1 Thessalonians 1-3

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you.

2We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers

3and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

4Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,

5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with great conviction—just as you know we lived among you for your sake.

6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.

7As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

8For not only did the message of the Lord ring out from you to Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone out to every place, so that we have no need to say anything more.

9For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

10and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

1You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.

2As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

3For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.

4Instead, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, not in order to please men but God, who examines our hearts.

5As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!

6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

7On the contrary, we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her children.

8We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.

9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

11For you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children—

12encouraging you, comforting you, and urging you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

13And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

14For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,

16hindering us from telling the Gentiles how they may be saved. As a result, they continue to heap up their sins to full capacity; the utmost wrath has come upon them.

17Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.

18For we wanted to come to you—indeed I, Paul, tried again and again—but Satan obstructed us.

19After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

20You are indeed our glory and our joy.

1So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.

2We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,

3so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.

4Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.

5For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

6But just now, Timothy has returned from his visit with the good news about your faith, your love, and the fond memories you have preserved, longing to see us just as we long to see you.

7For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.

8For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.

9How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?

10Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.

11Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

12And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone else, just as our love for you overflows,

13so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.