The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

2 ^aWe give thanks to God always for all of you, ^bconstantly¹ mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your ^cwork of ^dfaith and labor of ^elove and steadfastness of ^fhope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, ^gbrothers² loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also ^hin power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. ⁱYou know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

13 And we also thank God ^sconstantly¹ for this, that when you received the word of God, which you ^theard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men² but as what it really is, the word of God, which is ^uat work in you believers.

11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, ^udirect our way to you, 12 and may the Lord ^vmake you increase and abound in love ^wfor one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that ^xhe may ^yestablish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the ^zcoming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

A Life Pleasing to God

1 Finally, then, brothers,^{1 a}we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that ^bas you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what ^cinstructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For ^dthis is the will of God, your ^esanctification:² that you abstain from ^fsexual immorality;