… 4knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you; 5for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
The doctrine of election has to do with God’s choice. Christians have wrestled with this issue since the time of the apostle Paul. The Scripture undeniably teaches that God sovereignly chooses; this is inherent in creation. Out of all the kinds of universes He could have created, He chose one that would include the fall into sin and the selection of those whom He would save through redemption. Even if one grants only the doctrine of foreknowledge, God would have known ahead of time that sin would enter the world, and might then instead create a universe that He knew would not fall to sin. His choice preceded His creation.
From our limited human perspective, we wrestle with the corresponding doctrine of what is so-called free will. Yet if God knew ahead of time what our choices would be, how could anyone choose any differently than what God foreknew that we would choose, no matter what the choice was? These things begin to boggle the mind and mire down theological thought to endless cycles of debate that in the end is shut down by God:
You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? (Rom. 9:19–20)
We are left simply with our accountability to God and humbleness in confessing our lack of standing to judge the choices of God. Should we not rather appreciate and enjoy the wonder of God’s choosing us who believe? Describing how all this works together and consistently in our theological arrangements, goes beyond the scope of our space here (see the apostle Paul’s discussion about this in Romans 8-11). But Paul focuses the Thessalonian believers on “His choice of [them].” What an astounding thing!
Only the Lord knows for sure those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19), but He instructs us to look at the outward evidence of genuineness of faith. Jesus said in the Upper Room, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The Thessalonians showed clear evidences of the Holy Spirit’s power and conviction.
Lord, may others see the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life.
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