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| 1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
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| 2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; |
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| 3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; |
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| 4 Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. |
Knowing – By means of the various evidences that we are the children of God, namely our begetting, quickening, and sealing of the Spirit, and by which it may be discerned, not by oneself only, but ere long by the brethren. F191
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| 5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. |
Gospel – Message of good tidings. R1419:3; HG311:6
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| 6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit: |
Followers of us – The under-shepherds do not own the flock, and their value to the flock as overseers consists in their faithfulness in making known to the sheep the message of the great Shepherd and, to the extent of their ability, communicating his tone and his Spirit with his Word. R4278:3
The view that the apostles were exceptions, and their sacrifice and suffering were not intended as examples for the remainder of the Church, would hinder us from obedience to this apostolic injunction. NS591:5; SM628:2
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| 7 So that ye were patterns to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. |
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| 8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.
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| 9 For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; |
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| 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. |
To wait – There is no more practical doctrine than the second advent. It is the motive for patient waiting. R298:2*
Implies that the Kingdom was not already here. NS677:1
We cannot hope to bring the Kingdom to pass of ourselves. While continuing our missionary exertions, let us tie our faith to the Apostle's words. OV246:7
Each system knows that the marriage of the Lamb is to take place at the second coming of Christ. They have lost sight of the fact that the true virgin Church must wait and keep herself unspotted, a virgin. SM408:2
His Son from heaven – "If I go I will come again." (John 14:3) F671; R1827:1
Whom he raised – If, as the Scriptures declare, it was his soul that died, then Christ could have no power to resuscitate himself. R2795:2
No agency was called into service to accomplish his resurrection, but, as when first created, he was the direct workmanship of Jehovah. "God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power." (1 Cor. 6:14) R1005:5
The Father raised up Jesus from death. If the Father and Son are the same being, then the Father was dead. R370:3
Us – Such as now accept of Christ and become his obedient followers. R787:3
Wrath to come – The great time of trouble in the end of this age. Even now, though not delivered from present wrath and penalties of sin, we are assured of a full release shortly from every vestige of the curse and wrath now resting on all. R787:3
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