May the gospel come to you not simply with words

“because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5).

What does it mean to say that the gospel comes to us simply with words?  A commentator interpreted this: 'Speech unaccompanied by the convincing power of the Holy Spirit' (Commentary).  As a pastor, I ask myself, "How many times did I preach like this?  Sermons that are not accompanied by the convincing power of the Holy Spirit may convey knowledge to hearers, but it is perhaps natural that those sermons cannot make any difference in them.  As a preacher, this is a serious problem.  So I pray to God as I prepare a sermon for coming Lord’s Day that the gospel may not come to those who will hear just simply with words.  How then should I preach?  How do I want the gospel to come to the congregation this Lord’s Day?  I have three prayer requests based on 1 Thessalonians 1:5.

First, I pray that the gospel will come to the congregation “with power”.

                What is "power" here?  I think Romans 1:16 answers this question: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”  In other words, the "power" in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 is "the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes”.  The power of God for salvation is the work of faith (1 Thess. 1:3) in the hearts of those who hear the gospel.  In other words, when the gospel came to the Thessalonians with power, they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Paul explained this in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – “…  you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”  I hope and pray that when I preach the gospel, may the gospel come to the congregation with power so that they may turn to God from idols.

Second, I pray that the gospel will come to the congregation “with the Holy Spirit”.

The gospel came to the Thessalonians not simply words but with the Holy Spirit means that they welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit and became imitators of Paul, his co-workers and of the Lord in spite of severe suffering (v. 6).  And the Thessalonians church saints who welcomed the gospel with the joy of the Holy Spirit had become the laborers of love (v. 3).  When the gospel came to them with the Holy Spirit, the Thessalonians church saints who were former enemies of God loved God and loved their neighbors.  What a marvelous work of the gospel?  This fact is stated in 1 Thessalonians 1:9 as “to serve the living and true God”.  I hope and pray that when I preach the gospel, may the gospel come to the congregation with Holy Spirit so that they may serve the living and true God.

Third and last, I pray that the gospel will come to the congregation “with full conviction”.

What does it mean?  It means that when the gospel was proclaimed to the Thessalonians, the Holy Spirit worked mightily in their hearts and persuaded them with the gospel.  They were persuaded that Jesus Christ is their Savior and Lord.  To the Thessalonians church saints who were persuaded, what kind of conviction did they have?  It was hope (v. 3).  Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – “and to wait for His Son from heaven,  ….”  The reason why they waited in the hope of Jesus coming again was because the conviction of Jesus’ second coming was dominating the minds of the Thessalonians church saints.  I hope and pray that the gospel will come to those who hear with great conviction when I preach the gospel to the congregation.  Not only did they have the great conviction about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but also about His second coming.