τοῦ Κυρίου] i.e. ‘of Christ.’ In 1 Thess. ii. 12 indeed we have περιπατεῖν ἀξίως τοῦ Θεοῦ; but St Paul’s common, and apparently universal, usage requires us to understand ὁ Κύριος of Christ.
ἀρέσκειαν] i.e. ‘to please God in all ways’; comp. 1 Thess. iv. 1 πῶς δεῖ ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν καὶ αρέσκειν Θεῷ. As this word was commonly used to describe the proper attitude of men towards God, the addition of τοῦ Θεοῦ would not be necessary: Philo Quis rer. div. her. 24 (I. p. 490) ὡς ἀποδεχομένου (τοῦ Θεοὖ τὰς ψυχῆς ἑκουσίου ἀρεσκείας, de Abrah. 25 (II. p. 20) τὰς πρὸς ἀρέσκειαν ὁρμάς, de Vict. Off. 8 (II. p. 257) διὰ πασῶν ἰέναι τῶν εἰς ἀρέσκειαν ὁδῶν, with other passages quoted by Loesner. Otherwise it is used especially of ingratiating oneself with a sovereign or potentate, e.g. Polyb. vi. 2. 12; and perhaps in the higher connexion, in which it occurs in the text, the idea of a king is still prominent, as e.g. Philo de Mund. Op. 50 (I. p. 34) πάντα καὶ λέγειν καὶ πράττειν ἐσπούδαζεν εἰς ἀρέσκειαν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ βασιλέως. Towards men this complaisance is always dangerous and most commonly vicious; hence ἀρέσκεια is a bad quality in Aristotle [?] (Eth. Eud. ii. 3 τὸ λίαν πρὸς ἡδονήν) as also in Theophrastus (Char. 5 οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ βελτίστῳ ἡδονῆς παρασκευαστική), but towards the King of kings no obsequiousness can be excessive. The ἀρέσκεια of Aristotle and Theophrastus presents the same moral contrast to the ἀρέσκεια here, as ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκειν to Θεῷ ἀρέσκειν in such passages as 1 Thess. ii. 4, Gal. i. 10. Opposed to the ἀρέσκεια commended here is ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια condemned below, iii. 22.
ἐν παντὶ κ.τ.λ.] i.e. ‘not only showing the fruits of your faith before men (Matt. vii. 16), but yourselves growing meanwhile in moral stature (Eph. iv. 13).’
I. 11]
[← ] ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες καὶ αὐξανόμενοι τῇ ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ· 11ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει δυναμούμενοι κατὰ τὸ [ →]
τῇ ἐπιγνώσει] ‘by the knowledge.’ The other readings, ἐν τῇ ἐπιγνώσει, εἰς τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν, are unsuccessful attempts to define the construction. The simple instrumental dative represents the knowledge of God as the dew or the rain which nurtures the growth of the plant; Deut. xxxii. 2, Hos. xiv. 5.
11. δυναμούμενοι] A word found more than once in the Greek versions of the Old Testament, Ps. lxvii (lxviii). 29 (LXX), Eccles. x. 10 (LXX), Dan. ix. 27 (Theod.), Ps. lxiv (lxv). 4 (Aq.), Job xxxvi. 9 (Aq.), but not occurring elsewhere in the New Testament, except in Heb. xi. 34 and as a various reading in Ephes. vi. 10. The compound ἐνδυναμοῦν however appears several times in St Paul and elsewhere.
κατὰ τὸ κράτος] The power communicated to the faithful corresponds to, and is a function of, the Divine might whence it comes. Unlike δύναμις or ἰσχὺς, the word κράτος in the New Testament is applied solely to God.