2 Thessalonians 2:13-14- We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God teaches us that salvation involves God initiating a relationship with us by choosing us in the beginning (Ephesians 1:4 says “before the foundation of the world”) which is summarily manifested when we actually believe the truth. Understanding this will release faith in our lives as we realize God has already laid out a course for our success that leads to a full manifestation of His glory.
I. Chosen from the beginning
a. “Chose” here means to take for oneself, to prefer.
b. God initiated salvation by first taking or choosing us before time began.
c. God blessed our lives before we ever set foot on the earth!
d. God will instruct us in the way chosen for us.
e. Psalm 25:12 says, “Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.”
f. God sets the godly apart for Himself; because of that He hears us when we call upon Him (Psalm 4:3).
II. Sanctification by the Spirit
a. This is when the Spirit starts drawing us and separating us for God’s purposes.
b. This process starts before salvation as God begins to soften our hearts and prepares us to hear the message of salvation.
c. Before I became a Christian I knew God was drawing me to Himself and making me hungry to know Him.
d. Before I was a Christian I knew God was setting up my circumstances so that I would know He is real and believe on Him. (He points to Himself through other people’s words, through circumstances, through dealings within our hearts.)
III. Our response should be to believe the truth
a. In whatever God is dealing with in us, we should believe the truth! God is setting us up to believe Him for healing, finances, our families, careers, and most importantly our relationship with Him.
b. There is something inside of each of us longing to believe for a miracle. This doesn’t come from the devil but from the God who gave us the Scriptures. God still performs miracles in finances, physical healing, relationships, etc. as long as we follow His principles and do not allow anything in our lives that kills faith. We need to believe Him today.
IV. The end result of our calling is glory
a. He called us for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory has to do with our full maturity as a child of God.
b. Other passages that teach this include:
- Ephesians 1:11: “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.”
- Romans 8:29-30: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
c. All creation waits for the children of God to walk in God’s glory for its deliverance and freedom. Romans 8:18-21: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
d. Until we transition into the glory of our Lord Jesus we must be patient and endure our present sufferings that are working a greater good inside of us.
