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“our labor might be in vain” (1 Thess. 3:5, NKJV)
Paul has put Satan and spiritual opposition on our radar in his first letter to the Thessalonians, but now he says something that boggles our mind. “I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain (1 Thess. 3:5).
Is Paul saying that Satan has the power to frustrate the plan of God? Are we to understand that the Spirit of God and the devil wrestle as equals and that Satan can get the upper hand?
The apostle has been concerned for the faith of Thessalonians because of the tribulation they were facing. “For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith” (1 Thess. 3:4-5).
It’s almost like he is waiting for the dust to clear so that he can see who is still standing, Satan or God.
But Paul is not suggesting in any way that the devil can frustrate the providential workings of God or thwart the Spirit’s activity through his labors as an evangelist. If anything, he is looking to see how the Spirit has worked.
One of the ways Jesus explained the kingdom of God was through parables. In one parable, He spoke of a sower who went out to scatter seed. That seed He would explain was the word of the gospel.
Some seed fell on fertile ground, what Jesus called “good soil,” but other seed fell on soil that was either rocky or thorny. Seed sown in those soils appeared to take because something sprang up, but it did not endure. Jesus described the seed in good soil this way: “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:20).
Some seed fell on yet another type of ground, what Jesus calls the wayside. Here is our Lord’s description of what happened. “And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts” (Mark 4:15).
With that in mind, what would Paul find of his sowing labors among the Thessalonians? He could not produce good soil. Only God can change the heart. Only the Spirit can remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh that is receptive to the gospel and can embrace Jesus Christ by faith.
Paul was especially concerned about the effects of tribulation. In describing the soil of stony ground, Jesus explained: “These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble” (Mark 4:16–17).
How would the tribulation they were experiencing affect the expressed faith of the Thessalonians? Would they fall away because the ground had no depth and the plant had no root, and so would wither in the heat of persecution?
One of the principles we want to keep in mind as we carry out our role as witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ is stated by Paul elsewhere. We plant. We water. But only God provides the increase.
What opposition can we expect from Satan in our seeking the kingdom of God?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
