And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit:
All Commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 1:6 Go To 1 Thessalonians 1
John Chrysostom
AD 407
“With joy inspired by the Holy Spirit,” Paul says. So that no one can say, “How can you speak of affliction and of joy in the same breath?” he adds, “inspired by the Holy Spirit.” The affliction pertains to the body, and the joy to things spiritual. But how? The things that happened to them were burdensome, but not so the things that sprang up out of them, for the Spirit does not allow it. So then, it is possible for one who suffers not to rejoice when he is suffering for his sins but nevertheless to experience pleasure when he is being beaten and suffers for Christ’s sake. For such is the joy of the Spirit. In return for the things which seem to be burdensome, the Spirit brings delight. They have afflicted you, he says, and persecuted you, but the Spirit did not forsake you even in those circumstances.
