Word of God

Intro

We are well into a series of messages centered around some of the most basic beliefs of Christianity. We started our study by focusing on God and after looking at God the Father, the Son and last week, the Holy Spirit, we now turn our attention to other topics. But as you might guess, no topic about Christianity is absent of God. God is in and through all teachings that we believe, much like most every basic teaching is in and through our understandings of all other doctrines. For instance, our discussion last Sunday about the Holy Spirit as God was looking at this one part of a Triune God. We looked at who the Holy Spirit is as our Helper/Advocate, and how we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not to say that we do not encounter the Holy Spirit until that “filling,” but rather that the filling of the Holy Spirit as evidenced by the growth of the Fruit of the Spirit comes after our initial contact with God whereby the Holy Spirit enters our hearts and cleanses us of all sins. We will look at Salvation in another message, but it is intimately and intricately connected with all three aspects of the Triune God that we worship. So too with today’s topic, the Word of God.

Here is a quote I came across from J.I. Packer that might help us understand how the Triune God interconnects with what we know about scripture.

God the Father is the giver of Holy Scripture; God the Son is the theme of Holy Scripture; and God the Spirit is the author, authenticator, and interpreter of Holy Scripture.

J. I. Packer

Not only this, but all of scripture is intricately connected with all of scripture. Another quote I came across from Wayne Grudem says:

We can define the sufficiency of Scripture as follows: the sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.

Wayne Grudem

As we strive to meet God and get to know Him better, we are completely dependent upon a reliable source of information. God does reveal Himself to all creation in a general sense, but the specifics of His identity need to be revealed in a different way, otherwise we might never know more about God than that He is a creator. But God wants to be known better than that and so He has made Himself known to certain individuals throughout history, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had many of those individuals write accounts of God’s interactions so that future generations could read and study those accounts and learn more about the God who wants to be known.

Getting to know the Word of God is also an important way for us to get to know our Savior, Jesus Christ. I had mentioned last Sunday that Jesus Christ is identified as the Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us in the introduction of John’s gospel. Therefore, the more we know God’s Word, the more we know Jesus Christ.

And yet even still, an old acronym that has become cliche still offers an important insight into what the Bible is. The Bible might just be an acronym for “Basic instructions before leaving earth.”

Of all the things that we can learn about the Bible, the one thing we need to be cautious about is a Bible that is never used. Bibles that collect dust on shelves and sit unread are an indicator of poor spiritual health. So, be challenged to pick up your scriptures and dive into the Word of God. There are always treasures to discover… wise saying to memorize, stories to study and teachings that amplify our lives in ways we never would have considered until we take the time to learn.

Our main thought for the day is this: The Word of God is a powerful and effective tool in the hands of a trained believer. So, what are you doing to train yourself in the ways of the Sword of the Spirit?

Scripture as God’s Word

We have to be able to trust that the Word of God is correct. We wouldn’t put our trust in a work of fiction, nor in an instruction manual that we know deliberately lies. Normally, you would test the trustworthiness of a book based upon the reliability of eye witnesses, and the testimonies of those who have experienced exactly what that book teaches. There are whole books dedicated to the subject of the reliability of scriptures. From Lee Strobel to J. Werner Wallace, there are those from a variety of backgrounds (many of whom are Christians, but even some who aren’t!) that have examined and investigated the claims of scripture and reported their findings and come to the conclusion that the Bible is what it says it is.

So, what does the Bible say it is?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What does this mean? The Bibles that we hold in our hands is a God inspired book. Yes, it is a collection of 66 books written by approximately 40 different authors over the span of 1500 years, but those writers were inspired by the subject of last Sunday’s message… the Holy Spirit. God is the author in a sense of every book of the Bible, but He wrote it through human hands. That is why the Bible is unified in a way that no other work of literature has ever been able to accomplish. That is also why each book has a unique style that still somehow fits together in a way that educates and trains us, corrects us and equips us for all the things God would have us say and do!

Joshua 23:6 NIV

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.

Even from the ancient origins of the Bible, the people of God had a sense that their sacred writings stood out from other works of literature. These stories that were recorded and transmitted through the centuries were special and needed to be listened to and obeyed. Thinking about this passage from Joshua should make us think about what would their scripture have looked like at that point in their history? If Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible and Joshua succeeded Moses as leader, they had a very limited Bible in their hands. It is possible that the book of Job would have been there as scholars assume a date for that story around the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), but the books of Moses really spelled out for the nation the nature of their special relationship with God. And already by the time of Joshua, it was being recommended for the people to know and obey the written Word of God! Of course the context of Joshua’s passage is a stern warning against turning to the gods and religious practices of the nations they are conquering as they take ownership of the Promised Land. But all the more reason to understand the significance of knowing God’s Word as we fight against the influences of the world around us… influences heavily influenced by the enemy!

Jesus’ Stance on Scripture

Jesus makes His stand on scripture clear and it might not be what everyone hopes for. Perhaps for some, the hope is that through Jesus, the Old Testament is done away with… all the Law and the sacrificial requirements. But the fact of the matter is that without the Old Testament, we wouldn’t have the New Testament. We can’t get rid of the Old Testament any more than we can get rid of the back tires of our vehicles and still pretend that it is a fully functioning automobile! Jesus Himself declares:

Matthew 5:17–19 NIV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

As much as some want the Old Testament Laws to be done away with, we just can’t do that and be consistent with the scriptures as a whole. Jesus clearly states that His intended purpose was to fulfill the Law and Prophets, not to get rid of them. This does help us relax our understanding of the requirements of the Law, and further hammers home the notion that salvation is through faith in Christ alone, and not through anything we could do. But this doesn’t absolve us of the requirements of faithful living. Time and time again, obedience to God’s commands is given to us as the way to show our love and trust in God (Father, Son & Spirit).

But knowing that scriptures have been fulfilled and are still in place for us should give us a sense of confidence in the reliability of the Word of God and its effectiveness for life and ministry. Consider how Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness during his temptations.

Matthew 4:1–11 NIV

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Time and time again, Christ used scripture to rebuke the devil. But also notice that the devil wasn’t shy of using scripture too. Therefore, it is in our best interest to make sure we have a firm grasp of what the Word of God says so that we cannot be misled even by the devil who has had significantly more time to study it than we have. But in denying the power of God as revealed in the pages of scripture, the devil remains impotent in its use. At best, he can try to mislead and misdirect us. And often, when the devil tries to use a half truth to tell a whole lie, he tries to get us to doubt something that God has said. He still likes to use the same temptation that he used on Eve (and subsequently Adam) in the garden of Eden… Did God really say… insert your temptation here. Does that sound familiar?

So, what can we do then? How do we prepare ourselves for this spiritual battle with scripture?

Scripture in Our Hands

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

This verse partners very well with another passage that’s very close to my heart.

Ephesians 6:16–17 NIV

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The Bibles that we hold in our hands is a very effective weapon in the spiritual battle that we all face. The problem is that most of us don’t realize there even is a spiritual battle going on. What happens to soldiers unaware of the conflict they are facing? They are in extreme danger. So, first of all, make yourself aware of the conflict around us and get used to its spiritual nature. Secondly, find some time to familiarize yourself with the equipment necessary for the task. The armor of God passage is very educational for that purpose, but our focus today is on the Word of God, which is the one and only offensive piece of equipment we are given for the conflict. And Hebrews amplifies its effectiveness. Not only is the Word a sword of the Spirit, but it is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword! The description of its ability to pierce as far as the division of soul and spirit gives it the sense that it is more like a scalpel in its precision, but a much larger weapon in its size. I came across a quote from R.C. Sproul that says:

God is pleased to use Scripture to pierce the heart and awaken us to faith. . . . History is replete with stories of how great people were converted through the power of the Word.

R. C. Sproul

Notice the language of piercing the heart. This is the nature of the sharpness of the Word of God. But how can we grow more adept with its usage?

1 Timothy 4:13 NIV

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.

Paul encouraged the young leader Timothy to dedicate time to the public reading of scripture. It is for this reason that I love to fill these messages with scriptures. The more time we spend in God’s Word, the less time there is for me to make a mistake and say something wrong. Inevitably, that’s going to happen from time to time. But the Word of God stands true and stands the test of time. It is faithful from the moment it was written until everything is ultimately fulfilled and we stand in the presence of God.

So sola Scriptura simply means that Scripture is sufficient.

John F. MacArthur

Something else we need to consider, and this again stems back to where we started our search through the scriptures in 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

J.I. Packer says what I am trying to say well.

It is certain that Scripture nowhere contradicts Scripture; rather, one passage explains another. This sound principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture is sometimes called the analogy of Scripture or the analogy of faith.

J. I. Packer

Conclusion

The Bible is the most important book ever written. It is the most reliable source of information we have about God, what He’s done and what His intentions are. It is divinely inspired and useful for every aspect of life. It will likely be the most challenging book you will ever read because it will challenge you. It will challenge your beliefs in everything. It will challenge your understandings about how things work. It will challenge any and all assumptions you might have about God. It will challenge you with how you live your lives and where you dedicate your time.

Most people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me most are those which I do understand.

Mark Twain

Even still, for those who dare to read it and to try to live by it, it is also the most rewarding book you will ever read. You will find guidance for your lives which gives you direction. You will find answers to your questions. You will also find promises that have never failed to be fulfilled.

The Word of God is a powerful and effective tool in the hands of a trained believer. So, what are you doing to train yourself in the ways of the Sword of the Spirit?