1 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We send our greetings to you, the congregation of believers in Thessalonica, which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God’s delightful grace and peace rest upon you.
2 We are grateful to God for your lives and we always pray for you.
3 For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love motivates you to serve others, and how unrelenting is your hope-filled patience in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 Dear brothers and sisters, you are dearly loved by God and we know that he has chosen you to be his very own.
5 For our gospel came to you not merely in the form of words but in mighty power infused with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. Surely you remember how we lived our lives transparently before you to encourage you.
6 And you became followers of my example and the Lord’s when you received the word with the joy of the Holy Spirit, even though it resulted in tremendous trials and persecution.
7 Now you have become an example for all the believers to follow throughout the provinces of Greece.
8 The message of the Lord has sounded out from you not only in Greece, but its echo has been heard in every place where people are hearing about your strong faith. We don’t need to brag on you,
9 for everyone tells the story of the kind of welcome you showed us when we first came to you. And everyone knows how wonderfully you turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God.
10 And now you eagerly expect his Son from heaven — Jesus, the deliverer, whom he raised from the dead and who rescues us from the coming wrath.
1 My dear brothers and sisters, it’s obvious that our ministry among you has proven to be fruitful.
2 And though we had already suffered greatly in Philippi, where we were shamefully mistreated, we were emboldened by faith in our God to fearlessly preach his wonderful gospel to you in spite of incredible opposition.
3 Our coming alongside you to encourage you was not out of some delusion, or impure motive, or an intention to mislead you,
4 but we have been approved by God to be those who preach the gospel. So our motivation to preach is not pleasing people but pleasing God, who thoroughly examines our hearts.
5 God is our witness that when we came to encourage you, we never once used cunning compliments as a pretext for greed,
6 nor did we crave the praises of men, whether you or others.
7 Even though we could have imposed upon you our demands as apostles of Christ, instead we showed you kindness and were gentle among you. We cared for you in the same way a nursing mother cares for her own children.
8 With a mother’s love and affectionate attachment to you, we were very happy to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our lives — because you had become so dear to us.
9 Beloved brothers and sisters, surely you remember how hard we labored among you. We worked night and day so that we would not become a burden to you while we preached the wonderful gospel of God.
10 With God as our witness you saw how we lived among you — in holiness, in godly relationships, and without fault.
11 And you know how affectionately we treated each one of you, like a loving father cares for his own children.
12 We comforted and encouraged you and challenged you to adopt a lifestyle worthy of God, who invites you into his kingdom and glory.
13 This is why we continually thank God for your lives, because you received our message wholeheartedly. You embraced it not as the fabrication of men but as the word of God. And the word continues to be an energizing force in you who believe.
14 My dear brothers and sisters, the same thing happened to you as happened to God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you received the same kind of mistreatment from your fellow countrymen as they did from theirs, the Jews
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and ran us out of town. They are offending God and hostile to everyone else
16 by hindering us from speaking to the unbelievers so that they might be saved. By so doing they are constantly filling up to the brim the measure of their guilt, and punishment has come upon them at last!
17 Beloved friends, we may have been torn away from you physically for a season, but never in our hearts. For we have had intense longings and have endeavored to come and see in your faces the reflection of this great love.
18 We miss you badly, and I personally wanted to come to you, trying again and again, but our adversary, Satan, blocked our way.
19 For what will be our confident hope, our exhilarating joy, or our wonderful trophy that we will boast in before our Lord Jesus at his appearing? It is you!
20 Yes, you are our glorious pride and joy!
1 When we could bear it no longer, we decided that we would remain in Athens
2 and send Timothy in our place. He is our beloved brother and coworker with God in preaching the gospel. We knew he would strengthen your faith and encourage your hearts
3 so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for you know that we are destined for this.
4 In fact, when we were with you we forewarned you: “Suffering and persecution is coming.” And so it has happened, as you well know.
5 For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I sent our brother to find out if your faith was still strong, for I was concerned that the tempter had somehow enticed you and our labor would have been in vain.
6 But now, Timothy has just returned to us and brought us the terrific news of your faith and love. He informed us that you still hold us dear in your hearts and that you long to see us as much as we long to see you.
7 So, our dear brothers and sisters, in the midst of all our distress and difficulties, your steadfastness of faith has greatly encouraged our hearts.
8 We feel alive again as long as we know that you are standing firm in the Lord.
9 How could we ever thank God enough for all the wonderful joy that we feel before our God because of you?
10 Every night and day we sincerely and fervently pray that we may see you face-to-face and furnish you with whatever may be lacking in your faith.
11 Now may our Father God and our precious Lord Jesus guide our steps on a path straight back to you.
12 And may the Lord increase your love until it overflows toward one another and for all people, just as our love overflows toward you.
13 Then your hearts will be strengthened in holiness so that you may be flawless and pure before the face of our God and Father at the appearing of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen!
1 And now, beloved brothers and sisters, since you have been mentored by us with respect to living for God and pleasing him, I appeal to you in the name of the Lord Jesus with this request: keep faithfully growing through our teachings even more and more.
2 For you already know the instructions we’ve shared with you through the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is for you to be set apart for him in holiness and that you keep yourselves unpolluted from sexual defilement.
4 Yes, each of you must guard your sexual purity with holiness and dignity,
5 not yielding to lustful passions like those who don’t know God.
6 Never take selfish advantage of a brother or sister in this matter, for we’ve already told you and solemnly warned you that the Lord is the avenger in all these things.
7 For God’s call on our lives is not to a life of compromise and perversion but to a life surrounded in holiness.
8 Therefore, whoever rejects this instruction isn’t rejecting human authority but God himself, who gives us his precious gift — his Spirit of holiness.
9 There’s no need for anyone to say much to you about loving your fellow believers, for God is continually teaching you to unselfishly love one another.
10 Indeed, your love is what you’re known for throughout Macedonia. We urge you, beloved ones, to let this unselfish love increase and flow through you more and more.
11 Aspire to lead a calm and peaceful life as you mind your own business and earn your living, just as we’ve taught you.
12 By doing this you will live an honorable life, influencing others and commanding respect of even the unbelievers. Then you’ll be in need of nothing and not dependent upon others.
13 Beloved brothers and sisters, we want you to be quite certain about the truth concerning those who have passed away, so that you won’t be overwhelmed with grief like many others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who died while believing in him.
15 This is the word of the Lord: we who are alive in him and remain on earth when the Lord appears will by no means have an advantage over those who have already died, for both will rise together.
16 For the Lord himself will appear with the declaration of victory, the shout of an archangel, and the trumpet blast of God. He will descend from the heavenly realm and command those who are dead in Christ to rise first.
17 Then we who are alive will join them, transported together in clouds to have an encounter with the Lord in the air, and we will be forever joined with the Lord.
18 So encourage one another with these truths.
1 Now, beloved brothers and sisters, concerning the question of God’s precise times and specific seasons, you don’t need me to write anything to you.
2 For you already know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly and as a complete surprise.
3 For while some are saying, “Finally we have peace and security,” sudden destruction will arrive at their doorstep, like labor pains seizing a pregnant woman — and with no chance of escape!
4 But you, beloved brothers and sisters, are not living in the dark, allowing that day to creep up on you like a thief coming to steal.
5 For you are all children of the light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night nor to darkness.
6 This is why we must not fall asleep, as the rest do, but keep wide awake and clearheaded.
7 For those who are asleep sleep the night away, and drunkards get drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, we must stay alert and clearheaded by placing the breastplate of faith and love over our hearts, and a helmet of the hope of salvation over our thoughts.
9 For God has not destined us to experience wrath but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.
10 He gave his life for us so that we may share in resurrection life in union with him — whether we’re awake or asleep.
11 Because of this, encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and support one another, just as you have already been doing.
12 Dear brothers and sisters, make sure that you show your deep appreciation for those who cherish you and diligently work as ministers among you. For they are your leaders who care for you, teach you, and stand before the Lord on your behalf.
13 They value you with great love. Because of their service to you, let peace reign among yourselves.
14 We appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to instruct those who are not in their place of battle. Be skilled at gently encouraging those who feel themselves inadequate. Be faithful to stand your ground. Help the weak to stand again. Be quick to demonstrate patience with everyone.
15 Resist revenge, and make sure that no one pays back evil in place of evil but always pursue doing what is beautiful to one another and to all the unbelievers.
16 Let joy be your continual feast.
17 Make your life a prayer.
18 And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Never restrain or put out the fire of the Holy Spirit.
20 And don’t be one who scorns prophecies,
21 but be faithful to examine them by putting them to the test, and afterward hold tightly to what has proven to be right.
22 Avoid every appearance of evil.
23 Now, may the God of peace and harmony set you apart, making you completely holy. And may your entire being — spirit, soul, and body — be kept completely flawless in the appearing of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.
24 The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you.
25 Now, beloved ones, pray for us.
26 Greet every brother and sister with a sacred kiss.
27 I solemnly plead with you before the Lord to make sure that every holy believer among you has the opportunity to hear this letter read to them.
28 Grace from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!