In thanking God for the active faith, love, and hope already evidenced by the Thessalonian converts (1 Thess. 1:3), Paul asserts that they belong to the community which confesses that their past, present, and future rest with God. Essentially the same claim comes through in the concluding summary: You turned to serve and await … (1:9–10). An atmosphere of family intimacy surrounds Paul’s startling claim that the Thessalonian believers have been chosen by God. Literally translated, this assertion,