The Great Antithesis: Chosen, Called, and Standing Firm Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15
Introduction: The Great Sorting Out
In the preceding verses, the Apostle Paul has just finished describing the terrifying culmination of human rebellion. He has sketched for us the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, who sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. He has described a great delusion sent by God upon those who refuse to love the truth, so that they will believe what is false. It is a grim and sobering picture of what happens when a civilization turns its back on the God who made it. It is the end game of all apostasy.
And then, with a whiplash-inducing suddenness, Paul pivots. He begins verse 13 with that great, glorious, adversative conjunction: "But." This is one of the most important words in the Bible. It is the great continental divide. On one side lies the kingdom of darkness, the rebellion of man, the great falling away, and the strong delusion. On the other side, we have God's sovereign, electing love, His effectual call, and His preserving grace. This is the great antithesis. This is the ultimate sorting out of all humanity.
We live in an age that despises this kind of sharp distinction. Our culture wants to blur every line. They want a world of gray, a world without hard edges, a world where everyone can be right and no one can be wrong. But the gospel is not gray. The gospel is a sharp, two-edged sword. It divides. It separates. It distinguishes between those who are beloved by the Lord and those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth. And Paul, writing to these beleaguered saints in Thessalonica, wants them to know, with unshakable certainty, which side of that line they are on. He is not writing to make them anxious about their salvation, but to anchor them in it, so that in the face of coming apostasy and persecution, they might stand firm.
These three verses are a dense, compact, and glorious summary of our salvation from beginning to end, from eternity past to our future glorification. And because this is true, because God has done all this, there is a necessary response. We are to stand firm and hold fast. Doctrine is never given to us as an abstract puzzle for theologians to tinker with. It is always the foundation for duty. What you believe determines how you live. And if you believe this, you will be immovable.
The Text
But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 LSB)
God's Sovereign Choice (v. 13)
We begin with the great pivot in verse 13:
"But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Paul's heart is filled with gratitude, and he tells us precisely why. He is thankful for them because they are "beloved by the Lord." This is not a sentimental platitude. This is the bedrock of their identity. Before anything else is true of them, this is true. God loves them. But then he explains the ultimate expression of that love: "because God has chosen you."
This is the doctrine of election. It is not a difficult doctrine to understand; it is a difficult doctrine to swallow for proud, autonomous man. It simply means that God, before the foundation of the world, set His saving love upon a particular people, not because of anything He foresaw in them, not because they were smarter, or prettier, or more inclined to believe than anyone else, but simply because He chose to. He is God. He does what He pleases. Salvation begins in the heart of God, not in the will of man.
He chose them "as the first fruits for salvation." The first fruits were the initial portion of the harvest that was brought to the temple and dedicated to God. This offering consecrated the entire harvest that was to follow. By calling the Thessalonians "first fruits," Paul is saying that their salvation is a guarantee of a much larger harvest to come. This is a profoundly optimistic, postmillennial sentiment. The gospel is not in retreat. The kingdom is not a failing enterprise. God is in the business of reaping a massive, global harvest, and the salvation of these believers is the down payment.
Now, notice the means God uses to bring His choice to fruition. He chose them "through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." God does not just choose the end (salvation); He chooses the means to that end. The two instruments He uses are the Spirit and the truth. First, "sanctification by the Spirit." This refers to the Holy Spirit's work of setting a person apart. Before we can ever believe, the Spirit must perform a work of regeneration in us. He must open our blind eyes and unstop our deaf ears. This is the sovereign, internal work of God. Second, "faith in the truth." This is our response. The Spirit's work enables us to believe, and what we believe is "the truth." Faith is not a blind leap; it has an object. And the object is the truth of the gospel. These two things, the Spirit's work and our faith, are not in competition. They are the divine and human sides of the same coin, orchestrated perfectly by a sovereign God.
God's Effectual Call (v. 14)
In verse 14, Paul explains how God's eternal choice breaks into time and space.
"It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:14)
God's eternal, secret choice is made manifest through His historical, public call. And how does He call? "Through our gospel." The gospel is the message preached by Paul and his companions. It is the announcement of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners. This is God's appointed method. He does not save people through mystical experiences or private revelations. He saves them through the foolishness of the message preached.
And this call is not a mere invitation that man has the final power to accept or reject. This is an effectual call. When God chose you in eternity, He did not cross His fingers and hope you would choose Him back. When He calls you through the gospel, that call creates the very faith it demands. It is the same kind of call Jesus issued to Lazarus in the tomb. He did not say, "Lazarus, if you feel up to it, please come out." He commanded, "Lazarus, come forth!" And a dead man lived. That is the nature of God's call to us in our spiritual death.
What is the purpose of this call? What is the ultimate goal? It is "that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." This is staggering. The end point of our salvation is not just fire insurance. It is not just getting our sins forgiven so we can squeak through the pearly gates. The goal is to share in the very glory of Jesus Christ Himself. It means we will be made like Him. We will be glorified with Him, reigning with Him, sharing in His inheritance. God is not just saving us from hell; He is raising us to a throne.
Our Necessary Response (v. 15)
After laying this massive, unshakable foundation of God's sovereign work from eternity to glory, Paul now pivots to our responsibility. And he begins with that logical connector, "So then." Or, as the old versions have it, "Therefore."
"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us." (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
Because God has chosen you, because God has called you, because God is going to glorify you, therefore, stand firm. The doctrine of God's sovereignty does not lead to passivity. It is the fuel for perseverance. It is the granite foundation that enables us to stand when the winds of false doctrine and the waves of persecution beat against us. If your salvation depends on your own grip, you will be terrified. But if it depends on God's grip on you, you can stand firm.
And what are we to do as we stand? We are to "hold to the traditions." Now, in our evangelical world, "tradition" is often a dirty word. We pride ourselves on having "no creed but Christ." But this is a profound misunderstanding. The Bible does not condemn tradition; it condemns the traditions of men that nullify the Word of God. But here, Paul commands us to hold fast to the apostolic traditions.
What are these traditions? He tells us: they are what "you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us." This is the apostolic deposit of truth. The "letter" refers to the inspired Scriptures they were receiving, like 1 Thessalonians and now this letter. The "word of mouth" refers to the oral teaching of the apostles before the New Testament was complete. Now that the canon of Scripture is closed, the written Word is the sole, infallible repository of that apostolic tradition. So, to hold to the traditions today means to hold fast to the Bible.
This is not a call to a minimalistic, "just me and my Bible" faith. This apostolic tradition is the faith once for all delivered to the saints. It is the rule of faith, the doctrinal substance that the church has confessed for centuries in the great creeds and confessions. To stand firm is to be rooted in this historic, biblical, orthodox faith. We are not to be innovators. We are not to be blown about by every new theological fad. We are to be conservatives, in the best sense of the word. We are to conserve and guard the treasure that has been entrusted to us.
The Christian life is therefore a combination of God's sovereign preservation and our faithful perseverance. He holds us, and so we hold fast. He keeps us, and so we stand firm. The two are not at odds. They are the warp and woof of our salvation. God has done everything necessary to secure you for glory. Therefore, live like it. Stand your ground. Do not give an inch. Hold fast to the faith that was taught by the apostles, and which has been handed down to us in the pages of Holy Scripture. For the one who chose you is faithful, and He will surely do it.