2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

13: But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 
14: It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

16: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 
17: comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

*** 

In contrast to the destructive end of those who chose wickedness over truth—deceived into it because they’ve not welcomed the love of the truth—Paul said they thanked God for them because He’d chosen (adopted) them from the beginning for salvation. How does God choose? The call comes to all through the gospel. God’s destiny—or predestination—for everyone is to be conformed to the image of Jesus. His desire is for all to be saved (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:4, John 3:16). God chooses those who believe in His Son.

God’s desire is for everyone to respond to the gospel, believe, and be saved. The plan of salvation from the time of the fall was for the Word of God to come, and for anyone who believed in Him to be saved. Yet God knew from the beginning who would respond to the call of the gospel. For those who believe, His salvation works through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth--the gospel message—through which believers will gain the glory of Christ.

Because of this Paul encouraged them to stand firm and hold to what they were taught by him, and those with him, whether in person or by letter. Paul points out the “distinguishing mark” he put on every letter in 2 Thessalonians 3:18 so they would know a letter was from him. Those who would deceive might go to great lengths to do so, in this case lying and forging letters claiming they were from Paul when they weren’t. This caused distress among the Thessalonians as they were told that Paul said the day of the Lord was at hand.

Paul prayed for God to comfort and strengthen their heart in every good work and word. Now that they knew the time of the Lord’s return had not come, they could be about the work of the Lord and do their own work in taking care of themselves as he addresses in the next chapter.

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