JAN 1

1 Thessalonians 2:13
Memorise 1 Thessalonians 2:13
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The English word ‘Bible’ is from the Greek Word ‘biblos’ which simply means book or scroll. In a sense, that is what the Bible is – it is basically a rather thick tome that consists of words on pages that make up verses, chapters and books. Yet we know that the Bible is far more than that. It is a book unlike any other book in the world, for it is the perfect Word of God – the only book mankind has, that is given to us through the direct revelation from God.

That is how the Christians at Thessalonica understood Paul’s teachings to them, for Paul testified of them in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 “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”. They understood that Paul and the other Apostles spoke with the same authority as the prophets of old, that as the mouthpiece of God, the messages that they spoke and penned carried with them the authority of ‘Thus saith the Lord’.

This same thought is well encapsulated by Dean Burgon: “The Bible is none other than the voice of Him that sitteth upon the Throne! Every Book of it, every chapter of it, every verse of it, every word of it, every syllable of it, every letter of it, is the direct utterance of the Most High! The Bible is none other than the Word of God: not some part of it more, some part of it less; but all alike, the utterance of Him that sitteth upon the Throne; faultless, unerring, supreme!” The phrase “Thus saith the Lord” appears 415 times in the Bible, a constant reminder that the Bible is the Word of God. Notice 1 Thessalonians 2:13 uses the present tense “…but as it is in truth, the word of God”, and like Dean Burgon who also uses the present tense, every true believer by faith must receive the Bible as the very Word of God; written many centuries ago no doubt, but every word inspired by God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16), applicable today and forever more.

So what remains, dear teen, is to ask yourself: what is the Bible to you? As man’s words, or as God’s Word? Only partially containing God’s Word, or every letter of the Bible as God’s Word? Containing some errors, or totally true? I pray for you to have faith to receive the Bible as God’s Word. For man’s words cannot convince one of this fact; only the Holy Spirit “…which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

Thought: What is the Bible to you?
Prayer: May I accept all of the Bible as God’s Word.