God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. For now we live] Your steadfastness in the faith gives me new life and comfort; I now feel that I live to some purpose, as my labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The comfort of their faith was so great that it would be as life to him, if they stood fast in it; which he calls a standing
fast in the Lord. Life is not only the union of soul and body; comfort is the life of the soul, especially that which springs from Divine causes. And on the contrary, the apostacy and degeneracy of a people doth kill the hearts of their faithful teachers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. nowas the case is; seeingye stand fast.
we livewe flourish. Itrevives us in our affliction to hear of your steadfastness(Psa 22:26; 2Jn 1:3).
ifimplying that thevivid joy which the missionaries “now” feel, willcontinue if the Thessalonians continue steadfast. They stillneeded exhortation, 1Th 3:10;therefore he subjoins the conditional clause, “if ye,” &c.(Php 4:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For now we live,…. Before they were dead men, lifeless, disconsolate, dispirited, carrying about with them the dying of the Lord Jesus, and death working in them, and they, as it were, under the sentence of that, being killed all the day long for Christ’s sake; but now, upon this news, in the midst of all their sore trials and troubles, their spirits revived, and they became alive and cheerful; see Ps 22:26, it was like life from the dead unto them:
if ye stand fast in the Lord: or “our Lord”, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read; that is, “in the faith of the Lord”, as the Arabic version renders it: they were in the Lord secretly by electing grace, and openly by regenerating grace, and they abode in him; and by persevering grace, they were rooted and built up in Christ, and established in the faith of him, of his person, office, and grace; they were steady in the exercise of grace upon him, and stood fast in the liberty wherewith he had made them free, and continued steadfastly in the doctrines and ordinances of the Gospel; for the “if” here is not expressive of doubting, but of reasoning, “seeing ye stand fast in the Lord”; of which they were assured by Timothy: and this gave them fresh spirit and life amidst the deaths in which they often were.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If ye stand fast ( ). Condition of first class, and present active indicative (correct text, not subj.) of , late form from perfect of , to place.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Stand fast [] . The sense of firm standing is derived from the context, and does not inhere in the word. In Mr 3:31; Mr 11:25, it means simply to stand. Comp. Phi 4:1. It does not occur earlier than N. T.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For now we live” (hoti nun zomen) “because now (and hereafter) we live”; The missionaries felt that they lived on, progressively, and continually in the lives of their followers, as they followed Christ, 1Co 4:16; 1Co 11:1; Gal 6:14; Php_4:1.
2) “If ye stand fast in the Lord” (ean humeis stekete en kuris) “If you all stand in a lordly way”, or in the Lord, upright, progressively, Eph 6:13-14. Only to the extent that souls are saved and faithful in standing up for the Lord, does the work of the Missionary live on to produce dividends for him in eternity. Let him build well. 1Co 3:13-15; 2Jn 1:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
8 For now we live. Here it appears still more clearly that Paul almost forgot himself for the sake of the Thessalonians, or, at least, making regard for himself a mere secondary consideration, devoted his first and chief thoughts to them. At the same time he did not do that so much from affection to men as from a desire for the Lord’s glory. For zeal for God and Christ glowed in his holy breast to such a degree that it in a manner swallowed up all other anxieties. “ We live, ” says he, that is, “we are in good health, if you persevere in the Lord. ” And under the adverb now, he repeats what he had formerly stated, that he had been greatly pressed down by affliction and necessity; yet he declares that whatever evil he endures in his own person does not hinder his joy. “Though in myself I am dead, yet in your welfare I live. ” By this all pastors are admonished what sort of connection ought to subsist between them and the Church — that they reckon themselves happy when it goes well with the Church, although they should be in other respects encompassed with many miseries, and, on the other hand, that they pine away with grief and sorrow if they see the building which they have constructed in a state of decay, although matters otherwise should be joyful and prosperous.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) Now we live, if.Now contrasts the new life and vigour which the gospel of their faith and charity had infused into the Apostle, with the deadly sinking he had felt at the thought of their possible apostacy. At the same time the if has the half-future sense, as though St. Paul meant that the continuance of this life was contingent upon their continued steadfastness. Another interpretation has been suggested, according to which both the we and ye are perfectly general, and therefore interchangeable, and the sense is made to be a vague proposition, for standing fast in the Lord is a sine qua non of lifelife in the theological sense: and parts of Romans 7, 8 are compared. This interpretation, however, suits the Greek as little as the context.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. We live We were lifeless, dead, until your life and love revived us.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For now we live if you stand firm in the Lord.’
‘Now we are alive.’ This use of the word live emphasises the great burden under which Paul had suffered. He had felt dead and discouraged, but now he had sprung to life. We tend to overlook the dreadful burdens he had to bear, the constant worries as more and more seemingly bad news filtered through which could not be tested, the pressures of learning of the activities of false teachers, especially when they were accompanied by seeming success, the constant brushes with authority and what they could mean for the success of his mission. But now this great news had come though that this vital church was alive and well and prospering. The word was going out in Macedonia and around. All was well.
Note that ‘if’ (ean) is followed, not by the subjunctive of doubt, but by the indicative of greater certainty. Possibly we should paraphrase ‘as long as you go on standing firm’. For the meaning of the verb compare 1Co 16:13; Gal 5:1; Php 4:1.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Th 3:8. For now we live, if, &c. “For now I live, indeed; I relish and enjoy life, seeing you continue steadfast in the profession, faith, and practice of the Christian religion, in which, through the favour of God,I was employed in initiating you.” Here is a pattern for all the pastors of the Christian church. It would have deprived this great Apostle of much of the satisfaction and comfort of his life, to haveheard that his converts in general, at Thessalonica or elsewhere, did not persevere; but it was happiness, it was comfort, it was life worth enjoying, to hear of their steadiness and perseverance.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Th 3:8 . Paul considers the and which lay upon him as a , but he does not feel this evil; the is converted to him into , when he learns how the churches which he had founded cleave to the Lord. External matters are, in general, indifferent to the apostle, provided he reaches his life-aim, to lead souls to Christ; every success in reference to this imparts strength and fulness of life to him.
] is not to be understood in contrast to the pre-Christian life of the apostle, when his thought and aim were entirely different; whereby a thought entirely foreign to the context would be introduced. The force of as an adverb of time, at present , is not to be too greatly pressed (Marloratus: Sub adverbio nunc repetit, quod prius dixerat, se afflictione et necessitate graviter fuisse oppressum), but has here (on account of ) a causal reference; now , serving as an introduction to what follows: . Comp. Khner, II. p. 385; Hartung, Partikell . II. p. 25.
] not to be referred, with Chrysostom, to the future, eternal life, nor weakened to “we are happy” (Pelt and others), or “satisfied” (Grotius, Moldenhauer), but the meaning is: For now we live, i.e. we are in full strength and freshness of life, we do not feel the sorrows and tribulations which the outer world prepares for us.
] when, or so soon as ye stand fast in the Lord , hold fast to His fellowship.
] applies specially to the Thessalonians what holds good of Christians generally.
] makes the fact of the stedfastness of the readers appear as a well-grounded supposition (see Schmalfeld, Syntax des Griech. Verbums , p. 201). But the hypothetical form of the sentence includes, indirectly, the exhortation to hold fast to the Lord for the future .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2198
THE PEOPLES STABILITY IS THE MINISTERS COMFORT
1Th 3:8. Now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
THERE is nothing that more strongly characterizes a faithful ministry, than the mutual affection that is found to exist between the minister and his stated hearers. The people, while they retain any just regard for their Lord and Saviour, will love those who have been his instruments for good to their souls [Note: Gal 4:15.]: and those who are instrumental in bringing others to the knowledge of salvation, will consider their converts as their children, whom they have begotten to God, and with whom they have travailed in birth [Note: 1Co 4:15. Gal 4:19.]. We see this exemplified in all St. Pauls epistles, especially in that before us. After a short stay at Thessalonica, he was driven from thence by certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, who sought to kill him; and who, on hearing that he was fled to Bera, followed him thither with the same intent, and drove him thence also. He was now at a great distance from them, and very apprehensive on their account; lest the sufferings which he had endured for them, and the trials which they themselves also experienced, should have deterred them from maintaining their steadfastness in the faith. When therefore he could no longer forbear [Note: Twice mentioned, ver. 1, 5.], he thought it better to be left at Athens alone, than to remain any longer in uncertainty about them; and accordingly he sent his only friend and companion, Timothy, to see them, and to report to him their state. Having heard a good account of them, he declares, that all sense of his own personal afflictions vanished, as soon as he heard of their spiritual advancement; and that his spirits, which had been exhausted by a long and painful suspense, were revived, so that he began, as it were, to live anew, since he was informed that they stood fast in the Lord.
From the words before us we shall take occasion to shew,
I.
What is that stability which all Christians must attain
When any persons first receive the Gospel, so as to yield themselves up to its influence, they are said to be in Christ: when they make advances in grace, they are said to walk in Christ: and when they are established in a firm adherence to the truth, they are said, as in the text, to stand fast in the Lord. This is that stability which is required of us; namely, a stability in the faith, the profession, and the practice of the Gospel.
1.
In the faith of the Gospel
[There are many things which may occasion us to make shipwreck of the faith [Note: A conceit of our own wisdom, Rom 1:22. Isa 47:10; a fondness for philosophy and vain deceit, Col 2:8; a listening to the disputes of heretics, 2Ti 2:16-18; an undue regard to ceremonial institutions, Col 2:16-19; or an erroneous idea of the merit of good works, Rom 10:3.] and many more, which may rob us of the vital experience of it in our souls [Note: Love of the world; sloth, &c. &c.] But all these must be withstood: we must hold fast the form of sound words that hath been delivered to us; and, not contented with a barren orthodoxy, we must live altogether by faith in the Son of God, enjoying his presence, and receiving out of his fulness grace for grace ]
2.
In the profession of it
[When persecution arises because of the word, a separation is made between the professors of religion, as the corn and chaff are separated when tossed to and fro in the sieve. But woe be to us, if we be like the chaff, that is driven away with the wind. We must not put our light under a bushel, but be bold, and quit ourselves like men: we must endure hardships as good soldiers of Jesus Christ: we must hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: we must be willing to be bound, or even to die, for the name of the Lord Jesus: we must not count our lives dear to us, so that we may but finish our course with joy. It is true, we are not to court persecution by an indiscreet declaration of truths, which people are not yet prepared to receive: but we must not conceal our religion, as if we were ashamed of it: we must in no respect deny Christ: if we draw back, it will be unto perdition: if we only look back, after having put our hands to the plough, we are not fit for the kingdom of God: he that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he only that is willing to lose his life for Christs sake, shall save it unto life eternal.]
3.
In the practice of it
[In times like ours, it is easy to retain orthodox opinions, and to keep up a profession of religion: but many are found enlisted under the banners of Christ, who are not really fighting the good fight of faith. Even in matters of plain truth and honesty, it is not every professor that can bear a scrutiny into his conduct: yea, there really is often found a higher sense of honour and integrity amongst the men of this world, than amongst some, of whom better things might have been hoped. In respect of tempers, too, there are many who will talk of Christ, and shew a love to his Gospel, who are yet proud, haughty, imperious, passionate, contentious; many who are so fretful and impatient on every trifling occasion, as to make all around them uncomfortable; many too, who, when they ought rather to be judging themselves, are constantly judging others with uncharitable severity. But let not those who possess so little of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, imagine that they are standing fast in the Lord: for, whatever experience they may have had in times past, they are certainly in a state of awful departure from him. We must possess the image of Christ, and we must advance in the attainment of it, or else our faith and our profession will be vain [Note: Jam 1:26.].
But if there be no particular deviation from the path of duty in these things, yet may we have greatly declined from true religion. We must preserve a spirituality of mind, a zeal for God, a love to his ways, a delight in secret communion with God, and a tender regard for the temporal and eternal welfare of our fellow-creatures. This is the stability which chiefly characterizes the growing Christian, and which is the surest evidence of an interest in Christ.]
That all may be stirred up to seek this stability, we shall shew,
II.
Why the attainment of it lies so near to the heart of every faithful minister
A minister stands related to his people as a pastor to his flock, over which he is to watch, and of which he must give a strict account: and his solicitude about them, instead of terminating when they are brought into the fold, may be said then more properly to commence. He will be anxious about their attainment of stability in the divine life,
1.
Because the honour of God is deeply interested in it
[Let any professor of religion either renounce his profession, or dishonour it by any misconduct, and the world will immediately cry out against religion, and represent all the professors of it as hypocrites. Thus it was that the name of God was blasphemed on account of Davids fall: and thus the way of truth is evil spoken of at this time; as though religion were only a cloak for wickedness. On the other hand, the name of God is glorified, when his people adorn their holy profession: the light which they reflect around them, compels many to acknowledge the beneficial influence of his Gospel, and the powerful efficacy of his grace [Note: Mat 5:16.].
And can ministers be indifferent about the honour of their Divine Master? If they are so dear to him, that whoso toucheth them, toucheth the apple of his eye, ought not He, and His interests, to be dear in their sight? Ought not rivers of tears to run down their eyes, when men keep not his law, and especially when his sacred name is blasphemed through those who bear his name and profess his religion? Yes; much as they must feel when an injury is done to themselves, their grief is incomparably more poignant, when they see their blessed Lord crucified afresh, and despite done to the Spirit of his Grace.]
2.
Because their salvation altogether depends upon it
[It is not sufficient that men run well for a season; they must endure to the end, if ever they would be saved. To what purpose are we in Christ, if we do not stand fast in him? Our departure from him only makes our last end worse than our beginning. And is not this a fearful consideration to all of us? When St. Paul saw reason to stand in doubt respecting his Galatian converts, he travailed in birth with them, as it were, a second time, till he should have clear evidence that Christ was truly formed in them. And whoever reflects upon the value of a soul (in comparison of which the whole world is lighter than the mere dust upon a balance), must have continual sorrow and heaviness in his spirit, when he sees any moved away from the hope of the Gospel, and forsaking the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that can hold no water.]
3.
Because the great ends of the ministry are answered by it
[When any persons turn, either in faith or practice, from the holy commandment delivered to them, all the labour we have bestowed upon them is in vain: it is even worse than in vain, because it will bring upon them a more aggravated condemnation. What a reflection is this for those who have spent their strength, and perhaps jeoparded their very lives for the salvation of their fellow-creatures! Can we wonder that the declension of those who have professed our holy religion, should be as a dagger in the hearts of those who have watched and laboured for their souls; and that the lives of faithful ministers should be bound up, as it were, in the stability of their people? The beloved Disciple could say, he had no greater joy than that his children walked in truth: and, no doubt, his greatest grief was, as that of every faithful minister must be, to see any of them departing from it.]
We shall conclude our subject with a few words,
1.
Of grateful acknowledgment
[It would not always be proper to commend people to their face: yet on some occasions the Apostle judged it expedient to do so [Note: 1Th 1:2-3 and 2Th 1:3-4.]. We rejoice therefore in bearing testimony to the steadfastness which you have maintained during our afflictive separation from you; and we can truly say with the Apostle, that in all our affliction we have been greatly comforted by your faith [Note: Verse before the text. This was after almost a whole years intermission of the authors labours as a minister. But any other occasion, such as heresies or contentions resisted by them, may be referred to.]. We thank God for all the joy wherewith we joy before him on your account; and we pray, that what he has thus begun in you, he may carry on and perfect until the day of Christ.]
2.
Of affectionate warning
[Never let it be forgotten, that we must first be in Christ, before we can stand fast in him. If apostates are in an awful condition, so also are they who have never embraced the Gospel of Christ. We must flee to Christ, as our only refuge from the wrath of God; and must seek to be found in him, not having our own righteousness, but that which is of God through faith in him.
Let the saints too remember (what the text strongly intimates), that they are in continual danger of falling. They have a subtle enemy, whose devices have ruined thousands, even of those who once appeared eminently holy. Let him therefore that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.]
3.
Of joyful encouragement
[It is not in yourselves, but in the Lord, that you are to stand fast: and while you are placing all your dependence on him, he is engaged to keep you by his own almighty power unto everlasting salvation. Be strong then in the Lord, and in the power of his might. His grace is sufficient for you, and shall make you more than conquerors over all your enemies. Weak as you are in yourselves, He is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. As then ye have received the Lord Jesus Christ, so walk ye in him, &c. [Note: Col 2:6-7.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
8 For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
Ver. 8. For now we live ] A joyless life is a lifeless life. An unsuccessful pastor hath little or no joy in his life. “Thus shall ye say to him that liveth,” 1Sa 25:6 , that is, that liveth at heart’s ease. “All the days of the afflicted are evil,” Pro 15:15 . As good be out of the world (say they) as have no joy of the world. Now, “I have no greater joy,” saith St John, “than to hear that my children walk in the truth,” 3Jn 1:4 . This revived his good old heart, and made it dance lavoltas a in his bosom.
a A lively dance for two persons, consisting a good deal in high and active bounds. D
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8 .] for now (not so much an adverb of time , here, as implying the fulfilment of the condition ( ) which follows: so Eur. Iph. in Aul. 644: “ .” “ , .” See more examples in Hartung, Partikell. ii. p. 25; Khner, ii. p. 185) we live (the and being conceived as a death : but not to be referred to everlasting life, as Chrys. ( ), nor weakened to ‘vivit qui felix est’ (Pelt), but with direct reference to the infringement of the powers of life by . and ., as Lnem., “we are in full strength and freshness of life, we do not feel the sorrows and tribulations with which the outer world surrounds us”) if ye stand fast in the Lord . The conditional form of this last sentence, with , not , carries it forward as an exhortation for the future also; while the solcistic indicative gives the Apostle’s confident expectation that such would be the case. The reading must not be dismissed, as Ellic., by taking refuge in Scrivener’s assertion that permutations of similar vowels are occasionally found even in the best MSS. I have examined the Vatican Codex through the greater part of the N. T., and can safely say that these permutations are found only in such cases as , , and , and and in doubtful inflexions, as . and .; not in cases like the present, nor in any ordinary occurrences of long and short vowels. See remarks on Rom 5:1 ; and prolegg. to Vol. 1Ch 6 . i. 36, 37. There were ( 1Th 3:10 ) in their faith, requiring .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Th 3:8 . The news put life and spirit into him. , for construction cf. Mar 11:25 and Abbott’s Johan. Gramm. , 2515 (i).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
live. See App-170.
if. App-118.
stand fast. Greek. steko. See Php 1:4, Php 1:1.
Lord. App-98.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8.] for now (not so much an adverb of time, here, as implying the fulfilment of the condition () which follows: so Eur. Iph. in Aul. 644: . , . See more examples in Hartung, Partikell. ii. p. 25; Khner, ii. p. 185) we live (the and being conceived as a death: but not to be referred to everlasting life, as Chrys. ( ), nor weakened to vivit qui felix est (Pelt), but with direct reference to the infringement of the powers of life by . and ., as Lnem., we are in full strength and freshness of life, we do not feel the sorrows and tribulations with which the outer world surrounds us) if ye stand fast in the Lord. The conditional form of this last sentence, with , not , carries it forward as an exhortation for the future also; while the solcistic indicative gives the Apostles confident expectation that such would be the case. The reading must not be dismissed, as Ellic., by taking refuge in Scriveners assertion that permutations of similar vowels are occasionally found even in the best MSS. I have examined the Vatican Codex through the greater part of the N. T., and can safely say that these permutations are found only in such cases as , , and , and and in doubtful inflexions, as . and .; not in cases like the present, nor in any ordinary occurrences of long and short vowels. See remarks on Rom 5:1; and prolegg. to Vol. I. ch. 6. i. 36, 37. There were (1Th 3:10) in their faith, requiring .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Th 3:8. , now we live) now we feel that we are alive. The form of testifying the highest joy; comp. Psa 63:4.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Th 3:8
for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.-[When Timothy came from Thessalonica he found Paul in great need of comforting words. So extreme was his distress that he spoke of it by implication as death. But the good report of the faith and love of the Thessalonians and their joy and gladness brought life to him. This passage shows that Paul was a man of a high and ardent nature, sensitive in his affections to a high degree. His whole soul was bound up with the churches he had founded. (2:8.) They were his spiritual children (1Co 4:14-15), his beloved and longed for, his joy and crown (Php 4:1). He lived for nothing else.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
we live: 1Sa 25:6,*Heb: Psa 30:5, Phi 1:21
if: Joh 8:31, Joh 15:4, Joh 15:7, Act 11:23, 1Co 15:58, 1Co 16:13, Gal 5:1, Eph 3:17, Eph 4:15, Eph 4:16, Eph 6:13, Eph 6:14, Phi 1:27, Phi 4:1, Col 1:23, Heb 3:14, Heb 4:14, Heb 10:23, 1Pe 5:10, 2Pe 3:17, Rev 3:3, Rev 3:11
Reciprocal: 2Ch 29:36 – Hezekiah rejoiced Pro 23:15 – if Son 5:1 – eat Rom 11:22 – if thou 2Co 7:7 – but Col 2:5 – and the 1Th 2:6 – been burdensome 1Th 3:7 – we were 1Th 3:9 – for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Th 3:8. We live is a figurative or comparative term, not that Paul’s physical life actually depended on the faithfulness of the brethren. Robinson defines the original in this place, “to live and prosper, to be happy, blessed.” It is somewhat like the familiar ex pression of one whose circumstances have been changed from unfavorable to favorable; he will remark, “now this is more like living.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Th 3:8. For now. Now refers to the change of feeling occasioned by the arrival of Timothy (Jowett). It is equivalent to in these circumstances, in this condition of things, that is to say, if ye stand fast in the Lord, we live.
We live, i.e. we have the full strength and enjoyment of life: this is enough for us; we no longer feel cramped and depressed by our own troubles.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. [The good news made Paul relish and enjoy life, just as his afflictions and distress had been to him a kind of death. Comp. 1Co 15:31]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
8. Now we live if you stand in the Lord; et vice versa, we die if you fall; a very delicate hyperbolic expression of the apostles exceeding tender love for them.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
3:8 For now we {a} live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
(a) For now you cannot otherwise think of me as at rest and in a good state of being, unless you go forward in religion and faith.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Things could not have been better for Paul, however, so long as his readers were standing their ground. God was enabling them to stand firm, and for this Paul gave thanks. The Greek word steko, "stand firm," is a frequently recurring call for continued perseverance (cf. 1Co 16:13; Gal 5:1; Php 4:1). The apostle and his companions kept praying earnestly by night and by day that God would give them the opportunity to return to Thessalonica. They desired to return so they could minister to the continuing needs of their spiritual children. These Christians were doing well, but they needed to grow more. They were only baby Christians at this time. They lacked maturity.
"Contemporary Christians can learn from Paul’s missionary practice by recognizing that meaningful evangelism must aim for more than acceptance of Christian beliefs by converts. Evangelical Christianity needs to strive to create a social context or community in which converts may be resocialized into a new and distinctively Christian pattern of behavior and practice." [Note: Wanamaker, p. 139.]