1 Thessalonians 2:13

“And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe”

“We also thank God without ceasing”: (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). “The word of the message”: What Paul and his companions preached. “Not as the word of men”:. message invented by men,. human philosophy, or one opinion among many. “It is no human invention, no result of the apostle's own reasoning and experience” (Erdman p. 42).

“As it is in truth”: “As it truly is. Paul had not. doubt that he was proclaiming God's message” (Robertson p. 20). “Paul does not rebuke the Thessalonians for regarding his message too highly” (Stott p. 54). What. contrast with certain "professed Christians" today who ridicule the idea that the Bible is the inspired Word of God or that Paul wrote by inspiration. Some people might be confused concerning the Bible's inspiration, but the early Christians and apostles were not (1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Peter 1:20). And if one simply reads the Scriptures they would never come to any other conclusion. The advocates of the New Hermeneutic, who argue that the letters of Paul are not binding upon Christians today, must in essence deny Paul's claim. Notice also that Paul did not believe in the subjective theory of, “That may be God's word to you, but it isn't God's word to me”. These Christians accepted Paul's preaching as being the word God, not because of some subjective feeling, but rather because that is what is truly was.

“Which also worketh”: To be active, efficient. “In you that believe”: “Present tense to convey the idea of. continuous process of belief” (Morris p. 88). “The word of God is not some dead philosophy or speculation, but is living and active Hebrews 4:12. It is like good seed which springs up when it is planted Luke 8:11” (Fields p. 66). Yet the word of God can only make process in the heart that believes. Faith is an essential requirement for any change to happen (Romans 1:16; John 8:37). This same message was not doing anything positive for the unbelieving Jews. Now these facts can be very uncomfortable, for they tell us that if we are failing to grow it is our own fault, that is, unbelief still lurks in our hearts (Hebrews 3:12). The gospel message, when embraced by an honest heart, has always borne fruit (Luke 8:15). Thus, if our lives are somewhat barren--it means our heart is not as honest as it should be.