1 Thessalonians 1:10

and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

The apostle here substantiates more fully the reason for his assurance of the election of the Thessalonian Christians: Because our Gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in full assurance, just as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sakes. This is Paul's reason, as far as he, as to his own person, is concerned, why he is so sure of their having been chosen by God unto salvation. He had not been preaching the Gospel to them in vain and empty phrases, See 1 Corinthians 4:20; he had not been hiding its glorious message by a false oratory; he had not embittered its sweetness by a doctrine of works. He had preached in power, the Word itself exerting its strength upon the hearts of his hearers. He had preached in the Holy Spirit, who works in and through the Word of the Gospel as His means of grace. And his preaching had received additional emphasis from the fact that he had preached with the full personal conviction, with the unfaltering confidence, that it was the divine truth which he was proclaiming. It is the fullness of assurance which gives to the simplest discourse of the Gospel-truth much of its force and persuasive power. If a man calling himself a minister of the Gospel himself has doubts as to the divinity of the Word, as to the certainty of salvation, his words will hardly carry the strength of conviction. Paul's readers knew his record.

The apostle also has a reason from their standpoint why he feels safe in concluding that they belong to the elect of the Lord: And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, accepting the Word in much tribulation with joy of the Holy Ghost. The Thessalonians had had ample opportunity of judging as to Paul's conviction in the matter of the Gospel which he preached; they knew how he had conducted himself in their midst and in their behalf. By the grace of God, through the work of the Spirit, they had received such a firm assurance of the truth that they imitated their teacher, believing as he believed. Incidentally, they became imitators of the Lord, they walked in the way prescribed by Him, by His gracious and good will, which points to salvation for all men. All this they did by accepting the Word, by receiving the Gospel-truth, by acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Savior. This attitude of the heart is always accompanied with the joy of the Holy Ghost, in the very midst of much affliction, No matter how much hostility and persecution the believers must contend with, no matter how seriously the wretchedness and misery of this present life seek to create doubt and unhappiness in their hearts, they have the assurance of the Holy Ghost in the Word, and therefore they are, in their heart of hearts, satisfied, joyful, happy.

Such a condition, however, will have its effect also upon others, as in the case of the Thessalonian Christians: So that you became an example to all those that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. The true believers, exhibiting the firm and happy conviction of faith which the Lord desires, become a pattern or type for others; they become an example for others to model their spiritual life after. Since this fact may, in turn, redound to the further confirmation of the faith of the Thessalonians, to the further conviction of its reality, St. Paul freely commends them in this respect: For from you has been sounded forth the Word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that there is no need for us to say anything. The geographical and commercial position of Thessalonica aided greatly in the rapid spread of the news concerning the acceptance of the Gospel in that city, making it incidentally an excellent basis for missionary work. Throughout Macedonia and Achaia, the ancient Grecian country, the larger part of what is now the Balkan Peninsula, the Gospel had been disseminated, people had gone forth, even in this brief space of time since Paul first preached there, endeavoring to spread the seed of the Gospel doctrine throughout the country. Surely a splendid example of interest and zeal for all Christians to imitate. By thus taking advantage of their opportunities, the Thessalonians had caused their faith to be known, to be spoken of everywhere. See Romans 1:8; Colossians 1:6. The rapid, powerfully spreading conversion was exciting attention everywhere, so that there was nothing for Paul to add; the facts spoke more loudly than his words.

So great was the sensation which the faith of the Thessalonians had caused in all the cities along the trade routes of the Eastern Mediterranean that, as the apostle writes: For of their own accord people make mention concerning us what manner of entrance we had toward you, and how you turned to God from the idols to serve the living and true God. This was surely a novel experience for the apostle. Before he so much as had an opportunity to refer to the willing acceptance which the Thessalonians gave to the Gospel, in order to incite others to emulation and to open a way for the preaching of the Gospel, people told him of their own accord what they knew of the situation in Thessalonica, of the willingness with which the Thessalonians had received the Gospel-message. It was known everywhere how they had turned away from the worship of idols with the express intention of serving only the living, the true God. The God of the Gospel-preaching is the living God, as opposed to all dead idol-images; He is the true, the real God, as opposed to the imaginary, lying idols. To serve this true God in faith and love, that is the life of the believers, therein they find true and lasting happiness. The service of all false gods and imaginary deities is a slavery which the conscience of the idolaters denounces, which they themselves abhor; the service of the true God is the outflow of the relation of love which obtains between the heavenly Father and His children.

And the best is yet to be: And to wait for the coming of His Son from the heavens, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, the Deliverer from the wrath to come. While the believers lead their lives of faith and love, serving God and their fellow-men in the simplicity of their hearts, their minds are looking forward to, they are eagerly expecting, they are anxiously awaiting, the coming of the Son of God, who will return from heaven in the fullness of His divine glory, Matthew 25:31. It was this Son whom God raised from the dead and exalted to the right hand of His power. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the great fact by which He has definitely and incontrovertibly been proved to be the Son of God with power, Romans 1:4. This Jesus, who earned salvation for all men, will, on the last day, bring the final deliverance to His believers; He will show before the whole world that He has delivered us, torn us away, from the wrath to come, from the punishment of hell, which would have been our rightful and well-earned condemnation but for His glorious redemption. This wrath of God would surely have struck us also if Jesus had not borne its curse and punishment in our stead, including that of eternal damnation. But now, since in Jesus Christ judgment has already been passed upon the world, therefore, whosoever believeth in Him is no longer judged, John 3:14, but is the happy possessor of full deliverance, of the inheritance of eternal life.

Summary

After the opening salutation the apostle assures the Thessalonians of his grateful prayer in their behalf and of his remembrance of their Christian virtues, due to his own preaching and their cheerful acceptance of his message, the news of which has gone forth throughout Macedonia and Achaia.