Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;
remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and {Or, stedfastness}patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before {Or, God and our Father}our God and Father;
knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election,
{Or, because our gospel & c.}how that our {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere; see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much {Or, fulness}assurance; even as ye know what manner of men we showed ourselves toward you for your sake.
And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit;
so that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything.
For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God,
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come.
Querverweise zu 1. Thessalonicher 1,4 1Thes 1,4
remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and {Or, stedfastness}patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before {Or, God and our Father}our God and Father;
to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we know that to them that love God {Some ancient authorities read God worketh all things with them for good.}all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.
For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:
and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
As he saith also in Hosea, {Hosea 2:23}I will call that my people, which was not my people;And her beloved, that was not beloved.
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened:
but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before {Or, him: having in love foreordained us}him in love:
even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together {Some ancient authorities read in Christ.}with Christ (by grace have ye been saved),
being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
even as it is right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because {Or, ye have me in your heart}I have you in my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere; see marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you {Many ancient authorities read as firstfruits.}from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and {Or, faith}belief of the truth:
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus {Or, long ages ago}before times eternal,
Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble:
but hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and {Greek: incorruption. See Romans 2:7}immortality to light through the {Greek: good tidings; and so elsewhere. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel,
But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and his love toward man, appeared,
not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the {Or, laver}washing of regeneration {Or, and through renewing}and renewing of the Holy Spirit,