The Living Word
By: Pastors Rodney & Adonica Howard-BrownePublish date: 08/15/2020
Foundation Scriptures:
The Logos of God is a living thing, active and more cutting than any sword with double edge, penetrating to the very division of soul and spirit, joint and marrow - scrutinizing the very thoughts and conceptions of the heart. 13 And no created thing is hidden from Him; all things lie open, exposed before the eyes of Him with whom we have to reckon. Hebrews 4:12-13 Moffat’s Translation
1. God Speaks Through His Word.
a. God and His Word are One—His Word is alive and living.
b. Nothing and no one is hidden from Him—He sees all and He knows what is in the heart of man.
c. The Word is our only sure connection with and to Him, and He speaks to us through His Word.
d. 1 Peter 1:25 AMPC — But the Word of the Lord (divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.
e. He reveals to us who He is, what He does, and who we are in relationship to Him.
f. Psalm 40:7 AMPC — Then said I, Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me.
g. Jesus is the Living word—the Logos made flesh (John 1:14).
h. Without God’s Word we would never know all that is available to us through Jesus Christ.
2. Salvation through the Word.
a. Jeremiah 23:29 NKJV — “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
b. The Word of God—though the action of the Holy Spirit—convicts a person of sin and convinces them of the need of a Savior (John 16:7-11,13).
c. Salvation—eternal life—comes through believing the Word and confessing it with your mouth (Rom. 10:9-10).
d. We are recreated—born again—by the Word.
e. 1 Peter 1:23 NKJV — Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.
f. James 1:18 NKJV — Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
g. The Gospel MUST be preached because salvation is only available through God’s Word (Romans 10:13-15).
3. Transformation Through the Word.
a. Your soul—mind, will, emotions—is saved (regenerated) through the Word.
b. Philippians 2:12b KJV — …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
c. James 1:21 NKJV — Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
d. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).
e. Jesus sanctifies and cleanses His Church by washing her with the Word, so He can present her to Himself glorious, holy, and unblemished (John 15:3; Eph. 5:26-27).
f. Put off the old man and put on the new man—you are a new person, with a new life, who is continually being renewed in knowledge to be like your Creator (Colossians 3:9-11).
g. We will prosper if we continue to meditate on the Word, day and night (Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2-3).
h. Our minds are renewed, changed, and trained in righteousness and discernment through the Word, as we study it and act on it (Hebrews 5:14).
i. The Word of God is a mirror that we look into and see who we are now, and who we can be in Jesus—but only if we faithfully persevere and continue on in His Word (James 1:22-25).
j. Be a doer of the Word, not merely a hearer, then you will be blessed (Deut. 28:1-2; Prov. 13:13; Luke 11:28; Rom. 2:13).
4. Correction Through the Word.
a. Proverbs 6:23 KJV — For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
b. Proverbs 10:17 NKJV — He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.
c. The Word of God teaches Truth and imparts wisdom; it convicts (reproof), corrects, and instructs, in order that we may grow and be complete in Him and equipped to serve (2 Tim. 3:15-17).
5. The Word Comes to Live in Us.
a. You are an overcomer because the Greater One lives in you (1 John 4:4).
c. John 14:23 NKJV — Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
d. Colossians 3:16a NKJV — Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another.
e. Receive the Word into your heart and life—let it live in you, guide, direct and sustain you.
f. When you abide in God’s Word and His Words abide in you, your prayers are answered and you become a good fruit bearer, bringing glory to the Father (John 15:7-8).
g. Not just memorizing the Word (head knowledge) but submitting to it and allowing it to change you—becoming more like Jesus.
6. The Word Nourishes and Sustains.
a. Job 23:12b AMPC — …I have esteemed and treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
b. Milk for babes (1 Cor. 3:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:2).
c. Bread for the hungry (Matt. 4:4).
d. Meat for the growing (Heb. 5:11-14).
e. Sweeter than honey (Ps. 19:9-10; 119:103).
f. Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV — Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart…
7. Faith Comes Through Hearing the Word.
a. Faith comes through hearing the Word and grows as we apply it to our own lives.
b. Romans 10:17 NKJV — So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
c. Hebrews 12:2a NKJV — Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
d. Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
e. Romans 10:8 NKJV— But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach).