Study Desk

because we remember your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,

knowing, brothers dearly loved by God, that he has chosen you,

for from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything.

For they themselves report about us, what sort of welcome we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, just as you know, we had the courage in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.

but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts.

For never did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God is witness),

Longing for you in this way, we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.

For you remember, brothers, our labor and hardship: working by night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and righteously and blamelessly we became to you who believe,

exhorting and consoling you and insisting that you live in a manner worthy of God, who calls you to his own kingdom and glory.

And because of this we also give thanks to God constantly, that when you received God's word that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.

For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, because you also suffered the same things at the hands of your own people, just as they themselves did also at the hands of the Jews,

who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecuted us, and who are not pleasing to God and are opposed to all people,

and we sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, in order to strengthen and to encourage you about your faith,

For what thanks can we repay to God concerning you, because of all the joy with which we rejoice because of you before our God,

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you,

so that your hearts may be established blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Finally therefore, brothers, we ask you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus that, just as you have received from us how it is necessary for you to live and to please God, just as indeed you are living, that you progress even more.

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;