2 Thessalonians 1:3 (GNV)

Passage

We ought to thanke God alwayes for you, brethren, as it is meete, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the loue of euery one of you toward another, aboundeth,

Nearby Context

2 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul and Siluanus, and Timotheus, vnto the Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God our Father, and in the Lord Iesus Christ:

2 Thessalonians 1:2 Grace be with you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Iesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought to thanke God alwayes for you, brethren, as it is meete, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the loue of euery one of you toward another, aboundeth,

2 Thessalonians 1:4 So that we our selues reioyce of you in the Churches of God, because of your patience and faith in al your persecutions and tribulatios that ye suffer,

2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous iudgement of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdome of God, for the which ye also suffer.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "ought", "thanke", "alwayes", "brethren", "meete", "groweth", and "exceedingly". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "ought", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Grace be with you and peace from..." into verse 4's "So that we our selues reioyce of...", so "faith" and "ought" belong inside that flow. In 2 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "ought" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.