Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Afflicted saints » Should be patient
[But], by holding out steadfastly, you will gain your life. [Note: This means either "preserve your earthly life," or "attain never ending life"].
Verse Concepts
Be joyful as you hope [i.e., for future blessings]. Persevere in spite of the troubles you experience. Continue steadfastly in prayer.
Verse Concepts
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Verse Concepts
And you [should] allow your perseverance to complete its work, so that you will be perfect and complete, [and] not lacking in anything.
Verse Concepts
But it is no credit to you if you put up with a beating you deserve. But if you patiently tolerate suffering for doing good, this is pleasing to God.
Verse Concepts
Faith » Trial of
But these will only test your faith, which is more valuable than gold which, though refined by fire, eventually perishes. Your faith, [however], will [endure and eventually] prove to be praiseworthy and honorable when Jesus returns.
Verse Concepts
The person who perseveres under trials is blessed, because when he has been approved by God, he will receive the crown of [never ending] life, which God has promised to those who love Him.
Verse Concepts
because you [should] know that when your faith is tested, it produces perseverance.
Verse Concepts
When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one [i.e., the devil] comes to him and grabs away what had been sown in his heart. This is the person who was scattered to the side of the road. And the person who was sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the message and immediately welcomes it joyfully, but since he has such a shallow root, he lasts for [only] a short while. Then when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, immediately he falls away [from God]. read more.
And the person who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the message, but the anxieties of the world [i.e., of life] and the deceptiveness of [material] riches choke the message and he becomes unproductive.
And the person who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the message, but the anxieties of the world [i.e., of life] and the deceptiveness of [material] riches choke the message and he becomes unproductive.
There will be great trouble [during these times], such as had never been from the beginning of time up to the present, or ever will be [in the days to come]. And if those days had not been as short as they were no one would have been saved [i.e., from the devastating destruction]. But for the sake of the elect [i.e., God's people], those days will be short. Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is Christ,' or 'There [he is],' do not believe him. read more.
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will perform great [miraculous] signs and [supernatural] wonders in order to lead astray even the elect [i.e., God's people], if possible. You see, I have told you [all this] ahead of time.
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will perform great [miraculous] signs and [supernatural] wonders in order to lead astray even the elect [i.e., God's people], if possible. You see, I have told you [all this] ahead of time.
And those people [represented by the seed falling] on rocky ground are those who, upon hearing the word [of God], accept it gladly, but since they have no root [system], they believe it for [only] awhile, and [then] in times of trial fall away [from God]. And those people [represented by the seed] that fell among thorns are the ones who have heard [the word], and as they go about their business, they become choked by worry, by money and by worldly pleasures, and produce no mature crop.
We ought to thank God for you always, brothers, since it is proper, because your faith is growing so much and the love that every one of you has for each other is increasing more and more. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring. The way you are faithfully enduring [such] suffering for the kingdom of God is clear evidence that God's judgment is right in [eventually] counting you worthy of it [i.e., of entering the eternal phase of the kingdom].
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For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He could not make a vow by anyone greater, He vowed by Himself, saying [Gen. 22:16-17], "I will certainly bless you and will multiply [your descendants]." And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what [God] had promised.
Faith » Instances of faith in Christ » Thessalonians
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord. [And even though] you suffered much affliction, you welcomed the message with joy [given to you] by the Holy Spirit,
Verse Concepts
But now Timothy has returned to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love, and [reported] that you have good memories of us. [He told us that you are] longing to see us, just as we also long to see you. So, brothers, through all of our distress and persecution, we were encouraged over you because of your faith, for now we [really] live, if you [continue to] stand firm in [the service of] the Lord [i.e., Paul could enjoy life much more in knowing that the Thessalonians were living for the Lord faithfully].
We ought to thank God for you always, brothers, since it is proper, because your faith is growing so much and the love that every one of you has for each other is increasing more and more. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Meekness » Instances of » The thessalonians
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Verse Concepts
Patience » Examples of
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Verse Concepts
Notice that we consider those who endured [suffering with patience] to be blessed [by God]. You people have heard of Job's patience and have seen what the Lord finally did [for him]. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
Verse Concepts
I know about your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. [I know] that you cannot tolerate wicked men and that you have tested those who call themselves apostles, but really are not, and found them to be liars.
Verse Concepts
I [am] John, your brother who participates with you in the suffering and kingdom and endurance [which we experience] in [fellowship with] Jesus. I was on the island called Patmos for [preaching] God's message and for testifying about Jesus. [Note: Patmos was located in the Aegean Sea between present-day Greece and Turkey].
Verse Concepts
And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what [God] had promised.
Verse Concepts
Here is [where] God's holy people, who obey His commandments and the faith of Jesus, [need] perseverance.
Verse Concepts
Patience » Should be accompanied by » Faith
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Verse Concepts
We do not want you people to be [spiritually] slack, but to imitate those who will inherit [God's] promises because of their faith and patience.
Verse Concepts
If anyone goes [or "leads others"] into captivity, he will go into captivity [himself]; if anyone is killed [or "kills others"] with the sword, he will be killed with the sword [himself]. Here is [where] God's holy people [need] perseverance and faith.
Verse Concepts
Patience » Instances of » The thessalonian Christians
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Verse Concepts
Paul » Is persecuted
But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, "These men have turned the world upside down [i.e., disrupted society by their preaching] and have [now] come here also [i.e., to do the same thing in our community]. Jason has welcomed them and [now] all of them [i.e., Paul, Silas, Jason and the others] are going against the [Roman] laws of Caesar by saying that someone else is [our] king; that Jesus is [king]!" read more.
When they heard [these charges], the crowds and [even] the city officials became very disturbed [by the situation stirred up by the Jews]. They made Jason and the others post bail, then released them.
When they heard [these charges], the crowds and [even] the city officials became very disturbed [by the situation stirred up by the Jews]. They made Jason and the others post bail, then released them.
[This letter is from] Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, [and is being sent] to the church of the Thessalonians in [fellowship with] God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May you have unearned favor and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to thank God for you always, brothers, since it is proper, because your faith is growing so much and the love that every one of you has for each other is increasing more and more. read more.
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring.
Suffering » For Christ
Brothers, take the [Old Testament] prophets, who spoke in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord, as your examples of suffering and patience.
Verse Concepts
And the God who bestows every unearned favor [upon His people], who invited you to partake of His eternal splendor through Christ Jesus, will restore, confirm, strengthen and stabilize you people [in the faith], after you have gone through a brief time of suffering.
Verse Concepts
You should rejoice that you are sharing some of what Christ has suffered, so that you will get to rejoice all the more when He returns in His splendor. If you are spoken against for being Christians, you have God's blessing, because His glorious Holy Spirit rests upon you [to provide comfort, See John 14:16].
Now I rejoice in [spite of] my sufferings for your sake, and I am filling up [i.e., completing] in my physical body what was lacking in the afflictions Christ endured for His body's sake, the church.
Verse Concepts
Because God has granted you [the privilege], on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.
Verse Concepts
If we endure [i.e., remain faithful through suffering], we will also rule with Him [i.e., both here and hereafter]. If we deny Him, He will also deny us. [See Matt. 10:33].
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I will show him how many things he will have to suffer for my name's sake."
Verse Concepts
I want to know Christ [as Savior] and to experience the power [produced] by His resurrection, and to share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death,
Verse Concepts
And in the same way, the Holy Spirit helps [us in] our weakness; for we do not know what we ought to pray for [Note: Some translators understand this as "how to pray"]. But the Holy Spirit goes to God on our behalf with groanings [in our hearts] that are not expressed [in words].
Verse Concepts
And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25]. For I consider that our present sufferings do not deserve to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us [i.e., in the future life]. For [all] creation [Note: "Creation" here refers to the material heavens and earth, and is personified through verse 23] is eagerly waiting for the children of God to be revealed [i.e., in their glorious state]. read more.
But God subjected the created world to aimless frustration [i.e., after the fall. See Gen. 3:17-18] --- it did not happen by its own choice. Yet there was hope that the created world itself would be freed from its slavery to corrupting influences [i.e., produced by the fall] and receive the glorious freedom which belongs to God's children. For we know that the entire created world moans in painful anguish [i.e., as a woman in childbirth] until this present moment. And not just the world, but even we [Christians] ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit [i.e., the first installment of our inheritance from God] also groan within us, eagerly waiting to be adopted as [God's] children, and receive back our bodies [i.e., in the resurrection].
But God subjected the created world to aimless frustration [i.e., after the fall. See Gen. 3:17-18] --- it did not happen by its own choice. Yet there was hope that the created world itself would be freed from its slavery to corrupting influences [i.e., produced by the fall] and receive the glorious freedom which belongs to God's children. For we know that the entire created world moans in painful anguish [i.e., as a woman in childbirth] until this present moment. And not just the world, but even we [Christians] ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit [i.e., the first installment of our inheritance from God] also groan within us, eagerly waiting to be adopted as [God's] children, and receive back our bodies [i.e., in the resurrection].
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we work hard with our hands. [Though] we are cursed, we [ask God's] blessing [on people]; [though] we are persecuted, we persevere; [though] we are slandered, we reply kindly. We have become [like] the scum of the earth, the dregs of all society, to this day.
And our hope for you is firm, for we know that just as you share our sufferings, so you will also [share] our comfort.
Verse Concepts
For while we live, we are always exposed to death for Jesus' sake [See Rom. 8:36], so that the life of Jesus may be demonstrated in our mortal bodies [i.e., in our weak and frail human nature]. So then, [the possibility of physical] death is at work in us, while [spiritual] life is at work in you. But, we have the same spirit [i.e., type] of faith as that written about [Psa. 116:10], "I believed [God's message], so I spoke." We also believe [it], and so we also speak [about it]. read more.
We know that God, who raised up the Lord Jesus [from the dead], will also raise us [apostles] up with Jesus and present us with you people [i.e., in the presence of the Father in heaven]. For everything [i.e., that we have experienced. See verses 8-12] is for your sakes so that [God's] unearned favor, being extended to so many, [in bringing them salvation through Paul's ministry] may result in much thanksgiving in praise to God. Therefore, we do not get discouraged, for though our physical body is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed daily. For our insignificant troubles [here on earth], which last only a short time, are producing for us an immeasurable, never ending [counter-] weight of splendor [i.e., in heaven. See Rom. 8:18]. So, we do not look at the things which can be seen, but at what cannot be seen, for the things which can be seen are [only] temporary, but the things which cannot be seen are never ending.
We know that God, who raised up the Lord Jesus [from the dead], will also raise us [apostles] up with Jesus and present us with you people [i.e., in the presence of the Father in heaven]. For everything [i.e., that we have experienced. See verses 8-12] is for your sakes so that [God's] unearned favor, being extended to so many, [in bringing them salvation through Paul's ministry] may result in much thanksgiving in praise to God. Therefore, we do not get discouraged, for though our physical body is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed daily. For our insignificant troubles [here on earth], which last only a short time, are producing for us an immeasurable, never ending [counter-] weight of splendor [i.e., in heaven. See Rom. 8:18]. So, we do not look at the things which can be seen, but at what cannot be seen, for the things which can be seen are [only] temporary, but the things which cannot be seen are never ending.
And indeed, he was [so] sick that he almost died, but God had pity on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow on top of another. So, I am all the more eager to send him to you people, so that when you see him again you will be glad, and that my sorrow will be lessened [i.e., in knowing that you are relieved to see that he is well again]. So, you should welcome him in [the fellowship of] the Lord with great joy, and regard such people with honor, read more.
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to provide me with what you were not able to.
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to provide me with what you were not able to.
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring. The way you are faithfully enduring [such] suffering for the kingdom of God is clear evidence that God's judgment is right in [eventually] counting you worthy of it [i.e., of entering the eternal phase of the kingdom].
Suffering » Why God’s people suffer
We ought to thank God for you always, brothers, since it is proper, because your faith is growing so much and the love that every one of you has for each other is increasing more and more. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly about you among the churches of God because of your steadfastness and faith amid all the persecutions and afflictions that you are enduring. The way you are faithfully enduring [such] suffering for the kingdom of God is clear evidence that God's judgment is right in [eventually] counting you worthy of it [i.e., of entering the eternal phase of the kingdom].