and that our Gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake.
Paul thanked God for choosing the Thessalonian believers for salvation. There are three participial clauses that modify the main verb eucharistoumen ("we give thanks," 1 Thessalonians 1:2). 1 Thessalonians 1:2 b gives the manner of giving thanks, 1 Thessalonians 1:3 the occasion, and 1 Thessalonians 1:4 the ultimate cause. Their response to the gospel proved God’s choice of them. Paul had not persuaded them by clever oratory, but the power (Gr. dynamei, dative case) of God through the Holy Spirit’s convicting work had brought them to faith in Christ (cf. Romans 1:16). This Greek word stresses inward power that possessed the missionaries, not necessarily that supernatural manifestations accompanied their preaching, which dynameis ("miracles," 1 Corinthians 12:10; Galatians 3:5) would have emphasized.