1 Thessalonians 4:18

4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 2:5

2:5 For we never appeared ¹  with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed – God is our witness –

1 Thessalonians 2:13

2:13 And so ²  we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us, ³  you accepted it not as a human message, ⁴  but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 1:6

1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received ⁵  the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great affliction.

1 Thessalonians 1:5

1:5 in that ⁶  our gospel did not come to you merely in words, ⁷  but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you). ⁸ 

1 Thessalonians 1:8

1:8 For from you the message of the Lord ⁹  has echoed forth not just in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place reports of your faith in God have spread, ¹⁰  so that we do not need to say anything.

1 Thessalonians 4:15

4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, ¹¹  that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.

¹ tn Or “came on the scene,” “came.”

¹ 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…”

² tn Grk “God’s word of hearing from us.”

³ 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.

¹ tn Or “after you received.”

¹ tn Or “because.”

² tn Or “speech,” or “an act of speaking.”

³ tn Grk “just as you know what sort of people we were among you for your sakes.” Verse 5 reflects on the experience of Paul and his fellow preachers; v. 6 begins to describe the Thessalonians’ response.

¹ tn Or “the word of the Lord.”

² tn Grk “your faith in God has gone out.”

¹ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.