Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Thessalonians 3:4

"And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command." — 2 Thessalonians 3:4 (ASV)

We have confidence in the Lord touching you — Rather, We rely upon you in the Lord. This clause is the counterpart to the last verse. St. Chrysostom’s entire comment is worth transcribing: “God, he says, is faithful. Having promised to save, He will surely save, but He will do so as He promised. And how did He promise? On the condition that we are willing and listen to Him—not unconditionally, nor while we remain inactive like stocks and stones. Yet, he was right to add, ‘We rely in the Lord,’ which is to say, ‘We trust in His love for humanity.’ Once more he humbles them, attributing the whole matter to that source. For if he had said, ‘We trust in you,’ it would have been a great compliment, but it would not have taught them to attribute everything to God. And if he had said, ‘We rely on the Lord that He will keep you,’ without adding ‘about you’ and ‘that you both do and will do the things we command,’ he would have made them less active by placing the whole matter on God's power.” (See the passage from Galatians referred to in the margin.)

Both do and will do — The emphasis of the sentence is on the future tense. The commendation of their present actions is intended only to soften the rebuke that the focus on the future alone might have conveyed. How careful St. Paul is not to wound sensitivities, though he never “pleases men”! (See, for instance, the Notes on 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:9–10; 1 Thessalonians 5:11.) This expression of confidence is an effective rhetorical means of preparing readers for the commands that are to follow.