FIRST THESSALONIANS 3:3

The Bible says in First Thessalonians 3:3, “That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.” The key word in this verse is the word “afflictions.” It literally refers to the things in life that “press down” upon us. It refers to the problems and the trials and the spiritual opposition that all true Christians must face in the spiritual warfare that becomes their life when they believe on Jesus Christ. No believer will escape “these afflictions.”

The reason that we will not escape the afflictions is because “we are appointed thereunto.” The word “appointed” describes the state and the condition in which we find ourselves. It is the same word that is translated “lies in” in the verse “the whole world lies in wickedness.” Jesus was called “a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief.” And Jesus said, “the servant is not greater than his Lord.”

There is no question that the afflictions will be a part of our life. The question will always be: how will the afflictions affect us, and how will we respond to the afflictions? Paul said that “no man should be moved by these afflictions.” Of course, the devil brings the afflictions in order to cause you to move: to move away from faith in Christ and to move away from confidence in God. Many have moved away. Because of the afflictions, many have blamed God and lost faith in Him. Some of the people who are the farthest away from God are the ones who moved away because of what they were called upon to suffer. If you stand firm in the faith and do nothing else, you will have won a great victory. When the Holy Spirit spoke of the spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-11, He made it clear that you are winning the war, if you stand firm. He wrote, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 3:4, “For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass and ye know.” Paul led these people to Christ, and then he let them know one of the most important things for a new Christian to learn. They were going to have to suffer. It was inevitable. There was no doubt about it. There is no “power of positive thinking” in this great truth. A believer is called to suffer. Peter taught the same thing. He wrote in First Peter 4:12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” Christians will suffer tribulation. Christians will face fiery trials. It is the only way possible for those who live by faith in Christ. “They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” It does not matter where you live or who you are. You will suffer these things. If anyone tells you any differently, they are lying to you. Get ready. Be prepared. Some great sorrow will eventually come your way. Perhaps someone that you love the most will fail you terribly. Perhaps those who should be your brothers will treat you like an enemy. Perhaps your greatest dreams will be dashed to nothing. Perhaps everything around you will fall apart with nothing that you can do to hold it together. Even if all of these things happen or worse, you must stand fast with your faith in Christ and your confidence in God’s great eternal love for you. That is how you will win the victory over all these things. “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.”

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 3:5, “For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain.” Notice what the tempter is trying to do to the Christian: weaken or destroy the faith. That is why Paul said, “I sent to know your faith.” Find out the condition of someone’s faith, and then you will know if the tempter has gotten to them or not.

There are at least two primary ways in which the tempter will try to harm your faith. One way is through the bad things that will happen to you, and another way is through false doctrine. Also, when bad things happen to you, it will always challenge your faith. You can keep your faith strong by developing the right kinds of habits in regards to faith. Always be thankful to God no matter what happens. If something good happens, thank God for it. If something bad happens, then thank God for that also. God is in control of everything, and there will be a good result for everything that He allows. The Bible says, “In all things give thanks.” You can go throughout the day and practice being thankful for everything that happens to you, especially the bad things. And then when something really bad happens to you, you will be exercised and ready to respond with faith.

The tempter ruins some believers’ faith with false doctrine. If he can get you to believe the wrong things about the great doctrines of the Bible, then your faith will be seriously damaged. Let’s look at one example: the doctrine of the trinity. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are one, and yet somehow they are distinct. The Bible declares this over and over again. Divine attributes are given to Jesus. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says in John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Divine attributes are given to the Holy Spirit also. Just like Jesus, He is mentioned as having His part in creation. It says in Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” In John 14:16 we see that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all mentioned as distinct individuals. Jesus says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” In Acts 13:2 both Jesus “the Lord” and the Holy Spirit are mentioned in such a way that shows that they are distinct individuals. It says, “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

Concerning the doctrine that Jesus Christ is God, too much can never be said. Whosoever does not worship Christ is not a Christian. If you became a true Christian, then it is because you bowed down at the feet of Jesus, your God and Savior. The apostle Thomas bowed at the feet of Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God.” If you do not consider Jesus to be your God, then you are not a Christian. No one else is God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One. No one else is God. Sometimes the devil tries to take away from the worship of Christ by substituting another. For example, if you were to worship or to pray to Mary the virgin, then you would be treating her as if she were God. You would be replacing Jesus with Mary in your mind and heart. In so doing you would have accepted false doctrine and your faith will have suffered a severe blow. The tempter wants to tempt you in order to weaken your faith. True faith in Christ is everything. There is no genuine worship of God without true faith in Christ.

Paul discovered that the believers in Thessalonica had not been weakened in their faith. He wrote in First Thessalonians 3:6, “But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you.” Notice that in this verse Paul mentioned two other things in addition to faith possessed by these believers: charity and remembrance. The word charity means “love.” Our faith would be of no real value if it did not lead us to love. The Bible says in First Corinthians 13:2, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

In First Thessalonians 3:6 Paul wrote that these believers had “good remembrance” of him. They remembered the good things about Paul. They were appreciative and they were thankful of the things that Paul had done for them. They were grateful. There is nothing worse than a human being who is never grateful. Every human being on this earth has had help in some way from others. It is amazing that some are never grateful. Some people are so arrogant that they do not appreciate the things that have been done for them. Those in the city of Thessalonica understood and remembered how fortunate they were to have benefited from the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Some people show what kind of Christian they have become simply by what they remember or do not remember. The believers of Thessalonica were wise and of a good heart. They had a good remembrance. They remembered the good things.

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 3:7, “Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith.” Paul had been working and suffering and praying for the purpose of spreading the faith. It is no wonder that the thing that brought Paul comfort was knowing that those to whom he had taken the gospel had kept the faith. Many have lost faith. Many have entered into religious legalism instead of faith. Many pursue religion as their occupation or career, and they have thereby lost faith. In First Thessalonians 3:8, the Bible says, “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” Based upon the connection between verses seven and eight, to have faith means to stand fast in the Lord. It speaks of a continued confidence in and reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal is far greater than to say that you have been saved, or to say that you believe the doctrines about Jesus Christ. The ultimate goal is to live day by day and moment by moment with a living faith in Christ no matter what happens and no matter what you are called to suffer.

Paul wrote in First Thessalonians 3:9-10, “For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God; Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith?” These verses express both the divine element and the human element when hearts have faith in Christ. Paul gave thanks to God because he knew that God must do the work, or no work will be done. But also knew that he had work to do. That is why Paul wanted to visit the Thessalonians. Paul wanted to do the work of teaching the Word of God in order to help strengthen their faith. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

In the verses previous to verse nine, Paul had been proclaiming how happy he was that the believers in Thessalonica were standing strong in faith. But notice that Paul says in verse ten that he wanted to visit them so that he “might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.” In spite of their strong faith, they still were not yet everything that they needed to be. That is true of every believer. No one should think that they have arrived. No one should stop looking for opportunities to improve or to strengthen their own faith. “If any man thinks that he stand, take heed lest ye fall.”

One thing is for sure: if you have true faith, then your faith is centered in the fact that Jesus Christ is God. That is exactly what is inferred in First Thessalonians 3:11, “Now God himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.” The Father and Jesus Christ are both mentioned as being God. The Father and the Son are One. The purpose of the Son is to manifest the Father. You cannot know God personally unless you know Jesus Christ the divine Son of God. Jesus is God the Son. If you do not know Him, today you can turn from your sins and to turn to Jesus to find forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Him.

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