The Word.
John, chapter 1: verses 1-3
John begins his Gospel with a statement that cannot be argued with….In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God!
What was this Word that John is referring to? From reading the next few verses, we discover that the Word that he is referring to is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (His full title) Who is the Son of God. He then goes on to show what the Word did…”All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made”…… We read later in the Bible that it was God’s Son Who made the universe, making the earth within it to be the home of human beings who would be able to fellowship with Him. This One is the brightness of God’s glory and the exact mage of His Person, because He is part of the Godhead (Hebrews 1:2-3).
We are told so many things about the Word of God….there is the Living Word who is our Lord Jesus Christ, and there is the written Word which we have as the Bible. God’s Word, both living and written, is powerful, even today, and pierces into our very being, speaking things that do not leave us alone until we act on them . Everything that we say and do is open before God and His Word, and we cannot escape it (Hebrews 4:12-13) . Just as Jesus Christ the Living Word, obeyed God the Father implicitly, so the written Word of God accomplishes what God intends…,.it never returns to Him empty.
There is a story about a man who was hearing the Gospel story for the first time and was very sceptical about it all. The preacher was going home the same way as this man and offered him a lift. All the way along the road, the sceptical one kept asking impossible questions about the sermon and each time the preacher would reply, “I don’t know anything about that, but I DO know that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin!” The trip lasted about half an hour, and each time the preacher answered the man’s questions with the same Bible verse. They arrived at the place they were going and said goodnight to each other, and went their different ways. A couple of days later, there was a knock at the preacher’s door. The man he had given the lift to was standing there looking rather pale and haggard. The preacher asked the man inside, and then before he even sat down, he said, “I’ve come to ask you to tell me more….ever since the other night, I haven’t been able to get that verse out of my mind…it’s even kept me awake at night. Tell me what it means!”
So this is a classic case of God’s Word accomplishing His work in this man’s heart and mind. He gave his life to the Lord that night, and went home a different man!
Jesus Christ, God’s Living Word, Came forth from God to those who erred, The Word is full of power indeed, And is written there for us to heed.
We had a baptismal service at our church this morning when four young people were baptised. Each of them gave very clear testimonies as to why they wanted to be baptised, and how they had come to know the Lord for themselves. To them God was not just a force “up there”, but He was personally their Father in Heaven. How many people say the Lord’s prayer today starting with “Our Father which art in Heaven”, and they don’t know God as their Father at all! We wouldn’t dream of approaching just any man out there, and calling him “Father” and asking Him to supply our daily food. Yet so many people do this without even thinking what they are saying. Let’s hope you aren’t one of these!