Read & explore together
Stand Firm
These verses combine thanks, instruction and a request for help from God. They show believers as loved and called by God, then urge them to stay steady in what they were taught and to live it out.
Understanding the passage
The setting of these words
The passage speaks to “brothers loved by the Lord” and moves in a clear order. It gives thanks to God for his saving work, explains that he called them through “our Good News”, tells them to stand firm and hold what they were taught, and asks for comfort and strength in good speech and actions.
2 Thessalonians 2:13–17Main takeaway
Because God has loved, called and given hope through grace, believers should hold firmly to the teaching they received and seek his strengthening for good words and works.
Follow the letter’s teaching
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Thanksgiving for people loved by the LordThe passage begins with ongoing thanks to God for these brothers. They are described as “loved by the Lord”, and God’s action comes first: he chose them for salvation.
Explanation
The passage begins with ongoing thanks to God for these brothers. They are described as “loved by the Lord”, and God’s action comes first: he chose them for salvation. That salvation is linked with “sanctification of the Spirit” and “belief in the truth”, so the verse speaks about God’s work and a response to the truth.
02Called through the Good NewsThe next verse continues the same thought by explaining how God called them. The call came “through our Good News”.
Explanation
The next verse continues the same thought by explaining how God called them. The call came “through our Good News”. The goal named here is “the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”. The verse does not unpack every detail, but it clearly connects God’s call, the Good News and the glory of Jesus Christ.
03Stand firm and hold the teaching receivedBecause of this, the readers are told to “stand firm”. They are also to “hold the traditions” they were taught.
Explanation
Because of this, the readers are told to “stand firm”. They are also to “hold the traditions” they were taught. In this sentence, those traditions are the teaching they received “by word or by letter” from “us”. The emphasis is on staying steady in what they have already been taught.
04Comforted hearts and strengthened livesThe final lines ask for help from “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father”. They are described as the ones who loved “us” and gave “eternal comfort and good hope through grace”.
Explanation
The final lines ask for help from “our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father”. They are described as the ones who loved “us” and gave “eternal comfort and good hope through grace”. The request is that hearts be comforted and established in “every good work and word”, showing strength in both actions and speech.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What does verse 13 say God has done for these brothers, and how are they described?
List the phrases in the verse itself, including being loved by the Lord, chosen for salvation, sanctification of the Spirit, and belief in the truth.
02How does verse 14 describe God’s call, and what goal is named?
Look for the means of the call, “through our Good News”, and the goal, “the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
03What are the readers told to do in verse 15, and what is asked for them in verses 16 to 17?
Compare the command to stand firm and hold what they were taught with the request for comforted hearts and strength in every good work and word.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
2 Thessalonians 2:13–17
13But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth,
14to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.
16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
17comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.