“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it“

In verse 23, Paul prays for the Thessalonians that God would sanctify them. In this verse, he asserts that God will faithfully do this.

He who calls you

God brings certain people to Himself in salvation by His call. This is God’s first work in us, but He does not leave us at the point of initial salvation.

is faithful,

God’s character ensures He will fulfill that to which He calls us. God will faithfully complete His work. God is faithful to His promises, so He is faithful to those people whom He elects. The Greek emphasizes the word “faithful.” God’s faithfulness to His sanctifying work stands on His integrity. God is reliable and trustworthy when it comes to finishing what He starts.

“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 1:6 ).

God cannot be unfaithful to Himself. It is impossible for Him to call us and then not preserve us. Since God’s character is immutable, He must be true to His commitments. God cannot go back on His promises, whether they are promises about time or eternity. He will faithfully forgive every Christian who confesses his sin (1 John 1:9). God will keep us saved (2 Timothy 2:13). He is faithful to sustain the believer through temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). The Christian’s present and future depend entirely on God’s faithfulness.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Principle:

Once God calls us, His faithfulness will see us to the end.

Application:

Just as we can trust God to save us eternally so, we can trust Him to sanctify us completely. We can trust God for our personal growth. What God does will continue into eternity. This is a far cry from our feeble and frail attempts to sanctify ourselves. God both calls and sustains us. He calls us to His ends, and He enables us to reach those ends.

No one will point an accusing finger at us because God is faithful in bringing us to the point of absolute sanctification in the eternal state. God preserves us through and through. God will fit us for Heaven as well as the earth.

The reason Job could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him,” is that God is faithful to Himself. Job could stand up under unimaginable pressure because He understood something about the character of God. He knew God always keeps His Word.

Christians who have confidence in God’s faithfulness to Himself can trust Him with anything that may come their way.

“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19).