“…to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ“
by our gospel,
God calls the Thessalonians to Himself by the gospel Paul’s team preached to them over a year ago. The gospel, in essence, is that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). Verse 13 speaks of God’s election, and this verse speaks to how God brings His election into reality in time.
Principle:
God calls people to Himself by the gospel.
Application:
Every time people hear the gospel, he hears the voice of God calling them to Himself. Satan tries to blind them to the truth. He says, “Don’t believe that. You are a good person; you go to church.” There is always supernatural opposition to the gospel.
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
God calls people to Himself by the gospel. If people land in hell, they ran every red light God put in their path. God calls us by the gospel. God wants each and every person to have eternal life.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
The word “gospel” means good news. The worse the sinner, the better the news! God will save you, whether you are religious or not, whether you are a good person or not, whether you are cultured or not.
