Chosen And Instructed
CHOSEN AND INSTRUCTED
2 THESSALONIANS 2:13-15
True Christians are secure in God and will share in Christ’s glory.
A consideration of the deception of many who are to perish because of their refusal to receive the truth of God (2:10-12) confirms the apostle’s thankfulness for the Thessalonians who so warmly received the gospel (2:13). His people were afflicted and perplexed. Paul assures them that they have nothing to fear in life or death. Like Benjamin, whose blessing was to live in safety with God (Deuteronomy 33:12), they are “brothers and sisters loved by the Lord.” Like Israel, God loves them and chose them because of that love (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Before the world began God had taken thought for them. The certainty of their deliverance from sin, death and condemnation lies in the timeless will of God that they should experience salvation. This had become clear when they responded joyfully to God’s call through the gospel proclaimed by the apostle (2:14). Their response to the God who committed himself to people was the commitment of themselves to God. The prospect Paul now holds before the congregation is the enjoyment of the full perfection of Christ’s glory. With this vision before them the Thessalonians are to stand firm, conscious of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and the undergirding of the everlasting arms of a loving Father.
To help them stand firm, Paul commends to the church the importance of apostolic tradition (2:15). Under this category he includes both oral and written instruction. Much is said in 2 Thessalonians about the establishment, preservation and authority of the apostolic tradition (see 2:1f.,5,15; 3:6,10,14,17), and it is clear that Paul regards his letter as a deposit of tradition (3:14). The tradition of teaching delivered to the church remains normative for the testing of doctrine and the regulation of conduct. If the Thessalonians will remember this, there will be no recurrence of an atmosphere of crisis in the congregation based on misinformation or deliberate deception (2:1f.,5).