1 Thessalonians 2:3 – For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive…
This simple truth is the key to understanding spiritual warfare and having discernment, or the ability to distinguish between what God creates and what Satan counterfeits.
The new Christians in Thessalonica were forced to discern between the following as examples:
- People who are for God (1:1-5) vs people who are for Satan (2:18)
- Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy vs false teachers (1:1, 2:1-16)
- Paul’s real letter vs false teachers’ false letters (5:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)
- People with the Holy Spirit vs people without the Holy Spirit (1:5, 5:12-22)
- People who believe the Bible vs people who do not believe the Bible (1:5, 2:13)
- People who turn from idols vs people who trust in idols (1:9)
- People who believe in Jesus Christ vs people who do not (1:9)
- People who suffer for Christ vs people who cause Christians to suffer (3:1-7)
- People who control desires (especially sexual) vs people who do not (4:1-5)
- People rewarded at Jesus’ Second Coming vs people who will be punished (5:1-11)
Many of them were new believers and they had a lot of questions for Paul, which is why he wrote 1 Thessalonians and the follow-up book, 2 Thessalonians, as a letter to this beloved church.
It can sometimes be tough to discern between these two but, with the help of the Holy Spirit, you can learn to discern the real from the “knock off” or what God creates from what Satan counterfeits.
How can you be praying for your ministry leader(s) like Paul requests later in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5?
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