We also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
—1 Thessalonians 2:13
Receiving God’s Word into our hearts is the foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible uses the expression “the Word of God” forty-six times. This expression not only refers to God’s written and spoken words but also to Jesus Christ, who was the Word of God personified (John 1:14).
The Word is God’s living, breathing, miraculous power that works effectively in those who believe (Hebrews 4:12). God reveals Himself and unleashes His power through His Word. Through the revelation of God’s Word, we understand who He is in our lives (1 Samuel 3:21, John 8:31-32).
God’s Word is unchanging and settled forever (Psalms 119:89). It remains always relevant. The Word of God is the standard by which all will be judged (John 12:48). It consistently fulfills God's purpose (Isaiah 55:11).
Cleansing of sin comes through God’s Word (Ephesians 5:26) and all that relates to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). We become partakers of God’s divine nature through His Word. We also escape the corruption of this world through His Word (2 Peter 1:4). When we try to live the Christian life without being strongly grounded in God’s Word, we will fail (Mark 4:14-20).
A vast difference exists between the words of man and the Word of God. God’s Word is above all our human knowledge and effort. It is excellent and perfect in every way. His Word is Truth (John 17:17). His Word is Spirit and life. The words and opinions of men profit us nothing (John 6:63). Any attempt to make man’s words as important as God’s Word always results in diminishing the value of God’s Word. Jesus told the religious leaders of His time that they were making the Word of God of no effect through their tradition (Mark 7:13). The traditions and teachings of man are not worth comparison to the Word of God.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul expressed gratitude that the Thessalonians embraced the message of the Gospel and lived holy lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul continually thanked God because the Thessalonians accepted his message not as a human word he preached but as the truth it truly was—the spoken word of God.
When we receive God’s life-changing Word in our hearts, His Word produces righteousness as a fruit of our relationship with Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10). “You will know the truth,” John wrote, “and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). God’s Word is truth. It liberates us from our own efforts to live holy lives and, instead, releases the power of God’s righteousness within us that we received by faith in Jesus.
Paul preached God’s Word. He delivered the same Gospel message wherever he went, but that message didn’t always yield the same results among his listeners. His message remained consistent. The difference lay in how the people received the Gospel message.
The Thessalonians received Paul’s message as the true Word of God. Because they received the message, it produced life in them. Even though a preacher is responsible for how he preaches God’s Word, we are also responsible for how we hear it. Jesus was the perfect preacher. However, most who heard Him rejected Him and His message. They didn’t have ears to hear or hearts to receive. We must maintain sensitive hearts towards God so that when we hear the Word, we will accept it as God’s true and faithful Word.
"For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it" (Hebrews 4:2).
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Word bears fruit in you and profits you when you mix it with faith. His Word releases life-giving power when you take it as your truth and believe in what it says.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
When you believe the Word with faith in your heart, you receive the unchanging and complete truth of God’s Word—that never-diminishing mighty sword of the Spirit that divides between soul and spirit, discerning your heart. When you allow His Word to work in you, you exercise and obey the faith He has given you. You receive His life-giving power that manifests His truth and brings forth His life in you.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Are you receiving God’s Word?
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