THE LIVING, ACTIVE, ENDURING POWER OF GOD'S WORD!

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends:

     Last week the post “Holy Spirit Power Like a Powerful Muscle Car” was viewed almost a record number of times . . . at least for me. I didn't use Bible verses like I usually do in my posts. But I think it was a good analogy of a weak car overhauled to be a powerful muscle car . . . being like God by His Holy Spirit overhauling a weak person to make them into a powerful person, at least powerful in his or her inner spirit.
     Today I want to WOW you with the post, “The Living, Active, Enduring Power of God's Word!" I really love the Bible, and God speaking to us from the Bible. Many of you have heard the joke about a man trying to seek God's direction by randomly opening Bible passages instead of reading the Bible systematically:

• The first passage in Matthew 27:5 reads: “Then he (Judas) went and hanged himself.”
• The second passage in Luke 10:37 reads: “Go, and do thou likewise.”
• The third passage in John 13:27 reads: ”What thou doest, do speedily.”

     The joke is funny . . . but I strongly question the premise that says a person cannot be directed by God by reading random Bible passages. In fact, I would further go on to say that the Bible is so jam-packed with powerful words, that a person can in fact read random Bible passages to be inspired!
     But I digress. Back to the post. I used the three adverbs: living, active, and enduring in the title of this post because that’s exactly what the Bible says about God’s Living Word in the following scripture passages:

• Hebrews 12:2: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword.”
• 1 Peter 1:23: “ . . . because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God.”

     In the post we’ll also explore the term: “God's Word”, or “Word of God", or some derivative used over 1000 times throughout the Bible. I'll say it again. OVER 1000 TIMES!
     First, if you explore the Old Testament the terms are used almost exclusively related to words spoken directly by God to the Israelite leaders and prophets. The leaders and prophets in turn repeated God’s words to the people. If the people accepted and obeyed words from the Lord spoken to the leaders and prophets, the people curried God’s favor and received His blessings. BUT, when they openly disobeyed God’s spoken words, they received God's curses that resulted in death, famine, or plagues.
     God’s leaders and prophets many times intervened with their own words of petition back to God to have mercy on the people, and most times God listened and relented. Although he didn’t eliminate the punishment entirely, in most cases he lessened it.
     Another example of the importance of God’s Word in the Old Testament is found in Psalm 119, which is the longest chapter in the Bible. It has 176 verses, and each verse talks about the importance of listening to, and obeying God’s revealed words, laws, instructions, decrees, commands, statutes, etc. Think of it. The psalmist thought God’s Word to be so important that he wrote 176 consecutive verses about it!
     To further the point that the power of God’s Word is living, active, and enduring are the following breakdowns of the term used in the New Testament:

• The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John refers to the term God's Word, Word of God, or some derivative: over 80 times.
• Book of Acts: 40 times.
• Epistles, which are the writings of Paul, Peter, John, Jude: Over 60 times.
• Revelation by John the Revelator: 17 times.

     So, the total references to the terms about God’s Word is used almost 200 times in the New Testament alone! The conclusion can be made that the almost 1000 Bible references to the terms about God’s Word should give us some indication of how important it was to God getting His message across to mankind, and how powerful it was!
     But what was God’s real plan in His written message with so many references to the term God's Word, or Word of God, etc.? It’s clear that He was making known with His written Word . . . about His “Living Word”!
     The following four scripture passages make it clear:

1. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
2. John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
3. 1 John 1:1-4: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.”
4. Revelation 19:13: “He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.”

     So, who was made flesh (a man) and dwelt among us (which means living among the disciples and the rest of the people in Israel at that time)? And who was revealed to the disciples, that they saw with their own eyes? And who was the only person who wore a robe dipped in blood? It’s evident from these four passages that the Living Word of God was and is Jesus!
     So, Jesus, God’s Living Word . . . and the over 1000 references to God’s written Word throughout the Bible give reassuring evidence of: "The Living, Active, Enduring Power of God's Word!"

See you next time,
Arlen