2 Thessalonians 2.13c-The Thessalonians' Salvation Took Place at their Justification By Means of Sanctification Through the Spirit
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 21, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 2:13c-The Thessalonians Salvation Took Place at their Justification by Means of Sanctification Through the Spirit
Lesson # 41
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But now, each one of us are obligated to always make it our habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each and every one of you brothers and sisters, who are divinely loved by the one and only Lord. For this God for His own glory chose each one of you as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth. (Lecturer’s translation)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the apostle Paul informs each member of the Thessalonian Christian community that he, Silvanus and Timothy are obligated to always make it their habit of giving thanks to the one and only God on behalf of each one of them.
He then gives them the reason that this is the case by asserting that God for His own glory chose each one of them as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth.
The prepositional phrase en hagiasmō (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ), “by means of sanctification” expresses the means by which God the Father chose each member of the Thessalonian Christian community as firstfruits for experiencing eternal salvation.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that the Father chose each member of the Thessalonian Christian community as firstfruits for experiencing eternal salvation “by means of” sanctification through the personal agency of the Spirit.
Now, as we noted in our study of First Thessalonians, the noun hagiasmos appeared three times in this letter.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 and 7, the noun hagiasmos means “sanctification.”
In these verses, it refers to the Thessalonian Christian community experiencing sanctification as a result of obeying Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s doctrinal instruction with regards to sanctification.
Thus, it refers to the Thessalonians experiencing the holiness of God in their lives by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy’s Spirit’s inspired teaching with regards to sanctification.
However, here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, the noun hagiasmos speaks of positional sanctification, which was accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit, which took place at the moment of justification.
This interpretation of the word is indicated by the phrase pneumatos kai pistei alētheias (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας), “by the Spirit and faith in the truth,” which we noted, modifies the verb haireomai and identifies when the Father chose each member of the Thessalonian Christian community as firstfruits for salvation.
The reference to faith in the truth speaks of the sinner exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior which results in the Father declaring them justified.
This is indicated by Paul’s statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:12 in which he describes those who worship the Antichrist as God in the flesh not believing the truth, which we noted is a reference to the gospel.
These individuals were of course unregenerate and thus, the reference to truth in verse 12 is a reference to the gospel communicated to the unregenerate.
Therefore, the reference to “faith in the truth” here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is a reference to justifying faith.
This is indicated by the fact that Paul is contrasting the Thessalonians with those unrepentant, unregenerate sinners who will worship the Antichrist as God in the flesh during the seventieth week of Daniel who did not exercise faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The noun pneuma (πνεῦμα), “through the personal agency of the Spirit” expresses the fact that the Holy Spirit is the personal agency the Father employed to enable the Thessalonians to experience eternal salvation.
The reference to the Spirit here speaks of the Spirit’s work in baptism since Paul is speaking in the context of the positional sanctification of the Thessalonians, which took place through the baptism of the Spirit at their justification.
The baptism of the Spirit identifies the sinner justified with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
The expression kai pistei alētheias (καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας), “and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth” corresponds to the previous prepositional phrase en hagiasmō pneumatos (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος), “through sanctification by the Spirit” because they are in agreement with each other.
They correspond to each other because the baptism of the Spirit takes place when the Thessalonians were declared justified by the Father through faith in the truth, which is a reference to the gospel about His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, the expression kai pistei alētheias (καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας), “and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth” expresses another means by which the Thessalonians experienced salvation which corresponds to the means expressed by the prepositional phrase en hagiasmō pneumatos (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος), “through sanctification by the Spirit.”
Therefore, this indicates that positional sanctification and the baptism of the Spirit correspond to the Thessalonians exercising faith in the gospel about Jesus Christ, which resulted in the Father declaring them justified.
The implication is that positional sanctification through the baptism of the Spirit took place at the same time the Thessalonians exercised faith in the gospel about Jesus Christ, which resulted in the Father declaring them justified.
In other words, the Thessalonians experienced positional sanctification through the baptism of the Spirit when they exercised faith in the gospel about Jesus Christ, which resulted in the Father declaring them justified.
So therefore, the expression kai pistei alētheias (καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας), “and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth” speaks of salvation from the perspective of the sinner’s responsibility to exercise faith in Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, the prepositional phrase en hagiasmō pneumatos (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος), “through sanctification by the Spirit” speaks of salvation from the perspective of God’s work through the Spirit at justification on behalf of the sinner who exercises faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thus, the expression kai pistei alētheias (καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας), “and correspondingly, by means of faith in the truth” and the prepositional phrase en hagiasmō pneumatos (ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος), “through sanctification by the Spirit” teach that the following must take place in order for the sinner to experience salvation: (1) Father must declare the sinner justified. (2) the Holy Spirit must sanctify them at justification. (3) The sinner must exercise faith in the gospel about Jesus Christ in order to be declared justified by the Father.
The noun pistis (πίστις), “faith” speaks of the faith of the Thessalonian Christian community exercised when they were spiritually dead, which resulted in the Father declaring them justified and as a result caused them to experience eternal salvation.
Therefore, unlike First Thessalonians where the word always refers to the Thessalonians’ post-justification faith which resulted in their experiencing sanctification and salvation, here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 it speaks of the Thessalonians’ justifying faith.
As was the case in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and 12, the noun alētheia (ἀλήθεια) here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is a reference to the gospel about Jesus Christ.
As we noted in our study of 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and 12, the noun alētheia is speaking of the gospel in relation to the unregenerate.
Therefore, as was the case in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and 12, the noun alētheia here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 refers to the truth communicated in the gospel about Jesus Christ.
Namely, that out of His love for sinners God the Father provided for the sinner deliverance from His wrath through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at His right hand and this deliverance is appropriated by faith in the Father’s one and only His Son.
Interestingly, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 contains a “triadic” pattern.
Throughout the New Testament, there are triadic patterns meaning that God acts towards the believer in a three-fold manner.
These triadic patterns make clear that the Godhead is composed of the three co-infinite, co-equal, and co-eternal persons who work in concert to bless those sinners who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior.
There are no doctrinal explanations or comments by the writers of the New Testament with regards to these triadic patterns and how they fit into the received teaching of monotheism.
In every case where these patterns occur, the writer assumes that the reader will know what he means without giving an explanation.
These triadic patterns appear extensively in the Pauline corpus.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 contains a clear triadic pattern since Paul mentions all three members of the Trinity.
As noted previously, he asserts in this verse that he, Silvanus and Timothy thanked “the Father” for the Thessalonian Christian community and he also describes the Thessalonians as being loved by “the Lord” Jesus Christ.
Lastly, he asserts that the Father chose them as firstfruits for the purpose of experiencing salvation by means of sanctification through the personal agency of “the Spirit.”
Also, notice that when Paul mentions the Father first followed by the Son and then lastly, he speaks of the Spirit.
This verse illustrates “procession,” which is a term in Christian trinitarian thought that designates the way the Son and Spirit originate from the Father.
The Scriptures teach that the Son proceeds from the Father and the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son and this appears to be Paul’s thought here in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 or maybe he mentions the procession of the three persons of the Trinity without be conscious of doing so.
