2 Thessalonians 3:5

Direct (kateuqunai). First aorist active optative of wish for the future as in 2 Corinthians 2:17 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:23 from kateuqunw, old verb, as in 1 Thessalonians 3:11 (there way, here hearts) and Luke 1:79 of feet (poda). Perfective use of kata. Bold figure for making smooth and direct road. The Lord here is the Lord Jesus. Into the love of God (ei thn agaphn tou qeou). Either subjective or objective genitive makes sense and Lightfoot pleads for both, "not only as an objective attribute of deity, but as a ruling principle in our hearts," holding that it is "seldom possible to separate the one from the other." Most scholars take it here as subjective, the characteristic of God. Into the patience of Christ (ei thn upomnhn tou Cristou). There is the same ambiguity here, though the subjective idea, the patience shown by Christ, is the one usually accepted rather than "the patient waiting for Christ" (objective genitive).