Receiving the Word of God

In I Thessalonians 2:13 the apostle Paul speaks of giving thanks to God without ceasing on account of the saints in Thessalonica, because they received the Word of God, not as the mere word of men, but as it is in truth the Word of God. Earlier in this epistle Paul commended the great virtue of this church. He remembered their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, the Thessalonicans had become examples to all that believed in Macedonia and Achaia....