It has been said that the Trinity is the forgotten doctrine of Christianity. This could not be said about the apostle Paul, who structured his whole teaching of salvation around the Trinity. Paul’s opening section of thanksgiving in 1 Thessalonians makes mention of each person of the Trinity and that person’s respective contributions to our salvation.

The Trinity is Christianity’s highest and greatest mystery. The Bible presents the one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the Westminster Larger Catechism explains, they are “the same in substance, equal in power and glory; although distinguished by their personal properties” (WLC 9). This statement emphasizes that each member of the Trinity is equally God in every respect, yet in His personhood He is distinct and individual. To be a Christian is to relate to all three persons of the Trinity; according to Jesus, the full Christian name for God is “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).

In his teaching of salvation, Paul emphasizes the role of each of the three persons plays and the distinctive work that each provides. God the Father chiefly administers our salvation. This means that God ordains, plans, and supervises His will for our redemption. Speaking of the Father, Paul writes in Ephesians 1:11 that we have been “predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” The ultimate cause of our salvation is the sovereign plan and will of the Father.

Meanwhile, God the Son accomplishes the work of our salvation. Paul says in Ephesians 1:7, “in [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” Christ’s saving achievement includes His perfect life as our representative, His sin-atoning death and glorious resurrection, His present reign on the throne of heaven, and His soon return to bring His people to glory. These are all things that Christ does for us, accomplishing a definite work for our salvation.

But there is still need for the work of God the Spirit, who plays the role of applying salvation to individual believers. How can I be included in God’s salvation? How can I know that these things are not merely true in the abstract but true for me? The answer is in the work of God the Spirit, who gives us faith and unites us to Christ.

Paul loved the Trinity which is why his exclamation of thanksgiving for the Thessalonians points to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit working together for us and in us. The God displayed in the Trinity is a God of unfathomable glory, who meet our every need. Our salvation rests on the sovereign authority of God the Father, who administers salvation, on the finished work of God the Son, who accomplishes salvation, and on the mighty intervention performed by God the Holy Spirit, who applies salvation to believers.

At the beginning of Paul’s thanks for the Thessalonians, he prays to “our God and Father” because of their faith in “our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3). Paul then thanks the Father because faith in Christ indicates that the believers were chosen by God for salvation: “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you” (v. 4). Here, Paul makes clear reference, as he so often does in his letters, to the doctrine of election.

The doctrine of election gets its name from the Greek word eklektos, which means “chosen.” The Bible’s doctrine of election declares that God chooses His people for salvation. All blessings that we enjoy as Christians are grounded in God’s sovereign election and predestination, which took place in eternity past. Paul asserts in Ephesians 1:4 that God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world.” God’s eternal purpose provides the strongest, firmest ground for salvation, and it is on this foundation that Paul rests our hope for salvation.

Salvation is not caused by anything in the Christian, but because of God’s sovereign election of individuals to be saved through faith in Christ. This is good news to all who believe, for election assures us that our salvation does not ultimately rest on anything in ourselves – we who are so weak and changing, so mixed in our affections, so inconstant in our faith – but on God’s sovereign choice from eternity past. Paul’s firmest and ultimate cause for the Thessalonians’ salvation is “that he has chosen you” (v. 4).

Notice that Paul joins election to both the love of God and the brotherhood of believers: it is “brothers loved by God” who are chosen by God. The Bible consistently sees God’s love as the operative principle in election. The Lord told Israel, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (Deut. 7:7-8). Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:4-5, “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” Being bound together in sovereign grace, believers are joined into the brotherhood of God’s family.

Despite the overwhelming biblical evidence for election, many Christians raise objections to the doctrine. Some argue that believing in election leads to pride, since if we believe that we have been chosen by God, we will think that we are somehow special and superior. On the contrary, the biblical doctrine of election promotes humility and not pride.

A second objection to election complains that it leads to laziness and loose living. After all, it is argued, if my salvation is caused not by my effort but by God’s mercy, then what motive do I have to press on with the difficult work of sanctification? The Bible answers by emphasizing that election promotes holiness and not license. The objection that election promotes license fails to realize that holiness is the goal for which we are saved. It is God’s purpose in our salvation that we should be holy. Paul wrote that God “chose us…that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). Being ‘chosen’ and being ‘holy’ are inseparable.

A further objection to election argues that believing the doctrine discourages zeal in evangelism. Critics say, “If God predestines people to salvation, then why bother to preach the gospel?” The answer is that God ordains not merely the ends but also the means. God predestines some to be saved and commands us to preach the gospel to that end. If we do not witness the gospel, then none will be saved. But God has ordained that they will be; so He has also ordained that we would preach the gospel so that His chosen people will come to faith.

The relationship between God’s sovereign election and the preaching of the gospel is seen in Paul’s continuing thanks for the Thessalonians. In verse 3, Paul saw evidence of their faith, love, and hope as proof of their election. Now, Paul expresses confidence in their election because of the way the gospel came to them: “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (vv. 4-5).

Paull see God’s sovereign grace at work in three ways in which the gospel came to the Thessalonians. First, Paul says that the gospel came to them “not only in word” (v. 5). This tells us that the gospel must first come “in word,” that is, in the form of clear, biblical teaching. Second, Paul thanks God and sees evidence of his readers’ election because the gospel did not come to them “only in word, but also in power.” When Paul speaks of power, he is not referring to the miracles that the apostles sometimes performed. Instead, he refers here to the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit with and through the Word of God to bring the spiritually dead sinner to life.

Third, Paul concludes his statement in verse 5 by asserting that the faith given to Christians by the Holy Spirit is not bare faith but one that is fully persuaded regarding Jesus Christ. Paul thus completes his thought: “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Paul is not saying that true faith requires believers always to have complete assurance of their salvation. A true believer may often doubt his or her election, and will have ups and downs in his or her spiritual life. Paul is referring, instead, to full persuasion of Christ and His gospel that endures under trials and temptations to turn away.

In His important parable of the soils, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a farmer going about sowing seeds, with the seeds representing the Word of God (Luke 8:11). In one case, the seed fell on rocky soil, where the seed would no grow strong roots. Jesus explained that the person “hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matt. 13:20-21). Paul rejoices that this example does not describe the Thessalonians. They had given testimony of their election by enduring under hardships and persecutions, so that they not only received the Word with and initial experience of the Spirit’s power but also continued persuaded in their faith and showed their salvation by refusing to give way under trials.

In thanking God for the tangible signs of his readers’ election, Paul provides us with a helpful framework for evaluating the spiritual authenticity and health of our churches and our lives. Is the Word of God going forth plainly from our pulpits and being received earnestly by God’s people? Are our evangelism and our spiritual growth based on God’s Word, instead of worldly methods and techniques? Paul presupposes that ministry must be centered on the Word. But then are there evidence of and experience of the Spirit’s power working in our lives through the Word? Is the Spirit of God bringing Bible verses to our minds so as to restrain our sin or motivate our service? Are we embracing Christian duties in the home, church, and society more freely and with a more fervent commitment? True Christians revel in the excitement of hearing and reading God’s Word, knowing the power of which the Holy Spirit attends the Word, a power that testifies to our eternal election and reveals itself through a persevering, conquering persuasion of faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 Study Questions:

What does it mean for the gospel to come in word, in power, in the Holy Spirit, and in great assurance (v. 5) in Paul’s day and ours?

How did the gospel come to you?