In the beginning …the Word was God.
… All things were made and came into existence through Him…
(John 1:1-3)
The Word is powerful because of God’s power and authority. God never breaks His Word, just as He will never break His covenant with the day and with the night (Jeremiah 33:20). Flowers may drop off and grass whither, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. (1 Peter 1:24-25). The Word of the Lord is alive – it is everlasting.
1. The Word is God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through him; and without him was not even one thing made that has come into being. (John 1:1-3). The Word existed before the creation of the world. The Lord Jesus is the Word of God. He was with God in the beginning. God, three-in-one, can never be separated from the Word.
2. The Word of God creates (John 1:3)
The Words of God have creative power, bringing into existence from nothing something that has substance. Jesus is the Word of God and through the Him, God created the whole universe. In Genesis 1 we read that God said, “Let there be light. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters below from the waters above. Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place. Let the earth put forth vegetation…Let the waters bring forth abundantly and swarm with living creatures….” The uncreated God, our Heavenly Father, through the Son – who is the Living Word –brought forth all of creation! God’s Word is still able to bring forth what does not exist.
3. God’s Word is alive, the Word recreates and restores
The Word of God has the power to create, but also to recreate. Hudson Taylor once said, “We (Christians) are supernatural people: born again through a supernatural birth, driven by a supernatural power and nourished with supernatural food, taught by a supernatural Teacher from a supernatural Book.”
Jesus Christ, the Word, came to earth to restore, to recreate, and to reconcile. The Word that God speaks is alive and full of power (Hebrews 4:12). If we speak and proclaim the Bible, the Word of God, it too has creative power. It brings about, it restores, it releases energy, it revives, and it brings reconciliation.
Take note of the following two verses from Scripture on the life-giving character of the Word: Believe me when I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the time is coming and is here now when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear it shall live (John 5:25). It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever. The words that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life (John 6:63). What Jesus came to tell us, comes from the Spirit and gives life. The Word of the Lord cannot be chained (2 Timothy 2:9): it quiets storms, heals the sick, raises the dead, restores relationships and brings reconciliation between man and God.
4. God is His promises
God reveals Himself in the Word and shows us His character through the Word. The promises in God’s Word are in line with His nature and His character. God gives us His promises in the words of Scripture and He confirms His Word and His promises with an oath (Hebrews 6:16-17). The Spirit of God is God’s promise to us (Acts 1:4). In Acts 1 we read how the early Christian church waited for the consummation of God’s promise, the Spirit. God acts on His Word and keeps His promises. In His sovereignty He poured out His Holy Spirit according to His Word.
Upon studying the Word, we learn more about all the wonderful promises – God’s words to us. So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it (Hebrews 10:23). And now, o Lord God, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have promised this good thing to your servant (2 Samuel 7:28). No unbelief or distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God (Romans 4:20). Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise which he promised through Moses his servant (1 Kings 8:56). But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the good news, which was preached to you (1 Peter 1:25). Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). Sanctify them by truth; Your word is truth (John 17:17). Forever, o Lord, your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).
5. The Word is active
According to Hebrews 4:12 the Word is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life and the spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and analysing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. In Revelation 1:16 we read, …from his mouth there came forth a sharp sword, a two-edged sword… The Word is like a sword: it divides, reveals, brings to light and helps us to understand what is really in our hearts. God says, “My Word is like fire; like a hammer with which rocks are broken” (Jeremiah 23:29). When we read God’s Word, it does a powerful work in us, purifying us and transforming us to become more like Jesus – who is the Word!
6. The Word and God’s purpose with creation
We are God’s representatives on earth, acting on His behalf. Genesis 1:26-28 teaches that God gave us the command to reign over all the earth, to subdue it and to be fruitful. His reign over the earth is through us. God’s will, however, can only be done when we allow Him to reveal His will to us through His word, and when we obey His words to us.
Read Matthew 17:20 again: “For truly I say unto you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.'” What we say, will be – our words will come into effect, it has the power to do what seems impossible in the natural.
God does not want us to work for Him – He wants us to work with Him. We are His co-workers. The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of men (Psalm 115:16). Scripture teaches us about the purpose we were created for. It reveals our calling, what we are destined for. God’s promises in Scripture are aimed at the realisation of the purpose of the creation of mankind (our destiny/calling) for His glory.
God is not primarily interested in our plans, our ideas, our ideals, or our desires. He created us for a purpose and in His sovereignty and omnipotence, He is implementing His plan for us and for the world. Therefore, we should live according to the Word. Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:1-2 teach us that we should meditate on Scripture, day and night. Psalm 119 says that the Word should control and permeate every facet of our lives – our thoughts, our will and our emotions.
7. We must speak God’s words and build our lives on the Word
The Word is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). When we speak God’s Word, it brings His mercy and truth to people. In John 17:8 Jesus says, “For the words that You gave me I have given them…” Jesus spoke only that which He heard from the Father: ” …I have never spoken on my own authority or of my own accord or as self-appointed, but the Father who sent me has himself given me orders concerning what to say and what to tell. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So whatever I speak, I am saying exactly what my Father has told me to say and in accordance with his instructions” (John 12:49-50). What I am telling you I do not say on my own authority and of my own accord; but the Father who lives continually in me does the works., Anyone who does not really love me does not observe and obey my teaching. And the teaching, which you hear and heed is not mine, but comes from the Father who sent me (John 14:10, 24).
Also note 1 John 5:13-14: “This is the confidence which we have in him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us and hears us.” Where do we find the will of God? In His Word. In other words, if we do something according to the Word, if we ask after His will, we can approach God with confidence and know that we shall be given what we ask.
Jeremiah says that he fed on the words of God: “Your words were found, and I ate them; and your words were to me a joy and a rejoicing of my heart for I am called by your name, o Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it” (John 2:5). In Luke 1:38 Mary says to the angel, “Let it be done to me according to what you have said.” In other words, may the Word of God that the angel has proclaimed be fulfilled. In addition, Mary agrees to submit herself to this Word. She says, “Amen.” The apostle Peter took Jesus’ word and saw the power of the Lord: “Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing. But on the ground of your word, I will lower the nets again” (Luke 5:5). In Matthew 4:4 Jesus teaches: “It has been written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
To succeed spiritually, to prosper, to do the will and work of God, we must live by God’s Word: “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Joshua 1:8). “Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness. So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
8. The Word destroys the work of Satan
When the Word of God is prayed by a believer it destroys the work of Satan, drives out evil spirits and releases people from Satan’s power. When Jesus was tempted by Satan He answered, “It has been written…” and “it is written also…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). He overcame temptation by quoting the Word. Through the Word we can triumph over evil. Victory does not come through formulas.
9. The relationship between the Word and faith
Faith comes through the Word (Romans 10:17). Without faith we cannot pray, because prayer without faith does not please God (Hebrews 11:6). The Word activates faith. What people say can motivate one to believe. Their words may rouse in one’s heart the desire to believe, but it is only when one reads the Word itself, when one prays and proclaims the Word, that faith is born in one’s heart.
E.W. Kenyon said, “Fasting and long hours of prayer do not build faith… Reading books about faith and men of faith and their exploits stirs in the heart a deep passion for faith, but does not build faith. The Word alone is the source of faith.” In Luke 4:32 it is written, “They were amazed at his teaching, for his word was with authority and ability and weight and power.” Why were they amazed? Because when a man speaks the words of God, he speaks with authority, and this authority leads to faith in the hearts of others. Faith comes by hearing, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ (Romans 10:17).
The world was created and equipped to answer to its purpose by the Word of God. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed and equipped for their intended purpose by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).
When Satan wants to mislead us, tempt us and render us powerless, he throws suspicion on God’s Word. Take note of the following two Scriptures: “Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?'” (Genesis 3:1) Those along the travelled road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and carries away the message out of their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12). From the beginning this was Satan’s tactic, and today it is still his plan. If we doubt Scripture and God’s words, we do not have any power to resist the enemy and he can easily destroy our lives.
Therefore…
Let us then continue to speak and pray the Word so that God’s kingdom will come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and His Name be glorified.
