The Effectual Word
For the Bible believing Christian it is clear that the Bible
is the Word of God. Among real believers this does not need to be
reestablished. We know the effect that it had in our lives when
we first heard it. We felt the conviction of sin and know the
peace that swept over us as we believed the Word, repented of our
sin, and trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour.
If we are more mature in the Lord today we know that the Word
brought us to this point, but often we do not understand how. We
know that we struggle with sin and that there is joy in attending
church and being in the Word of God. We know that we get along
better and grow more consistently if we are in fellowship with
other believers. We often look into our past with thanksgiving
for the changes that came to our lives. But how did it happen.
Our Handbook
Let me begin by saying that the Bible is the handbook that comes
with the crown of God's creation, man.
Man was not created to function without his Creator's influence
and direction in his life. That is part of what is wrong with
society today, man is trying to be happy and successful without
the Lord and His Word in their lives. They haven't, nor will they
ever, invent a toy or product that will satisfy man and fill that
empty spot down inside him. Only the Lord can do that and He does
it through the Word of God.
Life without the Word of God is like a man owning a Cadillac but
not knowing it has an engine. He
pushes it everywhere he goes, he plays with all the buttons until
something half-way works, and he thinks he has found the secret.
No, my friend, all the outward appearance, the physical
capabilities, and the attention that it draws are not the answer.
Those things are just a hint of what it's capable of. So it is
with mankind when, without the Lord and His Word in our lives, we
find a little happiness in what we can make work but are still
far from our potential without the Lord.
From our Omniscient God
Explaining the working of the Word must begin by saying that the
God who gave the Word is
"Omniscient." That means that He knows everything. Did
it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurs to God? That's
right, nothing ever catches God by surprise. He knows all of the
actual, as well as all of the possible. He knows where every
decision that we are capable of making will take us. Some who do
not take time to study their Bibles think the difference between
the Old Testament and the New is that God came up with another
idea. As if He had not thought it through and changed His mind on
the plan of salvation. That's foolish. The Old Testament laid the
foundation for the New. The need of salvation was clearly laid ut
in the Old Testament through the law. The New Testament see it
fulfilled in Christ, who bore the curse of the law for us. Our
Omniscient Lord always knows just what He is doing and is always
right. His ways are above our ways. The most learned men are
intellectual babes compared to Him.
God know you and I better that we know ourselves. He understands
every thing about us. The things that confuse us about ourselves,
He understands. For that reason He has given us an "owner's
manual," in the Bible, so that He can reveal to us things
that we could not otherwise know.
Years ago, my father-in-law purchased a Cadillac. It was a
beauty. They took it for a ride, and when they stopped they put
on the emergency brake. When they were ready to go home they
could not find the brake release. They looked everywhere and
finally decided to see if the
paperwork in the glove box said anything about it. Surprise,
surprise, the "owner's manual" said that when you start
the engine and put the car in gear, the emergency brake is
automatically released. That's why we need an "owner's
manual," we won't go anywhere with the brake on.
God wants to give all the knowledge that we need to live happy
productive lives for Him. It is of utmost importance that we read
the Word of God daily.
His Revelation of the Word
God, out of His Omniscient, gave us a revelation. A revelation
speaks of telling us something that we could not possibly know
otherwise. This is what the Word of God does.
It tells of His Omniscient: His work, His nature, our sinful
state (including cause and effect), our
accountability to Him and how to be ready, our duties to both God
and man, our souls immortality,
judgment, eternity, about heaven and hell, eternal life, eternal
death, and about His mercy and redemption through Jesus Christ
His Son. The world know nothing of these things that to the
believer should be common place. Believers have a treasure in the
Word of God that the would knows nothing about.
The last book in the Bible, named the book of Revelation, tells
us many things yet to come; things that we accept by faith. These
thing deal with what we call the rapture, the outpouring of the
wrath of God on the nations of the earth and all unbelievers, the
literal physical second coming of Jesus Christ to reign for one
thousand years, and finally a little bit of a picture of heaven.
Many things from the Word of God, when they were written had to
be accepted by faith by that
generation. Many of these things from the Word have already come
to pass but many more have yet to happen. Unbelievers have always
scoffed at these promises but we, as believers, accept theses
coming events by faith.
They will happen, and it will be on schedule just as fulfilled
prophecies of the past have.
by William Byers
Bearing Precious Seed Missionary
2010 Williams St.
Sturgis, SD 57785