Accept (1209) dechomai by Greek Word Studies

Accepted (1209) (dechomai = middle voice of a primary verb) means to to receive something offered or transmitted by another (Luke 2:28). To take something into one's hand and so to grasp (Luke 2:28, 22:17). To be receptive to someone (Mt 10:14, 40). To take a favorable attitude toward something (Mt 11:14). As illustrated in some of the verses below Jesus used dechomai to describe the way that humble, childlike believers (Mt 18:5), faithful preachers of the gospel (Mt 10:14), and the gospel itself (Luke 8:13; cf. Acts 8:14; 17:11) should be received. Dechomai - 56 times in the NT - 10.14" class="scriptRef">Mt. 10:14, 40, 41; 11:14; 18:5; Mk. 6:11; 16.9" class="scriptRef">9.37" class="scriptRef">9:37; 10:15; Lk. 2:28; 8:13; 9:5, 48, 53; 10:8, 10; 16:4, 6, 7, 9; 18:17; 22:17; Jn. 4:45; Acts 3:21; 7:38, 59; 8:14; 11:1; 17:11; 22:5; 28:21; 1Co. 2:14; 2Co. 6:1; 7:15; 8:17; 11:4, 16; Gal. 4:14; Ep 6:17; Phil. 4:18; Col. 4:10; 1Th 1:6; 2:13; 2Th 2:10; Heb 11:31; James. 1:21. The NAS translates dechomai as accept(2), accepted(3), receive(18), received(11), receives(15), take(3), taken(1),took(1), welcome(1), welcomed(1). The KJV - receive 52, take 4, accept 2, take up 1; 59 There are 47 uses of dechomai in the Septuagint (LXX) - 11" class="scriptRef">Gen. 4:11; 33:10; 50:17; Exod. 32:4; Lev. 7:18; 9.7" class="scriptRef">19:7; 22.23" class="scriptRef">22:23, 25, 27; Deut. 30:1; 32:11; 33:3, 11; 2 Chr. 7:7; 29:16, 22; 30:16; Ezr. 8:30; Job 2:10; 4:12; 8:20; 36:18; 40:24; Ps. 50:9; Prov. 1:3, 9; 2:1; 4:10; 9:9; 10:8; 16:17; 21:11; 24:22; 30:1; Is 40:2; Jer. 2:30; 5:3; 7:27; 9:20; 17:23; 25:28; Hos. 4:11; 10:6; Amos 5:11; Zeph. 3:2, 7; Zech. 1:6 Dechomai means to accept with a deliberate and ready reception of what is offered, to receive kindly and so to take to oneself what is presented or brought by another. It means to welcome as a teacher, a friend, or a guest into one's house. The word describes accepting persons with open arms, minds, and hearts, even going beyond normally expected gracious hospitality. The term was often used of welcoming honored guests and meeting their needs with special attention and kindness. Warren Wiersbe makes a profound comment we dare not read over too quickly... The way a Christian treats his Bible shows how he regards Jesus Christ. He is the living Word (John 1:1, 14), and the Bible is the written Word; but in essence they are the same. Both are bread (Mt. 4:4; John 6:48), light (Ps. 119:105; John 8:12), and truth (John 14:6; 17:17). (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos) The picture (figurative use) here in Thessalonians is of one "putting out the welcome mat" for God's word of truth as one would a good friend or guest, and inviting entry into one's house (10.8" class="scriptRef">Luke 10:8,10; Rahab welcomed the spies - He 11:31-note). It pictures one assenting to God's Word of Truth. Dechomai indicates that the reception was a voluntary and willing act on the part of the Thessalonians. Paralambano looks to the content of that which is received, whereas dechomai implies a favorable evaluation of that which is accepted. Dechomai means to take or receive, to accept with approval, to welcome, and denotes a subjective reception. Paralambano refers to the ear, while dechomai adds the idea of appropriation and in this sense refers to the heart. The picture in this context (and the other use in 1Thessalonians 1:6-note) is of one putting out the welcome mat (so to speak) for God's word of truth as one would a good friend or a guest, inviting entry into one's house (10.8" class="scriptRef">Luke 10:8,10; Heb 11:31). Dechomai indicates that the reception was a voluntary and willing act on the Thessalonians' part. The Thessalonians not only heard and intellectually understood the message (as conveyed by paralambano) but also appropriated and welcomed it into their hearts (idea inherent in dechomai). The aorist tense points to a definite act of reception on the readers' part of accepting the divine message transmitted by the missionaries. The middle voice (subject initiates action and participates in effect/result) emphasizes that they embraced it and welcomed it to themselves! Richards notes that... In the NT, "accept" and "receive" are typically used to translate one of two very common Greek word groups. One of these, the dechomai group, indicates acceptance and approval, with the root meaning "to take, receive, accept." The lambano (2983) group, which appears some 262 times in the NT, also means to "take" or "receive."... lambano tended to indicate reaching out to take hold of (Ed note: although in some contexts it may also indicate a passive reception), and dechomai emphasized the passive aspect of receiving. Receiving the Word. In the early days of the church, this phrase, using dechomai, had a technical theological meaning. It meant to accept by faith the good news about Jesus. The phrase is found seven times in the NT (Luke 8:13; Acts 8:14; 11:1; 17:11; 1Thes 1:6; 2:13; James 1:21-note). Dechomai may have a similar meaning when used of accepting the kingdom of God (Mk 10:15) and the gospel (2 Co 11:4). (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency) NIDNTT adds that... The process of taking can be understood actively in the sense of taking possession of, passively in the sense of taking delivery. The two Greek verbs lambano (2983) and dechomai correspond to these two operational directions. Lambano stresses primarily the active aspect of getting hold of, whereas dechomai emphasizes more the passive attitude of receiving...The basic meaning of dechomai is to accept or receive (Homer, Il. 23, 647). Letters, presents, and offerings etc. are the principal objects. It can also be used more specifically in the sense of to receive words, i.e. to hear, understand (logon dechesthai, Eur., Medea 924), and to accept persons, i.e. offer hospitality (Xen., Oec. 5, 8). Man is generally the subject, who is able to accept things increasingly even to the point of enduring blows of fate (Homer, Il. 18, 115). More rarely the subject, in a religious context, is the godhead who receives sacrifices and prayers (Homer, Il. 2, 240). The corresponding noun doche means primarily a receptacle (Eur. and Plato), and then, figuratively, reception of people, a meal for guests (Plut.)... (In the Septuagint) Apart from everyday usage (e.g. Ge 33:10, accept gifts - take my present from my hand), dechomai denotes primarily the readiness to receive and accept the divine word (Deut. 33:3 everyone receives Thy words; Jer. 9:20 let your ear receive the word of His mouth) and action (e.g. paideia, discipline, correction, Zeph 3:7 Surely you will revere Me. Accept instruction...). In Jeremiah and Zephaniah it occurs in the negative declarations of judicial prosecution: Israel has not accepted Yahweh’s correction (Jer. 2:30 In vain I have struck your sons. They accepted no chastening...; Jer 5:3 they refused to take correction; Jer 7:28; Zeph. 3:2 She heeded no voice; She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the LORD; She did not draw near to her God.) and will therefore have to endure the divine judgment (Jer. 25:28 And it will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink,, the picture of the cup of wrath). Dechomai thus obtains the further meaning of involuntary and necessary submission to disaster... In the Wisdom literature dechomai characterizes the intellectually and existentially open and receptive life of the pious man: the wise man accepts the words of wisdom (Pr 4:10 Hear, my son, and accept my sayings); he heeds commandments (Pr 10:8 The wise of heart will receive commands); he accepts discipline (Pr 16:17) and receives insight (Pr 21:11 But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) Wuest commenting on dechomai in Mark 6:11 (any place that does not receive you) writes that it means... to take with the hand, grant access to a visitor, not to refuse intercourse or friendship. The idea of a welcoming or appropriating reception is inherent in this word. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos) Paul used dechomai in the first chapter writing... You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1Th 1:6-note) Unfortunately not all exhibit this receptive attitude toward God's truth, Paul writing in his second epistle that there would be those during the reign of the man of lawlessness (Antichrist of 1John 2:18, abomination of desolation of Mt 24:15, the little horn of Daniel 7, the beast of Rev 13) would not receive (dechomai) the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false. (2Thess 2:10-11). Note carefully the order in this passage in 2Thessalonians -- their choice to not receive truth reaped the consequence of being given over to believe the lie. Paul explains the general truth that a natural man does not (ou = absolute negation) accept (dechomai - the present tense describes one's habitual action) the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness (moria from moros = dull, same word used in 1Cor 1:18, 23 of the unbelieving and thus perishing Gentiles) to him, and he cannot (lacks internal enablement to) understand (know experientially) them, because they are spiritually appraised (anakrino - to sift up and down, literally to judge again and thus examine accurately, performing careful and exact research as in legal processes. Same word used of Bereans in Acts 17:11 below). (1Cor 2:14) Jesus used dechomai many times in the gospels... (Jesus declared) And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet...40 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. (Mt 10:14, 40 - dechomai used 5 times!) Comment: Here dechomai pictures receiving of one as you would a guest, which helps one understand the figurative uses in other NT passages. TDNT adds that here "In Mt. 10:40, 41ff. special importance is attached to receiving the disciples, for since they are the envoys of Jesus, receiving them is receiving him, and therefore God. Through the disciples Jesus himself knocks at the heart’s door. They are the bearers of Christ. Christ is present in them; they continue and extend his mission. More than simple hospitality is involved, and therefore the love expended on them will bring a special reward. The same applies to receiving a child in Christ’s name - Mt. 18:5, 6 - for Christ himself comes in the person of the child, and what is done for the child is done for him. This gives even such an unassuming act a unique significance.- Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) (Jesus declared) And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come. (Mt 11:14) (Jesus declared) "And whoever receives (dechomai) one such child in My name receives (dechomai) Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Comment: Jesus’ primary point here is that the way a person, believer or unbeliever, treats Christians is the way he treats Jesus Christ. When anyone welcomes with an open heart a Christian as an honored guest and friend, he welcomes Christ as his guest and friend. When he treats any Christian with tenderness and kindness, he treats Christ in the same way.) (Jesus declared) Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me." (Mark 9:37) (Jesus declared) Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all. (Mark 10:15) then he (Simeon) took Him (the child Jesus) into his arms, and blessed God (Luke 2:28) (Jesus declared) And those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive (dechomai) the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. (Luke 8:13) (This verse uses a derivative of dechomai but is included in this group for illustrative purposes) And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed (apodechomai a derivative of dechomai) Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. (Comment: As in the ancient world and particularly in Judaism, so too in the NT hospitality played a large role. Because of their wandering existence Jesus, Paul and the other apostles were very dependent on it. In this verse mentions the friendly reception which Jesus met with amongst the people.) But the multitudes were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing. (Luke 9:11) And they did not receive Him (Jesus), because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. (Luke 9:53) (Jesus declared) And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you (Luke 10:8) Here are other instructive uses of dechomai for you to study... Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received (dechomai) the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive (lambano) the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-15) (Comment: In this verse Luke uses the receiving of the word as virtually synonymous with salvation - see Acts 11:1 below) Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. (Acts 11:1) Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining (present tense = continually sifting up and down, making careful and exact research as in legal processes) the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11) (Comment: Ready reception of the word does not mean that such a reception is devoid of discrimination) And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. (Acts 21:17) But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1Cor 2:14) And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain (2Cor 6:1) And his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. (2Cor 7:15) And take (accept, receive, aorist imperative) THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (see note Ephesians 6:17) By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed (dechomai) the spies in peace. (Hebrews 11:31) Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive (dechomai) the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21) Spurgeon commenting on the words received and accepted writes that... In the Greek those are two different words altogether. The second received (dechomai) might, perhaps, better be read, "accepted." I do not think that I should be straining a point if I read it, "Ye welcomed it." They first received it by eagerly hearing it. They wanted to know what it was all about: they were attentive to it, and wanted to understand it. When they had heard it they rejoiced, and said, "Oh, yes, yes, yes, this is the very thing we want!" They embraced it. That word will do—they embraced it. They put their arms around it, and would not let it go. They were hospitable to the gospel, and said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord: come and live in our hearts!" They assented and they consented to the word of the Lord. They first appreciated the gospel, and then they apprehended it by faith. They were like the man that was hungry in a foreign land, and he could not make the people quite understand; but as soon as ever they brought an article of food which he liked he fell to directly, and made them comprehend that he would be glad of more of that sort of thing. By his hearty reception of what they brought, the hungry man said plainly, "Bring some more of that." So we have a people about us, thank God, that are looking out for the gospel! They are always willing to hear it if men will but preach it; and when they do get it they mean business, and feed upon the word with hearty appetite. How glad I am to feed men that will eat! It is a pleasure indeed. The spiritually hungry welcome heavenly food; they take it into themselves, and receive it as the bread their soul craves after. Oh, what a mercy it is when sermons are preached which feed souls, and souls hear so as to feed thereon! It is a happy day when a full Christ and empty sinners meet. Now, I am persuaded, dear friends, that if any of you do not know the gospel—really do not know it—and yet are heavy of spirit and cannot rest, and are unhappy, it will be a very blessed thing for you to find out what the gospel is. I am pretty sure that many of you are in such a condition that as soon as you really know that the doctrine proclaimed to you is God's gospel, you will receive it into your very souls, and say, "There is none like it. That is the very thing we have been looking after all our lives." I think I hear one of you say, "I have been hunting after this for years. I did not know that there was anything like it, but it suits me to a turn. It fits me as a key fits a lock: it enters every ward of the lock of my soul as if it were made for me." Brethren, I bear witness that when I received the gospel of Jesus Christ, it seemed to me as if Jesus Christ had made the gospel on purpose for me, and for me only. If there had been nobody else in the world, and Jesus had made a gospel for me only, it could not have been more adapted for me. His gospel exactly suited that poor sinner who, on one snowy morning, looked to him and was lightened (see Spurgeon's Personal Testimony). My dear hearer, you will find Jesus the very Savior for you. "But I am an out-of-the-way sinner," cries one. Have you never heard of him who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on those that are out of the way? What a wonderful text that is for you—you out-of-the-way ones! He can have compassion on those that are out of the way. There is a remedy in the gospel for your disease. For the particular shape your malady has taken the Lord has a special eye. His Son, Jesus, has a plaster suited for your peculiar sore, a medicine adapted to your peculiar need. May the Holy Spirit bring you to receive it as these Thessalonians did! (Sermon) Paul now stresses the nature of the message, first in negative and then in positive terms. Not as the word of men - Paul first emphasizes that their message was not humanly originated like the teachings of the religious quacks and charlatans who were everywhere exploiting the gullible people with their pretensions and pretexts (as he had alluded to earlier - 1Th 2:3, 4,5,6 -see notes 1Th 2:3; 2:4; 2:5; 2:6) Vine comments that... The gospel had been received from men, indeed, but it had been accepted, not as originating with men but with God. The apostle does not state merely that the converts had esteemed the message to be from God, he asserts that it is so. No person or society can by its sanction add weight to the word of God, the authority of which is inherent. We see the inherent authority of God's Word in the following passages... (At the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount Matthew records) The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching for He was teaching them as one having authority (see exousia), and not as their scribes. (See notes Matthew 7:28; 7:29) For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) (Comment: The modern translations miss the richness of the literal rendition No word of God can fail. The 1901 ASV conveys the idea rendering it For no word from God shall be void of power. Do you believe this is true? The word of man can and will fail, but not the supernatural Word of God! Cling to it as if your life depended on it!) (Regarding the Words of Jesus every Word of which was the Word of God, Luke records that) they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority (see exousia)...And amazement came upon them all, and they began discussing with one another saying, "What is this message? For with authority (see exousia) and power (dunamis = inherent ability, ability, capability or power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature - in this case the supernatural nature of the Divine Word) He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." (Luke 4:32, 36) How important is it for a church to receive the Word not as the word of men but the authoritative, supernatural Word of God? I think Richison has answered this question in his comment that... The Thessalonians’ attitude to God’s Word made them one of the most outstanding churches in the first century. (2.13" class="scriptRef">1Thessalonians 2:13; 2:13b; 2:13c; 2:13d; 2;13e; 2:13f; 2:13g) (Question: How does your church view the Word? How does your church show that they really believe it is the Word of God and not of men? What is being showcased in the Sunday School classes...the Word of God or offerings such as video series that give little more than token acknowledgement to the pure Word, instead substituting words of men about various topics from finance, to marriage, to a host of other "user friendly" topics? Has your church ever considered reading through the Bible as a body? How much of God's Word is found in your normal church bulletin? How much emphasis does your church place on memorizing and meditating on the Word of God? Your answers to these questions should give you some idea of whether your church truly has accepted the Word of God as divine and able to perform its work in those who believe!) Preaching is not merely talking about God but in a sense is God Himself working through the message and personality of the preacher confronting men and bringing them to Himself. F F Bruce commenting on the word of men writes that... The word of human beings, however wise in substance or eloquent in expression, cannot produce spiritual life: this is the prerogative of the word of God, which works effectually in believers. Like the Corinthians a few weeks later, the Thessalonians had proved that "the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor 1:18). (Bruce, F F: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated. 1982 or Logos) Commenting on it not as the word of men Spurgeon says... you will notice that the word "it" is in italics; and so is the word "as." Let me read the text again: "When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received not the word of men." You see I have left out the "it" and the "as" because they are not really there, though they are correctly added by the translators as giving the meaning of the apostle. Verbally they are not in the text. I take the sentence out of its connection, and say that these Thessalonians received not the word of men. And I like them for that. Oh, but there were very learned men in those days! When Paul was on the earth, and a little before his day, some of the greatest natural minds that ever existed were in Greece teaching the people. Yet the Thessalonians were in such a state that they received not the word of men. They did not hearken to Plato, or accept Socrates, for there was a something about them which made them hunger for more than the philosophers could bring them. God's elect are of that mind. You may know the Lord's sheep by the fact that "a stranger will they not follow: for they know not the voice of strangers." They will not receive the word of man; it is too light, too chaffy, too frothy for them. You may put it before them in the daintiest guise, illustrate it with poetry, and prove it by the fictions of science, but they cannot feed on such wind. They receive not the word of men; they will not have it; they want something more substantial. (Sermon) BUT FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS THE WORD OF GOD WHICH ALSO PERFORMS ITS WORK IN YOU WHO BELIEVE: alla kathôs estin (3SPAI) alêthôs logon theou os kai energeitai (3SPMI) en humin tois pisteuousin (PAPMPD): (Jeremiah 23:28,29; Luke 5:1; 8:11,21; 11:28; Acts 8:14; 13:44,46; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:12; 1Peter 1:25; 2Peter 1:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 ) (1Th 1:5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; John 15:3; 17:17,19; Ro 6:17,18; 2Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 1:6; Hebrews 4:12; Jas 1:18; 1Peter 1:23; 2:2; 1John 3:3; 5:4,5) But (235) (alla) is the stronger of the two Greek adversatives used to emphasize the positive fact, for what it really is the word of God. Whatever agnostics or skeptics may say or think about the Word of God, this is its true nature. What it really is - These saints genuinely grasped the "horns of the altar" so to speak, drinking in the Word of God as there truly supernatural sustenance. A W Tozer alludes to their laying hold of the Word of God not man by faith noting that... it is not enough that we believe; we must believe in the right thing about the right One!...Unbelief says: Some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here; some other people, but not us. Faith says: Anything He did anywhere else He will do here; anything He did any other time He is willing to do now; anything He ever did for other people He is willing to do for us! With our feet on the ground, and our head cool, but with our heart ablaze with the love of God, we walk out in this fullness of the Spirit, if we will yield and obey. God wants to work through you! The Counselor has come, and He doesn't care about the limits of locality, geography, time or nationality. The Body of Christ is bigger than all of these. The question is: Will you open your heart? Really (230) (alethos from a = negative + letho = forget related to lanthanô = escape notice = actual, true to fact) means indeed, surely, of a surety, truly, of a (in) truth, verily, very. The idea is what one sees reflects what it really in fact is. The real thing is not concealed. It is genuine or authentic. Word of God - In context Paul is not referring to the written word but the oral preaching of the gospel also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction (see 1Thes 1:5-note). This phrase emphasizes that God's messengers must rely on the Bible and function solely as channels of the word of God. See study on the Power of God's Word God's Word is a word.... ...of Thy lips - Ps 17:4 ...of this salvation - Acts 13:26 ...of God - Acts 13:44, et al ...of the Lord - Acts 13:48, et al ...of His Grace - Acts 14:3, 20:32 ...of the Gospel - Acts 15:7 ...of promise - Romans 9:9 (note) ...of faith Romans 10:8 (note) ...of Christ - Romans 10:17 (note) ...of the Cross - 1Co 1:18 ...of reconciliation - 2Co 5:19 ...of truth - 2Co 6:7, Col 1:5 (note), 2Ti 2:15 (note), James 1:18-note ...of life - Philippians 2:16 (note) ...of God's message - 1Th 2:13 (note) ...of His power - Heb 1:3 (note) ...of righteousness - Heb 5:13 (note) ...of the oath - Heb 7:28 (note) ...of exhortation - Heb 13:22 (note) ...(living and abiding) - 1Pe 1:23 (note) ...of Life - 1Jn 1:1 ...of My perseverance - Rev 3:10 (note) Also (kai) - this small conjunction is vitally important in understanding this verse for what Paul is saying distinguishing is between those who merely heard the gospel and those who heard and believed. Like today, many had received the message with their ear, but not all had accepted it into the good soil (cf Luke 8:15) of their heart. It was in this latter group that the message was confirmed to be a Divine, supernatural Word by its active power in their lives. God's Word is energized. The Word of God, indeed, is active (related adjective energes - see Hebrews 4:12-note). The same Word that brings us salvation also enables us to live for Christ and endure suffering for His sake. Note in whom God's Word is continually energetic and effective... Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you abide (literally means to remain in the same place over a period of time. In reference to state or condition it means to remain as one, not to become another or different) in My word, then (this is a conditional statement) you are truly disciples of Mine and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31, 32). (Comment: true dedication to following Christ or discipleship is measured by ongoing obedient belief in His Word. Ryrie rightly comments on believed noting that it is "Likely only a profession because of what they said in John 8:33.") The Thessalonians had the verification of the divine energy of God's Word in their own experience, for it was the word which was at work in those who had believed. Performs its work - God's word, and in context specifically the gospel, is operative and productive, continually (present tense) producing an effect in the lives of those who receive it. Beloved, do you really believe this is true? Does you time in His Word under the teaching ministry of His Spirit testify to the authenticity of your belief? If not, why not? If you are too busy for the Word of life, your life is too busy! When we believe God’s Word and obey it's good and holy precepts, His Spirit releases power—divine energy—that works in our lives to fulfill His purposes (see related discussion of Walking in the Spirit covered in Gal 5:16; 17;18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26 -- see notes Gal 5:16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26). (See notes on letting the Word of God dwell in you richly in Col 3:16-note and how this spiritual discipline relates to being continually filled with the Spirit - Ep 5:18- note)

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Accept (1209) dechomai

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