1 Thessalonians 2:13

1 Thessalonians 2:13 - LSB

¹³ And for this reason we also thank God without ceasing that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.

Context

Paul is writing to the Thessalonians of his loving relationship with them and of how they have been entrusted with the Gospel.

Notice how the only thing that is mentioned here of what was delivered to the Thessalonians was no some hidden revelation or tradition, but it was the “gospel of God.”¹

Common Objections

This Teaches That the Apostles Did Not Rely on the Bible Only for Revelation

• Karlo Broussard cited 1 Thessalonians 2:13, where Paul states that the Thessalonians “received the word of God, which you heard from us,” accepting it “not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God”
• Broussard used this to argue that apostolic preaching was identified as the word of God, demonstrating that the word of God in the first century was not restricted to written form but also included apostolic preaching, which the Church identifies as sacred tradition. This implies that tradition has equal value to scripture.

Objection Answered

• There is a fundamental assumption made in the statement that cannot be ignored. The Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura does not deny that the Word of God was spoken during periods of revelation. The issue is not whether God’s Word existed orally (it did, and was authoritative), but rather what constitutes the “sole infallible rule of faith of the church today,” given that there is no revelation occurring presently. Read more here.
• For the Catholic position to be valid, they would need to prove that what Paul delivered orally to the Thessalonians was different in substance from what is now found in the New Testament. Read more here

Footnotes

1. Verses 2, 4, 8, 9 ↩︎