Read I Thessalonians 2 Pauls Ministry of the Word

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. (

In 2:1316, Paul returns to the point he made in 1:5the powerful impact of the gospelwith fuller details about the price the Thessalonians have paid for their newfound faith. In this paragraph his focus shifts from what kind of man he was to what kind of converts the Thessalonians have become.

The reason of the Thessalonians faith to accept the gospel about Jesus in the face of persecution causes Paul to thank God continually. For it is God who gives that kind of faith to a person, The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:14)

The Thessalonians received the word of God as it is in truth not as the word of men with joy. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John

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

It was at work in these believers (2:13). It birthed in them saving faith, laboring love, and steadfast hope in Jesus Christ (1:3). It filled them with the Holy Spirits power and deep conviction (1:5). So powerful was Gods work in them that it made Gods invisible work of election visible through their lives (1:4). This word made them imitators of the churches of God in Christ (2:14), And by imitating these churches, the Thessalonians lives were so transformed that they no longer looked like the world, and became partakers in the same sufferings of those churches.

This word from God came with powerful life-changing results according to their faith.

Prayer: Father. I have received Your word. It is the work of the Holy Spirit who convicted me, converted me and change me. Christ, the personification of Your word is my blueprint for my lifestyle as Your Spirit empowers me.

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