1 Thessalonians 1:9 (GNV)

Passage

For they themselues shew of vs what maner of entring in we had vnto you, and how ye turned to God from idoles, to serue the liuing and true God,

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 1:7 So that ye were as ensamples to all that beleeue in Macedonia and in Achaia.

1 Thessalonians 1:8 For from you sounded out the worde of the Lord, not in Macedonia and in Achaia only: but your faith also which is toward God, spred abroad in all quarters, that we neede not to speake any thing.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 For they themselues shew of vs what maner of entring in we had vnto you, and how ye turned to God from idoles, to serue the liuing and true God,

1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to looke for his sonne from heauen, whome he raised from the dead, euen Iesus which deliuereth vs from that wrath to come.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "themselues", "shew", "maner", "entring", "vnto", "turned", "idoles", and "serue". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "themselues" and "shew", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "For from you sounded out the worde..." into verse 10's "And to looke for his sonne from...", so "themselues" and "shew" belong inside that flow. In 1 Thessalonians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "themselues" and "shew" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.