Paul’s Work for God in Thessalonica

¹Brothers and sisters, you know that our visit to you produced good results.

²Earlier, in the city of Philippi, we suffered and the people treated us very badly, as you also know. But God still gave us the boldness to tell you his good news, even when people strongly opposed us.

³We didn’t appeal to you out of error, or from wrong motives, or out of deceit.

⁴No, we speak as people God has approved and entrusted with the good news. We’re not trying to please people; we’re trying to please God, who tests our hearts.

⁵We never used flattery, as you know; we weren’t pretending to just get money from you. God is our witness that this is true.

⁶We weren’t expecting people to praise us. We weren’t looking for praise from anybody, not from you and not from anyone else, even though we could have demanded respect as apostles of Christ.

⁷Instead, we were like young children when we were with you.

We cared for you the way a mother feeds and cares for her little children.

⁸We loved you so much that we were happy to share with you not just God’s good news, but our own lives as well.

⁹Brothers and sisters, I’m sure you remember how hard we worked. We labored night and day while we preached God’s good news to you so that we wouldn’t cause you any expense.

¹⁰You’re witnesses, and so is God, that we led holy, godly, and blameless lives among you believers.

¹¹You know that we treated each of you the way a father treats his own children.

¹²We encouraged you, comforted you, and urged you to live in a way worthy of God, who has called you into his kingdom and glory.

¹³We also thank God constantly for the way you received his word when you heard it from us. You didn’t accept it as a human word, but for what it is, the word of God. And that word is truly at work in you who believe.

¹⁴Brothers and sisters, you imitated the members of the synagogues in Judea that believe in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own people the same things they suffered from the Jews,

¹⁵who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also forced us to leave. These Jews displease God and make enemies everywhere

¹⁶by trying to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles in order that they can be saved. By doing that, they’re continually increasing their sins to the maximum. But God’s anger has come on them at last.

Paul’s Desire to See the Believers in Thessalonica

¹⁷Brothers and sisters, when for a short time we were separated from you (in person, though we were still with you in our thoughts), we felt like parents who had lost their children. We wanted to see you so much that we tried very hard to do so.

¹⁸We wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to come again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

¹⁹After all, what is our hope? What is our joy? What is the crown that we will delight in when our Lord Jesus returns? Isn’t it you?

²⁰Yes, you are our glory and our joy.