First Thessalonians 2:13: Preaching is the Word of God
If you remember, we spent a number of days in the thanksgiving section of First Thessalonians (1:2-10). Paul has plenty to be thankful for, and so just as Pippin might have his a second breakfast, Paul has his second thanksgiving. It might remind us that we can never really thank our God enough.
We are going to plant ourselves on verse 13 for today. It’s quite an incredible verse and says something to us about the relationship between preaching and the word of God which we might not always make explicit.
13 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.
Paul has already thanked God for the Thessalonians receiving the word in much affliction. His emphasis there was on the difficulty that accompanied their reception of the word. Responding to the gospel and seeking to follow Christ came at a cost. He praised God because this was evidence of God’s grace in their lives.
But in v 13, he highlights what exactly it is they received when they received the preaching of Paul. It was not just the word of men, but the word of God. That’s quite a statement! We might think that maybe this is because Paul is an apostle and so only his preaching is the word of God. But back in chapter one, Paul refers to the preaching of the Thessalonians as the word of God as well (1:8). When Paul was preaching in Thessalonica, it wasn’t just when he read a portion of Scripture that was the word of God, but when he expounded upon it and applied it to the hearers, that too, was the word of God.
Perhaps we are more prone to associate the word of God with only the Bible, the very words of Scripture. However, “any preaching today that is authorized by God is truly the word spoken by God in so far as it is derivative of the written word of God.”1.
This has been the confession of Reformed theology for a long time. The Westminster Larger Catechism calls us to receive the preached word “with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God.”2 The Second Helvitic Confession says, “Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is proclaimed, and received by the faithful.”
That reality is enough to cause any preacher to tremble in his study, and especially as he makes his way into the pulpit. Though there is much to be said and applied to the person in the pulpit, Paul’s emphasis is on our reception of the word.
Since it is the case that when we sit under the preaching of the word we are hearing the word of God, not simply the word of a man, let’s ask some questions of our hearts:
How might this affect our approach to Sunday worship, especially our posture during the sermon? Do we prepare for this? Do we make sure we are well-rested for hearing God speak?
Do we sit with a constant critical eye of what we are hearing?3
How might this reality affect our posture during a sermon we might consider “sub-standard” or something we aren’t interested in that day? At the very least, we can say, “It’s still the word of God, and what a privilege and joy it is to be here.”4
I’m sure there are a number of questions we need to be asking ourselves in light of the reality that preaching is the word of God. But let’s end where Paul does. He tells them that this word is at work in you believers.
Consider God’s grace and the wonder of his wisdom in this. God takes sinful, fallible men and calls them to proclaim his word to his people. In spite of the preacher’s many weaknesses, God, by his Spirit, makes the word effectual to his children. If you have ever wondered if salvation is of the Lord alone, just look at the preaching of men and you will quickly realize that it must be, for no one could be saved merely through the weak words of men.
A constant prayer of ours can be that when we come to our time in the word of God in worship, we humbly ask that the Lord help us to receive it not as the word of men, but as it really is, his word. And may he be pleased to make it effectual to us, having his word working in us unto our salvation.
Here’s a song you might have expected in light of our devotion today.
1 Cara, Thessalonians, 71.
2 Westminster Larger Catechism # 160: What is required of those that hear the word preached? Answer: It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
3 There is a difference between listening to the word preached with a discerning mind verses our minds being in constant critque mode.
4 This does not discount constructive feedback nor the need for a preacher to seek to be a better preacher.