B. Prayer for the Converts (2:16-17)
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you- to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. t4 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachingsb we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
It was necessary to deal with the Man of Lawlessness and his detestable enormities, but Paul's real interest lay elsewhere. The advent speculations of his Thessalonian friends had made it essential for him to say enough to set them right. That done, he turns to a more congenial subject, the divine choice of the Thessalonians to salvation. He expresses thankfulness to God for his choice of the Thessalonians for salvation, and he goes on to make this the basis of an exhortation to them to stand firm.
13 In language reminiscent of his words in 1:3, perhaps intentionally so, he says that he and his friends "ought" to thank God for them. He wants his readers to be in no doubt as to the justice of the thanksgiving he offers. So he repeats the word that indicates obligation, and this time reinforces it (as he did not do in the opening part of the letter) with the emphatic pronoun for "we."66 The Thessalonians can after this be in no doubt that Paul thinks highly of their Christian profession. Notice the insertion of "always." His impression of the Thessalonians is of people whose Christian life is consistent. Accordingly he must be thanking God for them all the time.
He employs the affectionate address "brothers," and adds to it "loved by the Lord." The addition is not usual, though elsewhere he has used the similar expression "loved by God" (1 Thess. 1:4). There, as here, the thought of election was present. Election and the love of God are connected. The perfect participle, "loved," brings the two thoughts of an action in time past and a continuing result. This is, of course, very appropriate in proximity to the concept of election. "The Lord," in conformity with Pauline usage, will here denote the Lord Jesus rather than the Father. There is probably no significance in the change from "loved by God" to "loved by the Lord." The use of the title "Lord," however, is possibly evoked in this context by the preceding mention of mighty ones among the evil beings. Just as in verse 8 there is significance in referring to Jesus as the Lord (for he is mighty to destroy the Man of Lawlessness), so here the title is not otiose. In the face of the might of evil the Thessalonians may well be calm, for they are beloved of the mighty Lord.
Paul thanks God because he has chosen the converts "to be saved." "Chose" is one of a number of words used to convey the idea of election.67 This is the only place where it is used in this sense in the New Testament (though it is found with this meaning in LXX68). There is no one word that constantly expresses the idea of election, but the fundamental thought remains unchanged: the salvation of believers rests on divine choice, not on human effort. Nor was this some afterthought on God's part. He chose them "from the beginning." Some interpreters have thought that this means no more than from the beginning of the mission to Thessalonica, but this is inadequate. That this is an unusual expression in Pauline writings for "from the beginning of time" is not significant. We have just seen that Paul's election terminology is variable, and the same goes for his expressions for time. There are several of these without there being any real difference of meaning,69 and we must feel that this is no more than a stylistic variation, all the more so since it is used elsewhere in the Greek Bible in such a sense. The meaning, then, is that God chose the Thessalonian Christians from the very beginning of things. Their election was no innovation.
"Belief in the truth" is not an easy expression. As in verses 10 and 12, "truth" is not simply an ethical quality but the truth of the gospel. It is that truth which is associated with Jesus Christ. `Belief' is better rendered "faith";7' the expression points us to that faith in the truth of God which is the basis of the Christian life 72 At first sight it is surprising that faith should be mentioned after "sanctification of the Spirit." It may be that we are intended to understand that this can only follow an activity of the Spirit. The order may also point us to the truth that the faith being spoken of is not simply one initial act. It is a continuing habit. Or, of course, Paul may simply be calling attention to the divine and the human aspects of salvation.
14 "Whereunto" (which NIV omits) is to be taken with the whole of the previous expression "salvation ... truth," and not with any one member of it. The thought is that God calls people into a state of salvation. He calls them with a view to salvation. With the idea of call Paul moves from the pretemporal election by God to his effectual calling of people in history. The idea of the divine call is a favorite one with the apostle. There are other passages where he connects it with the thought of election as he does here (e.g., Rom. 8:30). We have already seen references to God's call (1 Thess. 2:12; 5:24), in both of which there is the idea of a present call. In the present passage the call is in the past tense, which points to the time when the Thessalonians had responded to the gospel. This is made quite plain by the addition of "through our gospel." The gospel Paul and his companions had preached had been the instrument of God's call. The personal touch is to be discerned in the possessive adjective, appropriate in a passage like this where the writer is concerned to stress his care for his converts. For "our gospel" see the note on 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
Paul speaks of being called "that you might share in the glory," where we should understand "share" not in the sense of acquiring by our own effort, but of receiving as a gift (see on 1 Thess. 5:9). Paul reminds his readers that salvation is not confined to its present aspects as he moves on to the thought of future glory. The eschatological emphasis in salvation runs through these letters; clearly it was important for Paul and it was important for the Thessalonians. This glory, the apostle says, is that "of our Lord Jesus Christ." The thought that the glory of the believer is closely associated with that of the Savior is one that recurs. We have met it, for example, in 1:10 (where see note). Those who are in Christ share the glory of Christ. For them there is no other glory. Paul had earlier written of the Thessalonians as being called into the glory of God (1 Thess. 2:12). That he can here speak of the glory of Christ in a similar fashion illustrates the closeness of the relationship between the Father and the Son (cf. also Rom. 8:29-30, and for "share" see the note on 1 Thess. 5:9, where the same word is translated "receive"). It is not a usual word in this kind of context. It may be meant to stress the reality of the possession of this glory in face of the fact that some at Thessalonica all too readily became downhearted.73
Linked with this is the injunction "hold to the teachings." The verb is used elsewhere by Paul only once (Col. 2:19, of holding fast to Christ the "Head"). It is often used in the literal sense as of holding with the hand; it then denotes a firm grip. It is used of holding the traditions of the elders (Mark 7:3, 8). The present imperative here will have the force "go on holding." "Traditions" (the margin gives the correct meaning of the word) is a word that points us to the fact that the Christian message is essentially derivative 75 It does not originate in people's fertile imaginations but rests on the facts of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Paul disclaims originating these things and expressly says that the things he passed on he had himself first received (I Cor. 15:3). For us these traditions are preserved in the New Testament. But for Paul's readers there was no such volume. For them the Christian traditions were principally those which they had received "by word of mouth." Paul also associates "letter of ours" with the spoken word; by this he probably means 1 Thessalonians. He puts no difference between the authority of the written and the spoken word. Both alike were in very deed the word of God (as we see from 1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 14:37). As in the case of election (see v. 13), the handing over of the Christian message is expressed with a variety of terminology.76 But the underlying idea is always the same. It is a message that comes from God. It must therefore be accepted with humility and transmitted faithfully. The derivative nature of the message is a reminder that people ought not to depart from it in any way. Since the traditions were not of human origin they must stand fast in them.