“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe”
not as the word of men,
The Thessalonians did not receive the Word of God as the word of men. They viewed the Bible as a revelation from God. The mere dead words of men are frail and fickle. Anything man made is imperfect. There is always room for improvement. On the other hand, God’s Word is powerful and enables us to face any difficulty in life.
“But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12).
God uses men to communicate His Word, but it is the Holy Spirit who guides what they write. The Bible is the only sacred book on earth inspired by God.
“…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Principle:
The best way to discern truth from error is by measuring any teaching against the Bible.
Application:
Many phony religionists today fake God’s voice. They claim their own fraudulent ideas are the Word of God. Take Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon faith, for example. He said that an angel by the name of Moroni revealed God’s mind to him through tablets he found buried in the ground. Interestingly, Moroni quotes the King James Version, which was translation occurred long after the golden tablets were supposedly buried.
The only way we can measure whether someone teaches the truth is to measure that teaching against the Bible, the revealed Word of God. God never contradicts Himself. If it is contrary to the Bible, then it is not of God. We cannot take the Bible as the word of Moses, John, or Paul. We must take it as God’s Word.
