What does 2 Thessalonians 2:13 mean, 'God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation'?

Whosoever Will, There Is No Calvinist Election in the Bible: 2 Thessalonians 2:13. “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” Chosen to salvation, in English, and this is where the confessions' phrase comes from. The verb is heileto, from haireo (G138), an ordinary word for choosing that is not the family this essay counts, which is why the verse is on this page and not in the table. Now read the sentence to its end and the verses around it. The means are in the same breath: through the Spirit's sanctifying, and belief of the truth. Three verses earlier, the perishing are named: they “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2:10), and “believed not the truth” (2:12). One verse later: “Whereunto he called you by our gospel” (2:14). The passage draws its own line between the saved and the lost, and the line is belief of the truth against refusal of it. The “you” chosen to salvation is a church, and it is chosen through the very belief the perishing withheld, and two verses on it is commanded: “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions” (2:15). “From the beginning” I hold. What the verse does not say is that God chose who would believe. It says the chosen are the believers, and it says who the others are. Scripture, King James Version: 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:".

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-18.