<p>2:13 <em>And for this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works powerfully in you that believe</em>- It is the Spirit which works powerfully within believers (1 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 3:16-20 s.w.). But it would be a mistaken equation to therefore state that the word of God as in the Bible equals the work of the Spirit, as if we can squeeze the Spirit out of the pages of the Bible by extensive study of it. Such study has been impossible for the majority of believers over time, seeing they were illiterate and didn't have Bibles. And the Spirit of God is repeatedly described as a gift, given into our hearts by grace. The &quot;word of God&quot; rarely refers to the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation; and here we are reading of the<em> logos</em> of God rather than the<em> rhema.</em> It is the Lord Jesus who is &quot;received&quot; and &quot;accepted&quot;, as the essential<em> logos</em> of God. The Lord Jesus is He who &quot;works powerfully&quot; in human hearts through His Spirit. But this working is not independent of the word of the Gospel; if we neglect that word, He will never force us. His work in us is related to our willingness for Him to work in us, and such willingness will be reflected in our continued memory and in our generation reading of His word. That basic Gospel message continued to work powerfully within them. Spiritual growth is not so much from discovering new things about the Bible (which can become a mere form of intellectual titillation), but from being persuaded over and over of the wonder and practical implication of the basic Gospel truths.</p>