and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead-- Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
(3) It is possible for a people to know that they are chosen of God, and to give such evidence of it that others shall know it also; 1 Thessalonians 1:4. It is possible for a church to evince such a spirit of piety, self-denial, love, and holiness, and such a desire to spread the gospel, as to show that they are “chosen of God,” or that they are a true church. This question is not to be determined by their adherence to certain rites and forms; by their holding to the sentiments of an orthodox creed: or by their zeal in defense of the “apostolic succession,” but by their bringing forth “the fruits of good living.” In determining that the church at Thessalonica was “chosen of God,” Paul does not refer to its external organization, or to the fact that it was founded by apostolic hands, or that it had a true ministry and valid ordinances, but to the fact that it evinced the true spirit of Christian piety; and particularly that they had been zealous in sending the gospel to others. There were three things to which he referred: