1 Thessalonians 1:3

1:3 because we recall ¹  in the presence of our God and Father ²  your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope ³  in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ⁴  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ⁵  you accepted it not as a human message, ⁶  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

¹ tn Grk “making mention…recalling.” The participle ποιούμενοι (poioumenoi) in v. 2 has been translated as temporal, and μνημονεύοντες (mnhmoneuonte") in v. 3 has been translated as causal.

² tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

³ tn These phrases denote Christian virtues in action: the work produced by faith, labor motivated by love, and endurance that stems from hope in Christ.

⁴ tn Grk “for this reason,” which seems to look back to Paul’s behavior just described. But it may look forward to v. 13b and mean: “and here is another reason that we constantly thank God: that…”

⁵ tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

⁶ tn Paul’s focus is their attitude toward the message he preached: They received it not as a human message but a message from God.