1 Thessalonians 2:13

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.

I’m just barely here this weekend. You see, a month ago my wife gave birth to twin boys. Their names are Carson and Coleman. They came about three weeks early, and we spent almost two weeks with them in the Special Care Nursery at Abbott. We’ve had them at home now almost three weeks, and it’s been quite the experience to go from zero kids to two all at once, especially when the babies are preemies. The boys need to be fed every three hours, which means waking them up in the middle of night—which also means my wife and I haven’t slept more than about three hours continuously since July 1.

I mention our newborn twins not only as a happy father who can’t stop talking about his boys, but also because there may be a connection between having preemies and the situation in Thessalonica into which Paul writes this letter.  We might say that the Christians in Thessalonica were preemies of sorts. Unlike Christians in Jerusalem, or other cities with strong Jewish influence and many Jewish converts, the new believers in Thessalonica were largely non-Jews and seemed to start from behind. They didn’t know the Hebrew Scriptures that prepared the way for Jesus and the message of the gospel, and on top of that, Paul was taken away from them very soon after the first conversions started happening. So here’s this new group of Christians with very little knowledge of the Scriptures and their apostle (and his associates) have been run out of town by persecutors. These new Christians are preemies who need to be fed every three hours, and their parents are present only spirit.

So unsurprisingly, problems develop in Thessalonica. Some in the community die, and the others wonder whether that means they didn’t really have faith, or whether the faith of the whole community is bunk. And then added to that, there’s the persecution. The unconverted Jews in Thessalonica turn zealously against the preemie Christians, and attack the character and authority of the apostle Paul. “He came through town, preached his message, and then left. He’s just a phony. He’s a charlatan preacher. He was just in it for money. He didn’t really care about you. His message isn’t true.”

Into this turmoil, Paul writes this letter to the believers in Thessalonica. And in chapter 2 we are right in the thick of his confronting the rumors and defending himself and his ministry among the Thessalonians.

Before we go too far, here’s our plan for how to tackle this passage this weekend and next. Today we’ll focus in only on verse 13. There’s an iceberg under the surface here that pokes its head out, and serves as a vital core from which we can learn from verses 1–12 next weekend for our own lives in these Twin Cities. Here’s how we’ll proceed today: 1) first, we’ll zero in on verse 13 and see the tip of the iceberg, then 2) second, we’ll trace other parts of the iceberg into several other texts in the New Testament, and 3) finally, we’ll ask an important closing question especially relevant for us at Bethlehem.

1. The Tip of the Iceberg (verse 13)

So, first, let’s look together at the tip of the iceberg in verse 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.”

A quick word to situate verse 13 in the letter: If you look at chapter 1, verse 2, you’ll see there that Paul begins to give thanks to God for the Thessalonians—“We give thanks to God always for all of your, constantly mentioning you in our prayers….” And then Paul moves in verses 3–10 to assure this struggling, persecuted people of the authenticity of their faith, which leads in chapter 2, verses 1–12, to Paul’s defense of the authenticity of his ministry among them (which we’ll dig into next weekend, God willing).

So when Paul gets to verse 13 of chapter 2, he’s circling back around to the thanksgiving he started in chapter 1, verse 2, after an important rabbit trail confirming the genuineness of their faith and defending the genuineness of his ministry. Notice the similarities between 1:2 and 2:13:

• We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly
• We also thank God constantly

Paul’s picking up here where he left off in assuring the Thessalonians that the gospel he preached, and the gospel they received, is the true gospel.

“The Word of God”

Now what about this phrase “the word of God” in verse 13? Look at verse 13 again: “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.”

We Christians often use the phrase “the word of God” synonymously with the Bible; sometimes that may be good. But is that exactly what Paul has in mind here? He says, “You received the word of God.” Is it the Bible that they received? Not precisely. Paul didn’t roll into Thessalonica with flatbed truck packed full of paperback ESVs for public distribution. And it doesn’t appear that Paul showed up at the gay pride parade in Thessalonica and started handing out Bibles.

Something else is meant by “word of God” here. What is it? It’s the gospel message. Look at verse 9 in the context. He says, “we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.” It’s the good news about Jesus, and his saving death for sinners, that Paul announced and explained and communicated to the Thessalonians. That’s “the word of God” in this text—and in fact, it’s the typical meaning of the phrase “word of God” in the New Testament. (Parenthetically, the word “Scriptures” usually refers to the inspired written documents, while the word “word” refers to the central message of Christianity, the gospel word, the story about the coming and living and dying and rising of the Son of God for us sinners, so that all who are joined to this Jesus by faith receive the very favor that God the Father has for his Son and experience true spiritual life even now in this broken world, and life forever in the redeemed new heavens and new earth. End parenthesis.)

So the Thessalonians received the message of the gospel that they heard from Paul, and look at verse 13, they did so not as the word of men—not as something Paul himself made up—but as what it really is, the word of God, the message from God about how he saves sinners by faith in Jesus, a message with divine, not human, origin. The gospel is the word, the message, of God for humanity. And the Thessalonians heard this word from Paul about Jesus’ perfect life, death on behalf of sinners, and resurrection in triumph over sin and death, and they believed and were saved. They were converted. The gospel is the message they believed that brought them into the faith as followers of Jesus. As James 1:18 says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth”—that’s the gospel.

“At Work in You Believers”

And now we come to the iceberg tip, the last phrase in verse 13. Look at verse 13 one more time: “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 says that the gospel word, the message about Jesus, is not only what they accepted to become believers, but also that “which is at work in you believers.” This may be strange at first glance. The gospel of Jesus is not only for nonbelievers becoming believers, but also somehow “at work” in believers.

No doubt, there are nonbelievers among us this weekend. We always have nonbelievers in these weekend services. If that’s you, we’re so glad you’re here. You’re fully welcome here. And please don’t try to pretend like you’re a Christian “believer” if you’re not. We prefer the honesty. And this message in verse 13 is so good for you to see: The message of the gospel, that Jesus saves sinners by his death on the cross in place of us and our sin, is not only the story we want you to hear and believe, but it’s also essential for those of us here who are already believers. There is an amazing leveling of the ground at the cross. There are no black-belt Christians in the gospel dojo.

Now, to the professing believers of Bethlehem, let’s not miss this. The gospel is not only “at work” in nonbelievers making them believers, but the gospel should be “at work” in us. And the gospel for the nonbelieving is the same gospel for Bethlehem. Bethlehem, Jesus saves sinners by faith—and that’s the very gospel we need to be “at work” in us every step of the way in the Christian life.

There may be a couple ways to understand the sense in which the gospel is “at work” in believers. One is that belief in the gospel itself is what strengthens Christians and empowers them for day-in, day-out living (this fits especially well with the “also” the ESV has left out—you received/accepted for conversion the gospel that is also now at work in you for post-conversion living). The other is that the gospel being “at work” in believers means that the pattern of the gospel is lived out by those who endure suffering with joy, as Jesus did on the way to the cross (this fits especially well with the verses the follow). But I think in the end, this isn’t two different meanings but one. The gospel of Jesus’ cross is what empowers Christians for cruciform living. Continual belief in the gospel strengthens us for living out the pattern of the gospel.

Next, you might ask: But is this strange thought, that the gospel of Jesus is the gospel the believers of Bethlehem need, is this just a quick thought in passing in this one text? Does it appear anywhere else? So, here’s our second point: the iceberg in the New Testament.

2. The Iceberg in the New Testament

I want to provide some other texts so that we see that this is not an isolated teaching in the New Testament but it’s huge and all over, once you have eyes to see it.

First, with twins on the brain, let’s look at what I’d call the “twin texts” on the centrality of gospel in everyday Christian living: Romans 1:15–17 and 1 Corinthians 15:1–2. Go to Romans 1:15 with me. While you’re going there, here’s the context: The letter to the Romans is all about the gospel. Paul spends chapter after chapter densely unpacking the gospel and then closes the letter with extended application of the gospel message. And remember this: Paul is not writing to nonbelievers in Rome. The general Roman populace wasn’t lined up outside Barnes & Noble at midnight hoping to get the first copies of Paul’s letter when it released. Paul is writing to Christians. It’s Christians in Rome who are waiting for his letter, and receive it with eagerness, and read it in great anticipation.

Romans 1:15–17

And here’s what he writes to those who are already believers in Rome in chapter 1, verses 15-17, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”

Paul will spend the whole letter unpacking verse 17 about the righteousness of God being revealed in the gospel from faith for faith (from first belief to continuing belief). Imagine yourself as a believer in Rome, when the letter comes from Paul. “What amazing teachings will he have for us? Maybe he’ll tell us all about the end times. Or maybe about creation—was it six 24-hour days or something else? Or maybe he’ll talk about the importance of gender-specific ministry, or women’s modesty, or men’s purity, or doing hard things as a young adult, or being purpose-driven, of the explosive power of that little prayer of Jabez tucked away in the book of Chronicles. Or maybe it’s some new technique for church planting, or sharing your faith, or how to do small groups, or what things we must teach the children. I can’t wait for what Paul has to say. It must be something very high and advanced. I’m sure it’s something we’ve never heard.”

And then we hear verse 15 read: “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” What—the gospel? Is this the right letter? Don’t you see, Paul, we already know the gospel? We’re believers, after all! And that’s how we became believers—we believed the gospel. Of course, of course, nonbelievers need the gospel—this letter can be for them—but don’t you have something more advanced for us?

And Paul explains in verse 16 why he’s not ashamed to preach the gospel to people who are already believers: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it [the gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Take it a phrase at a time:

• “the power of God for salvation”—the gospel is the power to get us from here to final salvation, from today, to tomorrow, to next week, next year, next decade.
• “to everyone who believes”—he doesn’t say here “to everyone who believed” but it’s present tense, “to everyone who is believing,” to every believer in the gospel who continues to believe and take nourishment from the gospel
• “to the Jew first and also the Greek”—somewhat analogous would be to the believer first and also the nonbeliever. The gospel is first for the Jew. It’s first for the people who already believe. And yes, it’s also for the Greek, also for the nonbeliever. That’s what they believe to be initially saved. But once we are initially saved, do we then advance on to new things? Of course, there are many new peripheral things to learn, but there’s no new center. The gospel is the center of Christianity from beginning to end, “from faith for faith”—just as Habakkuk wrote about, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

So the gospel is not only the door to Christianity, but it’s the whole house. As Tim Keller says, it’s not only the ABCs of Christianity, but the A to Z. Day-in, day-out healthy Christianity is at its heart a continual reappropriation of the gospel of Jesus that empowers spiritual life and affects everything.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4

Briefly, the other twin text is 1 Corinthians 15:1–4. You don’t need to go there in your Bibles; I’ll read it for us. Paul writes again to believers, this time in the city of Corinth,

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Paul’s writing to Christians, who he calls “brothers,” and he says he’s reminding them of the gospel he preached to them. Reminding Christians of the gospel. And notice how this gospel encompasses the whole Christian life. First, the gospel message is what they “received”—in the past. Second, the gospel is that “in which you stand”—in the present. Third, the gospel is that “by which you are being saved”—a reference to the future. And the last part of verse 2, they will only be saved if they continue to hold fast to the gospel.

Embracing the gospel at some point, and then moving on to another center, won’t do. That’s not Christianity. The gospel is the only center. Those who are finally saved not only initially believe the message, but also stand daily in the message, and walk forward into the future in the strength of the gospel message. There’s a sense in which we have to go backwards (to the cross) to go forwards to maturity and eternity. Mature Christianity is not advancing beyond the gospel, but going deeper into the gospel.

And verses 3­–4 give us the content of the gospel, which Paul says is “of first importance”: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

So there’s the twin texts on gospel centrality, and let me just bullet point a few others that teach the relentless centrality of the gospel for all of life in healthy Christianity:

• What is the fundamental standard of Christian conduct, morality, and ethics? Paul says in Galatians 2:14, “When I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [Peter] before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” A lot’s going on here, but just get this: Paul’s standard for evaluating Peter’s conduct is not a list of rules but whether his actions are “in step with the truth of the gospel.” The gospel is the standard for Christian behavior. What we need to live the Christian life is not a rulebook, but the message of the gospel. Christian ethics flow from the gospel, they are in step with the truth of the gospel.
• What’s the key to persevering in the faith? We saw in 1 Corinthians 15:2 that it means holding fast to the gospel message, and Colossians 1:23 says that continuing in the faith means “not shifting from the hope of the gospel you heard.” (Which, by the way, is the core of the message of the book of Hebrews; see Heb. 3:6, 14; 4:14; 10:23 for the repetition of that theme.)
• What was the heart and essence of all of Paul’s teaching and ministry? 1 Corinthians 2:2: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” And he says in Acts 20:24: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
• How about our focus in discipling younger believers? Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:2 that mature Christians should be entrusting to others “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.” In other words, the gospel. The main context of discipleship is the gospel.
• What about in doing theology? Doesn’t studying theology mean progressing beyond the gospel to focus on other more advanced teachings? Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:11 that sound doctrine is that which is “in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God.” Sound doctrine is in accord with the gospel, shaped by the gospel, influenced by the gospel, related to the gospel, built as a harmonious extension of the gospel. So all of our theologizing must be gospel-theologizing.
• What about as practical as our motivation for Christian generosity? Why do we give to others, or to the ministry of this church? 2 Corinthians 8:9: “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” The gospel of Jesus is the motivation and engine for Christian giving. Jesus has given so graciously to us that in continually receiving his graciousness by faith we are shaped more and more by it and thus become increasingly generous toward others.
• How about the leadership of this church? What is the heart of what’s required of our elders? Titus 1:9: The elder “must hold firm to the trustworthy word [the gospel] as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” At the core of leadership in the church is knowing the gospel and being profoundly shaped by it, such that we are enabled to ministry this gospel to others, which is God’s power for salvation.
• What would be the final thing Paul would leave the Ephesian elders with when he said goodbye for the last time to these leaders he had invested so much of his life in? This is really telling. Back to Acts 20, this time verse 32: Paul says, “I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” What does he leave with these seasoned leaders? The gospel, “the word of his grace,” which he says is not only able to convert their nonbelieving friends, but also able “to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” The Ephesians elders will be built up by the gospel, or they won’t be built up.

3. Closing Question

So having caught a glimpse of the centrality of the gospel for all of the Christian life in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, and having traced out the theme a bit in the New Testament, here’s our closing question for Bethlehem: How does all this relate to joy? If we Christians really are to make the gospel central in everything, what’s the relationship between the gospel and our joy? Isn’t our joy supposed to be central to the Christian life? We like to call ourselves Christian hedonists at Bethehem. We believe that the Bible teaches that the pursuit of joy in God is central to the Christian life. But now these texts are saying that the gospel is to be central. So what’s the relationship between the gospel and our joy? As we close, I’ll offer three ways the two relate, each based on a text.

First, there’s an answer in our 1 Thessalonians context, chapter 1, verse 6: “You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word [the gospel] in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” So here the gospel is the objective (outside of us) message about Jesus and his grace, and joy is the Holy-Spirit-given subjective (inside of us) appropriating of that message. In sum, the gospel is what is believed and joy is how it is believed.

Second, the gospel is the good news of great joy coming to the hearers. Luke 2, right? Verse 10: the angel says to the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.” So the gospel is good news that good is coming; or you could say, it’s joyous news that joy is coming. But there’s more we can say here.

For the third point, look at the next verse, Luke 2:11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Remember, this is good news is “of a great joy.” And what is this great joy? Verse 11 seems to say that it is more about a who than a what. Jesus is the great joy, and the gospel is good news about Jesus. In other words, in the gospel, we spiritually see Jesus who is our joy. And so Paul not only talks in Philippians 3:8 about “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,” but in 1 Corinthians 4:4–6, he says that the place that we see and know this Jesus best is in the gospel, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

So is there any tension between relentlessly pursuing the all-encompassing centrality of the gospel in everything and pursuing our joy in Jesus? There shouldn’t be.

1. The gospel is what we believe; joy is how we believe it.
2. The gospel is the good news that by faith, because of Jesus, good is coming to us; it’s the joyous news of coming joy.
3. And most significantly, the gospel is the message that Jesus, who is our greatest joy, is also the one who has saved sinners. The Jesus of the gospel is the Jesus of our joy.

And this gospel brings to believers a fullness of joy that’s very nature is one of spreading and sharing, not hoarding and keeping. And so next weekend we’ll come back to 1 Thessalonians 2 and see in verses 1–12 how Paul became a vessel for the joy of the gospel to come into the lives of the idol-worshiping Thessalonians, a joy so great he could make this shocking statement in verse 8: “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.”