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Verse 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:

All three members of the godhead are mentioned in this great verse; and it is the answer to the terrible things Paul had just foretold. Whatever evil may engulf the world, the Thessalonians must not be troubled. They are "beloved of the Lord," "chosen of God unto sanctification," and the subject of the apostle's most devout thanksgiving.

Paul had just spoken of a time (at the end) when most people would reject the truth and turn aside to fables; but, as Hendriksen put it, "The true believer must never be afraid of belonging to the minority. It is the remnant that shall be saved. All others shall be condemned."[10]

God chose you from the beginning ... God chose all men to be saved, in the sense that every man ever born on earth was destined to be a child of God; but the freedom of the human will nullifies that eternal decree in many. In the New Testament, as here, God's choosing implies also the believer's having accepted.

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