The Apostle and his Converts

2 We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all; 3 recalling continually before our God and Father the efforts that have resulted from your faith, the toil prompted by your love, and the patient endurance sustained by your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 Friends, whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you, 5 because the good news that we brought came home to you, not merely as so many words, but with a power and a fulness of conviction due to the Holy Spirit. For you know the life that we lived among you for your good. 6 And you yourselves began to follow, not only our example, but the Master’s also; and, in spite of much suffering, you welcomed the message with a joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7 and so became a pattern to all who believed in Christ throughout Macedonia and Greece. 8 For it was from you that the Lord’s message resounded throughout Macedonia and Greece; and, more than that, your faith in God has become known far and wide; so that there is no need for us to say another word. 9 Indeed, in speaking about us, the people themselves tell of the reception you gave us, and how, turning to God from your idols, you became servants of the true and living God, 10 and are now awaiting the return from heaven of his Son whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, our deliverer from the coming wrath.

2 Yes, friends, you yourselves know that your reception of us was not without result. 2 For, although we had experienced suffering and ill treatment, as you know, at Philippi, we had the courage, by the help of our God, to tell you God’s good news in spite of great opposition. 3 Our appeal to you was not based on a delusion, nor was it made from unworthy motives, or with any intention of misleading you. 4 But, having been found worthy by God to be entrusted with the good news, therefore we tell it; with a view to please, not people, but God who proves our hearts. 5 Never at any time, as you know, did we use the language of flattery, or make false professions in order to hide selfish aims. God will bear witness to that. 6 Nor did we seek to win honour from people, whether from you or from others, although, as apostles of Christ, we might have burdened you with our support. 7 But we lived among you with the simplicity of a child; we were like a woman nursing her own children. 8 In our strong affection for you, that seemed to us the best way of sharing with you, not only God’s good news, but our lives as well – so dear had you become to us. 9 You will not have forgotten, friends, our labour and toil. Night and day we used to work at our trades, so as not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you God’s good news. 10 You will bear witness, and God also, that our relations with you who believed in Christ were pure, and upright, and beyond reproach. 11 Indeed, you know that, like a father with his own children, we used to encourage and comfort every one of you, and solemnly plead with you; 12 so that you should make your daily lives worthy of God who is calling you into the glory of his kingdom.Titleless Section Break

13 This, too, is a reason why we, on our part, are continually thanking God – because, in receiving the teaching that you had from us, you accepted it, not as the teaching of humans, but as what it really is – the teaching of God, which is even now doing its work within you who believe in Christ. 14 For you, friends, began to follow the example of the churches of God in Judea which are in union with Jesus Christ; you, in your turn, suffering at the hands of your fellow citizens, in the same way as those churches did at the hands of their people – 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us also. They do not try to please God, and they are enemies to all humanity, 16 for they try to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles with a view to their salvation, and so are always filling up the measure of their iniquity. But the wrath of God has come upon them to the full!

17 As for ourselves, friends, our having been bereaved of you even for a short time – though in body only, and not in spirit – made us all the more eager to see your faces again; and the longing to do so was strong on us. 18 That was why we made up our minds to go and see you – at least I, Paul, did, more than once – but Satan put difficulties in our way. 19 For what hope or joy will be ours, or what crown will we have to boast of, in the presence of our Lord Jesus, at his coming, if it isn’t you? 20 You are our pride and our delight!

3 And so, as we could bear it no longer, we made up our minds to remain behind alone at Athens, 2 and sent Timothy, our dear friend and God’s minister of the good news of the Christ, to strengthen you, and to encourage you in your faith, 3 so that none of you should be shaken by the troubles through which you are passing. You yourselves know that we are destined to meet with such things. 4 For, even while we were with you, we warned you beforehand that we were certain to encounter trouble. And so it proved, as you know. 5 Therefore, since I could no longer endure the uncertainty, I sent to make inquiries about your faith, fearing that the Tempter had tempted you, and that our toil might prove to have been in vain. 6 But, when Timothy recently returned to us from you with good news of your faith and love, and told us how kindly you think of us – always longing, he said, to see us, just as we are longing to see you – 7 on hearing this, we felt encouraged about you, friends, in the midst of all our difficulties and troubles, by your faith. 8 For it is new life to us to know that you are holding fast to the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for all the happiness that you are giving us in the sight of our God? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face, and make good any deficiency in your faith.

11 May our God and Father himself, and Jesus, our Lord, make the way plain for us to come to you. 12 And for you, may the Lord fill you to overflowing with love for one another and for everyone, just as we are filled with love for you; 13 and so make your hearts strong, and your lives pure beyond reproach, in the sight of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus, with all his Holy Ones.