2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly [1] mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
ESVSB: 1 Thess. 1:2–3 Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Faith, Love, and Hope. Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians are evidencing the essential marks of the Christian life—faith, love, and hope.
1 Thess. 1:3 remembering. Paul may be recalling the events of his mission to Thessalonica, or this may just be standard prayer language. faith … love … hope. A common Pauline triad (cf. 5:8; Rom. 5:2–5; 1 Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:5–6; Eph. 4:2–5). The prominent final position here belongs to hope, which seems fitting in a letter so concerned with the end times (1 Thess. 1:10; 2:12, 19–20; 3:13; 4:13–18; 5:1–11, 23–24). work … labor … steadfastness. These are the practical outworking of the Thessalonians' conversion. The “work” the Thessalonians do is a result or consequence of their “faith.” So, too, their “labor” flows from “love,” and their endurance or “steadfastness” comes from “hope.”
NBC: Paul begins most of his letters by telling how he expresses thanks to God for what he is doing in the lives of the readers. This prayer–report makes clear his own love and concern for his friends and also serves to encourage them in their Christian lives. Its theme is the steadfastness and energy with which the readers have maintained their original faith and so become a [p. 1278] witness to other people. The three foundational Christian qualities of faith, love and hope (cf. 5:8; 1 Cor. 13:13; Col. 1:4-5) had given rise to hard effort and endurance despite an adverse situation.
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4 For we know, brothers [2] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
1 Thess. 1:4–2:16 Paul's Confidence in the Election of the Thessalonians. Paul is confident that the Thessalonians are elect because of God's blessing on the missionaries during the mission and the authenticity of the Thessalonians' reception of the gospel and subsequent obedience.
1 Thess. 1:4 The ultimate reason for Paul's certainty regarding the Thessalonians' election is that they are brothers loved by God. God's love undergirds election (Eph. 1:4–5; cf. Rom. 1:7; 9:13) and is demonstrated by it (Rom. 8:35–39; 11:28). Chosen (lit., “elected,” using Gk. eklogē, “choice, selection, election”) refers to God's antecedent sovereign act of appointing people for eternal life (see notes on Rom. 10:20–21; Eph. 1:4; 1:5; 1:11). Paul infers from the events of the mission that the Thessalonians were elect and therefore he can reassure them that they are forever secure.
9 5
1 Thess. 1:5–10 because. Paul grounds his confidence that the Thessalonians are elect in two things: the undeniable authenticity and authority of those preaching the gospel to them (v. 5) and the exemplary nature of the Thessalonians' response to the gospel (vv. 6–10). First, he appeals to the fact that the missionaries' preaching (our gospel) was characterized by power (miraculous power, or power in preaching, or both), the Holy Spirit (manifestations of the Spirit's approving presence), and full conviction (transparent sincerity and integrity, bringing certainty to the hearers' minds). You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. The genuineness of the gospel was reinforced, as it always should be, by the evident integrity of its preachers.
1 Thess. 1:5–10 because. Paul grounds his confidence that the Thessalonians are elect in two things: the undeniable authenticity and authority of those preaching the gospel to them (v. 5) and the exemplary nature of the Thessalonians' response to the gospel (vv. 6–10). First, he appeals to the fact that the missionaries' preaching (our gospel) was characterized by power (miraculous power, or power in preaching, or both), the Holy Spirit (manifestations of the Spirit's approving presence), and full conviction (transparent sincerity and integrity, bringing certainty to the hearers' minds). You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. The genuineness of the gospel was reinforced, as it always should be, by the evident integrity of its preachers.
4-5 This evidence confirmed the fact that God had chosen the readers. This phrase indicates not only that God had called them through the preaching of the gospel (2:12) but also that they had responded to him with faith (2:13). The human words expressing the gospel would have been useless had they not been accompanied by the power of the Spirit and by a consequent sense of conviction and assurance on the part of the preachers. These factors had convinced the hearers of the truth of the gospel and enabled them to accept it and live it out, as their subsequent behaviour demonstrated.
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6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
1 Thess. 1:6 imitators of us. The Thessalonians followed Paul's example even as Paul followed Christ's example. for you received the word in much affliction. See Acts 17:5–9; 1 Thess. 2:14. Suffering affliction is normal for those destined to be saved at the end (see Rom. 8:17–18; 1 Pet. 4:12–14). with the joy of the Holy Spirit. The remarkable joy in suffering that characterized the Thessalonian Christians was patterned after the joy of Jesus and Paul.
1 Thess. 1:8 not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth. This may refer to evangelistic activities or, more likely, news of the Thessalonians' newfound faith. Either way, what transpired in Thessalonica resulted in the gospel being proclaimed far and wide, no doubt aided by the fact that Thessalonica was strategically located (see Introduction: Purpose, Occasion, and Background).
6-8 The missionaries, like Jesus himself, had been strongly attacked, but they had stood up to the opposition without giving in. So too the readers had welcomed the message, despite adversity, with the sort of joy that could be due only to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives (cf. Rom. 5:5; 14:17; Gal. 5:22). This made them an example to other Christians in the two Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia that covered roughly the area of modern Greece. News of their conversion had spread right through this area, partly through evangelistic work by the readers themselves and partly by other people talking about them. Everywhere is a broad term for all the places where Christians were to be found. Paul obviously would tell in one place what was happening to believers in another (part of the confirmation of the truth of the good news (3:6) was to tell how God was changing the lives of people in many different places), but in this case he did not need to do so.
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9 For they themselves report concerning us the 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 wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thess. 1:9–10 The Greeks from other areas report that the Thessalonians had repented of their idolatrous past, had committed themselves to serve God, and were waiting for Jesus' second coming—the key traits of genuine Christian conversion. living and true God. In contrast to idols, God is the only real Deity. wait for his Son. This is the first of many references to the second coming in this letter (cf. 2:12, 19–20; 3:13; 4:13–18; 5:1–11, 23–24). whom he raised from the dead. This may anticipate 4:13–18, where Paul affirms the Thessalonians' hope for the deceased on the foundation of Jesus' resurrection from the dead (4:14). delivers us from the wrath to come. This may anticipate 5:1–11, where Paul emphasizes that the Thessalonians are not destined for wrath at the final judgment.
9-11 The response of the Thessalonians to the gospel is summed up in three phrases that doubtless reflect the language of the early preaching. First, they had abandoned idols. The appeal to do so was a necessary part of the message to Gentiles, as opposed to Jews (cf. Acts 14:15; 17:22-31). Secondly, they had turned to the living and true God to serve him. Because some people abandoned idolatry merely out of a belief that either there were no gods or they were not interested in mankind, the Christian message had to stress the positive alternative. Thirdly, they had pinned their hope on Jesus as the one and only deliverer from future judgment. Jesus, however, was no mere man to have such a role. He had been raised from the dead by the power of God, and by this act God was declaring him to be his Son (cf. Acts 17:31; Rom. 1:3-4). Jewish preaching to Gentiles (which the Christians naturally took over) covered the two previous points; this was the distinguishing feature of the Christian message.
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