1 Thessalonians 1:6

Contextual Overview

⁶You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁶ You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit,⁶You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁶We told y'all when you saddled up for the Lord it wouldn't be easy. Y'all have suffered just like we said you would and you did it gladly, like top hands should. Y'all rode the way we showed ya and talked like we told ya. ⁶ And you took us and the Lord as your example, after the word had come to you in much trouble, with joy in the Holy Spirit; ⁶ and *ye* became our imitators, and of the Lord, having accepted the word in much tribulation with joy of [the] Holy Spirit, ⁶ and you became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. ⁶ You became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ And ye became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye: 1 Thessalonians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2 Corinthians 8:5, Philippians 3:17, 2 Thessalonians 3:9

and of: Matthew 16:24, John 8:12, John 13:13-15, Ephesians 5:1, 1 Peter 3:13, 3 John 1:11

received: 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 2:14, 1 Thessalonians 3:2-4, Hosea 2:14, Mark 10:29-30, Acts 17:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1, 2 Corinthians 8:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:4

with joy: John 14:16-18, Acts 5:41, Acts 9:31, Acts 13:52, Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:16-18, Romans 15:13, Galatians 5:22, Hebrews 10:34, 1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 1:8

Reciprocal: Exodus 12:8 - with bitter Deuteronomy 16:3 - the bread Deuteronomy 33:3 - shall receive Haggai 1:12 - Zerubbabel Luke 6:20 - Blessed John 14:26 - Holy Ghost John 16:20 - your Acts 2:41 - gladly Acts 17:3 - Christ Acts 17:11 - they received Acts 20:18 - after Romans 1:16 - for it is Romans 14:17 - peace 1 Corinthians 15:1 - which also 2 Corinthians 6:6 - by the Philippians 4:9 - which 1 Thessalonians 1:9 - what 2 Thessalonians 3:7 - how 1 Timothy 4:12 - be thou Hebrews 13:7 - whose 1 Peter 1:12 - with 1 Peter 5:3 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 1:5
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light day, and the darknes night: and the euenyng & the mornyng were the first day.

Genesis 1:5
God named the light "day," and he named the darkness "night." There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:5
dai, and the derknessis, nyyt. And the euentid and morwetid was maad, o daie.

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light, Day, and the darknesse he called Night: and the euening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord,.... So far followers of them as they were of Christ, in embracing the Gospel, submitting to the ordinances of it, professing the name of Christ, and suffering for his sake; the Alexandrian copy reads, "of God", and others, "of Christ":

having received the word; the Gospel, the word of truth, peace, and righteousness, and of salvation by Christ; which they received not as the word of man, but of God; and that

in much affliction; referring to the uproar made by the baser sort of people, instigated by the unbelieving Jews, and the trouble they gave to Jason and other brethren, mentioned in Acts 17:1 and this is a considerable commendation of them, that at a time when others were offended and fell off from hearing the word, and a profession of the Gospel, they should receive it, and that

with much joy of the Holy Ghost; not with a carnal joy, or with a mere flash of natural affection, as in the stony ground hearers, and in the Jews, who rejoiced for a while in John's ministry, and in Herod, who sometimes heard him gladly; but with a spiritual joy of the Holy Ghost's producing in them, applying the word with power to them, giving them a spiritual gust of it, and pleasure in it, raising in their souls a joy upon the most solid foundation.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And ye became followers of us - “You became imitators - μιμηταὶ mimētai - of us.” This does not mean that they became followers of Paul, Silas, and Timothy, in the sense that they had set themselves up as teachers, or as the head of a sect, but that they imitated their manner of living; see the notes on 1 Corinthians 4:16; 1 Corinthians 11:1.

And of the Lord - The Lord Jesus. You also learned to imitate him. From this it is evident that the manner in which the Saviour lived was a prominent topic of their preaching, and also that it was one of the means of the conversion of the Thessalonians. It is probable that preaching on the pure and holy life of the Lord Jesus might be made a much more important means of the conversion of sinners than it is. Nothing is better adapted to show them the evil of their own guilty lives than the contrast between their lives and his; and nothing can be conceived better fitted to win them to holy living than the contemplation of his pure and holy deportment.

Having received the word in much affliction - That is, amidst much opposition from others; see Acts 17:5-8. It was in the midst of these trials that they had become converted - and they seem to have been all the better Christians for them. In this they were imitators of the Saviour, or shared the same lot with him, and thus became his followers. Their embracing and holding fast the truths of religion amidst all this opposition, showed that they were controlled by the same principles that he was, and that they were truly his friends.

With joy of the Holy Ghost - With happiness produced by the Holy Ghost. Though they were much afflicted and persecuted, yet there was joy. There was joy in their conversion - in the evidence of pardoned sin - in the hope of heaven; see the notes, Acts 8:8. However great may be the trials and persecutions experienced in receiving the gospel, or however numerous and long the sufferings of the subsequent life in consequence of having embraced it, there is a joy in religion that more than overbalances all, and that makes religion the richest of all blessings.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 6. Ye became followers of us — Ye became imitators, μιμηται, of us-ye believed the same truths, walked in the same way, and minded the same thing; knowing that our doctrine was of the Lord, and that the way in which we walked was prescribed by himself, and that he also suffered the contradictions of ungodly men.

Having received the word in much affliction — That they received the doctrine of the Gospel in the midst of much persecution we may learn from the history in general, and from Acts 17:5-6.

With joy of the Holy Ghost — The consolations which they received, in consequence of believing in Christ, more than counterbalanced all the afflictions which they suffered from their persecutors.