2 Thessalonians 1:4
“So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Paul tells other congregations about the Thessalonians with pride, pointing to their steadfast endurance and faith in the midst of persecution and affliction.
What Does 2 Thessalonians 1:4 Mean?
Paul does more than thank God privately; he boasts about this church openly among the other congregations he visits. What he praises is not their comfort or success but their endurance under "persecutions and tribulations" they are presently enduring. The young church had been born in opposition and was still feeling its sting.
There is something tender in the apostle holding up a suffering church as an example to others. Their patience is not grim teeth-gritting but a faith that keeps trusting God while the pressure continues. Endurance like this preaches a sermon no comfortable believer could preach. Paul knows that a faith proven in fire encourages every other church to stand firm, and he is not ashamed to say so.
In the Original Language
hupomone (ὑπομονή), "patience" — steadfast endurance, the capacity to remain under a weight without giving way.