“You became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,”

Reading this verse in context

This page shows one verse on its own, which is rarely how it was written. 1 Thessalonians 1 contains 10 verses, and the sentences either side usually decide what this one means. Read the whole chapter before you quote it.

Text: World English Bible, Protestant edition (engwebp), eBible.org — public domain.