The Power Of The Word
THE POWER OF THE WORD
1 THESSALONIANS 1:4-10
Paul describes the church at Thessalonica as a great example … of what?
Paul addresses the Thessalonians warmly as “brothers [and sisters] loved by God” (1:4). He found in the fruitfulness of their lives an adequate proof that God loved them. The heart of God’s election is his sovereign decision to choose a people, making them especially his own. Formerly this had meant Israel almost exclusively (see Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Amos 3:1f.). A startling consequence of the obedience of Christ was the inclusion of the Gentiles in the community of God’s chosen ones. Paul was called to proclaim this profound news among the nations (Acts 9:4-6,15f.; Galatians 1:11-16; Romans 15:8-22; Ephesians 3:1-13). The response to the word proclaimed at Thessalonica provided clear evidence that God had chosen them. Wherever Paul proclaimed the gospel he knew God would prepare a people to receive it as the word of truth. He regarded preaching, therefore, with utmost seriousness.
The power of the gospel to compel conviction and transform broken lives deeply impressed the apostle (1:5,7). He recognized that the Holy Spirit, who convinced people that what they were hearing was “the gospel of God” (2:2,8f.), was the source of that power. Preachers were common in the ancient world. Stoic and Cynic philosophers grappled with the basic questions of life and ethics. Teachers of many schools proclaimed eloquently the way to wealth, fame and happiness. There were many competitors for people’s allegiance. Paul constantly thanked God that his message was received at Thessalonica not as “a human word but … as the word of God” (2:13). Both in proclamation and in the daily life of the community, God’s word was characterized by a power which distinguished it from all human cleverness and deception. That power explains the joy of believers in spite of affliction (1:6) and their radiant testimony to their experience with the gospel (1:8). Although they were newly converted, they had already caught the vision of evangelism and missionary outreach (1:7-8).
Their testimony echoes the preaching which had undergirded the mission to Thessalonica. Paul had urged “faith in God” (1:8). The futility of serving dead idols was exposed in the presentation of the “living and true God” (1:9; see also Acts 14:15-17; 17:24-29). The heart of Paul’s message was Jesus as Son of God and Savior (1:10). That he was Son of God was demonstrated with power through his resurrection (see Acts 17:30f.; Romans 1:4). Though now in heaven, he will return in sovereign triumph. The Thessalonians firmly believed that he was the sole Savior from the wrath invited by the idolatry and immorality of pagan society. Their commitment was not to a principle or a system of thought but to the person of Jesus in whom God’s gracious favor found its greatest expression.