Inner Work: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-14, especially vs. 13: "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe."
Notice in today's Epistle, as the verse just quoted reveals, that "the word of God" is both something that is heard and something that works in the Faithful. St. Paul lived with the Thessalonians (vss. 9,10). In the process, he also discipled them in the Faith (vss. 11,12). The Apostle notes two results in this verse:1) the Thessalonian Christians received "the word of God," and 2) the "word of God" continued to work effectively within them.
Do you see that St. Paul's second use of the preposition 'in' (vs. 13) shows that the work which God accomplished 'in' the Thessalonians was inner work, creating a spiritual change in them? In addition, the whole of the passage shows why they were then subjected to tangible, physical suffering (vs. 14): apostolic work, though inward, invariably will have outward results.
St. Paul first reminds the Thessalonians that it was he who preached "the Gospel of God" to them (vs. 9). God's inner work, in order to reach hearts, must be proclaimed to physical ears. Some years later, in his letter to the Roman Christians, St. Paul expanded on the necessity of preaching for conversion. "How then shall they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Rom. 10:14). In Romans, he even notes that God is the One Who provides the preachers: "And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" (Rom. 10:15).
The obligation of those whom God sends is to preach good news, to preach God's word, never to preach their own ideas. The preacher must be diligent to present himself "approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). When these things happen, God the Holy Spirit anoints the preaching with His action, and, for those who open the door of their heart, He enters with the divine gifts of faith and life in Christ. Where does all this happen? 'In' the heart of the hearer who becomes a believer.
Preaching is unquestionably necessary, but it must be matched by godly living. Potential converts, and all Christians, must see the observable results of the unseen work of God within. Hence, the Apostle declares that the character of his "labor and toil...night and day" placed no "burden on any" (1 Thess. 2:9). And, he reminds the Faithful in Thessalonica, they had witnessed "how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believed" (vs. 10). Consider what he says. Christians need to see prayer and worship lived piously in order to take up the "inner work" of the Gospel for themselves. They need to see Christ-like models of fair play and of the godly treatment of all persons in order to trust echoes of the Lord's truth in their own hearts and to live the word of God in their own lives.
While the combination of preaching and exemplary living is necessary to encourage inner, cooperative work with the Spirit, the same is also true of discipling. In this passage, St. Paul considers the elements required in the training of disciples: exhortation, encouraging, and challenging (vs. 11), activities that nurture God's people and help them walk "worthy of God" (vs. 12). When such effort is met by open hearts, the Faithful become "imitators of the churches of God" world-wide (vs. 14). Given the fallenness of this world, however, also note St. Paul's final point: if the Faithful do not pray to God nor seek with reverent fear His help, because of being hard of heart, blind or having sin in their lives, they will encounter suffering (vss. 14-16).
O Lord, fill us with Thy Spirit, encourage our faint hearts, and turn us from wandering.