The Work Of The Word In Believers

There are two groups of people described in the text that we're studying today.

Really, the two groups are different in many ways, actually.

Culturally, ethnically, religiously.

Those differences, though, ultimately, as you know, are relatively unimportant.

They don't really matter in the long run.

The crucial way that the two groups presented here in these verses are different

actually flows from an experience that they share.

Both groups have had the immense privilege of receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ,

which, in the context of this passage, is referred to as the Word of God.

And still, they differ in how they respond to receiving that Word.

One group accepts and welcomes what they receive by faith.

The other rejects it.

And the group that accepts the gospel does so, according to the text,

because the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to recognize the preaching of Christ as the Word of God.

And they're so convinced that they are prepared to suffer and to die for that truth,

knowing that death is but a doorway to life in Jesus Christ.

The other group hears the same gospel,

but in the hardness of their hearts,

rejects it as being merely the words of men.

This group ultimately hates what the other calls truth.

And while the one is prepared to die for it,

this group is ready to destroy on account of it.

They're blind to the truth,

lost in sin and unbelief,

and destined for God's eternal wrath.

And we all this morning share in the same exact privilege as they did.

This gospel message, the Word of God,

it is readily available to us.

We will experience the preaching of it again

in these very moments moving forward in our service.

And what we find over and over in the Scriptures

is that taking a neutral or somewhat neutral position

on this truth is not actually an option that's on the table for us.

You will either accept it as the Word of God,

or you will reject it as the words of men.

And the overarching question that I want to pose

to all of us this morning is this.

To which of these groups do you truly belong?

Which one?

The one who receives the Word and accepts it

as the Word of God,

or receives it and rejects it as merely the words of men?

Let's read the text together.

Chapter 2, verses 13 to 16.

Paul writes,

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.

For you, brothers, became imitators

of the churches of God and Christ Jesus that are in Judea.

For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen

as they did from the Jews,

who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets,

drove us out,

and displeased God,

and opposed all mankind

by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles

that they might be saved.

So as always to fill up the measure of their sins,

but wrath has come upon them at last.

We've now come full circle

in the movement of thought

through the first two chapters of 1 Thessalonians.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy

began their correspondence,

as you will recall,

by giving thanks to God

for the Thessalonian believers'

spirit-empowered conversion

and spirit-enabled perseverance of faith.

And then as Paul reflected on his time in Thessalonica,

he briefly shifts the focus away

from the Thessalonians themselves

and turns it to the authentic nature

of his ministry to them,

distinguishing himself

from the false teachers of the day.

And here, as we get closer

to the end of chapter 2,

Paul returns now to that initial theme,

that initial theme of the Thessalonians' conversion

and perseverance of faith

through severe persecution.

And as you notice in verse 13,

once again,

his remembrance of the gospel's work

in the lives of these people

that he has come to love

is expressed primarily as thanksgiving,

not thanksgiving to the Thessalonians,

thanksgiving to God

for the work that he has done in them

and that he continues to do through them.

The opening thanksgiving of chapter 1

underscores the powerful work

of the Holy Spirit in these new believers.

But as Paul reflects on the same event

in these verses,

he's not changing the topic,

he's still reflecting on his initial time

in ministry in Thessalonica

and the work that God was doing there

and the results of the fruitfulness of that work.

Here, as he rehearses that once again,

he highlights especially

the Spirit's work

through the ministry of the Word of God,

the preaching of the gospel of Jesus

from the Scriptures.

And an important statement

at the end of verse 13

is what gives us the passage's central idea

that the Word of God

is at work.

The Word of God is at work.

You see it there in verse 13.

He says,

you accepted it for what it really is,

the Word of God,

which is at work.

And he continues by saying,

it is at work explicitly

in believers.

And then as we look at this

set of verses as a unit,

we find also that implicit in the text

is that the Word is at work

against unbelievers.

And it's these two categories

that are going to shape

our study this morning

and next week.

We won't really move beyond

the first category this morning.

And so we'll return to it next week.

So what I want to focus on now

is the work of the Word

in believers.

The work of the Word

in believers.

In this text,

especially verses 13 and 14,

the Word of God accomplishes

two distinct works

in believers.

It brings about their salvation

and it secures them

in that salvation.

In other words,

the Spirit of God

uses the Word of God

to effect one's conversion

to Christ

and subsequent perseverance

through suffering.

The Word of God,

we would understand,

also works

in the believer's sanctification,

but Paul doesn't address that

at least at this point.

Only these first two are noted

and so those are the two

that I want to meditate on now.

What is the work

of the Word

in believers

according to this text?

Well, first we find

that the Word works

to save sinners.

The Word works

to save sinners.

Look at verse 13.

We also thank God

constantly for this,

that when you receive

the Word of God,

which you heard from us,

you accepted it

not as the Word of men

because you heard it from men,

but as what it really is,

the Word of God.

We're just in passing.

Notice the magnitude

of this statement.

This is Paul's claim

to inspiration.

There is this common misunderstanding.

I'm not sure exactly

where this comes from,

but even among some Christians,

they make this assumption

that as these men

who God used

to write the Scriptures,

that they didn't understand

what it was

that they were doing.

That as they wrote

and as they preached,

they didn't understand

that what they were writing

was the Word of God.

And that just isn't true.

Over and over,

through the New Testament especially,

we find that the apostles

are very much aware

of the divine authority

they have been given

in their preaching

and subsequently

in their writing.

And Paul here reminds us

of that again,

that as he comes

to Thessalonica

and he's preaching

the Gospel,

he recognizes

that what he is doing

is giving

the divine Word of God.

And we continue on

through the New Testament,

Peter recognizes,

he calls all of Paul's writings

Scripture.

The apostles were

very much aware of that.

And we find here

this bold claim once again

that what Paul

has been preaching

in Thessalonica

and in other places

and then subsequently

in his writing,

he understood to be

the very Word of God,

the authoritative Word of God.

And that's just in passing.

He 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.

Now, two words

are necessarily

contrasting one another

in this verse.

Received

and accepted.

Received here,

in this case,

it refers to

just the basic

transfer of information.

It's simply stating

that what was

previously unknown

to the Thessalonians

became known

to them.

They have received

that information

and Paul was the one

who passed it on.

So, Paul was a conduit

then, right?

He was a conduit

by which the gospel message

was passed on

to the people

in Thessalonica.

That's what he means

when he says

you receive the Word.

The Word itself,

it's not really referring

to anything

that the recipient

does with it.

It's just the fact

that they heard the Word.

This information

was passed on to them.

That is necessarily

contrasting

this second word,

accepted.

Accepted,

interestingly enough,

is the same word

that's used

in chapter 1

in verse 6.

Just set your eyes

on it.

In chapter 1

in verse 6,

Paul says,

you became imitators

of us

and of the Lord

for you received

the Word.

Now, received there,

the Greek word behind it,

it's the same word

as accepted

in chapter 2

in verse 13.

So, in translating it,

there's two different

Greek words here.

So, to give the idea,

to set the contrast

of what Paul is saying,

the translators

use receive

for this first word

that Paul came

and he gave information

and they received

the information.

Okay?

And then he uses

this second word

that he uses

in chapter 1

that this particular group

upon receiving

that information

accepted it.

They welcomed it.

They believed

what they received.

So, though the Word

of God came to them

through the words

of men,

the Christians

in Thessalonica

did not accept it

as ultimately

man's words

but as what it really is.

The inspired,

authoritative,

inerrant

Word

of God.

And what is it

exactly

that Paul,

Silas,

and Timothy

came to Thessalonica

proclaiming

as the

inspired,

authoritative,

and inerrant

Word of God?

It was the Gospel

of Jesus

from

the Old Testament

Scriptures.

You remember

Acts 17

it tells us plainly

Paul reasoned

with them

from the Scriptures

explaining

and proving

that it was

necessary

for the Christ

to suffer

and to rise

from the dead

and saying

to them

this Jesus

whom I proclaim

to you

is that Christ

who according

to the Scriptures

had to suffer

and rise

from the dead

for our sins.

That's what

he came to

Thessalonica

proclaiming.

He was preaching

Christ.

He was preaching

Christ from the Scriptures

and so when he says

here that

what you received

as the Word of God

that's what he means.

You received

the Gospel

preaching

of Christ

from the Scriptures.

It's the Word of God

he says

and you received

it as such.

They came

proclaiming

the good news

of what God

has done

to save sinners

through the

sacrificial death

and resurrection

of Jesus Christ

his Son.

Paul explained

to them

from the Scriptures

how it was necessary

for man's

eternal salvation

that God's Messiah

suffer in our place

as a substitute.

How it was necessary

that after his suffering

that he rise

from the dead

thereafter

and then he told them

about Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth

as we'll celebrate

all month

the sinless Son of God

incarnate

in flesh

who did

precisely

what the Scripture

said was necessary.

He proclaimed

Christ to them

as the good news

for sinners

and then he urged them

to respond

to the good news

turning from sin

turning from their unbelief

in order to

trust in Christ

by faith.

Jesus

this is God's

very word.

It was his word

for the Thessalonians

it's his word

for you.

In his love

God sent his only

son to atone

for the sins

of all who will

believe in him.

Jesus perfectly

fulfilled the law

that we have broken

and by shedding

his precious blood

on Calvary's cross

he made a full

and complete

atonement

for all

who will

accept it

by faith

and then God

raised him

from the dead

as a sign

that Jesus'

sacrifice

as a perfect

lamb

as we read

in 1 Peter

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

that this sacrifice

was sufficient

that it worked

that it's enough

to cover our sins

we need

to add nothing

to it

his sacrifice

is enough

his atonement

is complete

it is full

and God

in the resurrection

says

I accept it

I accept this

as an atonement

for you

appeasing God's wrath

against us

and then in his love

God turns

to sinners

and he calls us

to receive it

he says

this is what

I have done

now receive it

by faith

accept it

by faith

this is the word

of God

and while some

of the Thessalonians

received this message

from men

they accepted it

by faith

as a message

from God

and according

to the text

they did so

because the word

was at work

in them

that's why

Paul offers

his thanksgiving

to God

for the Thessalonians

faith

he knew

that ultimately

God was

responsible

by his grace

for their conversion

because it is

the Holy Spirit

of God

that works

through the preaching

of the word

to save sinners

what does the word

do in its work

it saves

sinners

can I just show

you two passages

to help

unpack this

a little bit

further

first is

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:22–24

chapter 1

verses 22

to 24

for Jews

demand signs

and Greeks

seek wisdom

but we preach

Christ crucified

a stumbling block

to the Jews

and folly

to Gentiles

but to those

who are called

whether they be

Jew or Greek

it is Christ

the power of God

and the wisdom

of God

just meditate

on that verse

for a moment

Paul says

there's three groups

of people here

he says first

there's the Jews

and what the Jews

demand

in their religious

pursuit

is they demand

signs

show us something

prove to us

that what this is

is true

the Greeks

take a different

approach

what they're seeking

for

what they're looking

for is

some kind

of wisdom

some type

of philosophical

intellectual

wisdom

that will

satisfy

their

searching

minds

but then as

Paul continues

on he says

that what

they actually

receive

is those

who are

demanding

the signs

we preach

Christ

and to the Jews

demanding signs

it actually

becomes a

stumbling block

they stumble

over it

they don't

receive it

they stumble

over it

they hate

it

and then he says

then there's

the other group

the Greeks

the Gentiles

they're seeking

wisdom

they're looking

for this

kind of

philosophical

thing

to scratch

their itch

and the

preaching

of Christ

to them

it just

seems like

folly

he says

so there's

these two

groups

we come

and we

preach

Christ

and there's

the one

group

that's

demanding

a sign

and this

is just

a stumbling

block

to them

and then

there's

this other

group

here

they're

looking

for some

type

of intellectual

itch

to be

scratched

he says

this just

seems like

foolishness

to them

oh but

then he says

there's a

third group

there's a

third group

that upon

hearing the

preaching

of Christ

crucified

it becomes

to them

Christ

as the

power of

God

and the

wisdom

of God

and who

is it

that it

becomes

that to

he says

to those

who are

called

to those

who upon

hearing

the preaching

of the

gospel

hearing

the gospel

preached

through the

word

that the

spirit

of God

does a

unique

work

through

that

word

that opens

their hearts

in order

that the

result is

that they

will

believe

they see

it

they see

the wisdom

of God

the power

of God

in Christ

no longer

is it

foolishness

to them

it's not

a stumbling

block

to them

no to

them

it is

eternal

salvation

he says

oh by

God's

grace

that upon

hearing

the message

of Christ

crucified

you would

be called

by the

Holy Spirit

of God

resulting

in your

conversion

even this

morning

what do we

learn from

this

that the

word works

to save

sinners

it works

to save

sinners

I want to

show you

one other

text

2nd

Corinthians

chapter 2

verses 4

through 6

Paul is

addressing

or he's

he's speaking

about

unbelievers

those who

do not

accept

the gospel

at least

here in

the beginning

and he

says in

their case

the God

of this

world

Satan

has blinded

the minds

of the

unbelievers

and what

is the

purpose

of this

blinding

to keep

them from

seeing the

light of

the gospel

the glory

of Christ

so that

they will

not see

it

so it

will

continue

to be

a stumbling

block

and folly

so they

will not

see the

gospel

of the

glory

of Christ

who is

the image

of God

and then

he says

for what

we proclaim

is not

ourselves

we preach

Christ

as Lord

with

ourselves

as your

servants

for his

sake

and then

notice

this last

phrase

for God

who said

let light

shine out

of darkness

the one

who is

powerful

enough

to create

all

that you

see

he has

shown

in our

hearts

to do

what

to give

the light

of the

knowledge

of God

of the

glory

of God

in the

face

of Jesus

Christ

you know

what is

Paul saying

he's saying

unbelievers

are blinded

by Satan's

deception

keeping them

from seeing

the light

of the gospel

so how

then will

anyone

be saved

how will

anyone

move

from this

first category

of deception

and blindness

to this

latter category

of seeing

the truth

and understanding

the truth

and believing

the truth

and rejoicing

the truth

how is it

possible

that any

of us

would ever

move

from category

A

to category

B

and Paul

says

well

it starts

with the

preaching

of Christ

and then

God

does this

amazing

thing

in the

preaching

of Christ

through the

preaching

of the

gospel

God

who made

the world

and all

that's

in it

he shines

in the

darkness

of our

unbelieving

hearts

so that

we might

come to

the knowledge

of God

in Christ

Jesus

what is he

saying

the word

of God

works

to save

sinners

God uses

it

it's his

tool

it's his

instrument

to save

sinners

to shine

the light

of the

gospel

into the

darkness

of our

unbelieving

hearts

John

Piper

says

we

we live

in a

day

when people

believe

that there

are many

many words

of men

conservative

words

progressive

words

philosophical

words

Hindu

words

Protestant

words

we could

go on

and on

Catholic

words

Baptist

words

there are

all kinds

of words

and he

says

the

understanding

is that

all there

is

is

words

of men

and the

philosophy

of the

day

is basically

choose

your word

just choose

your word

and do

your best

and then he

says and

that's the

way it's

going to

be

until this

miracle

happens

until this

miracle

happens

the light

of the

glory of

God

shining in

the darkness

of our

depraved

hearts

through the

preaching of

the gospel

of God

in the face

of Jesus

Christ

when the

gospel came

to Thessalonica

the spirit

of God

was at

work

so that

some of

them

accepted

it as

the word

of God

and the

question

for you

is

have you

accepted

what you've

received

have you

accepted

the word

of God

have you

turned

from sin

to believe

the good

news

of Jesus

Christ

oh

sinner

this

gospel

it truly

is the

word

of God

don't

let another

day go

by

in your

sin

and your

unbelief

don't

let another

moment

go

without

turning

from your

sin

looking

to the

Savior

Jesus

who has

come to

save you

from your

sins

but then

there are

those of

us who

have

accepted

this

word

and what

does

this

mean

for

us

you

know

better

than

anyone

else

that

it

is

the

word

of

God

that

works

to

save

sinners

you

know

it

and we

have a

mandate

from

Christ

to

proclaim

this

good

news

of

salvation

for

the

lost

and

to

the

lost

and

why

wouldn't

we

do

that

we

understand

this

some

of you

lived

for

years

and

years

and

years

in

rebellion

against

God

you

knew

the

truth

you

heard

the

gospel

and

for

years

and

years

and

years

you

rejected

it

and

then

you

heard

it

again

and

God

unlocks

something

in you

and he

saves

your soul

and then

he commands

that you

go

and teach

that same

thing to

others

why

wouldn't

we do

that

if

it

is

the

preaching

of

the

gospel

that

God

uses

to

save

sinners

why

wouldn't

we

spend

our

lives

doing

everything

we

possibly

can

to

proclaim

the

glorious

good

news

of

Jesus

to

as

many

people

possible

as

we

can

people

don't

come

to

Christ

by

epiphany

they

don't

come

to

Christ

simply

because

in

their

rationality

in

their

minds

they

just

suddenly

put

these

pieces

!

together

it

doesn't

work

like

that

no

they

need

the

preaching

of

the

gospel

because

God

works

through

the

preaching

of

the

gospel

he

works

through

the

word

to

save

sinners

and

it's

our

responsibility

Christians

to

take

this

word

to

take

this

gospel

and

proclaim

it

so

that

God

will

save

sinners

the

word

works

to

save

the

lost

so

we

must

go

and

proclaim

the

word

to

the

nation

enough

of

the

casual

Christianity

enough

of

the

I'll

do

my

thing

and

I'll

go

to

church

on

Sunday

and

that's

it

no

we

must

move

beyond

this

place

and

we

must

proclaim

it

because

we

know

it

by

experience

that

if

sinners

are

to

be

saved

it

will

come

through

the

preaching

of

the

gospel

and

we

leave

that

to

the

Lord

what

else

does

the

!

do

in

the

believer

it

strengthen

the

saint

it

works

to

strengthen

the

saint

verse

14

for

you

brothers

became

imitators

of the

churches

of

God

in

Christ

Jesus

that

are

in

Judea

for

you

suffered

the

same

things

from

your

own

countrymen

as

they

did

from

the

Jews

we

understand

that

wherever

the

gospel

is

received

and

accepted

there

is

always

some

measure

of

suffering

on

the

part

of

those

who

believe

it's

always

been

the

case

it

will

always

be

the

case

and

we

know

that

because

that's

what

Jesus

told

us

would

happen

and

in

the

case

of

the

Thessalonians

that

suffering

was

actually

quite

intense

they

suffered

at

the

hands

of

the

Jews

in

Thessalonica

the

same

way

that

the

Christians

in

Judea

had

suffered

at

that

in

Acts

Acts 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17

maybe

you

just

want

to

turn

there

quickly

Acts

17

and

you'll

see

it

firsthand

this

is

the

record

of

Luke's

record

of

Paul's

ministry

initial

ministry

there

in

Thessalonica

it's

truncated

for sure

but he

gives us

enough

so that

we get

the gist

of what

was

happening

Acts

Acts 17:5–8

17

verses

5

through

8

this

is

after

Paul

has

preached

in

the

synagogues

and

he's

proclaimed

Christ

from

the

scriptures

and

the

verse

before

tells

us

that

many

of

them

came

to

faith

and

then

that's

where

we

pick

up

in

verse

number

five

but

the

Jews

there

were

jealous

and

they

acted

upon

that

jealousy

by

taking

some

wicked

men

of

the

rabble

they

formed

a

mob

they

set

the

city

in

an

uproar

they

attacked

the

house

of

Jason

seeking

to

bring

them

out

to

the

crowd

apparently

Jason

was

a

new

believer

who

was

hosting

the

church

maybe

it's

gatherings

perhaps

is

why

they

targeted

him

in

particular

and

when

they

could

not

find

them

they

dragged

Jason

and

some

of

the

brothers

before

the

city

authorities

and

they

were

shouting

this

these

men

who

have

turned

the

world

upside

down

have

come

here

also

and

Jason

has

received

them

and

they

are

all

!

acting

out

against

the

decrees

of

Caesar

saying

that

there

is

another

king

Jesus

now

if

you've

done

any

study

at

all

of

your

new

testament

or

even

of

history

first

century

history

you

know

that

the

Jews

were

not

in

favor

of

Caesar

they

did

not

follow

Caesar

they

hated

Caesar

they

hated

the

Roman

rule

they

were

not

into

that

even

these

Hellenist

Jews

in

Thessalonica

would

not

have

been

friendly

to

that

what

they're

saying

about

Paul

and

Silas

and

Timothy

is

what

they

know

will

get

the

people

excited

to

do

something

against

them

they're

lying

about

this

they're

twisting

the

truth

of

the

preaching

of

the

gospel

in

order

to

incite

a

riot