"Energized by the Word of God."

“And 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.”(1Thessalonians 2:13 ESV). 

Paul begins Chapter 2 by reminding the believers that his coming to them was not in vain, and he concludes the Chapter with, “For you are our glory and joy.” And in between, he reminds them of how Paul and his team brought the good news of eternal life to them. Then, in verse 12, Paul reminds them that they are to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you …” or, as the KJV translates it more literally, “walk worthy of God.” Either translation is relatively easy to understand. We are to live our lives worthy of the God who has called us. We are to bring honor and glory to our savior and live our lives accordingly. 

Now in verse 13, Paul says, “for this reason”, for the reason that these believers live their lives worthy of God’s calling, that “we also constantly thank God…” Again, Paul shows us one of the themes of this letter, that he is thankful for the believers at Thessalonica. But those first-century saints could not possibly walk worthy of their calling if they had not “received from us the word of God’s message…” We see over and over again that it is not by our own efforts that we can live worthy of God, but because we have accepted his Word, God’s message of ‘for by grace you have been saved, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not something we could ever earn. It has always been God’s Word that changes lives, not the messenger.

Many times, the Apostle Paul asks believers to pray that he would have the opportunity and the wisdom of what to say as he shared the good news of salvation by God’s grace. We need to keep this in mind: when God gives us the opportunity to speak the truth that saves lives, we need to remember that if we focus on God’s Word and share what the Bible says, we can’t go wrong. Successful gospel presentations aren’t based on who is sharing the gospel; they are based on what is being shared. We need to live our lives worthy of God and be ready to share with others the saving grace of our Lord and Savior, so they, too, can receive God’s message.

Paul goes on to say, “You accepted it (God’s message) not as the word of men, but for what it is, the word of God”. Sometimes I think we forget that our message isn’t just something that we’ve accepted and believe, it isn’t just our opinion, but it is literally God’s Word. How powerful is that?  When we tell someone that God’s Son died on the cross, was buried, and rose again to give them eternal life, we are speaking the very words of God. Not our words, not our interpretation, not our positive thinking, but the very word of God. Knowing that has to make a difference in our lives. Knowing that will help us to walk worthy of our God.

Paul finally says that “the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”  The Greek word that is translated as “work” also means to energize. Helps Word-studies says “properly, energize, working in a situation which brings it from one stage (point) to the next, like an electrical current energizing a wire, brings it to a shining light bulb.”  Therefore, we might say that it is God’s word that energizes us to walk worthy of God’s calling to all who believe.  That is a direct application to us today; this isn’t some truth that only applies to these first-century believers located in Macedonia, but it applies to all “who believe”. I’m taking that promise, and I’m going to keep it close to my heart. It is God who causes me to walk worthy, who energizes me with His Word. And my friends, if He does it for me, He’ll do it for you as well.

So, let’s all expect the energizing power of God’s Word to work in our lives as we live for Him.

 "Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"