<p>2:1 <em>Brothers, you know our visit with you, that it has not been found vain</em>- &quot;Our visit&quot; is literally as AV &quot;our entering in&quot;, and is the same word used by Paul for the 'entering in' by the Lord Jesus when He began His ministry (Acts 13:24). Paul clearly saw his ministry as a manifestation and replica of the Lord's. His audiences met Christ insofar as they met him. Therefore Paul&rsquo;s personal example could hardly be distinguished from the gospel he taught (1 Thess. 2:1-12)- he was his message, just as the Lord was His word made flesh. This is why &lsquo;authority&rsquo; and respect are things which are earned naturally in a community by those who have converted the community. It is hard to impose these things from outside the conversion experience.</p>