Word of Encouragement (6/11/2021)
Today, we move on to another prayer of Paul’s: “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” (1 Thess. 2:13).
Paul gives thanks to God for the way the Thessalonians received the message of the gospel. He knew that such reception was impossible apart from the work of the Holy Spirit—first, regenerating their hearts and, second, enlightening their eyes to recognize the Apostolic preaching as the very Word of God. Listen to what the Westminster Confession of Faith says about this:
“We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture, and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole, [which is to give all glory to God], the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet, notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the word in our hearts” (WCF I:5).
One of the ways we experience all this is aptly summarized by someone, who said, “I have read many books, but the Bible reads me.” In being “read” by the Bible, not only do we feel fully exposed but also become aware of the omniscient Being, before whom nothing is hidden. The inkling that we are worse than we think and the “bad” things we have done are far greater and far more serious than we hoped becomes crystal clear. We become aware of the perilous position we are in before the all-seeing God and of our desperate need for God’s mercy. Then, our hearts well up with gratitude when we realize that God has provided a Savior for us, who willingly suffered and died for all our sins. We are humbled and awed by the realization that God’s grace is greater than all our sins and our sinfulness.
We learn from Paul’s prayer that the proper preaching of God’s Word is also the Word of God: “...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....” This is mind-boggling. But God has always used broken, faulty sinners as His messengers to communicate His will. He is able to do so because He is so powerful and so wise. Of course, the preached Word of God is different from the written Word of God, which is inspired in its entirety. A sermon is an exposition of God’s Word, relying on the illuminating (not inspiring) work of the Holy Spirit. And no sermon will be “perfect.” But insofar as the sermon is a right exposition of the Bible, it is the (preached) Word of God. The Second Helvetic Confession says,
“Wherefore when this Word of God [the Bible] 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... and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; for even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God remains still true and good.”
If so, blessed are those who recognize and receive God’s Word in the preaching despite the inadequacies of the preacher, their disagreement with the style of the preaching, or their displeasure with the timber of the preacher’s voice, or whatever discontentment they may have with the preacher. How sad it would be for us to miss or ignore God’s message because we are so preoccupied with all these superficial factors! It would be like throwing away the baby with the bathwater! Please pray for me (and Caleb) that we might faithfully and truthfully proclaim the Word of God and for yourselves that you would receive the preaching as the Word of God and give it all the authority it deserves with your faith and obedience!