1 Thessalonians 2:13
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Paul thanks God that they welcomed his preaching not as human words but as God's own word, which is now at work in them.
What Does 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Mean?
Paul gives thanks again, this time for how they received his preaching. They did not treat it 'as the word of men,' a mere human opinion to weigh and discard, but welcomed it 'as it is in truth, the word of God.' And because it truly is God's word, it 'effectually worketh' in them, actively at work in those who believe.
How we receive a message shapes what it can do in us. The same words can be heard as one man's idea or as the voice of God, and the difference is decisive. The Thessalonians received the gospel as God's own word, and so it began to work in them with living power, changing them from within. The word of God is never inert; it accomplishes what it says in the hearts that welcome it by faith. Paul's deepest thanks is reserved for this, that God's word found in them not critics but believers, and so was free to do its transforming work.
In the Original Language
energeo (ἐνεργέω), 'effectually worketh' -- to be active and at work, producing real effect, the root of the English energy.