The Word
Pray
Intro-How we know someone
The Book
John 1:1–4 (NASB95)
The Deity of Jesus Christ
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
–God’s being is not just associated with the Word, but it says the “Word was God.”
–Now we know that this Word became flesh, and this means Christ was born as Jesus. But, we should not overlook this is showing the nature of Christ before birth as the Word.
Revelation 19:11–13 (NASB95)
The Coming of Christ
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
–Our Bibles are the Word of God. We call them Scriptures, and they were revealed to us by prophets, but they are God breathed to mankind. God used the agent of men moved by the Holy Spirit to give us His Word, but they are to be viewed and revered as if He thundered His voice directly to mankind.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95)
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:20–21 (NASB95)
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
–The Shema gives us an idea how important the Word is.
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (NASB95)
“These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
–Every Christian has a relationship with the Word of God.
They at least believe the Gospel. And I can think of no instance of a Christian where they believe the Gospel and don’t believe in the Word of God.
–The Word is nourishment for a new Christian
1 Peter 2:2 (NASB95)
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
–The Word is not just for new Christians but is as vital as food for all Christians
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NASB95)
3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
–This was a forty year lesson of wandering through the wilderness to drive home the message that all Christians live by everything that proceeds from the mouth of God.
What is special about the Word of God?
- God’s Word is living
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
–God’s word is living. The words on a page do not live, but in the course of history prophecies come true out of the pages, and the Word has the effect and outcome of salvation and eternal life in the lives of those who believe and obey the Word.
It is daily instruction how to walk through life. Living because you put it into action
Psalm 40:7–8 (NASB95)
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”
–David spoke this ~900-1000 years before Christ
— The Scripture told of His appearance Jesus Christ the baby. He appeared in truth right off the pages
2. The Word is truth
John 17:17 (NIV)
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
This is in a prayer of Jesus to the Father. Notice He does not say true. We all can say a true statement, but Jesus says the Word is truth itself. To say the grass is green is to say something true, but the essence of the Word is that is of a higher order The Truth with a capital T.
3. The Word is everlasting
Isaiah 40:8 (NASB95)
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.
4. The Word is pure
Psalm 12:6 (NASB95)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
5. The Word of God is set above all things next to God’s name itself.
Psalm 138:2 (ESV)
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
6. The Word is guides our lives
Psalm 119:105 (NASB95)
ן
Nun.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
7. The Word is Life
John 5:24 (NASB95)
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
So how do we know that it is truly the Word of God?
Some ways: Prophecy comes true, historically accurate, consistent
John 15:26 (NASB95)
26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
–The Spirit of God testifies to your soul that God’s Word is indeed from God. This is by faith, but your soul simply knows that it is the truth.
John 10:1–5 (NASB95)
Parable of the Good Shepherd
1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
2 “But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 “When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 “A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.”
–2 ways The Holy Spirit testifies to authenticity and we as Christ’s sheep know His voice.
Closing Remarks
If Jesus Christ is the Word, and Christians head is Christ, the Word is essential to our being. The birth of a Christian is by belief in God’s Word—the Gospel, and to grow and mature it is essential as food for the body.
Deuteronomy 8:3 (NASB95)
3 “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.
–Finally, there is one secret to reading the Bible that I know. One must believe it. Otherwise it is so many words to that person. And belief is a loaded word. If you believe a parachute will save you if pushed off a plane, you will pull the drop cord. Believing without action is like someone who believed that the parachute would save him but never pulled the drop cord and hit the ground.
–I urge you to hear the Word of God and practice it and grow by it. Make it part of your life.
Romans 10:17 (NASB95)
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Hear it and believe!!