13. Ἡμεῖςδέκτλ.] See the notes on 1:3, the emphatic ἡμεῖς in the present passage lending additional stress to the writers’ keen sense of indebtedness to God for the good estate of the Thessalonian Church. For ἀδ. ἠγ. ὑ. Κυρ. see 1 Thessalonians 1:4 note. ὅτιεἵλατοκτλ.] Εἵλατο (for form, WH.2 Notes p. 172) is used of the Divine election in Deuteronomy 26:18 Κύριοςεἵλατόσε ... λαὸνπεριούσιον (cf. προείλε(α)το Deuteronomy 7:6 f., 10:15), but does not occur elsewhere in the N.T. in this connexion: cf. Philippians 1:22 and see Intr. p. 79. In the present instance the reference would seem to be to the eternal choice or purpose of God (1 Corinthians 2:7, Ephesians 1:4, 2 Timothy 1:9), as otherwise (cf. note on ἐκλογή 1 Thessalonians 1:4) the qualifying ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς would almost have required some distinguishing addition such as τ. εὐαγγελίου (cf. Philippians 4:15). It is possible however that the real reading is not ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς but ἀπαρχήν (WH. mg.), a thoroughly Pauline word (Romans 8:23; Romans 11:16; Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 15:20; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Corinthians 16:15), which might fairly be applied to the Thessalonians as the ‘ first-fruits’ (Vg. primitias) of Macedonia, seeing that their conversion followed that of the Philippians by only a few weeks, and was attended by such striking results (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:10). For σωτηρία as denoting completed blessedness see 1 Thessalonians 5:8 note. ἐνἁγιασμῷπνεύματοςκαὶπίστειἀληθείας] In view of the obvious parallelism of the clauses it is natural to understand the two genitives in the same way, and if so they may be taken either objectively, a ‘ sanctification’ having for its object the ‘ spirit’ and a ‘ faith’ that has for its object ‘ truth,’ or as genitives of the causa efficiens, ‘ sanctification by the Spirit and faith by the truth.’ In the former case πνεῦμα can only be the human spirit: in the latter it must be the Holy Spirit of God. To this latter rendering the absence of the art. is no real objection, and it is supported by the recurrence of the same phrase in 1 Peter 1:2 where the Third Person of the Trinity is clearly intended (see Hort ad loc.). For ἁγιασμός cf. note on 1 Thessalonians 4:7, and with πίστιςἀληθείας contrast οἱμὴπιστεύς. τ. ἀληθείᾳ (v. 12).