Paul tells the believers at Thessalonica that he and those who labor with him in the Gospel are bound (G3784; opheilo) to give thanks to the Lord for them always, i.e. they were obligated to give thanks every day (2Thessalonians 2:13). Paul claims it wasn’t his ‘choice’ to do so, but he was under obligation to do so. The Greek word, opheilo (G3784), is used by the Lord in Matthew 18:28 to indicate a man’s debt to his master (cp. Luke 16:5, 7). In fact, it is used 36 times by the New Covenant writers, and it is always used of an obligation, such as financial debt, one’s duty to his master or one’s obligation to the Law etc. So, it is in this sense that Paul is obligated to offer thanks daily for Jesus’ disciples at Thessalonica. Why would this be so?
The text says it was because God had chosen these believers from the beginning to salvation!, Does this mean God really chooses who is to be eternally saved and who is not to be eternally saved, and did he really do this before he even created anyone? We must always keep in mind as we study the word of God that we are under obligation to read it in such a manner that we don’t cause the Lord to contradict himself (John 10:35). That is, we must not say that the text we are reading means something that another texts contradicts. We are obligated to cause the meaning of what we read to agree with what the Lord says elsewhere, for God is not the author of confusion (1Corinthians 14:33).
With this in mind, let’s consider what Paul means by salvation. Notice that he doesn’t use any words meaning ‘eternal’ or ‘forever’ in connection to the word salvation. So, let’s not read that into the text, unless we are given reason to do so. The word salvation (G4991; soteria) is not always used to indicate ‘eternal’ salvation. For example, Paul uses it to indicate the good health of folks who refused to eat, because they were afraid in Acts 27:34. He uses the word again in Hebrews 11:7 to show that Noah built the ark to save himself and his family. Luke also uses it to show Israel would be saved from her enemies (Luke 1:71). So, does Paul use the word to indicate spiritual salvation or physical salvation (2Thessalonians 2:13)?
A second word we need to consider to understand the text is the word beginning (G746; arche). The Bible speaks of several beginnings (G746). First of all, we have the beginning of creation (Matthew 19:4; cp. Genesis 1:1). The word of God also mentions the beginning of sorrows (Matthew 24:8), the beginning of the Gospel (Mark 1:1), and the beginning of the world (Matthew 24:21), which is different from the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1). The beginning of the world began with the rebellion of Adam in Genesis 3.[1] So, which beginning does Paul point to in 2Thessalonians 2:13?
I submit it must mean ‘the beginning of the world’ or the rebellion at Genesis 3. Why would the Lord choose anyone at the beginning of creation before anyone needed salvation, and before anyone rebelled? At the rebellion, it became necessary for man to both see the end of his actions and his need to be saved both spiritually and physically. Even today mankind is hell bent on destroying the earth over his greed to have more of what he already has. If our spiritual salvation has already been taken care of at the cross, then Paul must be speaking of physical salvation in Thessalonians 2:13. In other words, God had chosen these believers at Thessalonica and elsewhere to be saved out of the Jews’ war with Rome, which would occur in their lifetimes. Millions would die and many others would be enslaved, but the Lord chose those who trusted in Jesus to be saved out of that horror, just as the prophet said: “Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah (Isaiah 1:9 KJV), and this was done through the sanctification of the Lord’s Spirit, i.e. he separated believers from non-believers by calling believers to trust in Christ through the Gospel (2Thessalonians 2:13-14). For this reason, Paul and those with him were under obligation to God to thank him for preserving their nation by calling a remnant to believe the Gospel, and thereby keep the Jewish nation from being completely destroyed in the first century AD.
Therefore, Paul encouraged his readers to hold fast to what he had told them, while he was with them and to what he was telling them through this epistle (2Thessalonians 2:15), because it is through that Gospel that they would be saved out of the coming judgment that would fall upon the world of the first century AD. The Gospel was their only hope and consolation. It contained the word of God through his servants, the Apostles, to give hope to his disciples. Therefore, Paul prayed that the Lord would strengthen their resolve and keep them in his will, and thereby saving them alive out of the coming judgment (2Thessalonians 2:16-17).
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[1] See my earlier study: The Overthrow of the World.
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