2. κ. ἐπέμψαμενΤιμόθεονκτλ.] Timothy is described as ἀδελφός by St Paul in the salutations of 2 Cor., Col., and Philem. (cf. Hebrews 13:23), but the title διάκονος is not elsewhere bestowed on him exc. in 1 Timothy 4:6 (καλὸςἔσῃδιάκονοςΧρ. Ἰησοῦ). Here the lofty διάκ. τ. θεοῦ is further defined by ἐντ. εὐαγγ. τ. χριστοῦ to mark the sphere in which the service or ministry is rendered, viz. ‘ the Gospel’ which has for its object ‘ the Christ’ as the fulfiller of the one God’ s gracious purposes on His people’ s behalf (Add. Note D)— the whole description being intended not so much to emphasize the greatness of the Apostles’ sacrifice in parting with Timothy, as to lay stress on the dignity of his mission and prevent the Thessalonians from undervaluing it (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:18 ff., Philippians 2:20 ff.). In contrast with δοῦλος or θεράπων, the servant in his relation to a person, διάκονος represents rather the servant in relation to his work (Trench Syn. § 9), and like ἐπίσκοπος (Deissmann, BS. p. 230 f.) is already found as a term. techn. in pre-Christian times, Thus in C.I.G. 11. 3037 along with a ἱερεύς and a ἱέρεια of the δώδεκαθεῶν we hear of two διάκονοι and of a female διάκονος (cf. Romans 16:1), and in Magn. 109 (c. 1./b.c.) in a list of sacred functionaries there appear μάγειρος ... διάκονος (cf. Thieme p. 17 f.). The reading διάκ. τ. θεοῦ is however by no means certain in the passage before us, and if the marginal συνεργὸν [τοῦθεοῦ] is adopted, the thought then finds a striking parallel in 1 Corinthians 3:9 θεοῦγάρἐσμενσυνεργοί, cf. 2 Corinthians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 8:23. Weiss (Textkritik der paulinischen Briefe (in Text. u. Unter. 14:3) p. 13) regards the reading of B συνεργόν without τοῦθεοῦ as the original, on the ground that the genesis of the other variants is thus most easily explained. εἰςτὸστηρίξαικτλ.] Στηρίζειν in its metaph. sense is found only in late Gk., cf. e.g. Epict. Gnomologium Stobaei 39 (ed. Schenkl) τοὺςἐνοικοῦνταςεὐνοίᾳκ. πίστεικ. φιλίᾳστήριζε. By St Paul, who uses it only in these Epp. and in Rom. (1:11, 16:25), it is again combined with παρακαλέσαι (2:11 note) in 2 Thessalonians 2:17 : for ἐπιστηρίζειν in the same combination cf. Acts 14:22; Acts 15:32. Swete (ad Revelation 3:2) classes στηρίζειν with βεβαιοῦν and θεμελιοῦν as technical words in primitive pastoralia. For εἰςτό with inf. see the note on 2:12. ὑπὲρτῆςπίστεωςὑμῶν] not ‘ concerning’ (A.V., R.V.) but ‘ for the furtherance of your faith’—ὑπέρ here retaining something of its original force ‘ for the advantage or benefit of’ : contrast 2 Thessalonians 2:1.