13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
Some people want to make getting a relationship with God very difficult, but it is very simple. This verse outlines the two parts to this process in very simple terms. God’s part is the work of the Holy Spirit drawing us into close proximity with himself. That work involves everything Jesus did with His birth, life, death and resurrection. All of that is brought to bear in our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. Without His work, we would never become Jesus-followers. Remember, we are dead, deaf, and blind before God works in our lives. We could never even respond to God if God were not already working in us. We can and should thank God for that drawing power in our lives. But the second part of this process is our responding to the presence of God. We must believe the truth. That involves taking ourselves out of the “know it all” position and humbly accepting God’s perspective on everything. Of course this does not happen immediately in all areas of life. This is a life-long process in some areas. But the essential areas, areas central to salvation, the process happens in a few moments. There is a point where the proverbial light bulb goes on in our spirit. At that moment the work of the Holy Spirit changes us from dead, deaf, and blind to alive, hearing and sight-filled. For some the slope leading to that point is very gradual and for some, very steep. But one moment we are dead, and the next we are alive. We might not immediately even fully realize that something has happened to us. It might take further work of the Spirit, drawing us closer still, for us to realize that we are different, but the facts remain. We have been changed by God’s work. Notice that God chose to work this way. He could have chosen other ways of restoring us to right relationship with Himself. I have no idea what those other ways might be, so don’t ask. All I know is that He has accomplished this great work in us.
The Arnold Journey 