Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Thessalonians 1:4

"knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election," — 1 Thessalonians 1:4 (ASV)

Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. The margin here reads, "beloved of God, your election." The difference depends merely on the punctuation, and the reading that the margin would require has been adopted by Hahn, Tittman, Bloomfield, and Griesbach. The meaning is not significantly changed, and the common version may be regarded as giving the true meaning. There is no great difference between "being beloved of God" and "being chosen of God." The meaning then is, "knowing that you are chosen by God to salvation." (Ephesians 1:5; Ephesians 1:11).

The word "knowing," here refers to Paul himself, and to Silas and Timothy, who united with him in writing the epistle and in giving thanks for the favors shown to the church at Thessalonica. The meaning is that they had such strong confidence that they had been chosen by God as a church to salvation, that they could say they knew it.

The way in which they knew it seems not to have been by direct revelation or by inspiration, but by the evidence they had provided. This evidence constituted such proof of piety as to leave no doubt of the fact. Calvin. What this evidence was, the apostle states in the following verses.

It was shown by the manner in which they embraced the gospel and by the spirit they had shown under its influence. The meaning here seems to be, not that all the members of the church at Thessalonica were certainly chosen by God to salvation—for, as in other churches, there might have been false professors there. Instead, the church, as such, had given evidence that it was a true church, founded on Christian principles, and that, as a church, it had provided evidence of its "election by God."

Nor can it mean, as Clarke and Bloomfield suppose, that God "had chosen and called the Gentiles to the same privileges to which he chose and called the Jews; and that as they (the Jews) had rejected the gospel, God had now elected the Gentiles in their place;" for a considerable portion of the church was composed of Jews (Acts 17:4, 6), and it therefore cannot mean that the Gentiles had been selected in place of the Jews.

Besides, the election of the Gentiles, or any portion of the human family, to the privileges of salvation—while neglecting or excluding any other part—would present all the difficulties that occur in the doctrine of personal and individual election. Nothing is gained on this subject in removing the difficulties by supposing that God chooses masses of men instead of individuals.

How can the one be more proper than the other? What difficulty in the doctrine of election is removed by this supposition? Why is it not as right to choose an individual as a nation? Why not as proper to reject an individual as a whole people?

If this means that the church at Thessalonica had shown that it was a true church of Christ, chosen by God, then we may learn the following:

1. That a true church owes what it has to the "election of God." It is because God has chosen it, called it out from the world, and endowed it in such a way as to be a true church.

2. A church may give evidence that it is chosen by God and is a true church. There are things it may do that will show it is undoubtedly such a church as God has chosen and approves. There are just principles on which a church should be organized, and there is a spirit that may be shown by a church that will distinguish it from any other association of men.

3. It is not improper to speak with strong confidence of such a church as undoubtedly chosen by God. Some churches, by their zeal, self-denial, and deadness to the world, show beyond question their "election of God." The world may see that they are founded on other principles and manifest a different spirit from other organizations of men.

4. Every church should show such a spirit that there may be no doubt of its "election of God." It should be so dead to the world, so pure in doctrine and practice, and so engaged in spreading the knowledge of salvation, that the world will see it is governed by higher principles than any worldly association, and that nothing could produce this but the influence of the Holy Spirit of God.