Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Thanksgiving for These Believers

1 Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being from God].

² We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers; ³ recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ.^{(A) 4 [a]}Brothers and sisters beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you; ⁵ for our good news [regarding salvation] came to you not only in word, but also in [its inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit. ⁶ You became imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord, after you welcomed our message in [a time of] great trouble with the joy supplied by the Holy Spirit; ⁷ so that you became an example to all the believers in ^[b]Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸ For the word of the Lord has resounded from you and has echoed [like thunder], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place [the news of] your [great] faith in God has spread, so that we never need to say anything about it. ⁹ For they themselves report about us, telling what kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰ and to [look forward and confidently] wait for [the coming of] His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who [personally] rescues us from the coming wrath [and draws us to Himself, granting us all the privileges and rewards of a new life with Him].

Paul’s Ministry

2 For you know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you has not been ineffective (fruitless, in vain), ² but after we had already suffered and been outrageously treated in Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned the courage to proclaim boldly to you the good news of God [regarding salvation] amid great opposition. ³ For our appeal does not come from delusion or impure motives, nor [is it motivated] by deceit [our message is complete, accurate, and based on the truth—it does not change]. ⁴ But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel [that tells the good news of salvation through faith in Christ], so we speak, not as [if we were trying] to please people [to gain power and popularity], but to please God who examines our hearts [expecting our best]. ⁵ For as you well know, we never came with words of flattery nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— ⁶ nor did we seek glory and honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone else, though as apostles of Christ we had the power to assert our authority. ⁷ But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother tenderly caring for her own children. ⁸ Having such a deep affection for you, we ^[c]were delighted to share with you not only God’s good news but also our own lives, because you had become so very dear to us.

⁹ For you remember, ^[d]believers, our labor and hardship. We worked night and day [practicing our trade] in order not to be a [financial] burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, how unworldly and just and blameless was our behavior toward you who believe [in our Lord Jesus Christ]. ¹¹ For you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you just as a father does [in dealing with] his own children, [guiding you] ¹² to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

¹³ And we also thank God continually for this, that when you received the word of God [concerning salvation] which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its inherent, supernatural power in those of faith]. ¹⁴ For you, ^[e]brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same [kind of] persecution from your own countrymen, as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵ who ^[f]killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and harassed and drove us out; and [they] continue to be highly displeasing to God and [to show themselves] hostile to all people, ¹⁶ forbidding us from speaking to the Gentiles (non-Jews) so that they may be saved. So, as always, they fill up [to the brim] the measure of their sins [allotted to them by God]. But [God’s] wrath has come upon them at last [completely and forever].^(B)

¹⁷ But since we were taken away from you, believers, for a little while—in person, but not in heart—we endeavored, with great longing to see you face to face. ¹⁸ For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again [wanted to come], but Satan hindered us. ¹⁹ For who is [the object of] our hope or joy or our victor’s wreath of triumphant celebration [when we stand] in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Is it not you? ²⁰ For you are [indeed] our glory and our joy!

Encouragement of Timothy’s Visit

3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure our separation [from you], we thought it best to be left behind, alone at Athens, ² and so we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in [spreading] the good news of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you [exhorting, comforting, and establishing you] in regard to your faith, ³ so that no one would be unsettled by these difficulties [to which I have referred]. For you know that we have been destined for this [as something unavoidable in our position]. ⁴ For even when we were with you, we warned you plainly in advance that we were going to experience persecution; and so, as you know, it has come to pass. ⁵ For this reason, when I could no longer endure the suspense, I sent someone to find out about your faith [how you were holding up under pressure], for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our work [among you] would prove to be ineffective.

⁶ But now that Timothy has come back to us from [his visit with] you, and has brought us good news of your [steadfast] faith and [the warmth of your] love, and [reported] that you always think kindly of us and treasure your memories of us, longing to see us just as we long to see you, ⁷ for this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and suffering we have been comforted and greatly encouraged about you because of your faith [your unwavering trust in God—placing yourselves completely in His loving hands]; ⁸ because now we really live [in spite of everything], if you stand firm in the Lord. ⁹ For what [adequate] thanks can we offer to God for you in return for all the joy and delight we have before our God on your account? ¹⁰ We continue to pray night and day most earnestly that we may see you face to face, and may complete whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith.

¹¹ Now may our God and Father Himself, and Jesus our Lord guide our steps to you [by removing the obstacles that stand in our way]. ¹² And may the Lord cause you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; ¹³ so that He may strengthen and establish your hearts without blame in holiness in the sight of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His ^[g]saints (God’s people).