1 Thessalonians 3:12 Meaning and Explanation
“And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Paul prays that the Lord would make their love grow and overflow toward one another and toward everyone.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 3:12 Mean?
Paul prays for their love to swell, asking the Lord to 'make you to increase and abound' in it. He widens the circle deliberately: love 'one toward another' within the church, and then 'toward all men,' reaching beyond the fellowship to everyone. And he offers his own love for them as the pattern, 'even as we do toward you.'
Christian love is meant to grow, not merely to exist. Paul asks not for a trickle but an overflow, a love that abounds until it spills past the boundaries of the community to embrace outsiders, even enemies. Notice that this growth is something the Lord must 'make' happen; love of this scope is His gift before it is our effort. Yet it is offered through real human example, for Paul points to his own affection as the model. A church that loves its own deeply and then keeps widening the circle reflects the heart of God, whose love reaches to all. This is the increase Paul longs to see.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 in the Original Language
perisseuo (περισσεύω), 'abound' -- to overflow, to have more than enough, to exist in abundance.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Thessalonians 3:12
What does 1 Thessalonians 3:12 mean?
Paul prays that the Lord would make their love grow and overflow toward one another and toward everyone.