Gospel Word

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV)

Although Paul and Silas were only in Thessalonica for a short time, the gospel message was received by many people (Acts 17:1-12). The message was God's and not Paul's, although he had the responsibility of presenting God's Word (Gk Logos) which is much more than mere words. It is the essence of the gospel, God's love, Christ's sacrifice and the Holy Spirit's power, expressed in words the people could understand.

Paul thanked God that when the people heard the gospel they knew that God was speaking to them. They welcomed it as God's personal message to them. The Holy Spirit was at work applying what the apostle said in such a way that they were convicted of sin and were able to relate to Jesus (John 16:7-15). Human words delivered the message but the converts knew that God was communicating directly with them.

The Word of God is like seed: it has life in itself. When sown into the human heart, it will germinate and get to work in the person. Truth cannot be erased, it has a perpetual quality: truth about God, about ourselves and about what He wants us to do ... it will not go away once it has been planted. Through God's Word, unbelievers are born again (1 Peter 1:23). When people believe in Jesus, they receive the Holy Spirit to teach them how God's Word applies to them. As they obey what God says, they develop a nature like Jesus’, and become productive workers in His 'family business' (Luke 8:15).

 The Bible is God's Word. The work of the apostles was not only to establish the first churches but also to instruct us. They were God's human agents in writing the New Testament, in the same way that Isaiah and Daniel contributed to the Old Testament (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Holy Spirit instructed them. What they wrote is equally God's Word. In the Bible we have all we need to become like Jesus,and to serve the Father in the power of the Spirit. Read it, meditate on it, study it, and then do what the Lord says to you through it. And it is not just for you. Share it! Through it your friends and family will find the way to be saved, backsliders will be rescued, wounded believers will find healing and serving believers will find strength to work for the Lord and endure hardship (2 Timothy 3:16).

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote that the Thessalonians accepted what they heard not as a 'human word' but as 'God's word'. What exactly is the distinction being drawn here? 

On the one hand, it can be argued that what the Thessalonians heard and received is precisely a human word: that is, a 'word' that is both proclaimed and interpreted by humans, much as we experience the 'word' in preaching today. This is borne out by the fact that when Paul uses the language of 'word' (i.e., logos) he is always referring to something that is spoken.

On the other hand, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy say that the Thessalonians did not hear these words as a 'human word' but as 'God's word'. I don't think that what they mean here is that the Thessalonians in some way took Paul, Silvanus and Timothy to be 'gods' (such as is reported in an incident in Acts...), nor that they believed the words spoken were not those of Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, but the voice of God speaking through them (as an oracle).

I believe that what the Thessalonians recognized was that the words spoken by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy witnessed to the nature and activity of God, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To put it another way, they recognized the very presence of God in the act of proclamation. God is made known and becomes visible at the very point in time, the social circumstances, the physical space in which the speaker and the audience meet. In that moment, we become alert to God with us.

God's Word
The message that is proclaimed may be, in one sense, a human word, but it is a word that has its origin in the life-generating nature and activity of God. 1 Thessalonians, unlike Romans, offers no grand exposition of 'God's word'. Rather, the primary Christological theme in the letter is 'the coming of the Lord Jesus' . This single focus underscores the 'contextual' nature of proclamation: in this letter the focus is on a particular concern that has arisen within the community of faith.

This is also the way in which God becomes truly known -- not in the abstract, but on the ground, in the midst of people's lives. What Paul, Silvanus and Timothy affirm, in addition, is that the whole of our lives are lived in the presence of God (4:1-2), a cause for thanksgiving, whatever our circumstances (5:18), because the power of God is at work, in life-giving ways.

A Word at Work
How do we know if the 'word' is at work within us? Write Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, it will be manifested by works that are expressions of our faith: a labor of love. Just as God's power is manifested in life-giving ways so, too, the 'word' generates in us both the desire and willingness to engage in life-giving activity. This activity includes not only proclamation of the word, but pulling our weight so as not to be a burden (literally engaging in labor that produces sweat), the sharing of ourselves and working on behalf of and for the good of the community so that it, too, might incarnate the word of God with us, in power.

Today's Prayer
God, whose Word is truth. Thank You for causing the Bible to be written so that I can know how to receive Your love, grace, and power to obey You. Forgive me for paying more attention to other voices than Yours and for not sharing the wonderful truth You have put into my hands. Please help me to treat Your Word with a fresh preciousness, an eagerness to learn from You and a desire to let Your Word work within me so that I may be fruitful and productive as a disciple of Jesus Christ. In His Name. Amen.