Thanksgiving

We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.

We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.

As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything,

For we never used flattering speech, as you know, or had greedy motives—God is our witness—

We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.

Reception and Opposition to the Message

This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.

by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.

Paul’s Desire to See Them

But as for us, brothers and sisters, after we were forced to leave you for a short time (in person, not in heart), we greatly desired and made every effort to return and see you face to face.

For this reason, when I could no longer stand it, I also sent him to find out about your faith, fearing that the tempter had tempted you and that our labor might be for nothing.

Encouraged by Timothy

But now Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love. He reported that you always have good memories of us and that you long to see us, as we also long to see you.

Prayer for the Church

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you.

And may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow with love for one another and for everyone, just as we do for you.

May he make your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Amen.

The Call to Sanctification

Additionally then, brothers and sisters, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received instruction from us on how you should live and please God—as you are doing—do this even more.

This means one must not transgress against and take advantage of a brother or sister in this manner, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you.

Consequently, anyone who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Loving and Working

About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia. But we encourage you, brothers and sisters, to do this even more,

to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

so that you may behave properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.

Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.