“And we
also thank God constantly for this ….” (2:13). Reading the letters of Paul
sometimes feels like
dropping in on a conversation
between the apostle Paul and God.
Paul’s letters are not only theology
soaked in prayer, but the people to whom he communicates this
theology are themselves taken up
in his constant prayers
to God. Let me show you this by taking you through a ‘quick tour’ of this letter:
Ø 1:2 : “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly
mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and father your work of faith
and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…” .
Ø In 2: 13 he continues to
reveal to the Thessalonian Christians
the prayer of his heart: "And we
also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of
God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as
what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
Ø In 3: 9-10
he continues: For what
thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for
your sake before our God, as we pray most earnestly night and day that
we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?
Ø And finally in 5:
17-18 he exhorts the Thessalonians to be involved in
this great work of prayer: “pray
without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Ø Following
this in 5: 23,24
he prays for them: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify
you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will
surely do it. “
Ø … after which he
asks them to pray for him and the
ministry which he is involved: “Brothers,
pray for us.” 5:25 . Prayer begets prayer ! Prayer is a
vital mark of a God- centered man, and a God centered
man will do everything in his
strength to export this attitude to the
congregation (5:17). So much for Paul’s prayerful heart.
In verse 13 we see that the apostle Paul continues to give constant thanks for this new miracle – this new church in Thessalonica[1], a bunch of people who, as
we saw, turned from idols to serve the
living and true God (1:9) – thus becoming God- centered people! What a blessing , and what a joy when we see churches
born that are filled with people turning
from idolatry to the living God ,
and so we take note once again how
thankful Paul is not only to see these people converted, but also obedient
to the Lord in whom they had believed, and so he writes
:
2:13 And
we also thank God constantly [2] for this, that when
you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not
as the word of men but as what it
really is, the
word of God, which is at
work in you believers.
The
reason for Paul’s thankfulness (and we can learn much from this) is twofold:
(i) They had received[3] the word of God and
(ii) they had accepted[4] the word of God. The first refers to “the hearing of the ear” while the second refers to “the hearing of the heart.” Many hear, but not all hear with the heart. A changed heart leads to a changed life, a God centered life , in which God is loved and in which the people of God are loved , and in which a lost world is loved through active evangelism and missionary activity.
(i) They had received[3] the word of God and
(ii) they had accepted[4] the word of God. The first refers to “the hearing of the ear” while the second refers to “the hearing of the heart.” Many hear, but not all hear with the heart. A changed heart leads to a changed life, a God centered life , in which God is loved and in which the people of God are loved , and in which a lost world is loved through active evangelism and missionary activity.
Notice the
manner in which they received the
Word of God into their heart.
Paul says, “you
accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really
is, the word of God, which is at work in you
believers.”
The
Thessalonians knew that the word that they had received was not a man-
made message. Hear this! The Bible or the gospel is not a man -made
message. Many treat it as such, and
therefore the gospel never penetrates their hearts. Hear this!
The word of God is not a man – made
message!
Paul makes
this point firstly by stating it negatively
- what the word of God is not!
- “you accepted it not as the word of men. To the Galatian
Christians Paul had said a similar thing, “...For I
would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not
man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it,
but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Galatians
1:11-12)
Peter said a similar thing, “…knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Peter said a similar thing, “…knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Secondly he puts it positively. The word of God is truly (Gr.
alethos) God’s word ! It is
God’s trustworthy inspired, inerrant
Word!
I cannot even
begin to tell you how important this
statement is for us modern Christians. I cannot even begin to tell you how much damage has been done in the last hundred
years because large segments of the Protestant
church have abandoned
this principle and have treated
the Bible as secondary by
importing human wisdom into the
church, using the Bible only as
tokenism , leaving our members spiritually
wasted and dried out.
Today, on this Lord’s day, a very important
conference called by John Mc Arthur of the Grace Community Church in the USA comes to an end. The conference is all about the inspiration and the inerrancy of the word of God. Since I have not been able to
follow it closely, I have followed
some of the summaries of the
conference. Tim Challies has reported on
the opening address by Dr John Mc Arthur who gave a list
of four reasons as to why
he had called for this summit [5]. I will repeat
it here, because it will underline the importance of Paul’s
statement
First, the Scripture is attacked and we
are called to defend it. Any reader
of the Bible understands that Satan will always threaten to undermine the Word
of God. What continues to surprise us is that these threats more often come
from within the visible church than outside of it. Yet before God there is no
greater offense than to cause people to question the veracity, inerrancy, or
authority of Scripture. He (Mc
Arthur) went on to do a brief historical
survey in which he pointed out the major challenges to the authority of the
Bible through sacramentalism, rationalism,
liberalism, cultism, experientialism, pragmatism, and several other damaging
philosophies. His point was this: Whenever
the church abandons its commitment to the authority and inerrancy of Scripture,
the results are catastrophic. With eternity at stake, it is no surprise the
Bible reserves its harshest condemnations for those who take away from God’s
Words or who add to it.
Second, Scripture is authoritative and we
are called to declare it. He went to 2 Timothy 3:16 and then several other texts
to show how Scripture consistently claims to speak with the authority and voice
of God. God’s Word is consistently pure and authentic, and not a word of it
will ever be nullified or taken away.
Third, Scripture is accurate and we are to
demonstrate it. While we can prove
the authority of the Bible from within the Bible, we can also look outside of
it to general revelation. MacArthur showed how the Bible accurately describes
the universe and Creation and that it offers the only logical and compelling
explanation as to why the world is the way it is. The Bible is always found to
be accurate when it intersects with modern science. Everywhere you look in the
Bible you will find consistency since, after all, this Author knows the way
things really are in his world.
Fourth, the Scripture is active through the
power of the Spirit and we are called to deploy it. The Bible is
the means by which people are saved. (
The Thessalonians were saved by this
means – 1:5) The power is not in
the presentation of the preacher, but inherent in the text. The Bible is sharp
and powerful—more powerful than anything else. So we are saved by the Word, but
also sanctified, edified, comforted, and instructed by it. There are lots of
books that can change your thinking, but only one that can change your
nature and your eternal destiny. The simple fact is that when we preach the
Word we deploy the instrument the Holy Spirit uses to do his
supernatural work.
MacArthur’s
final call was to the pastors attending, telling them, “You cannot be an expositor of Scripture if you have a weak view of
the Bible.”
I have taken time to share this
with you because the heart of true God
centredness is ripped out of the church, when
the Word of God is not clearly
and carefully expounded.
So Paul says that this
“really is the word of God
which is at work [6] in you believers …” When we receive God’s Word through personal Bible study,
or group Bible study or hearing of sermons , and when we receive it by faith into our hearts , it brings the power of God to bear on our lives
as the Holy Spirit makes the Word alive
to us. This is the product of the miraculous work of the Spirit of God
using the Word of God (see 1:5).
It was by
means of this word of God that the Thessalonian received and
accepted, that they became Christians and by which they “
became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea “ (2:14)
The same
word of God that changed the hearts
of Jewish people in Judea was changing the hearts of
Gentile people in the gentile
Greco-Roman world and here especially the Thessalonians. This was the work of God, and for this progress of the gospel Paul was deeply greatful and thankful. And we at Eastside Baptist Church are
thankful today for this same word heard and received has changed our hearts!
I am
saying this as we are gathered around the Lord’s table, and I must say the same thing to you, “And
we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word
of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as
what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
Join
us now in the celebration of our
faith in the finished work of the Lord
Jesus Christ as we gather around
this communion table. Amen !
[1] See Acts 17:1-9
[2] “adialeipto” - an adverb which means “without interruption, continually, regularly.” See also 1:2, 5:17
[3] “isparalambano” - “to receive from another”
[4] “dechomai “ - to receive in the sense of “welcoming someone
or something .”
[6] “energeo “ - from which we get our word energy
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