All About the Bible
9 - The Powerful Word of God
Last time we considered how the unity of the Bible was evidence that it is inspired by God. Another evidence is the power of the Bible to transform the lives of men and women. The Bible is life-changing. The Bible speaks for itself when it changes people’s lives. The Bible is self authenticating. It does what it says it will do. No-one is ever let down when faith and trust are placed in the word of God. Charles Spurgeon, the well known Baptist preacher, said, "I will defend the Bible in the same way I would defend a Lion. I will open the cage and let it loose".
The Bible is powerful because it is a living book. It is the written word of the living God. God is life. The Bible cannot be a dead thing. Scripture speaks of itself in terms of life. We read in Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is living and active". Jesus said in John 6:63, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life". The spoken words of Jesus are recorded for us in the Bible. This life is communicated to all who believe. The scriptures are inspired by God the Holy Spirit. The Bible carries within it the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. Peter says in 1Peter 1:23, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God". The Bible is the agent of the new birth. This is illustrated in John chapter 11. Jesus visits the town of Bethany where His friend Lazarus has died. He had been dead four days. Jesus tells them to remove the stone from the tomb. He says in John 11:43, "Lazarus, come out!" We read in verse 44, "The dead man came out". The word of Christ’s command to a dead body carried within it life giving power. The Bible is the same. Inherent within the words of scripture is the power of God to deliver men and women from spiritual death, and give them new life in Christ. Have you been born again? Has there been a time when you heard the voice of the Son of God and you lived and passed form death to life?
The power of the Bible is seen when it convicts men and women of sin. During the reign of King Josiah in the Old Testament, the Book of the Law was found in the Temple. It was read to the King and it was clear that Israel had not kept the commands found in it. Great conviction of Sin came over the King. In 2 Chronicles chapter 34 verse 19 we read, "When the King heard the words of the law he tore his clothes". In verse 21 he said, "Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book".
When God’s word speaks to your heart about your sin you will experience this same remorse and seek to put things right between you and God.
The power of the Bible is seen in its sanctifying work. The word "sanctify" means to make holy. It means to become more and more like Jesus. The great aim of our salvation in Christ is to be conformed to Christ. We read in Romans 8:29, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His son". The scripture is God’s great instrument in shaping us to be Christ like. Jesus said in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth". In John 15:3 Jesus said, "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you". The difference between the Bible and any other book is that whilst other books inform only the Bible transforms. Jesus wants us to live holy lives that honour Him. We can only so this as we listen to God’s word and apply it diligently to our lives. This is part of the process of our preparation for the second coming of Jesus. We read in Ephesians 5:25-26, "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain wrinkle or any other blemish". We will grow in our faith when we let the word of God positively impact our lives.
The power of the Bible is seen when we use it in our spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh and the devil. In Ephesians 6:17 we read, "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". In his great hymn "A safe stronghold our God is still", Martin Luther wrote in the third verse, "and let the prince of ill look grim as ever he will, he harms us not a whit; for why? His doom is writ; a word shall quickly slay him". Jesus used the word in His wilderness temptations. Whenever the Devil tempted Him to act in sinful independency from the Father he said, "It is written". We must follow the example of Jesus. We must read the word of God. We must know it. We must remember it, and, we need to know when and how to use relevant verses as we fight the good fight. We should know God’s promises and appeal to them when we face the enemy of our souls.
The power of God’s word is seen in its longevity. It has withstood attacks throughout the generations. It’s indestructible. There’s a reason for this. Jesus promised in Matthew 5:18, "I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished". The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. They suffered great persecution. They produced a picture of the Bible and the Christian faith as an anvil. The anvil was surrounded by Blacksmiths vigorously hammering away. Beneath the picture they wrote this inscription: "The more they pound, the more they shout. The more they wear their hammers out!" The Bible is the word of the eternal God. God is indestructible and so is His word.