Receiving The Gospel As The Word Of God
The New Testament affirms that the gospel is divine in its origin. Rom. 1:16, Gal. I: I I, I Cor. 1:22-24, I Cor. I Cor. 14:37, etc. Not only does the New Testament lay claim to being the word of God, it also presents arguments in proof of the divine origin of the gospel. The first three chapters of the first letter to the church of the Thessalonians in God and Christ contains several arguments for the divine origin of the gospel. These arguments advanced by the Holy Spirit are by believers acknowledged to be perfect; They are God's arguments designed to convict the world and to confirm the faith of the Christian.
The saints at Thessalonica received the word of the message as the word of God. "And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that when ye received from us the word of the message, even the word of God, ye accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe." (1 Thess. 2:13). Why did those people receive the gospel as of divine authority rather than assigning it no higher authority than they assigned to the wisdom of the world? Under what conditions did they receive the word of the message? Were these conditions conducive to deception of the hearer? Was their situation such as to lend itself readily to their being deceived when they received the word of the message?
In these articles brief attention will be given to each of the following areas of study: The word of the message confirmed, the character of the word, the preaching of the gospel and the reception of the gospel. In each of these areas there is evidence that the Thessalonians were not victims of a hoax when they "received the word of the message as the word of God."
The Word Of The Message Confirmed
The word of the message was confirmed to these people by the Holy Spirit. Paul reminded them that although the gospel was spoken unto them, it was not just human assertion, i.e., not in word only, but with miracle working power, which evidenced the presence and endorsement of the Spirit of God. I Thess. 1:5 "How that our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance; even as ye know what manner of men we showed ourselves toward you for your sake." This allusion, by the apostle, to the fact that the word had been confirmed to them by the Holy Spirit, is itself evidence in proof of the fact of such confirmation. If the word of the message had not been accompanied by evidential miracles of the Holy Spirit, the apostle would not have dared mention it as a fact. The time when they had received the word of the message was not so remote as to encourage the apostle to presume upon the fallibility of their memory. Not six months had elapsed since they had received the gospel as the word of God. They were eye-witnesses of the signs; no material self-interest could be served by failure to carefully investigate to determine the reality of the slips. Nothing could be pined by closing their eyes, stopping their ears and refusing to reason in efforts to detect fraud. If the word came not "in power and in the Holy Spirit," they could have known it for this was a matter of personal experience.
Identify with these people as they received the gospel, imagine yourself in Thessalonica hearing the gospel and seeing the signs that accompanied the preaching. Remember that they as well as you had eyes to see, ears to hear and minds to understand. As we proceed in this study, be impressed with the physical and material disadvantages to receiving the gospel as the word of God. Would you in those adverse circumstances easily believe that those signs had actually been performed? If the reader will identify with those people in Thessalonica who received the gospel as the word of God, the force of the evidence will overwhelm doubts and produce strong conviction that the gospel is the word of God. It will then work in you that believe.
The fact that the Christians at Thessalonica accepted the apostolic credentials as genuine cannot be reasonably questioned. These signs being recognized as genuine, they could only entertain one view, the view expressed by Nicodemus, "We know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no one can do these signs that thou doest, except God be with him" (John 3:2). They therefore accepted the word of the message, "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" (I Thess. 2: 1 3).
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