Basil of Caesarea

In his own words on 2 Thessalonians

• 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

  In sober earnest, both our ears tingled on hearing of the shameless and inhuman heresy of your persecutors. They have reverenced neither age, nor services to society, nor people's affection. They inflicted torture, ignominy, and exile; they plundered all the property they could find; they were careless alike of human condemnation and of the awful retribution to come at the hands of the righteous Judge.… To my reflections has been added this thought too; can the Lord have wholly abandoned His Churches? Has the last hour come, and is "the falling away" thus coming upon us, that now the lawless one "may be revealed the son of perdition who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God and is worshipped"? But if the temptation is for a season, bear it, ye noble athletes of Christ.… If all creation is to be dissolved, and the fashion of this world transformed, why should we be surprised that we, who are a part of creation, should feel the general woe, and be delivered to afflictions which our just God inflicts on us according to the measure of our strength?… Brothers, martyrs' crowns await you. The companies of the confessors are ready to reach out their hands to you and to welcome you into their own ranks.

  Letter 139

• 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7

  Now, if good order with its attendant harmony is characteristic of those who look to one source of authority and are subject to one king, then universal disorder and disharmony are a sign that leadership is lacking. By the same token, if we discover in our midst such discord as I have mentioned, both with regard to one another and with respect to the Lord's commands, it would either be an indictment or our rejection of the true king. That agrees with the scriptural saying, "only that he who now holds back does so until he is taken out of the way," or of denial of him according to the psalmist, "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God."

  PREFACE ON THE JUDGMENT OF GOD

• 2 Thessalonians 2:15

  In answer to the objection that the doxology in the form "with the Spirit" has no written authority, we maintain that if there is no other instance of that which is unwritten, then this must not be received. But if the greater number of our mysteries are admitted into our constitution without written authority, then, in company with the many others, let us receive this one. For I hold it apostolic to abide also by the unwritten traditions. "I praise you," it is said, "that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you;" and "Hold fast the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word, or our Epistle." One of these traditions is the practice which is now before us, which they who ordained from the beginning, rooted firmly in the churches, delivering it to their successors, and its use through long custom advances pace by pace with time.

  On the Spirit 29.71

• 2 Thessalonians 3:5

  I am sure that a work done by one or two pious men is not done without the cooperation of the Holy Spirit. For when nothing merely human is put before us, when holy men are moved to action with no thought of their own personal gratification, and with the sole object of pleasing God, it is plain that it is the Lord Who is directing their hearts. When spiritually-minded men take the lead in counsel, and the Lord's people follow them with consentient hearts, there can be no doubt that their decisions are arrived at with the participation of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who poured out His blood for the Churches' sake.

  LETTERS 229

• 2 Thessalonians 3:6

  "And now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." In view of such declarations on the part of our Lord and the apostle, I marvel, I say, how it is that men display such zeal and such intense absorption in the pursuit of goods that will come to an end and be destroyed but have no regard for that which will remain, especially charity, the greatest of all goods, the distinguishing mark of the Christian. And not only this, but they show hostility to those who are zealous in its practice, and in fighting against them they fulfill the words of the Lord, namely, that they themselves do not enter in and those that are entering in they hinder. I beg and implore you, therefore, to be content with the words of the saints and of the Lord himself. Desist from curious inquiry and unseemly controversies. Think on those things that are worthy of your heavenly calling. Live in a manner befitting the gospel of Christ, relying on the hope of eternal life and the heavenly kingdom prepared for all those who keep the commandments of God the Father, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord in the Holy Spirit and in truth.

  CONCERNING FAITH

• 2 Thessalonians 3:6

  [Paul] says, "Knowing this, that our old nature is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed to the end that we may serve sin no longer." By these words we are taught that he who is baptized in Christ is baptized in his death, and is not only buried with Christ and planted together with him but is first of all crucified with him. Thus we are instructed that as he who is crucified is separated from the living, so also he who has been crucified with Christ in the likeness of his death is completely set apart from those who live according to the old nature. Hence the Lord commanded us to beware of false prophets, and the apostle says, "And we command you, brothers, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother walking disorderly and not according to the tradition which they have received of us." The "old nature" mentioned by the apostle signifies all sin and defilement, taken individually and together, as if they represented his own members.

  Concerning Baptism

• 2 Thessalonians 3:8

  But why should we dwell upon the amount of evil there is in idleness, when the apostle clearly specifies that he who does not work should not eat. As daily sustenance is necessary for everyone, so labor in proportion to one's strength is also essential. Solomon has written effectively in praise of hard work: "And she has not eaten her bread in idleness." And again, the apostle says of himself, "neither did we eat any man's bread for nothing, but in labor and in toil we worked night and day." Yet, since he was preaching the gospel, he was entitled to receive his livelihood from the gospel.… We have reason to fear, therefore, lest, perchance, on the day of judgment this fault also may be alleged against us, since he who has endowed us with the ability to work demands that our labor be proportioned to our capacity. For the Lord says, "To whom they have committed much, of him they will demand much."

  THE LONG RULES, Q.37.R

• 2 Thessalonians 3:8

  In this way we acquire a recollected spirit—when in every action we beg from God the success of our labors and satisfy our debt of gratitude to him who gave us the power to do the work, and when, as has been said, we keep before our minds the aim of pleasing him. If this is not the case, how can there be consistency in the words of the apostle bidding us to "pray without ceasing," with those other words: "we worked night and day"? Thanksgiving at all times has been commanded even from law and has been proved necessary to our life from both reason and nature. So we should not therefore be negligent in observing those times for prayer customarily established in communities—times which have inevitably been selected because each period contains a reminder peculiar to itself of blessings received from God.

  THE LONG RULES, Q.37.R.

• 2 Thessalonians 3:12

  This we must also keep in mind—that he who labors ought to perform his task not for the purpose of ministering to his own needs but that he may accomplish the Lord's command, "I was hungry and you gave me to eat," and so on. To be concerned for oneself is strictly forbidden by the Lord in the words, "Be not concerned for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on," and he adds, "for the heathens seek after all these things." Everyone, therefore, in doing his work, should place before himself the aim of service to the needy and not his own satisfaction. Thus, he will escape the charge of self-love and receive the blessing for fraternal charity from the Lord, who said, "As long as you did it to one of these, the least of my brothers, you did it to me." Nor should anyone think that the apostle is at variance with our rule when he says, "that working they would eat their own bread." This is addressed to the unruly and indolent, and means that it is better for each person to minister to himself at least and not be a burden to others than to live in idleness.

  THE LONG RULES, Q.42.R