2 Thessalonians 3:16 AMP
“Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.”
Besides the profound Scriptural revelations that the Spirit of God enabled the Apostle Paul to share in the body of his letters, there are powerful words the Apostle was also enabled to say while closing his Epistles. These were words of prayer, praise, encouragement, enlightenment, and divine insight, among others, that the Spirit of God made Paul pen—as if to leave a final lasting imprint of what had been written about in the minds of the readers. For instance, Paul crowned his letter to the believers in Corinth with these wonderful words: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:14 AMP).
To appreciate the power in that blessed benediction from its original Greek context, another version renders it thus: “The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it)” (2 Cor 13:14 AMPC). Hallelujah! To believers in Rome, Paul wrote, “Now to Him [God] who is able to establish and strengthen you [in the faith] according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forevermore! Amen” (Rom 16:25, 27 AMP).
Although the Roman world then was a common ground of cultures, philosophies, and religions, Paul knew that only the power of the “gospel and the preaching of [regarding] Jesus Christ” would “establish and strengthen” God’s people. That same truth still holds in our day, the remarkable global advancements notwithstanding. Paul’s closing words (in our text) to the Thessalonian believers, and us by extension, also speak volumes: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself grant you His peace at all times and in every way [that peace and spiritual well-being that comes to those who walk with Him, regardless of life’s circumstances]. The Lord be with you all.” Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel