Ministry of Grace Church

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

Truth to Learn

Walking by faith means trusting that God will establish and guard you both now and in the future.

Behind the Words

The word translated “faithful” is pistos, which is based on peithō, meaning “to win over” or “to persuade.” In common usage it refers to someone who is worth believing, that is, someone who does what he or she says they will do. In Greek, word order is significant, with emphasis being given to the word or words expressed first. In this verse, the word order is “Faithful is the Lord,” which emphasizes God’s faithfulness.

“Establish” is from the Greek verb stēridzō, which is based on the noun histēmi, meaning “to stand.” Stēridzō means “to set firmly in place.” It is expressed here in the future tense, indicating action that God is going to do.

The word “guard” is translated from phulassō, which means “to keep watch over” or “to protect from harm.”

Ponēros is the word translated “evil one.” In the previous verse it was translated “wicked.” It refers to “evil in a moral or spiritual sense.” In this verse it is preceded by the definite article the, indicating a specific evil person.

Meaning Explained

As we mentioned above, Paul starts off this verse with “faithful,” which is the word pistos. What’s particularly interesting about this is that he ended the previous verse with “faith,” from the word pistis. Apparently, Paul is making a play on words here, saying “Not all men have faith in the Lord, but faithfulness is a characteristic of God.”

He is also using a play on words to make a point regarding how God will take care of us. He does this through his use of the verb stēridzō. A few verses back, in 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul gave a command to “stand fast and keep a firm hold on the things you have been taught.” The command form (imperative mood) of the verb implies it is something that is not happening, but it needs to happen. Then, in his prayer for them, Paul asks that God “may … establish you in every good word and work.” The use of stēridzō is that verse (2 Thessalonians 2:17) is in the optative mood, indicating that it may not be happening currently, but that it probably would. Now, in the current verse, Paul says that “the Lord will establish you and guard you.” This is expressed in the indicative mood, as something that definitely will happen because the Lord is faithful.

Not only will God make our stand firm, He will also protect us from the evil one. There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars as to whether Paul is talking about Satan (as Jesus was in His prayer for His disciples in Matthew 6:13), or to one of the “unreasonable and wicked men” that he referred to in the previous verse. Whatever position you take on this issue, the point is that God is faithful; He always does what He says He will do, and Paul says that He will establish and guard His children.

Application

Just because we’re saved through “faith” in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, doesn’t mean that we have “faith” in God’s protection and care for us. Saving faith is a one-time thing; walking faith is a lifelong thing. Are you currently walking by faith daily, trusting God to establish and guard you?