1 Thessalonians 1:4 (YLT)

Passage

having known, brethren beloved, by God, your election,

Nearby Context

1 Thessalonians 1:2 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,

1 Thessalonians 1:3 unceasingly remembering of you the work of the faith, and the labour of the love, and the endurance of the hope, of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the presence of our God and Father,

1 Thessalonians 1:4 having known, brethren beloved, by God, your election,

1 Thessalonians 1:5 because our good news did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, even as ye have known of what sort we became among you because of you,

1 Thessalonians 1:6 and ye--ye did become imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Spirit,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "having", "known", "brethren", "beloved", and "election". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "having" and "known", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "unceasingly remembering of you the work of..." into verse 5's "because our good news did not come...", so "having" and "known" 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 "having" and "known" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.