For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Receiving The Word Of God

The word of God has been around since God spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. There has never been a time when humanity has been without the word of God. In the beginning, God spoke the world into existence. During the days of the patriarchal fathers, the Lord spoke directly to men. When the Hebrews became the nation of Israel, God spoke through Moses and the written word found in the Law of Moses. Jesus Christ came into the world as the living Word proclaiming the teachings of His Father. As the church began to grow in the first century, disciples wrote down the gospel of Christ with instructions, commands, admonitions, and letters to places and people forming the canon of divine truth. For two thousand years, the fully revealed word of God has been given to man to read and understand the mystery of God.

Ignorance has never been a problem for men. There has never been a time when God has not or does not reveal Himself fully to men. No man can stand before the Lord God and declare they did not know the will of God. All truth has been revealed. The problem is found in what men have done with the divine word revealed through the ages. Ignoring the word of God does not diminish or destroy the word. Adam and Eve heard and understood the command of God but chose to disobey God’s word. The early world of Noah knew the word of God but perished in the flood because they chose to live carnal lives apart from the word. Israel was given the written law clearly defining the will of the Father. Their history is a wasteland of broken promises, rebellion, and rejection of the law. Jesus came into the world as the Word and they killed Him. The early church would suffer great persecution because of the Word. Religion is divided into many denominational camps today from the teachings of human wisdom are more important than the word of God.

Paul’s first letter to the church of the Thessalonians commends the saints for their keen insight into the word of God. Luke had written in his history of the early church the people of Berea were more noble than those of Thessalonica. Paul had visited the city on his second missionary journey. Later, from Corinth, Paul wrote his first letter to commend the saints at Thessalonica for their acceptance of the preaching of Christ. A change had taken place. They accepted the preaching of the gospel not as mere human ideas but as the very word of God. When the gospel of Christ was preached in the city, the saints received the word as the divine will of the Father. Their faith and love for truth were evident to all.

If the faith of the saints at Thessalonica were replicated today there would be less division in the church. The religious world would find a common ground of truth in the word of God without their creed books and doctrines of men. Within the body of Christ, unity can only be found when the people of God unite under the same message of truth. The Bible is the revealed word of God with all truth delivered to the saints. Changing its message does not produce truth. Denying the word will not diminish the truth of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the Thessalonians is to receive the word of God not as the word of men but as it is in truth, the word of God. Rejecting the Bible is to reject God. Let the Bible speak where the word of God declares the message of the Father. Do not add to His book and do not take away from His book. Receive the word of God as it is: the word of God.