1 Thessalonians 1:5 – Not in Word Only

… having perceived, brethren beloved by God, your choice, 5 for the evangel of our God did not come to you in word only, but in power also, and in holy spirit and much assurance…

The Evangel, of course, came to the Thessalonians in word. Paul had made the message known to them and had spoken from the Scriptures. But it did not come “in word only.” More happened than merely hearing a message and learning its content. The word proved to have power. This also explains why Paul could perceive their choice in the preceding verse: he saw what the Evangel brought about among them.

Paul then mentions “in power and in holy spirit and much assurance.” “In holy spirit and much assurance” further explain what that power consisted of. It was not human persuasiveness or eloquence. God’s spirit made the proclaimed word powerful and caused it to penetrate with full assurance.

This brings us again to “the work of faith” from verse 3. The truth of the faith is not a dead letter that merely conveys information. “The word of God is living and operative” (Heb. 4:12), and where the Evangel gains entrance, it proves to be power: it convinces and brings about what it proclaims. Paul had seen that with his own eyes in Thessalonica.

Share: