John Calvin Commentary 2 Thessalonians 1:5

"[which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:" — 2 Thessalonians 1:5 (ASV)

A demonstration of the righteous judgment of God. Without mentioning the exposition given by others, in my opinion the true meaning is this — that the injuries and persecutions which innocent and pious persons endure from the wicked and abandoned show clearly, as in a mirror, that God will one day be the judge of the world.

And this statement is the complete opposite of that profane notion we are accustomed to entertain whenever it goes well for the good and badly for the wicked. For we think that the world is under the regulation of mere chance, and we leave God no control.

Consequently, impiety and contempt take possession of people's hearts, as Solomon says (Ecclesiastes 9:3). For those who suffer anything undeservedly either throw the blame upon God or do not think that He concerns Himself with human affairs.

We hear what Ovid says: “I am tempted to think that there are no gods.” Furthermore, David confesses (Psalms 73:1–12) that because he saw things in such a confused state in the world, he had nearly lost his footing, as if in a slippery place.

On the other hand, the wicked become more insolent because of prosperity, as if no punishment for their crimes awaited them — just as Dionysius, when making a prosperous voyage, boasted that the gods favored the sacrilegious.

In short, when we see that the cruelty of the wicked against the innocent goes unpunished, carnal sense concludes that there is no judgment of God, that there are no punishments for the wicked, and that there is no reward for righteousness.

Paul, however, declares on the other hand, that because God thus spares the wicked for a time and overlooks the injuries inflicted upon His people, His future judgment is shown to us as in a mirror. For he takes for granted that God, since He is a just Judge, must one day restore peace to the miserable who are now unjustly harassed, and will pay the oppressors of the pious the reward they have merited.

Hence, if we hold this principle of faith — that God is the just Judge of the world and that it is His office to repay everyone according to their works — then this second principle will follow indisputably: that the present disorderly state of matters (ἀταξίαν) is a demonstration of the judgment that does not yet appear.

For if God is the righteous Judge of the world, those things that are now confused must necessarily be restored to order. Now, nothing is more disorderly than that the wicked, unpunished, harass the good and act with unbridled violence, while the good are cruelly harassed without any fault on their part.

From this it may be readily inferred that God will one day ascend the judgment-seat to remedy the state of affairs in the world, so as to bring them into a better condition.

Hence the statement which he adds — that it is righteous with God to appoint affliction, etc. — is the foundation of this doctrine: that God provides signs of a judgment to come when He refrains, for now, from exercising the office of judge. And unquestionably, if matters were now arranged satisfactorily, so that God’s judgment might be recognized as having been fully exercised, an adjustment of this nature would keep us focused on the earth.

Hence God, to stir us up to the hope of a judgment to come, for now, only judges the world to some extent. He provides, it is true, many signs of His judgment, but in such a way as to compel us to extend our hope further.

Truly, this is a remarkable passage, teaching us how our minds ought to be lifted above all the obstacles of the world whenever we suffer any adversity, so that the righteous judgment of God may come to our minds and raise us above this world. Thus death will be an image of life.

May be accounted worthy. There are no persecutions to be considered of such value as to make us worthy of the kingdom of God, nor does Paul dispute here about the basis of worthiness.

Instead, he simply takes the common doctrine of Scripture: that God destroys in us those things that are of the world, so that He may restore a better life in us; and furthermore, that by means of afflictions He shows us the value of eternal life.

In short, he simply points out the manner in which believers are prepared and, as it were, polished under God’s anvil, since by afflictions they are taught to renounce the world and to aim at God’s heavenly kingdom.

Furthermore, they are confirmed in the hope of eternal life while they fight for it. For this is the entrance of which Christ spoke to His disciples (Matthew 7:13; Luke 13:24).