2 Thessalonians 3:9 (GNV)

Passage

Not because we haue not authoritie, but that we might make our selues an ensample vnto you to follow vs.

Nearby Context

2 Thessalonians 3:7 For ye your selues know, how ye ought to follow vs: for we behaued not our selues inordinately among you,

2 Thessalonians 3:8 Neither tooke we bread of any man for nought: but we wrought with labour and trauaile night and day, because we would not be chargeable to any of you.

2 Thessalonians 3:9 Not because we haue not authoritie, but that we might make our selues an ensample vnto you to follow vs.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For euen when we were with you, this we warned you of, that if there were any, which would not worke, that he should not eate.

2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we heare, that there are some which walke among you inordinately, and worke not at all, but are busie bodies.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "haue", "authoritie", "might", "make", "selues", "ensample", "vnto", and "follow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "haue" and "authoritie", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Neither tooke we bread of any man..." into verse 10's "For euen when we were with you...", so "haue" and "authoritie" 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 "haue" and "authoritie" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.