2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

For God chose you. In contrast to the victims of the Mysterious Wickedness, the Thessalonian Christians had been chosen to be saved! See note on 1 Thessalonians 1:4. God's Plan included the Gentiles from the very beginning! See notes on Acts 15:15-18; Romans 9:30-33. By the Spirit's power. See notes on John 3:5; Titus 3:5; Acts 19:1-6. On the human side, their salvation was by their faith in the truth. On the divine side, it was by the Spirit's power. [Sanctification is the believer taking justification seriously!] God called you to this through the Good News. This is the way God calls people to himself. Compare John 6:45. So then, brothers, stand firm. The Good News called them to share the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are to hold on firmly to this and never to let go! [The Good News is the truth of God's act in Christ to set men free, and all the doctrine which results from this.] Gave us eternal courage and a good hope. "My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall become like him, because we shall see him as he really is" (1 John 3:2). And make you strong to do and say all that is good. A Christian gives his life as a living sacrifice to God. This is a form of worship! Compare Philippians 2:15-16.