Thessalonians-1 Chapters

1 | • ¹From Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy to the church of Thessalonica, which is in God, the Father, and Christ Jesus, the Lord.

May the peace and grace of God be with you.

²We give thanks to God at all times for you and remember you in our prayers. ³We constantly recall before God, our Father, the work of your faith, the labors of your love, and your endurance in waiting for Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁴We remember brothers and sisters, the circumstances of your being called. ⁵The gospel we brought you was such, not only in words. Miracles, the Holy Spirit, and plenty of everything were given to you. You also know how we dealt with you, for your sake.

⁶In return, you became followers of us and the Lord when, on receiving the word, you experienced the joy of the Holy Spirit amid great opposition. ⁷And you became a model for the faithful of Macedonia and Achaia, ⁸since, from you, the word of the Lord spread to Macedonia and Achaia, and still farther. Your faith in God has become news in so many places that we need to say no more about it. ⁹Others tell of how you welcomed us and turned from idols to the Lord. For you serve the living and true God, ¹⁰and you wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who frees us from impending trial.

The Beginning of the Church of Thessalonica

2 | • ¹You well know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not in vain. ²We had been ill-treated and insulted in Philippi, but trusting in our God, we dared announce to you the message of God and face fresh opposition. ³Our warnings did not conceal any error or impure motive, nor did we deceive anyone. ⁴But, as God had entrusted his gospel to us, as faithful ministers, we were anxious to please God, who sees the heart rather than human beings. ⁵We never pleased you with flattery, as you know, nor did we try to earn money, as God knows. ⁶We did not try to make a name for ourselves among people, either with you or anybody else, although we were messengers of Christ and could have made our weight felt.

⁷On the contrary, we were gentle with you as a nursing mother who feeds and cuddles her baby. ⁸And so great is our concern, that we are ready to give you, as well as the gospel, even our very lives, for you have become very dear to us.

⁹Remember our labor and toil; when we preached the gospel, we worked day and night not to burden you. ¹⁰You are witnesses with God that we were holy, just and blameless toward all of you who now believe. ¹¹We warned each of you as a father warns his children; ¹²we encouraged you and urged you to adopt a way of life worthy of God, who calls you to share his glory and kingdom.

¹³This is why we never cease giving thanks to God; on receiving our message, you accepted it not as human teaching but as the word of God. That is what it is, and as such, it is at work in you who believe.

•  ¹⁴Brothers and sisters, you followed the example of God's churches in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you suffered from your compatriots the same trials they suffered from the Jews, ¹⁵who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecute us. They displease God and harm all people ¹⁶when they prevent us from speaking to the pagans and trying to save them. By doing so, they are heaping up their sins, but now, judgment is coming upon them.

¹⁷We are, for a time, deprived of your presence, but not in our heart, and we eagerly long to see you. ¹⁸For we have wanted to visit you, and I, Paul, more than once, but Satan prevented us. ¹⁹In fact, who but you are our hope and our joy? Who but you will be our glorious crown before Jesus, our Lord when he returns? ²⁰Yes, indeed, you are our glory and our joy.

Paul’s Concern

3 | • ¹As I could no longer bear it, I decided to go alone to Athens, ²and send you Timothy, our brother and co-worker of God in the gospel of Christ. I wanted him to encourage you in the faith and strengthen you, ³so that none of you might turn back because of the trials you are now enduring. You know that such is our destiny. ⁴I warned you of this when I was there: “We shall have to face persecution,” and so it was, as you have seen. ⁵Therefore, I could not stand it any longer and sent Timothy to appraise your faith and see if the Tempter had tempted you and made our work useless.

⁶But just now Timothy has just returned bringing good news of your faith and love. He told us that you remember us kindly and long to see us as much as we long to see you. ⁷What a consolation for us, brothers and sisters, amid our troubles and trials, this faith of yours! ⁸It is a breath of life for us when you stand firm in the Lord. ⁹How can we thank God enough for all the joy that we feel before God because of you? ¹⁰Day and night we beg of him to let us see you again, that we may complete the instruction of the believers.

¹¹May God, our Father, and Jesus, our Lord, prepare the way for us to visit you. ¹²May the Lord increase your love for each other and for all people as he increases our love for you. ¹³May he strengthen you internally to be holy and blameless before God, our Father, on the day that Jesus, our Lord, will come with all his saints.

A Call to a Life of Purity and Work

4 | • ¹For the rest, brothers and sisters, we ask you in the name of Jesus, the Lord, and we urge you to live in a way that pleases God, just as you have learned from us. You do this but try to do more. ²You know the instructions we gave you on behalf of the Lord Jesus: ³The will of God for you is to become holy and refrain from immorality.

⁴Let each of you behave toward his wife as a holy and respectful husband, ^fiverather than being led by lust, as are pagans who do not know God. ⁶In this matter, let no one offend or wrong a brother or a sister. The Lord will do justice in all these things, as we have warned and shown you. ⁷God has called us to live, not in impurity, but in holiness, ⁸and those who do not heed this instruction disobey, not a human, but God, himself, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

⁹Regarding mutual love, you do not need anyone to write to you because God himself taught you how to love one another. ¹⁰You already practice it with all the brothers and sisters of Macedonia, but I invite you to do more. ¹¹Consider how important it is to live quietly, without bothering others, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands as we have charged you. ¹²In obeying these rules, you will win the respect of outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Do Not Grieve as Others Do

•  ¹³Brothers and sisters, we want you not to be mistaken about those who are already asleep, lest you grieve like those who have no hope. ¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and rose; it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them together with Jesus and for his sake.

¹⁵By the same word of the Lord, we assert this: those of us who will be alive at the Lord’s coming will not go ahead of those who are already asleep. ¹⁶When the command by the archangel’s voice is given, the Lord will come down from heaven while the divine trumpet call is sounding. Then those who have died in the Lord will rise first; ¹⁷as for us who are still alive, we will be brought along with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the celestial world. And we will be with the Lord forever.

¹⁸So then, comfort one another with these words.

You Are Citizens of the Light

5 | • ¹You do not need anyone to write to you about the delay and the appointed time for these events. ²You know that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. ³When people feel secure and at peace, the disaster will suddenly come upon them as the birth pangs of a woman in labor, and they will not escape.

⁴But you, beloved, are not in darkness, so that day will not surprise you like a thief. ⁵All of you are citizens of the light and the day; we do not belong to night and darkness. ⁶Let us not, therefore, sleep as others do but remain alert and sober.

⁷Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who drink get drunk at night. ⁸Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, put on the breastplate of faith and love, and let the hope of salvation be our helmet. ⁹For God has not willed us to be condemned, but to win salvation through Christ Jesus, our Lord. ¹⁰He died for us so we might enter life with him, whether we are still awake or already asleep. ¹¹Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another as you are doing now.

¹²Brothers and sisters, I want you to be thankful to those who labor among you, who lead you in the Lord's way and reprimand you. ¹³Esteem them highly and love them for what they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves.

¹⁴We urge you to warn the idle, encourage those who feel discouraged, sustain the weak, and have patience with everyone. ¹⁵See that no one repays evil for evil, but try to do good, whether among yourselves or toward others.

¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing ¹⁸and give thanks to God at every moment. This is the will of God, your vocation as Christians.

•  ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit, ²⁰do not despise the prophets’ warnings. ²¹Put everything to the test and hold fast to what is good. ²²Avoid evil, wherever it may be.

²³May the God of peace make you holy and achieve perfection. May you be completely blameless in spirit, soul, and body, till the coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord; ²⁴he who called you is faithful and will do it.

²⁵Brothers and sisters, pray for us. ²⁶Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. ²⁷I order you, in the name of the Lord, that this letter be read to all of them.

²⁸May the grace of Christ Jesus, our Lord, be with you.