2 Thessalonians 3:17

The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

See under 2 Thessalonians 3:4 for pertinent comment on Paul's attestation. Significantly, Paul here declared that all of his epistles were similarly authenticated; thus it is likely that the usual Pauline "grace and peace" at the end of his writings were always written by himself, whether or not it was so stated in the text of the letter, as here. It is not clear whether or not Paul meant by "every letter" those he had already written or those to be written in the future.

Thus concludes the shortest New Testament epistle addressed to a congregation. We are indebted to Hayes for the following observations:[21]

1. The word "law" does not occur in either of the Thessalonian letters.

2. The cross is not mentioned in the epistle, and the death of Christ is mentioned but once.

3. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14,15 is the first mention of church discipline in the New Testament.

4. The language of 2 Thessalonians 3:17, "every epistle," seems to indicate a number of genuine epistles; and as there are in the New Testament only one or two known prior epistles, the conclusion could be that Paul's correspondence was much larger than that which we now possess.

Despite the brevity of this little jewel of a letter, however, it is freighted with some of the most interesting and instructive teaching in Holy Writ. Thanks be to God for the gift of his word!