Greeting

Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace.

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonian Believers

We give thanks to God always concerning all of you, making mention constantly in our prayers, because we[a] remember your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, knowing, brothers dearly loved by God, that he has chosen you[b], because our gospel did not come to you with word only, but also with power and with the Holy Spirit and with much certainty, just as you know what sort of people we became among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all those who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia, for from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,[c] but in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us, what sort of welcome we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, the one who delivers us from the coming wrath.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“remember”) which is understood as causal
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Literally “the choice of you”
  3. 1 Thessalonians 1:8 Some manuscripts have “and in Achaia”

Greetings from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.

To the church of those in Thessalonica, who are in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be yours.

The Life and Faith of the Thessalonians

We always remember you when we pray, and we thank God for all of you. Every time we pray to God our Father, we thank him for all that you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, God loves you. And we know that he has chosen you to be his people. When we brought the Good News to you, we came with more than words. We brought that Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with the sure knowledge that it was true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you. And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with joy. The Holy Spirit gave you that joy.

You became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s teaching has spread from you throughout Greece and beyond. In fact, your faith in God has become known everywhere, so we never have to tell anyone about it. People everywhere are already telling the story about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serve the living and true God. 10 And you began waiting for God’s Son to come from heaven—the Son God raised from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is coming.