“I will save them from the grave!\par I will rescue them from death!\par Death, where are your diseases?\par Grave, where is your power?\par I am not looking for revenge!\par
God is not a man;
he will not lie.
God is not a human being;
his decisions will not change.
If the Lord says he will do something,
then he will do it.
If the Lord makes a promise,
then he will do the thing he promised.
God planned for those people to be like his Son. And he called (chose) those people. God called those people and made them right with him. And God gave his glory to those people that he made right.
Brothers and sisters, God called (chose) you. Think about that! And not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families.
I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that God has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people {\cf2\super [7]} are rich and glorious.
That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to help you live the good way that he called you to live. The goodness you have makes you want to do good. And the faith you have makes you work. We pray that with his power God will help you do these things more and more.
God saved us and made us his holy people. {\cf2\super [6]} That happened not because of anything we did ourselves. No! God saved us and made us his people because that was what he wanted and because of his grace (kindness). That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began.
So all of you should think about Jesus. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest {\cf2\super [15]} of our faith. I tell you to think about him, my brothers and sisters, because God chose you to be his holy {\cf2\super [16]} people.
My brothers and sisters, God called you and chose you to be his. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all those things, you will never fall.