9. αὐτοὶγάρ] i.e. the men of Macedonia and elsewhere. For an ingenious conjecture that the reading of the verse ought to be αὐτοὶγὰρἀπαγγέλλετε ... with reference to a letter sent by the Thessalonians to St Paul see Rendel Harris, Exp. 5. 8. p. 170 f., and cf. Intr. p. 30. ὁποίανεἴσοδον] ‘ what sort of entrance’—εἴσοδον being used of the ‘ act of entering’ (2:1, Acts 13:24) rather than of the ‘ means of entering’ (Hebrews 10:19, 2 Peter 1:11), while the indirect interrogative ὁποίαν (WM. p. 209 n.3) points to the nature of that entrance, how happy and successful it was (v. 5). For the disappearance of ὁποῖος from common Gk. (elsewhere in N.T. only Acts 26:29, Galatians 2:6, 1 Corinthians 3:13, James 1:24) see WSchm. p. 191, Meisterhans p. 237. It is found in the curious combination ὅτιὁποίαν in P. Gen. 54, 1 ff. (3./a.d.) οἶδας ... ὅτιὁποίανπροέρεσινἔχωκαὶοἶδας ... ὅτιγν[ώ]μηὁποίαἐστιν. καὶπῶςἐπεστρέψατεκτλ.] ‘ and how you turned …’ not ‘ returned’ (as in A.V. 1611), ἐπι- having here apparently simply a directive force, cf. Revelation 1:12. For the bearing of the whole clause on the generally Gentile character of the Thessalonian Church see Intr. p. 42 f. The thought of manner (Chrys.: εὐκόλως, μετὰπολλῆςτῆςσφοδρότητος) if not wholly wanting in πῶς is certainly not prominent, as in late Gk. the word is practically = ὅτι (Blass p. 230, Hatzidakis p. 19). Ἐπιστρέφειν, while frequent in Acts of Gentiles turning to God, is not again used by St Paul in this sense; contrast Galatians 4:9, 2 Corinthians 3:16, the only other places in his Epp. where it occurs. To indicate the fact of conversion the Apostle preferred as a rule such general terms as πιστεύειν, ὑπακούειν, perhaps as emphasizing not the mere turning away from error, but the positive laying hold of truth. That however this latter condition was fulfilled in the Thessalonians’ case is proved by the description that follows of their Christian life under the two-fold aspect of doing and of waiting, of active service and of confident hope. δουλεύεινθεῷζῶντικτλ.] ‘ to serve God living and true,’ the absence of the art. drawing attention to God in His character rather than in His person, and δουλεύειν (inf. of purpose) pointing to complete, whole-hearted service: cf. Romans 12:11; Romans 14:18; Romans 16:18, Ephesians 6:7, Colossians 3:24, and for the thought Jeremiah 3:22 ἐπιστράφητε ... ἰδοὺδοῦλοιἡμεῖςἐσόμεθάσοι, ὅτισὺΚύριοςὁθεὸςἡμῶνεἶ. [Eng. Ch. Cat.: ‘ My duty towards God is … to serve Him truly all the days of my life.’ ] Δουλεύειν is apparently never used in a religious sense in pagan literature: cf. however ἱερόδουλοι as a designation of the vetaries of Aphrodite at Corinth. Under ζῶντι in accordance with the regular O.T. conception (Deuteronomy 5:26, Joshua 3:10, Daniel 6:20; Daniel 6:26; cf. Sunday Exp. T. 16. p. 153 ff.) must be included not merely the being, but the activity or power of God (Acts 14:15, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 9:14; cf. Grill Untersuchungen όber die Entstehung des vierten Evangeliums (1902) 1. p. 237); while ἀληθινῷ (here only in St Paul) is ‘ true’ in the sense of ‘ real’ (John 17:3, 1 John 5:20; cf. Trench Syn. § 8.), the ‘ very’ God of the creeds as distinguished from false gods who are mere empty shams and shows (εἴδωλα, in LXX. for ΰΑμΔιμΔιν nothings Leviticus 19:4 &c., and δΒαΘμΔιν breaths Deuteronomy 32:21, Jeremiah 16:19 &c.). Thdt.: ξῶνταμὲναὐτὸνὠνόμασεν, ὡςἐκείνων [τῶνεἰδώλων] οὐζώντων· ἀληθινὸνδέ, ὡςἐκείνωνψευδῶςθεῶνκαλουμένων.