The short answer
Paul tells the Thessalonians to hold to what the apostles taught orally and by letter. The word and the letter were both binding because they carried the apostles’ teaching. Paul also tells his readers to be alert to messages wrongly attributed to them. Read the passage in context
Where the argument turns
- Some apostolic preaching was preserved in letters. Whether Scripture preserves every teaching necessary for faith and life is the further question. Compare the examples
- Reformed Christians affirm Scripture as the sole enduring infallible rule. Catholics affirm Scripture and Sacred Tradition as one deposit, interpreted by the Church’s teaching office. Compare their own statements
- Latter-day Saints believe Christ restored apostolic authority and continues to reveal His will. That claim deserves to be examined directly. Read the Latter-day Saint case
What to ask
“What evidence explains what happened to the authority Paul’s oral teaching carried?”
What Paul tells them to keep
Yes. Paul tells the Thessalonians to hold to teaching they received “whether by word, or our epistle.” Both ways of teaching carried authority for his hearers. In verses 13–14 the teaching concerns the gospel by which God called them to salvation. Earlier in the chapter, Paul corrects alarm about the day of Christ and reminds them that he spoke to them about it in person. The source matters throughout. In verse 2 he warns about a message presented as coming from the apostles. In 3:17 he identifies his own handwriting as a sign. A message can be spoken or written and still need to be authenticated. 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–15 · 2 Thessalonians 3:17
The word translated “traditions” means teachings or practices handed down. In chapter 3 Paul also calls a concrete instruction a tradition. He tells the Thessalonians to remember the example he and his companions set by working to support themselves. He repeats the instruction in the letter. In Mark 7, Jesus condemns a tradition because it lets people evade God’s command to honor their parents. The relevant question in both places is what the teaching comes from and whether it is faithful to God. 2 Thessalonians 3:6–12 · Mark 7 and Corban
Was the oral teaching later written down?
Some of it clearly was. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the message he had delivered about Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and appearances. The letter preserves what they had already received. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs Timothy to entrust what he heard to faithful people who can teach others. That gives us an example of written preservation and a command to pass on what was heard. Neither passage inventories all the teachings that were spoken or says how every teaching was later preserved. 1 Corinthians 15:1–8 · 2 Timothy 2:2
James White’s argument deserves its strongest form. Paul speaks of a single body of teaching received in two ways. The verse supplies no list of doctrines available only by word of mouth. That is a good reason to ask for evidence when someone identifies a specific later tradition as apostolic. But one body of teaching delivered by two means can have some overlap, complete overlap, or different emphases. The phrase itself leaves the extent of the overlap open. White’s opening argument in the debate with Gerry Matatics
Ligonier points to verse 5, where Paul reminds his readers that he had already told them “these things.” That shows real overlap. Paul is repeating at least some instruction about the events surrounding Christ’s return. His reference to that instruction does not inventory everything the apostles taught. It is evidence that some oral teaching was written down, and gives us a concrete place to test the argument for complete preservation. 2 Thessalonians 2:1–5 · Ligonier, Standing on the Apostolic Tradition
What changed after the apostles?
The Reformed answer. The Westminster Confession says God committed His will wholly to writing as former ways of revealing it ceased. It says everything necessary for faith and life is stated in Scripture or follows from it by necessary consequence. In this view, preaching, creeds, and teachers can serve the Church under Scripture. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s answer on this verse accepts that Paul’s speech was binding and argues that the apostolic word now binds through the writings. The historical and theological claim is that Scripture became the sole enduring infallible rule. That claim needs support beyond Paul’s instruction to the Thessalonians. Westminster Confession 1.1, 1.6, 1.10 · Orthodox Presbyterian Church Q&A
The Catholic answer. Vatican II teaches that Scripture and Sacred Tradition form one deposit of God’s word, and that the Church’s teaching office serves and authentically interprets that deposit. It claims the apostles entrusted their teaching to successors who transmit it. That case involves the history and authority of the Church as well as the verse. Basil of Caesarea, for example, appealed to unwritten traditions in the fourth century and named practices such as making the sign of the cross and praying toward the east. Basil gives historical evidence of an appeal to unwritten practice. A separate question is whether a specific practice can be traced to the apostles and what authority it carries. Dei Verbum §§7–10 · Basil, On the Holy Spirit, ch. 27
The verse rules out a claim that apostolic speech lacked authority in Paul’s own day. A Reformed case still needs to explain why Scripture alone is the enduring rule. A Catholic case still needs to establish the authority through which Sacred Tradition was transmitted and is interpreted.
What Latter-day Saints claim
Latter-day Saints receive the Bible as scripture and believe Jesus Christ can continue to speak through prophets and apostles He calls. Doctrine and Covenants 68 describes the Lord’s servants speaking when moved upon by the Holy Ghost. Elder D. Todd Christofferson distinguishes such revelation and official doctrine from a leader’s personal judgment on a single occasion. We believe Christ restored apostolic authority, which gives us a reason to hear His commissioned servants today. That claim has its own historical and spiritual case. Paul’s letter gives us a reason to take genuine spoken revelation seriously, while leaving the identity and authority of a modern messenger to be tested. Articles of Faith 8–9 · Doctrine and Covenants 68:1–5 · Christofferson, The Doctrine of Christ · Compare the priesthood restoration accounts
A reply you could give
“I agree that Paul is talking about authentic apostolic teaching. He expects the Thessalonians to keep what they received both in person and by letter. If you believe only the written teaching remains binding today, what establishes that change? As a Latter-day Saint, I believe Christ restored the authority to speak for Him, so I’m happy to examine the evidence for that claim too.”
