This Tuesday, we are concluding our discussion of 2 Thessalonians. Amy is in charge so please bring your easy questions this week. Please read 2 Thessalonians 2:13-3.18. In verses 2:13-15, near the end of his concluding exhortation, Paul reminds the Thessalonians, and us, that they/we were chosen by God and sanctified by the Spirit, in order to obtain the glory of the Son. This language is similar to that later employed by Paul in Romans 8:28-30. Paul’s purpose here, however, is not to engage in systematic theology, but to simply remind his audience that God first loved them, not vice-versa. So that if God first so loved you to call you to be his own, then whatever may occur, God will always not only be there – even in persecution and death – but will always be working to restore his image in you. As N.T. Wright says in his book Justification, Paul is reminding his readers of “the moment when, out of sheer grace, the word of the gospel, blown on by the powerful wind of the Spirit, transforms hearts and minds so that, although it is known to be ridiculous and even shameful, people come to believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead.” p.210. For Tuesday, think through what it means to be specifically and specially sought out by God, so that we may stand firm within that special relationship.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is breakfast. Discussion about 6:45. Hope you will join us.
We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For these who he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30