How can we give up on our faith when we know we are reading God’s very words? This is exactly what Peter and the apostles proclaimed in John 6. We need to hear what God has to say and hold on to those words to maintain our faith. What God says about suffering for the cause of Christ is important. What God says about our need to have faith and trust in the Lord is critical. Eternal life will not come to us if we ignore God’s word or change God’s word. So when we read God’s word, we do not argue with it. Every word that you are reading is from the mind and mouth of God. This is out of the mouth of God (inspiration, 2 Timothy 3:16). When we read these words that we hold in our hands, these are God’s words. This approach to God’s word changes everything for us. They do not accept the message Paul proclaimed as human words but as the very words of God which is working in them to change them into God’s image. Paul thanks God that these Christians have done this. The first way Paul expresses how these Christians will be able to endure the suffering and afflictions they face for their faith in Christ is by recognizing that they have accepted the word as God’s word. By doing so we are going to learn for ourselves how we will also not be moved by the afflictions we endure. What we are going to see is how Paul encourages these Christians so that they will not be moved by the afflictions they are experiencing. Paul’s concern is that these Christians would not be moved by the afflictions they are experiencing (3:3). In this section of Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians 2:13-3:13, this suffering is going to be addressed in greater detail. We have noted in our study that these Christians in Thessalonica are going through great trials for their faith in Jesus. Having an eternal view of our lives radically changes how we live in this world. We have been studying the book of 1 Thessalonians which is a book instructing these Christians to live in the light of eternity.
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