in 11.1.4. μὲν ἐν ὑμῖν k Cf. iii. 5. ΠῚ ii. 13, τοῦ Κυρίου, See Col. 111. 12 and Deut. xxxili. 12. p “Αἱ most of rhetorical value” (5 § 1, 1; ii. 13-14, and on 2 Cor. xi. 4.
δι ὑμᾶς.
m Blass, ὃ 20, I.
atiection; his life is bound up with their welfare; his source of happiness is their Christian well-being (cf. ii. 17-20, iii. 7-10). The adverb (a late Greek for- mation, cf. Expos., 1908, 59) goes equally well with the preceding or with the fol- lowing words; better with the former, on the whole, as the participles then open the successive clauses in 2, 3 and 4.— ὑμῶν is prefixed for emphasis to the three substantives which it covers, while the closing ἔμπροσθεν . . . ἡμῶν (cf. ii. το) gathers up the thought of µνηµον.--- Faith in one sense is a work, but Paul here (as in Gal. v. 6) means faith that does work (opus opponitur sermoni inanz, Bengel), by producing a change of life and a cheerful courage under trials. It would be no pleasure to recall a merely formal or voluble belief, any more than a display of Christian love (cf. Col. i. 4) which amounted simply to emotions or fitful expressions of goodwill, much less a hope which could not persist in face of delay and discouraging hardships. Ver. 4. The practical evidence of the Spirit in their lives showed that God had willed to enrol them among His chosen people (note the O.T. associations of be- loved by God and election), just as the same consciousness of possessing the Spirit gave them the sure prospect of final entrance into the Messianic realm— an assurance which (ver. 6) filled them with joy amid all their discomforts. The phenomenon of the Spirit thus threw light backwards on the hidden purpose of God for them, and forwards on their prospect of bliss.—Recollections depend on knowledge; to be satisfied about a person implies settled convictions about his character and position. The apostles feel certain that the Thessalonian Chris- tians had been truly chosen and called by God, owing to (a) the genuineness and
5 Ν ς ~ προσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἡμῶν: 4. τὴν ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν: 5. ὅτι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν οὐκ
(Sx. Lang. N.T. 158). 8)r Cor. xi. x.
Ὁ ἐλπίδος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, | ἔμ"
Ἐ εἰδότες, ἀδελφοὶ | ἠγαπη-
εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν “λόγῳ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ° δυνάμει καὶ ἐν Πνεύματι “Ἁγίῳ καὶ "πληροφορία πολλῇ, καθῶς οἴδατε οἷοι ἐγενήθη- 6. καὶ ὑμεῖς " μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε τ δεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐν "θλίψει πολλῇ μετὰ “χαρᾶς
4 και
n Gal. iii. 14. ο Cf. τ Cor. ii. 1-4, iv. 19-20 q Clem. Rom. xlii. 3. r Cf. Introd. t Rom. xiv. 17; Gal. v. 22.
effectiveness of their own ministry at Thessalonica, where they had felt the gospel going home to many of the in- habitants, and (b) the genuine evidence of the Thessalonians’ faith; (a) comes first im νετ. 5; (δ) Ἱπνν. ΘῈ σα πι Paul reverts to (a), while in ii. 13-16 (0) is again before his mind. As the divine ἐκλογή manifested itself in the Christian qualities of ver. 3, Paul goes back to their historical origin.
Ver. 5. ὅτι = “inasmuch as”.—ro εὐαγγ. ἡμῶν, the gospel of which the apostles, and by which their hearers, were convinced. As the καθὼς clause in- dicates, πληροφ. must here denote per- sonal conviction and unfaltering confi- dence on the part of the preachers. The omission of the ἐν before πληρ. throws that word and πνεύματι together into a single conception, complementary to δυνάμει, which here has no specific refer- ence to miracles, but to the apostles’ courage (ii. 2), honesty and sincerity (4,5), devotion (7, 8), earnestness (9), and consistency (10). The effect of the Spirit on the preachers is followed up (in ver. 6) by its effect on the hearers; and this dual aspect recurs in ver. 9 (we and you). év(om. Blass) tpiv=‘“‘among you”.