We now get a further reason why Paul thanks God for them. God has chosen them. Remember that Jesus said, I chose you, you did not choose me (John 15:16). Note also that Jesus goes on in that verse to say that the purpose is that they might bear fruit. So Paul is giving thanks because he sees that the fruit is indeed being produced. We also need to always remember that the initiative for our salvation rests with God, not with us.
So how does Paul know they have been chosen by God? Because he saw that the gospel came to them with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. There is both strong internal and external evidence.
Paul and his companions did not simply preach the message, they lived it as well. So the Thessalonians could become imitators of them. We are to be examples of what we preach.
They also welcomed the message in the midst of suffering. We know that Paul was attacked in Thessalonica and had to escape. The attack on the Christians would have continued. But with the suffering came joy in the Holy Spirit. So the Thessalonians became an example to be followed as well. The Thessalonians had a good reputation. May our church be a church with a good reputation. Now this is a good reputation in the right sense, a reputation of being devoted to God and having turned away from the things of the world. The Thessalonians had turned away from idols and turned to serving Christ. We live in a time when the world is increasingly seeking to squeeze us into its mould. Same-sex "marriage" is the most obvious example of this at present, but not the only one.
Paul closes the is section with reference to the return of Christ. When Christ returns it will be to judge the world. The wrath of God will come. And the wrath of God is God's passionate and reasonable judgement on our sin.
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