Thanksgiving for the Past. As in all his epistles except Gal., Paul commences with a paragraph of congratulation, singling out for special praise the work of faith, the labour of love, and the patience of hope exhibited by the Thessalonians, and describing them as a model Church.
1 Thessalonians 1:1. Silvanus: the Silas of Acts. He and Timothy were the constant companions of Paul during the second missionary journey.
1 Thessalonians 1:3. work of faith, etc.: note the combination of the three great Pauline words faith, hope, and love (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:13). This sentence is a kind of hall-mark setting the stamp of genuineness upon the epistle. Note also the combination of works and faith in the phrase work of faith (cf. Galatians 5:6). labour of love: toil of love. patience of hope: the endurance or the constancy of hope; the hope that never fails or flags.
1 Thessalonians 1:6. having received. in affliction: a reference to the persecution organised by certain vile fellows of the rabble (Acts 17:5-9 *).
1 Thessalonians 1:7. an ensample: a model. The phrase model Church is applied only to Thessalonica.
1 Thessalonians 1:8. sounded forth: reverberated. No details have been preserved with regard to this missionary activity.
1 Thessalonians 1:9. from idols: this phrase indicates that the Church was mainly composed of Gentiles who had been converted from paganism.
1 Thessalonians 1:10. The two principal items of their faith are: (a) to serve a living and true God, (b) to wait for the Parousia of Christ. the wrath to come: the impending judgment which is to fall on the world at the Parousia.