And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
6 And ye became imitators. With the view of increasing their alacrity, he declares that there is a mutual agreement, and harmony, as it were, between his preaching and their faith. For unless men, on their part, answer to God, no proficiency will follow from the grace that is offered to them — not as though they could do this of themselves, but inasmuch as...
In these words we have the evidence of the apostle's success among the Thessalonians, which was notorious and famous in several places. For, I. They were careful in their holy conversation to imitate the good examples of the apostles and ministers of Christ, Th1 1:6.
Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 1:6-10
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...