Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 1 Thessalonians · About this commentary
Not the Word of Men
1 Thessalonians 2:13
13 For this cause we also thank God without ceasing that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, God’s word, which also works in you who believe. · WEB
Paul thanks God that his readers made a judgment about the status of what they heard — and says it is why the message works.
For this cause we also thank God without ceasing. The second thanksgiving of the letter, and what it is for is a distinction the Thessalonians drew correctly.
When you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, God's word. Two verbs are used, and the difference between them is the verse's point. The first is simply to receive something handed over; the second is to welcome it, to take it in as one's own. They received a message from men and welcomed it as from God.
Paul's phrase as it is in truth refuses to let that be their private evaluation. He is not saying they generously chose to regard it highly; he is saying they recognized what it actually was.
And the last clause states the consequence: which also works in you who believe. The word is at work — the verb is one of active energy, used of things that produce effects. A message received as human advice can be admired; a message received as God's own does something, and the letter treats the readers' endurance under persecution as the evidence that it did.
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