Got Word?

[1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV] 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the Word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

      There are so many processes at work in us! Millions of cells are hard at work inside our bodies in a primarily invisible cycle that keeps us alive. But there is a greater force at work in us when we choose to open our Bibles and receive the life inside: the Word of God.  The Apostle Paul acknowledges this compelling fact when he writes to the new believers in Thessalonica. They recognize that their teachers are not just bringing human words to them but the very Word of God. Paul’s letter is not just ink on a page, but a living, compelling message inspired by God’s Spirit within him, and that message is doing a mighty work in those believers by turning them away from idols, to worship and serve a living, and true God.  Because God’s Word is working in them, they also begin to live lives of joy, a settled confidence that God is who He says He is and can do what He says He can do, even though they are enduring great persecution because of their faith. 

     Is this some sort of magic?  No!  The words written in the Bible have incredible power to transform us because God and His Word are inseparable. God is the author of His Word, so we can trust the authority of what we are reading.  God’s written Word is called “rhema.”  The rhema word, the “God-breathed word,” is what we receive when we open our Bibles and begin to seek God’s personal message of hope, life, and transformation (2 Timothy 3:16). The rhema Word of God is what Paul speaks about in Ephesians 6:17 when he says to pick of the “Sword of the Spirit.” The more we read, meditate, study, obey and pray through the Word, the more we become like Jesus, equipped to handle the challenges life throws at us daily. Jesus demonstrated this when Satan confronted Him in the wilderness by answering, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4) He quoted the rhema-word in Deuteronomy, and the authority of God’s Word caused His enemy to withdraw, a beaten foe.  The power of God’s Word can only defeat the doubt that can lead to outright denial of our faith. Got Word?

     But wait! There’s more!  An old saying reminds us, “Every time you read the Bible, the Bible is reading you.”  God’s Word penetrates where no surgeon’s scalpel can safely go, and no probing of a psychiatrist can reach to diagnose, heal, and create growth in us. Take a peek at the following ways God’s Word works in us:

• Growing faith (Romans 10:17). 
• A new birth (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:22-23). 
• Food that sustains (1 Peter2:2; Hebrews 5:12-14). 
• Truth-filled minds (Psalm 119:130).
• Spiritual and physical healing (Psalm 107:17-20).
• Victory over sin (Psalm 119:9-11).
• Cleansing and holiness (Ephesians 5:25-27).
• The revelation of our inner self (James 1:23-25).  

The strength, peace, faith, hope, and love we need are waiting to be discovered between the pages of our Bibles.  As we test-drive God’s promises each day, our insides will finally start matching our outsides, and we can grow to do some good in this hurting world. 

Derek Prince suggested this pre-reading prayer:

“Lord, I believe this is Your Word.  I receive it as Your Word.  Let it work in me everything You sent it to do in every area of my being: spirit, soul, and body because I believe it.”

Written by Stephanie Murillo

For further study:

Psalm 119

Jeremiah 23:28-29

Luke 8:21