How Do You Respond to the Word of God?

"And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe" (1 Thes. 2:13, NIV).

Here Paul teaches us that there is two basic responses to the Word of God.  We can treat it like it is a word from men, merely a man's opinions.  Or we can treat it like it actually is the Word of God.  Now specifically, Paul is addressing the gospel proclamation, but his statement can be taken in a more general sense to refer to the whole of God's Word.  Paul makes it clear in his other writings that his message wasn't something he dreamed up, but it was a direct revelation from Jesus Christ.  Peter says,

We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:16-21, NIV).

Not everyone recognizes God's Word.  Some hear it, but fail to grasp its meaning.  Jesus teaches this in the parable of the sower in Mark 4.  He relates three ways people treat the Word as if it were merely the word of men.  He tells us:

• They ignore it, often with the devil's help (the seed on the hard path)
• They rejoice over it without commitment (the seed on the rocky soil)
• They all other things to drive out the word (the seed in the weeds)

When we respond to the Word of God in these ways, we are treating it as a word from man.  James warns, "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you" (Jas. 1:21, NIV).

Other, like the Thessalonians, receive the word as it actually is-as the Word of God.  These individuals are like the good soil which receives the seed and bears fruit.  Only when we receive the Word with obedience that comes from faith, can we really say we are receiving it as the Word of God.

In fact, Paul's gratitude for and confidence in the believers in Thessalonica rests in the fact that he is witnessing fruit in their lives.  Paul saw how the Thessalonians responded with faithful perseverance in the face of opposition, and he commended them.  What is more, Paul found in their endurance the evidence of their faith, and he praised God for it.  He went on to explain that those who did not receive God's Word, like the Thessalonians, were under God's wrath.  Their enemies were God's enemies first, but God would take care of them.

The passage, 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16, can teach us many things.  I want point out four implications of this passage.

1. How we respond to the Word of God reveals the true nature of our heart.  We are called to trust and obey the Word of God, because the God, who spoke it, is trustworthy and true.
2. We are to accept the Word of God with both deep conviction and deep affection.  Some people want to over-intellectualize faith, and other want to over-emotionalize it.  True faith combines the best efforts of our (sanctified) hearts and minds.
3. When one tries to take a "middle of the road" approach to Scripture, he usually ends up rejecting it as the Word of God.  When some suggests that the Bible is spiritual book, but not a work of the Spirit; or suggests that it contains the Word of God, but also has the erroneous thoughts of man, they are on a slippery slope towards rejecting most of the truths of the Bible.  The right response to the Word of God is whole-heart trust.
4. Confidence in the Word usually generates faith.  Even when we don't fully understand something, our default position should be to trust the Scriptures because they are not the words of men, but the Word of God.