The Power of the Word in the Believer’s Life—Part 2

We should study the Bible not only because it is the source of truth, but also because it is the source of happiness or joy. Jesus, in Luke 11:28, says, “Blessed [happy] are they that hear the word of God, and keep [obey] it.” Now when we talk about obeying the Word of God we need to differentiate between two kinds of obedience: first, legal obedience, and second, gracious obedience.

In 1 Peter 2:1 it is interesting to see how some ground work must first be laid. It says, “laying aside all malice (Gk., kakia, ‘general evil’), and all guile (which means ‘deceit’; the same Greek word is also used for ‘fishhook’), and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings.” In other words, we must set aside all evil things, confess our sin, get our life straightened out, and hit the Word with a tremendous desire—then we begin to grow. The more we grow, the more exciting it becomes. The Word is a source of life that helps us mature and grow stronger; then we are able to defeat Satan, and we come to know more about God and His character. We are enriched in every possible way.

In John 6:63b Jesus says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Jeremiah said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them” (15:16a). That’s feeding on the Word of God! James 1:18a says, “Of his own will begot he us with the word of truth.” The Word is a life-giver, a life-sustainer, and a life-builder. It is tremendous nourishment. First Timothy 4:6 states, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith.” Therefore, the Word nourishes us, it feeds us, it builds us, and it causes us to grow.

God wants us mature; He wants us built up; He wants us strong. In 1 John 2:13 we find the pattern of growth. Listen to what it says: “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” There are three categories: fathers, young men, and little children. Now those are three categories of spiritual growth—they are not literally little children, young men, and fathers. It’s talking about three levels of spiritual growth.

Now we all start out as little children—we know the Father. That’s spiritual Da-Da. You don’t know much when you’re a new Christian, but you know “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” You realize God is your Father and it’s great, but you’re not very mature spiritually. So you don’t want to stay there; that would be sad. You go to the second level:

God wants us mature; He wants us built up; He wants us strong. In 1 John 2:13 we find the pattern of growth. Listen to what it says: “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” There are three categories: fathers, young men, and little children. Now those are three categories of spiritual growth—they are not literally little children, young men, and fathers. It’s talking about three levels of spiritual growth.

Now we all start out as little children—we know the Father. That’s spiritual Da-Da. You don’t know much when you’re a new Christian, but you know “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” You realize God is your Father and it’s great, but you’re not very mature spiritually. So you don’t want to stay there; that would be sad. You go to the second level:

What is the characteristic of a young man? He has overcome the wicked one—past tense. Who is the wicked one? Satan. “Are you telling me that I could reach the point in my life where I actually overcome Satan?” That’s right. How? Verse 14 says, “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” Now listen to this: To overcome Satan you’d have to be strong, and there’s only one way to be strong—that’s to have the Word abiding in you. Do you know what a spiritual young man is? He’s someone who really knows the Word.

Here’s why I say that: Satan, according to 2 Corinthians 11:14, comes disguised as an angel of light. I believe Satan spends 99.0 percent of his time in false religious systems. I believe the problems we have with bars, prostitution, crime, the lust of the world, and all the rest of that evil is pretty well taken care of by the flesh. Galatians 5:19–21 lists the works of the flesh. I don’t think Satan is running around poking us in the ribs about every little sin; I believe Satan is developing world-wide systems of evil. Satan is appearing as an angel of light, and his ministers are angels of light, and he works in false religions.

Now a spiritual young man is somebody that overcomes Satan in the sense that he knows enough about the Word of God that he is not enticed by false religions. Rather, he is angered by it. For example, the characteristic of a spiritual child, according to Ephesians 4:14, is that he is “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” Spiritual babies have trouble with false doctrine. Spiritual young men are people who know their Bible. They know their doctrine, so false doctrine from Satan doesn’t appeal to them at all.

In verse 13a John says, “I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning.” Do you know who the fathers are? They are the ones that have gone beyond the page. They don’t just know the doctrine—fathers have a deep knowledge of the God behind the doctrine.

Ephesians 1:3–3:20—In the first three chapters of Ephesians the apostle Paul lists several things he wants us to know. They are full of theology and contain some great truths.

First, in chapter 1:

1. Verse 3b—“God … who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

2. Verse 7b—We have “the forgiveness of sins.”

3. Verse 7a—“We have redemption.”

4. Verse 6b—“He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.”

5. Verse 8b—We’ve been given “all wisdom and prudence.”

6. Verses 9–10—We’ve been given the knowledge of the ages to know the eternal plan of God.

7. Verse 13c—We’ve been “sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”

8. Verse 14—We have the Holy Spirit “who is the earnest of our inheritance.”

In chapter 2:

9. Verse 22—We are the “habitation of God through the Spirit.”

10. Verse 19b—We are “fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”

11. Verse 14b—Christ “hath broken down the middle wall” between Jew and Gentile.

12. Verse 16—We’ve come together “unto God in one body by the cross.”

Then, in chapter 3:

13. Verse 8c—We have “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

14. Verse 9—We have been made to “see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which … hath been hidden in God.”

All these incredible riches are ours, and Paul wants us to know them. Paul says in 1:17–18 that he prayed that God would “give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know … what (are) the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” So he said if you would learn these truths, then you would realize the truth of what he says in 3:20; “Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” Do you see the resources? Did you ever think about the fact that you can do everything you can think? Did you ever think about the fact that you can do above everything you can think? Did you ever think about the fact that you can do exceedingly, abundantly above all you can ask or think? That’s a lot of power, isn’t it? Frankly, there’s no sense flopping around on one cylinder with those kinds of resources. As you feed on the Word of God it has a powerful effect. It makes your life an energy source that can confront anybody, any time, with the truth.

Whenever I want to know what God wants me to do, I go to the Word. You hear people say, “I’m searching for the will of God.” Is God’s will lost? They think God is the universal Easter bunny who stashes His will in the bushes and then sits in heaven saying, “You’re getting warmer.” That isn’t true. God’s will is easy to find; it’s right in His Book. When we study the Bible, we find over and over again the phrase, “This is the will of God.” We can know the will of God by studying the Word of God. What does Psalm 119:105 say? “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” That’s pretty simple—the Word is a guide. As I open the Word of God, it guides me. It’s amazing how God speaks to me through His Word. If I have a decision to make, I find the place in the Bible where possibly someone in the Old Testament or New Testament grappled with a similar decision. I try and see how God led them. Or I’ll go to a text in the Bible that gives me a direct answer. God guides and directs us out of His Book.

But there’s a subjective element here also: as Christians we have the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:9). First John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things.” When you study the Bible, the Holy Spirit in you takes the Word of God and makes a personal application that will give you guidance. That’s an incredible combination—to have the truth and the resident truth teacher. It’s that combination that guides the believer. What have we learned? There are great benefits to studying the Bible. It is the source of truth, happiness, victory, growth, power, and guidance.

But what should be our response? If this is really true, if the Bible is going to do all these things, then what shall I do? Let me give you a few things to consider