1 Thessalonians 1:1–4:18

Greeting

1Paul, ^aSilvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the ^bThessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

^cGrace to you and peace.

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

^2dWe give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly^{1 e}mentioning you in our prayers, ³remembering before ^four God and Father ^gyour work of faith and labor of ^hlove and ⁱsteadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, ^jbrothers² loved by God, ^kthat he has chosen you, ⁵because ^lour gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and ^min the Holy Spirit and with full ⁿconviction. You know ^owhat kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶And ^pyou became imitators of us ^qand of the Lord, for ^ryou received the word in much affliction, ^swith the ^tjoy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord ^usounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth ^veverywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of ^wreception we had among you, and how ^xyou turned to God ^yfrom idols to serve the living and ^ztrue God, ¹⁰and ^ato wait for his Son ^bfrom heaven, ^cwhom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^dwho delivers us from ^ethe wrath to come.

Paul’s Ministry to the Thessalonians

2For you yourselves know, brothers,¹ that our ^fcoming to you ^gwas not in vain. ²But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated ^hat Philippi, as you know, ⁱwe had boldness in our God ^jto declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much ^kconflict. ³For ^lour appeal does not spring from ^merror or ⁿimpurity or ^oany attempt to deceive, ⁴but just as we have been approved by God ^pto be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not ^qto please man, but to please God ^rwho tests our hearts. ^5sFor we never came with words of flattery,² as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—^tGod is witness. ^6uNor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, ^vthough we could have made ^wdemands as ^xapostles of Christ. ⁷But we were ^ygentle³ among you, ^zlike a nursing mother taking care of her own children. ⁸So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God ^abut also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

⁹For you remember, brothers, ^bour labor and toil: we ^cworked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰You are witnesses, and ^dGod also, ^ehow holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. ¹¹For you know how, ^flike a father with his children, ¹²we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and ^gcharged ^hyou to walk in a manner worthy of God, ⁱwho calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³And ^jwe also thank God constantly⁴ for this, that when you received ^kthe word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it ^lnot as the word of men⁵ but as what it really is, the word of God, ^mwhich is at work in you believers. ¹⁴For you, brothers, ⁿbecame imitators of ^othe churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For ^pyou suffered the same things from your own countrymen ^qas they did from the Jews,^{6 15r}who killed both the Lord Jesus and ^sthe prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and ^toppose all mankind ^16uby hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always ^vto fill up the measure of their sins. But ^wwrath has come upon them at last!⁷

Paul’s Longing to See Them Again

¹⁷But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, ^xin person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire ^yto see you face to face, ¹⁸because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan ^zhindered us. ¹⁹For what is our hope or ^ajoy or crown of boasting ^bbefore our Lord Jesus at his ^ccoming? Is it not you? ²⁰For you are our glory and joy.

3Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing ^dto be left behind at Athens alone, ²and we ^esent Timothy, ^four brother and God’s coworker¹ in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, ³that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that ^gwe are destined for this. ⁴For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, ^hjust as it has come to pass, and just as you know. ⁵For this reason, ⁱwhen I could bear it no longer, ⁱI sent to learn about your faith, ^jfor fear that somehow ^kthe tempter had tempted you and ^lour labor would be in vain.

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

⁶But ^mnow that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of ⁿyour faith and love and reported ^othat you always remember us kindly and ^plong to see us, as we long to see you— ⁷for this reason, brothers,² in all our distress and affliction ^qwe have been comforted about you through your faith. ⁸For now we live, if you ^rare standing fast in the Lord. ⁹For ^swhat thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, ¹⁰as we pray most earnestly ^tnight and day ^uthat we may see you face to face and ^vsupply what is lacking in your faith?

¹¹Now may ^wour God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, ^xdirect our way to you, ¹²and may the Lord ^ymake you increase and abound in love ^zfor one another and for all, as we do for you, ¹³so that he may ^aestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before ^wour God and Father, at ^bthe coming of our Lord Jesus ^cwith all his saints.

A Life Pleasing to God

4Finally, then, brothers,¹ we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you ^dreceived from us ^ehow you ought to walk and ^fto please God, just as you are doing, that you ^gdo so more and more. ²For ^hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, ⁱyour sanctification:^{2 j}that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴that each one of you know how to control his own ^kbody³ in holiness and ^lhonor, ⁵not in ^mthe passion of lust ⁿlike the Gentiles ^owho do not know God; ⁶that no one transgress and ^pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is ^qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷For ^rGod has not called us for ^simpurity, but in holiness. ⁸Therefore ^twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, ^uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now concerning ^vbrotherly love ^wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been ^xtaught by God ^yto love one another, ¹⁰for that indeed is what ^zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ^ado this more and more, ¹¹and to aspire ^bto live quietly, and ^cto mind your own affairs, and ^dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹²so that you may ^ewalk properly before ^foutsiders and be dependent on no one.

The Coming of the Lord

¹³But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, ^gthat you may not grieve as others do ^hwho have no hope. ¹⁴For ⁱsince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him ^jthose who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵For this we declare to you ^kby a word from the Lord,⁴ that ^lwe who are alive, who are left until ^mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For ⁿthe Lord himself will descend ^ofrom heaven ^pwith a cry of command, with the voice of ^qan archangel, and ^rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And ^sthe dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be ^tcaught up together with them ^uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so ^vwe will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.