The Power of the Word of God
II Timothy 4:1-2 “I
charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
Introduction:
Paul in his writing to the young
preacher, Timothy, charged him, urged him to preach “THE WORD”. Some have adopted the position that they will
teach and preach the “Word of God, nothing more, nothing less and nothing
else.” Our elders at Sunset and no doubt
this congregation here as well holds to that same determination. But why would Paul give us such a warning?
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And
they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables.”
1 Timothy 4:1-2 “Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from
the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking
lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”
Don’t men know that
when they accept false teachers and false doctrines that they are turning their
backs upon the very God that they profess to serve? Don’t they realize that they become just as
much idolaters as
The Characteristics of the
Word of God
First of all the Word of God is like
a burning fire. If we are indeed his
faithful children it will burn within us until we teach it to others. It will be a desire that we have to fulfill. It will be as Jeremiah described even in his
situation of despair and trial because
“9Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in
his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up
in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” Jeremiah 20:9
Peter and John when
faced with punishment for preaching the gospel simply told the Sanhedrin:
“For we cannot but speak the things which we
have seen and heard.” Acts 20:4
But the Word of God is like a fire
in another sense too.
Jeremiah
Deuteronomy 33:2 “And
he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined
forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his
right hand went a fiery law for them.”
Jesus said that:
“I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will
I, if it be already kindled?” Luke
12:49
The Word of God Will Endure
Forever
Through the prophet Isaiah God tells
us that His word will last forever:
Isaiah
40:8 “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but
the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
The words of men fade and most pass
away over time; few are preserved. Most
of the things that men build decay and fall or outlive their usefulness and are
torn down. Even the mountains and hills
are worn by the ravages of time and weather.
At the end of time, all will disappear, even the earth itself, the
universe that causes us to stand in awe realizing the insignificance of man
will pass away as well. But what about the Word of God? The Son of God assures us not just once but
three times:
“Heaven
and earth shall pass away: but my words shall
John in the gospel record that bears
his name uses the Word of God as a synonym for the Son of God and describes it
this way:
John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in
the beginning with God.”
And Peter tells us
as well:
I Peter
Indeed the Word of
God will endure forever.
God Exercises His Power Through His Word
Genesis 1:3 “And
God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
As we read the inspired record
written by Moses at the direction of the Holy Spirit we find that everything
that exists came into being because “AND GOD SAID”. God spoke and there became a “FIRMAMENT IN
THE MIDST OF THE WATERS”, God spoke and dry land appeared and brought forth its
fruit, God spoke and the sun, moon and stars came to be. Nine times in the Genesis record “AND GOD
SAID” and this universe and all that was created came into existence. The Psalmist verifies and certifies the words
of Moses:
“BY THE WORD OF THE
LORD WERE THE HEAVENS MADE; AND ALL
THE HOST OF THEM BY THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH.” Psalms 33:6
The Hebrew writer tells us that it
is by faith; by hearing the Word of God that we understand how the worlds were
made:
Hebrews
11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of
things which do appear.”
None of the things that we see, that
have physical existence, that we can touch, feel, or taste were made from
something that already existed. This is
one thing that men who oppose God will never be able to explain. Men who refuse to believe God, men who refuse
to accept the proofs found in true science continue to deny God, continue to
deny that this earth, this universe could have been created by a Supreme Being
that men call God. But these men have
never, nor will they ever be able to explain the source of life or the
beginning of the physical universe without turning to God for their
explanation.
They claim to be, and are, the most
highly educated of men that we can know and they probably are in the ways of
men; but they “WILLINGLY ARE IGNORANT” of the ways of God. They are like those whom Peter described:
“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that
by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the
water and in the water.” 2 Peter
3:5
They have become
the very thing that Paul urged Timothy to avoid:
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy
trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science
falsely so called:” I Timothy
Regardless of what
the science created by men claims but cannot prove, the worlds were created by
the Word of God just as the Psalmist assures us:
“BY THE WORD OF THE
LORD WERE THE HEAVENS MADE; AND ALL
THE HOST OF THEM BY THE BREATH OF HIS MOUTH.” Psalms 33:6
The power of God is exhibited in
other ways as well. Do you understand or
can you discern the difference between the soul of a man and the spirit of a
man? Can you quickly understand the
thoughts and intents of a person’s heart?
Oh, there are some that claim to be mind readers,
there are couples that have been married so long that they can complete each
other’s sentences and thoughts. But can
you read someone else’s heart like a person reads a book? God can.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (ASV)
And lastly one other example of the
power of the word of God: Satan tempted mankind and caused sin to be brought
into this world. Sin that would condemn
man’s souls, sin the consequences of which only God can remove because:
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also
the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” I John 3:4
By God’s
definition, sin is the transgression of God’s law and there is only one remedy,
blood sacrifice. But the blood of
animals could not remove sin as we’re told in Hebrews 10:4. The remission
of sins comes only through the sacrifice of the most precious blood ever known
to mankind, that of the Son of God:
Colossians 1:13-14 “Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
And by what power
of God do we know about and are drawn to partake of this blood offering for our
sins? We’re drawn by the power of the
word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Romans
How God’s Word Benefits Us
The all powerful word of God that will endure forever
benefits us in many others ways as well.
II Timothy 3:16-17 “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Completely,
“THOROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS”; the word of God gives us everything
that we need to know; it teaches and encourages every practice that we need to
learn in order to be a doer of good works.
It gives us everything that we need In order for us to be a productive,
faithful, useful citizen of this world.
The Word of God given through his divine power gives us everything that
we need that pertains to life and godliness as the Apostle Peter tells us:
II Peter 1:3 “According
as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath
called us to glory and virtue:”
But we have life
someone might say but those who know the scripture know we’re talking about
true life, life eternal with God. The
gospel was given so that mankind would know that:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John
17:3
For we have a God:
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began,” II Timothy 1:9
The Word of God makes us wise unto salvation. The apostle Paul, writing about the training
that Timothy received:
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus.” II Timothy 3:15
It is the only
source of true wisdom that exists in this world. The Holy Spirit through the Proverb writer
reminds us:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7
The Word of God gives us faith.
Romans
The New English
Standard translation of this verse tells us that “FAITH COMES FROM HEARING”
plainer wording than the time honored Authorized Version. And in the faith hall of fame in Hebrews
chapter 11 we see the great examples of true faith: by faith Abel’s worship to God was
acceptable, Cain’s was not; by faith Enoch was “TRANSLATED”, changed and did
not see death; by faith Noah “MOVED WITH FEAR”, saved his household and became
the physical source of all mankind for the rest of time. There are many more but these serve to
illustrate the point being made.
The Word of God gives us hope.
Romans
15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope.”
It is through the
Word of God that we are begotten, born again, spiritually as the children of
God so that we are:
“Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you,” I Peter 1:3-4
It is through the
Word of God that we can have that undying hope for eternal life with him
because we know that since Jesus was resurrected that the promise is true that
all mankind will be as well.
The Word of God converts us.
Belief in the Word of God turns us to think about our inner being and
its ultimate destination. It causes us
to change our thinking, our actions and our relationship with our Maker, our
fellow man and our view of ourselves. As
the Psalmist was instructed to write:
“THE LAW OF THE LORD is PERFECT, CONVERTING
THE SOUL: THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD is SURE, MAKING WISE THE
SIMPLE. THE STATUES OF THE LORD are RIGHT, REJOICING THE
HEART: THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD is
PURE, ENLIGHTENING THE EYES. THE FEAR OF
THE LORD is CLEAN, ENDURING FOR
EVER: THE JUDGMENT OF THE LORD are TRUE and
RIGHTEOUS ALTOGETHER.” Psalms 19:7-9
The Word of God makes us free from
sin. The Word of God is truth, the
primary source of absolute truth and the truth that will make us free:
John 8:31-32 “Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
When sin entered
into the world mankind became slaves to Satan.
The devil owned their souls.
There was no means of removing or redeeming man from his sins. But the Word of God assured us that a time
would come when this would no longer be the case:
Isaiah 53:10-11 “Yet
it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall
prosper in his hand. 11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”
And the herald sent
by God to prepare the way for Christ the king confirms the words of the
prophet:
John
The removal of
man’s sins was confirmed further by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul:
I Corinthians 15:3-4 “For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
Through our acceptance and obedience
of the truth, the Word of God regenerates us.
We are purified, regenerated, renewed; our spirits restored to the
perfect condition they enjoyed when God provided them in our conception.
I
Peter 1:22-23 “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying
the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
The Apostle Peter
testifying before the apostles and elders regarding Gentile Christians used
these words:
Acts 15:8-9 “And God, which
knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he
did unto us; 9And put no difference
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”
Purifying their
hearts by faith, faith that we know comes from hearing the Word of God.
The Word of God sanctified us.
John
To be sanctified is to become a saint, we become saints by the power of the word of
God. In order for us to be sanctified we
must be made pure from the stains of the sin of this world. We who are citizens of the
“That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it
should be holy and without blemish.”
Ephesians 5:26-27
The Apostle Peter
records that:
“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying
the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:”
I Peter
The Word of God is a light unto our feet. The Psalmist writes:
“THY WORD is A LAMP
UNTO MY FEET, AND A LIGHT UNTO MY PATH.”
Psalms 119:105
And if we walk in
that light then we have fellowship with God.
I
John 1:5-7 “This then is the message which we have heard
of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in
darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
The Word of God causes us to grow.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of
the word that ye may grow thereby:” I
Peter 2:2
And lastly; after having cleansed
our souls, after having provided all that we need to live a life acceptable to
God; the Word
of God is also that which will be used to judge us at the throne of God.
John 12:48-49 “He
that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. 49For
I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
Are you ready for that
judgment? Invitation.
William L.
Schwegler –