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 3:13

3:13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. ⁴ 

1 Thessalonians 4:15

4:15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, ⁵  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.

[1:3]  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.

[1:3]  ² tn Or the phrase may connect at the end of the verse: “hope…in the presence of our God and Father.”

[1:3]  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.

[3:13]  ⁴ tc ‡ Important and early witnesses (א* A D* 81 629 lat) have ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”) at the end of this benediction, while the majority of mss, including several excellent witnesses (א² B D² F G Ψ 0278 1739 1881 Ï it sy sa), lack the particle. A decision is difficult, but in light of Paul’s habit of adding the ἀμήν to his notes of praise, even in the middle of his letters (cf. Rom 9:5; 11:36; 15:33; Gal 1:5), one might expect scribes to emulate this practice. Although a decision is difficult, it is probably best to follow the shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the particle in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[4:15]  ⁷ 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.