“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.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Mean?
Paul thanks God for how the Thessalonians received his message: not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. The content was the same either way. The reception determined the effect — and they received it as divine, not human.
"When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us" — the word came through human delivery (heard of us) but originated in God (word of God). The human messenger did not diminish the divine source. Paul spoke it. God authored it.
"Ye received it not as the word of men" — they could have dismissed it as human opinion. Paul was a man. The delivery was human. But they perceived something beyond the human messenger — the divine source behind the human voice.
"Which effectually worketh also in you that believe" — the word of God works. The Greek (energeo) means to be active, to operate, to produce effects. The word that is received as God's word produces God's effects in those who believe. The reception determines the operation — received as human, it does nothing. Received as divine, it works effectually.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What determines whether the word of God 'effectually works' in you — the content or the reception?
- 2.How do you distinguish between receiving a message as human opinion versus divine truth?
- 3.What does the word 'effectually working' look like in your experience?
- 4.Where are you hearing God's word as the word of men rather than receiving it as what it is?
Devotional
Ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God. The same message. Two possible receptions. Received as human — interesting opinion, take it or leave it. Received as divine — the word of God that changes everything it touches.
The Thessalonians received it as divine. That is what Paul thanks God for. Not their impressive theology. Not their church growth. Their reception — the way they heard the message determined the way the message worked in them.
Which effectually worketh also in you that believe. The word works — actively, powerfully, producing effects. But the working is connected to the receiving. The word received as God's word operates with God's power. The word received as human opinion operates with human impotence.
The same sermon. The same Scripture. The same truth. Received differently by different people. For some, it is interesting information. For others, it is the effectually working word of God. The difference is not in the word. It is in the reception.
How do you receive the word of God? When Scripture is read, when truth is preached, when God speaks through human vessels — do you receive it as human opinion or as divine truth? The reception determines the operation. The word that is heard as God's word works with God's power.
The effectual working is available to every believer. The condition is reception — hearing the word not as the word of men but as what it actually is: the word of God. Receive it as such, and it works. Receive it as anything less, and it sits idle.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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