2 Thessalonians 2:13

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”

“But”: In contrast to those who do not love the truth, but delight in evil.

“We are bound”: Compare with 2 Thessalonians 1:3. “He wants his readers to be in no doubt as to the justice of the thanksgiving that he offers” (Morris p. 236). “To give thanks to God always for you”: All too often we do take our brethren for granted, yet the above verse puts everything back in perspective. In view of the fact that so many do not love the truth and do delight in evil, we need to really appreciate those precious souls who embrace God's truth and who love goodness. “Beloved of the Lord”: “Loved by the Lord” (Ber). We sometimes forget how precious our brethren are in the sight of God. If God loves them, then we need to love them also. “God chose you from the beginning unto salvation”: “For, from the first, God chose you for Salvation” (TCNT).

In light of the fact that Paul has already inferred that these Christians could be deceived, if they were not careful (2 Thessalonians 2:3); we must reject any Calvinistic slant on the words "from the beginning". These Christians could forfeit their salvation (1 Thessalonians 3:5). The good news of the verse is that God wants people saved (2 Peter 3:9). God backs the believer (1 Corinthians 10:13), and will not abandon the believer. If one ends up lost, then they have to abandon God (2 Timothy 2:11). God is 100% behind the Christian ending up saved, therefore. tremendous amount of incentives, encouragement, edification, and so on must exist, such as other believers, weekly worship services (Hebrews 10:24), the all-sufficient Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16); what heaven will be like (Revelation 21:4).

“In sanctification of the Spirit”: Some commentators believe that the word "Spirit" in this verse, refers to the human spirit. See 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “And belief of the truth”: It is the truth that will enable. person to end up purified from sin (John 17:17; 1 Peter 1:22). Thus the Holy Spirit uses God's word to bring about our purification, but we must cooperate. Again, notice that those who are said to have been "chosen" had an obligation to believe the truth. They ended up "chosen" because they chose to accept God's invitation (Matthew 22:14). Notice how "belief of the truth" stands in strong contrast to the attitude mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:12.