50 Days of Wisdom

In 1 Thessalonians 1, Paul gives the evidences of true salvation in two categories that mark anyone who is known to belong to God: one, your present condition, and two, your past conversion. First of all, your present condition. He says in verse 3, "We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." Those are the three things that identified the Thessalonians as genuinely saved: Their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is saying that these are the things that let him know, verse 4, brethren, beloved by God, that you're the elect. It is your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ that perseveres. So, those are the first three evidences. In fact, in the fifth chapter and the eighth verse, he gives those same three virtues. He says, "Since we are of the day, that is, we're believers, let us get our priorities right because we have already put on the breastplate of faith and love and have as a helmet the hope of salvation." And there are those three things again: faith, hope, and love. They are the great triumvirate of spiritual virtues, and they are the evidences of true regeneration. So there are the three foundational marks of salvation: Production—that's a faith that works; affection—that's a love that labors; and continuation—that's a hope that perseveres. Now, let's take a look at the second category: your past conversion. He goes back to note how it was when they originally responded to the gospel and what evidences grew out of that original response. He looks to the past, and he remembers his initial encounter with them and how full of evidence it was of their genuine salvation. By the way, we're not looking only at the moment of gospel preaching and the moment of conversion but at what resulted from that moment and became a pattern in their lives. So it was the moment of their past conversion that initiated it, and it was evident from the very start. Then, in verse 5, he introduces the fourth identifying mark of the elect, "For our gospel," or because our gospel "didn't come to you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake." He is describing, not the experience of the Thessalonians, but the experience of the preachers who preached to them: Paul, Silas, and Timothy. He is saying to them, "Our gospel—that is the gospel we preach—didn't come to you in word only but also in power and the Holy Spirit and full conviction." In other words, we were experiencing power, the Spirit and conviction when we preached to you. And that is an evidence that your salvation is real. You say, "Well, I don't know that. I don't understand the connection." The connection is very simple. The preacher, Paul, knows that when God is moving through him powerfully by the Spirit and with great assuredness and great conviction that it is so that God can do a saving work. Paul is saying, "Whenever we would experience this moving power of God through our ministry, we would know that God was moving powerfully to accomplish the saving of souls." And that's his testimony. The very experience of the preachers indicated that God was saving some that day. So he says, "Our gospel came to you, the good news of salvation, and there were some features in our experience that tell us God was really at work in your life." Therefore, Paul knew, by looking at their past conversion and their present condition, that their salvation was genuine. Repent and believe! GTY.org (52-3) – Identifying the Elect, Part 3

Today's Wisdom

Day: 989

August 3, 2026

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My name is Mark Paul from Wauchula, Florida, and like the Apostle Peter said in 2 Peter 1:14, "I know that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent." Consequently, my goal is to leave a legacy that will continue to advance the kingdom of God long after I have departed. In other words, bear fruit for eternity. And by simply reading and sharing my free eBooks, you too become contributors to the advancement of His kingdom. Thank you for partaking in this endeavor, and I look forward to greeting you on heaven's shore.

The Truth in Love,

Mark Paul - Servant of God

Now grant, O Lord, that when the souls who read these books cast their eyes upon these lines, their minds may be illuminated and their consciences convinced and awakened, that they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and be converted so that You may heal them. Amen!