2 Thessalonians 2:13
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →In contrast, Paul gives thanks for the believers, beloved by the Lord, whom God appointed to salvation through the Spirit's sanctifying work and their belief of the truth.
What Does 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Mean?
With a bright "But," Paul turns from the perishing to his beloved readers. He is again "bound to give thanks" for them, calling them "beloved of the Lord." Where others refused the truth, these believed it; where others perished, these were appointed "to salvation." The contrast is meant to reassure a church that had been frightened by talk of judgment.
Paul holds together two things that belong together: God's gracious initiative and the believers' real response. Salvation is rooted in God's purpose and accomplished "through sanctification of the Spirit," the Spirit's work of setting them apart, and "belief of the truth," their glad embrace of the gospel. God works, and they believe; the Spirit sanctifies, and they trust. Neither cancels the other. For the anxious reader, the comfort is profound: their salvation does not rest on their own fragile strength but on the loving purpose of God, worked out by the Spirit and received by faith.
In the Original Language
hagiasmos (ἁγιασμός), "sanctification" — the act or process of being made holy, set apart for God.