Although the topic of the power of God’s Word is too big to deal with adequately here, I would like to summarise by examining four aspects that impact us.
- The power to scrutinise
Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV
[12] “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. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
We have only briefly touched on this point, so let me enlarge on it a little.
Imagine reading a murder mystery which describes in detail the thoughts and motives of the murderer. Does what this person thinks impact us in any way? Are we motivated to kill because we read this book or does this story prompt us to react in horror to what the murderer had done? In the main, reading fiction leaves us unmoved. It’s just a story.
Even biographies of prominent characters cannot change us. We might admire their courage, be impressed by their achievements, or even disgusted by bad behaviour but…we carry on with our lives as they are. Who they are and what they did doesn’t affect what is inside us.
Stories of fiction have no power to impact us. No one, for example, unless they already have plans to kill, would be influenced to go out and commit the same terrible deed. We choose our genres for entertainment, enlightenment perhaps, Information, education, or whatever purpose we have in mind but, in the end, everything we read does not dig deep into the core of our being as do the words of Scripture…
…yet, in an inexplicable way, the Bible opens up what is in the depth of our hearts and moves us towards a response. We identify closely with passages in the Word that tell us what’s wrong inside and that appeal to us for action. We do what is tells us and discover its power to change us.
How does this happen? Consider these words of David…
Psalms 19:12-14 NLT
[12] “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. [13] Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. [14] May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
Here we have the secret to the power of the Word to scrutinise us…the partnership of God the Holy Spirit and the Word. It’s the Spirit who uses the words of the Word of God to expose what is in us.
Jesus said…
John 6:63 NLT
[63]”The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
We enter into this partnership with God when we, in honesty, pray the prayer of David, on the strength of God’s perfect knowledge…
Psalms 139:23, 24 NLT
[23]”Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
[24] Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
- The power to save
God’s Word not only has the power to reveal what is in our hearts, it also has the power to save us from the devastation and destruction that sin does in us.
Why do we need saving? Every human is born with the capacity to self-destruct. Left to ourselves, our old human nature with its bent towards stubborn rebellion and disobedience, will take us to eternal separation from God, called hell.
We all have an unpayable debt to God and for that we must die unless God intervenes to rescue us. He did, by sending His Son to pay our debt. The Bible not only reveals what He did, it also works the miracle of new birth in our hearts. When we learn of God’s salvation through Jesus, believe the truth of what He has done, and receive His forgiveness of our sin by faith, that Word does a miracle in our hearts, giving us a brand new start by transforming us into new people.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
[17] “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
God’s Word is a seed that grows in us to produce a new person.
1 Peter 1:23 NIV
[23] “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
How does this happen? Paul tells us…
Romans 10:17 NIV
[17] “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
So, by faith in the message about Jesus, which we receive through hearing or reading the Bible, our sin is forgiven, we are reconciled to God, we start a new life of trust and obedience to Jesus, and we are on a new path to the Father in heaven.
- The power to settle
God’s Word has the power to settle us. What do I mean?
Before we believe in Jesus and become new people, we are unsettled inside… restless, insecure, anxious, and afraid. We have nothing to hold onto that steadies us through difficult times. Our lives make no sense, have no meaning or purpose, and we feel like tiny vessels on a very stormy sea. We don’t know where we came from and we don’t know where we are going.
Everything changes when we return to our Creator. Our union with Jesus gives us direction, meaning, and purpose, and answers the questions no one in the world can answer. The Bible is the truth about God and us, and our place and purpose in the world. Without the truth it provides, we have no authoritative source to guide us and keep us on track to our destination. Again, it’s David who provides an insight into this aspect of Scripture.
Psalms 119:105 NLT
[105] “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
No other book than the Bible can give us clear directions on how to live. When we follow God’s instructions, He confirms His truth by the peace in our hearts.
Psalms 19:9-11 NLT
[9] “Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. [10] They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. [11] They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.”
4.The power to sanctify
The fourth great work of God’s Word relates to the deep-cleaning that it does inside us. The Bible calls it “sanctification”. To sanctify means “to make sacred” or “to set apart from sin to God”.
Jesus prayed…
John 17:17 NIV
[17] “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”
Our natural bent towards self-gratification remains in us despite our new lives in Christ. The discipline and training we experience as believers in Jesus is to subdue our old nature by learning to follow Jesus and to be led by His Spirit in us. Again, through the partnership of the Holy Spirit and the Word, we learn to do what is right by saying no to our sinful desires and trusting the Holy Spirit to give us the strength to obey Him.
Romans 8:12-14 NLT
[12] “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. [13] For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
This great work of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit continues throughout our lives. As long as we are in these human bodies, we will be tempted and we will occasionally fall into sin but, said John, we will no longer practise sin as a way of life. Why?
1 John 3:9 NLT
[9] “Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life (seed) is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.”
We have already learned that we are born again by the seed of God’s Word. This “seed” is now in us, growing and producing the new life of God in us.
These four great functions of God’s Word do a deep work of exposing our sin, and changing and cleansing us on the inside so that we are aceptable to God, righteous before Him, members of His forever family and being changed into the image of Jesus.
God does all this work inside us through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. Our role is to follow His leading, believe and obey His Word, and rest in the work He is doing in us to perfect us for our eternal life with Him.
Philippians 2:12-13 NIV
[12] “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”