1 Thess. 1:5. Because our gospel came to you not in word only,
From this, he says, your election is evident, that God glorified the preaching among you. For we did not simply preach, but there were also signs, because God was pleased that you should believe as chosen by Him and foreordained.
1 Thess. 1:5. but also in power,
That is, in signs that served for the benefit of well-minded people and for the punishment of ill-minded ones.
1 Thess. 1:5. and in the Holy Spirit,
Or in spiritual wisdom, and not worldly; or in that the Holy Spirit was given to those who believed.
1 Thess. 1:5. and with much assurance,
That is, in afflictions and sufferings. Just as the sign and gift of the Holy Spirit served for the full assurance of those who believed, so also the sufferings endured for the sake of the preaching constitute a great confirmation of it.
1 Thess. 1:5. As you yourselves know, what kind of people we were among you for your sake.
You, he says, are witnesses of how we conducted ourselves among you and with what great readiness we preached; but this too is for your sake. Since you are chosen, we labored so zealously for you. For what would one not endure for the beloved of God? Here he also touches upon his own struggles, though in a veiled manner, since he wishes first to praise them.
1 Thess. 1:6. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
He strengthens them both by praise and by reminding them that they did not fall behind him in dangers. See what praise — to become imitators of the teacher at once, and not only of him, but also of the Lord! How then did they become "imitators of the Lord"? In that He Himself also, having endured great sufferings, rejoiced: for He came voluntarily for this very purpose, so as to say to the Father: "glorify Your Son" (Jn. 17:1).
1 Thess. 1:6. Having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit,
You received the word not simply amid afflictions, but also "amid many," that is, with dangers. And this can be seen in the Acts of the Apostles. Yet this affliction, namely the dangers, you receive with joy. Explaining how one can rejoice in affliction, he said: "with joy of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit did not allow you to suffer: suffering was in them as bodily beings, but joy was supplied by the Spirit. For just as the youths were bedewed in the fire by the refreshing Spirit, so also in dangers the Spirit gladdened you, pointing you to the future recompense. See: one becomes an imitator of the Lord when he endures dangers with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
1 Thess. 1:7. So that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Although Paul came to them after others, nevertheless, he says, you shone so brightly that you became teachers of those who received the faith before you. And in this too is an imitation of Paul, since he also came last but surpassed everyone. Notice that he did not say: you will be an example for those who will believe, but: you have already "become an example" for believers of how one ought to believe — namely with fervor and readiness for dangers. By Achaia he means Greece.
1 Thess. 1:8. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
The fame of your virtue has caused the preaching to become known to all, and you have shown yourselves to be teachers of all. The expression "sounded forth" — he speaks as if of a trumpet, sounding loudly and heard over a great distance.
1 Thess. 1:8. not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has spread abroad,
Your example, says the apostle, filled Macedonia and Greece with word and teaching, and every place with amazement, that in such a short time you showed such faith. As if speaking of something animate, the apostle used the word: "spread abroad."
1 Thess. 1:8. So that we have no need to speak of anything.
So strong and effective is the fame of your faith that people do not even wait for us to say something about you; on the contrary, every time we begin to speak in order to bring them to a similar emulation, they anticipate us with their own accounts of your exploits.
1 Thess. 1:9. For they themselves report about us, what kind of entrance we had to you,
That is, that our coming to you was joined with a thousand deaths, and yet nothing turned you against us. On the contrary, you yourselves, having been exposed to dangers on our account, did not reject us, but treated us as though you had enjoyed countless blessings. This was the second entrance. For the apostle, having departed from Thessalonica to Berea, was persecuted, and having come from there to the Thessalonians, was so received by them that they were ready to lay down their lives for him.
1 Thess. 1:9. and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God