May 26
31
Pierced by the living Word!
by Martin Luther, et al.
Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.“
There is no book like the Bible. It is not a dead letter or a relic of the past, but the living voice of the living God. It speaks with divine authority, breathes with divine power, and works with divine precision. It does not merely inform the mind–it pierces the heart!
The above verse describes the Word of God as living and active–not stagnant, not silent, not powerless. The same Word that spoke galaxies into being, continues to speak, convict, and transform today.
Unlike the dull blade of human reasoning, the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. Its edge is not dulled by time, culture, or resistance. It cuts with divine skill, reaching into the deepest recesses of our being. No other voice can penetrate so deeply, discerning what no eye can see and what no man can judge–the secret thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
God’s Word divides soul and spirit–terms that speak of the hidden and complex depths of man. It exposes what is natural and carnal, separating it from what is spiritual and holy. It . . .
uncovers our hypocrisies,
shatters our pride,
and strips away all self-deception.
This wounding of the Word is not to destroy–it is to heal.
It convicts in order to cleanse.
It wounds that it might restore.
It rebukes to bring repentance.
We may hide from men, but we cannot hide from God’s Word. When it is wielded by the Holy Spirit, it lays us bare before Him to whom we must give account.
Let us never handle the Word deceitfully, carelessly or casually. Let us not harden our hearts to its searching truths. Rather, let us come before it humbly, reverently, and prayerfully–asking the Lord to use it to search us, sift us, and sanctify us. May we ever study the Word, as a love-letter from our merciful Saviour-God. May we never merely read it–but meditate on it, and be transformed by it.
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:” Jeremiah 15:16
The Reformer Martin Luther, wrote these profound truths regarding God’s Word:
“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me.
It has feet, it runs after me.
It has hands, it lays hold of me.”
“Let the man who would hear God speak, read Holy Scripture.”
“The Word of God is the greatest, most necessary, and most important thing in Christendom.”
“The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.”
“I have made a covenant with my God that He send me neither visions, dreams, nor even angels. I am content with this gift of the Scriptures, which teaches and supplies all that is necessary, both for this life and that which is to come.”
Bow to the Word
by Don Fortner
I bow to the Word of God.
There are many good creeds, confessions, and catechisms
written by men, clearly setting forth the gospel of the grace
of God; but I do not pin my faith to the writings of any man,
or any group of men, no matter how much I may admire them.
The Word of God alone is my rule of faith and practice.
I bow my will and my reason, my experience and my feelings,
to the Word of God. I do not understand all that is written
in the Scriptures; but I believe it all.
I bow to the authority of Holy Scripture.
I do so unreservedly.
Let men call it bigotry, ignorance, or whatever they may,
I am not even open to the consideration of any thought,
idea, or evidence which contradicts the Book of God.
The enlightening ministry of the Holy Spirit
By Charles Spurgeon
Without the illuminating power of the Spirit, we cannot rightly understand God’s Word. We are as . . .
ships without wind,
branches without sap,
and coals without fire.
We are spiritually blind until the Spirit takes the scales from our eyes.
We are spiritually deaf until He unstops our ears.
We are spiritually dead until He gives us life.
The Spirit of God first imparts light to the soul, by which we see . . .
ourselves,
our sin,
our Saviour,
and His method of salvation.
The Holy Spirit reveals to us our need of Christ, and leads us to Him—opening our blind eyes to see the beauty of the Saviour.
The Spirit does not merely give us light—but opens our hearts to receive it, enabling us to comprehend and embrace divine truth.
The Word of God is the chisel, but the Spirit is the sculptor who shapes the soul into Christ’s image.
The Spirit does not reveal new truths, but He illuminates our minds to understand the truths already written.
The Spirit’s enlightenment turns mere head knowledge into heart knowledge, kindling a fire of devotion to God.
The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us see our sin as exceedingly sinful, and Jesus as altogether lovely.
It is the Spirit of God who . . .
convinces us of our spiritual ignorance,
leads us into all truth,
and then lights up that truth with heavenly radiance.
The Holy Spirit is the great revealer of Christ to the soul, making Him known, loved, and adored—where He was once despised.
In the hands of the Spirit, the Word of God is not a dead letter—but a living, life-changing force.
The Spirit’s light makes the Word personal, shining upon the page until it speaks directly to our hearts.
The Spirit illuminates not only our minds—but also our paths, guiding us into all righteousness and truth.
The enlightening work of the Spirit enables us to see the folly of sin, and the loveliness of Christ!
The Holy Spirit makes the difference between mere head-knowledge of the Bible—and a deep, living experience of its power.
By the Spirit’s illumination, we do not merely know about God—we come to know Him in intimate fellowship and love.
The Spirit does not add to the Word, but illumines it—so that the truth becomes radiant and irresistible.
When the Spirit unveils Christ as . . .
our wisdom,
our righteousness,
our sanctification,
and our redemption,
every truth becomes centred in Him.
The Spirit alone can take the things of Christ and make them clear to the soul—turning head-knowledge into spiritual understanding.
Just as light dispels darkness, the Spirit chases away ignorance and error, filling the soul with truth and joy.
The Spirit’s illumination makes us taste the sweetness of Christ, and feel the weight of eternal realities!
By the Spirit’s light, we see . . .
the glory of the cross,
the beauty of holiness,
and the hope of Heaven,
as never before!
That Heavenly Teacher
(J.C.Philpot, “Daily Words for Zion’s Wayfarers”)
We do not learn that we are sinners merely by reading it in the Bible. It must be wrought, I might say, burnt into us.
Nor will anyone sincerely and spiritually cry for mercy, until sin is spiritually felt and known . . .
in its misery,
in its dominion,
in its guilt,
in its entanglements,
in its wiles and allurements,
in its filth and pollution, and
in its condemnation.
Where the Holy Spirit works, He kindles . . .
sighs,
groans,
supplications,
wrestlings, and
pleadings
to know Christ, feel His love, taste the efficacy of His atoning blood, and embrace Him as all our salvation and all our desire.
And though there may, and doubtless will be, much barrenness, hardness, deadness, and apparent carelessness often felt; still that heavenly Teacher will revive His work, though often by painful methods; nor will He let the quickened soul rest short of a personal and experimental enjoyment of Christ and His glorious salvation.
“In the beginning was the Word.”
John 1:1
John calls our Lord Jesus Christ “the Word.” This is a term used in the New Testament almost exclusively by John, identifying Christ as one who is God, and yet a distinct Person from the Father. I can think of only two places in which other inspired writers used this term in the New Testament with reference to our Saviour. In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read: — “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” In 2nd Peter 3:5 we read, “that by the Word of God the heavens were of old.”
Deity Expressing Itself
A word is an expression, a means of manifestation, communication and revelation. Christ manifests the invisible God, communicates the love, mercy and grace of God, and reveals the attributes and perfections of God. The Word of God, then, is Deity expressing itself. Therefore Christ is called the Word of God.
Heb. 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb. 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Heb. 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Heb. 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
In Revelation 1:8 our Saviour declares himself to be God’s alphabet. — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Christ is the Word in and by whom the triune God makes himself known to men, the personal enunciation of Jehovah. — “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18).
Record in Heaven
Christ, the Word, is one of the Holy Three-in-One that bear record in heaven. — “There are three that bear record in heaven” (1 John 5:7). Bear record of what? That Jesus is the Son of God? No. Heaven needs no evidence of that! These three bear record in heaven that God has given us eternal life, in strict accordance with his just and righteous law, by the merits of Christ’s obedience and death as our Substitute. The three Persons of the Holy Trinity bear record in heaven that Christ has accomplished redemption for God’s elect by his blood
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atonement. — “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
God the Father bears record that redemption is accomplished by his acceptance of Christ as our Representative and Surety (Hebrews 1:1-9; 6:19-20; 10:11-14). When the Father raised Christ from the dead and received him back into heaven as our Mediator, he accepted all his elect in Christ and bare record that redemption’s work was done (Ephesians 1:6; John 17:1-5).
God the Son, the living, eternal Word, the second person of the blessed Trinity, bears record of his people’s right to eternal life by his perpetual advocacy and intercession at the Father’s right hand (Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 6:20; 7:24-25). The record he bears, which secures the eternal salvation of God’s elect, by which we merit heaven and eternal life, is twofold: — His righteousness as our Representative and his satisfaction as our Substitute.
God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the holy Trinity, bears record of the accomplishment of redemption, by effectually applying the blood of Christ to the hearts of God’s elect in effectual calling (John 16:14; Hebrews 9:13-14). The Spirit of God takes the merit of Christ’s blood and righteousness and reveals our acceptance with God to us by the gospel. In effectual calling chosen, redeemed sinners hear the gospel. But they hear more than the bare word of the gospel. They hear the Spirit of God speak in their hearts! Each one hears God speak pardon to his own soul by the gospel of his salvation (Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 5:16). — This is the record of heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit point to the blood and righteousness of Christ and say, “It is finished! Redemption is accomplished!”
“And these three are one.” — The three Divine Persons are one God. But more, the record of the Father, the record of the Word, and the record of the Spirit are one. What is that record? — Redemption is accomplished by Christ alone! Every chosen sinner has the right to enter into heaven by the blood gate, through the merits of Christ. — “God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
The Word
Look at this name and title John gives to the Lord Jesus again, — “The Word.” — “In the beginning was the Word.” That is a statement so full of meaning that I have no hope of expounding it. Christ is called the Word because he is the Wisdom of God. He is called the Word because he is the Person spoken of in all the Old Testament prophecies and the sum of all the promises. Our Redeemer is called the Word because he is the Speaker, the Revealer and the Interpreter of the Father’s will. And he is called the Word because he is the Image of the invisible God, the Offspring of the Father’s mind, the Express Image of his Person, just as our words (if honestly spoken) are the express image of our minds.
Don Fortner