Having spent a significant amount of time in verse 3 looking at Paul's items of thanksgiving, we move forward to verse 4, where we find him continuing the development of his prayer of thanksgiving. It is here that we find yet another reason why Paul was thankful for the believers in Thessalonica Bible Church. So, if we're ready to dive in and find out what this reason is, let's open up our Bibles to our text.

1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NASB) - knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;

Even though this is a short verse, there's still much that we can take away from it. In our study, there are two things that we want to focus on in particular, first is a look at some of the Greek, and the second is an overall look at the verse to glean its understanding and application. Just at a glance, the one thing that we can definitely say is that Paul is making note of God's love for these believers and His (God's) choosing of them.

Let's start by taking a look at God's choosing of the Thessalonians and the Greek word behind it. In this passage Paul uses the noun eklogē (Strong's G1589), which is generally translated as "choice" or "election" in most English translations. The translation falls right in line with the BDAG lexicon's definition which is: choice, selection, choice, election. To better understand the meaning of this word, we should look at its origin. Our word eklogē comes from the preposition ek ("from" or "out of") and the verb legō ("to say, speak, call or name") to create the compound verb eklegomai (Strong's G1586) meaning "to choose" or "choose out." The definition of this verb becomes pretty clear when you look at its usage in Scripture, where we see it being used of Jesus when choosing the Twelve disciples (John 15:16) and by Paul when speaking of God's eternal election (Eph. 1:4). In each instance of the verb, the definition and usage is pretty clear.

In terms of the noun that Paul uses in this verse, it is only used a total of seven times in the New Testament Scriptures, of which the bulk are in Romans (9:11; 11:5, 7, 28) and speak of God's choosing of Israel as His chosen people. The other two uses are noteworthy because one speaks of Paul and the other correlates to what Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians about in this letter. The first is Acts 9:15, where Jesus is speaking to Ananias about Paul and how he is a chosen instrument of God who is going to do the work of spreading Jesus' name to the Gentiles and Jews. This is important because, just like the Thessalonians, Paul too is chosen by God for the purpose that He's been called to do. The last use of eklogē is 2 Peter 1:10 where Paul speaks to his audience about being diligent in making their calling of God certain by growing up spiritually and exhibiting fruit, which is found in the context leading up to this verse.

Peter's urging ties directly into what Paul is speaking about because this is exactly what the Thessalonians were doing and why Paul was so thankful. In saying what he said, Paul's overall point is that the character traits exhibited by the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:3) are the proof that they are indeed the elect of God. There is no question that they are God's chosen because their lives are bearing the fruit of someone who is a believer, just as James explains in chapter 2 of his epistle when he contrasts faith and works.

Not only did God elect them for salvation and being members of that assembly, but He also loves them. The phrase "brethren beloved by God" is so easy to overlook because of Paul's statement about election, but it's one that certainly needs to be highlighted. God loves His people, especially those who place their faith in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation. Paul makes even more evident in his second letter to this church (2 Thess. 2:13 and also Rom. 1:7) when he again talks about God choosing them from the beginning for salvation, while also mentioning God's love for them. And one of the awesome things about God's love is that it is evident and undeniable when you take into account the price that was paid for our redemption. There are many passages that bear this out, but verses like Ephesians 2:4, 5; Titus 3:4, 5; and even John 3:16 show the relation between God's love and His salvation.

Just like the Thessalonians, we too are God's elect, if we have put our faith in His Son for our salvation. And since this is the case, we should keep in mind the words of this passage, as well as the words of Peter in 2 Peter 1:10; even though we could do nothing to earn our salvation, we should be diligent in making our calling sure, making it obvious to the world that we are followers of Jesus Christ. Meditate on that today and examine yourself and see what you can do to better live out the truth of Scripture in our lives. Until next time, show your faith by your works!