1 Thessalonians 2:13
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
A Little Bit of History Behind This Verse
To the fledgling church at Thessalonica, Paul writes 1 Thessalonians to encourage them in their newborn faith–he had had to leave the city very suddenly due to persecution, and so he had not gotten to stay with the church and really train them in their faith all that much. Paul did not want them to lose their way or get sucked back into secular thinking, so he sent this letter about six months after establishing the church, reaffirming the gospel as God’s Word.
How the Thessalonians are a Lot Like New Believers Today
In ways, the Thessalonians were in a situation quite like that of modern Christian converts. Very often, new converts get swept up in the fervor of new belief, with mature Christians urging them on and being supportive…that is, until the mature Christians forget about the new convert and move on to the next one who just got saved. Sadly, many not-so-new but not-established Christians get left behind, just treading water in this very new faith, with no one to show them the way to build their relationship with Jesus and begin to trust Him. All they’ve likely been told is that Jesus died for their sins and has washed them clean; all they’ve likely been given is a New Testament or a basic Bible, with very few text notes and historical details, if any.
In this fragile state, new believers can be pulled back into sin or other faith practices, which they had left behind to convert to Christianity. With so little to hold onto and very few people they feel they can talk to about this, they can start to drift into dangerous currents. Paul knew this could happen with the Thessalonians, so he reminds them here that the gospel they received was from God, not just from him. He was the messenger, but God had sent the message; they could trust in that message, and they could trust in God, who was “at work in [they] who believe.”
This affirmation, combined with the strong encouragement and basic explanations of the gospel contained in 1 Thessalonians, helped the new believers believe in the divine message and stay steadier in their faith (though they did need a second letter from Paul to help them further). Similarly, new believers today can use 1 Thessalonians to understand the basics of Christianity and to learn how to grow in their faith. (But a letter cannot take the place of a real human guide to Christianity–thus, why Paul longed to return to Thessalonica as soon as possible, to help them in person.)