Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the congregation of the Thessalonians in God1 the Father and the LORD ‘ISA2 AL-MASIH: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH3.
2We always give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope in our LORD ‘ISA AL-MASIH, before our God and Father. 4We know, brothers4 loved by God, that you are chosen, 5and that our Injil5 came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit6, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake.
6You became imitators of us, and of the Lord7, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For from you has sounded forth the Word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth; so that we need not to say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us what kind of a reception we had from you; and how you turned to God from idols, to worship a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—’ISA, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
- 1:1 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 1:1 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 1:1 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 1:4 The word for “brothers” here and where context allows may also be correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.” ↩︎
- 1:5 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to,
1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books,
2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed in the holy Injil (or New Testament). ↩︎ - 1:5 Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of God; not an angel or created being, but the uncreated, eternal Spirit of God himself who was present and active at the creation of heaven and earth (see Genesis 1:2), and today lives inside of every follower of ‘ISA AL-MASIH, empowering them to live in a way pleasing to God. ↩︎
- 1:6 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” ↩︎