Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls: The Greeks had a notion that a messenger and his message were inseparable. Paul seems to be borrowing that idea here. The word "soul" seems to refer to the totality of Paul’s personality. Paul gives the Thessalonians, not just empty words that he has heard somewhere, but the gospel personified. It is so much a part of him, that one can see it translated into action as one observes the way Paul lives. He really does practice what he preaches!