Continuing in His Word
The essential nature of the Word of the Lord that provides redemption and effective Christian life is far beyond our comprehension by many orders of magnitude. While the miraculous aspect of the Bible can be to some degree humanly observed, it can never be fully understood, dissected or substituted, without the revelatory influence of the Holy Ghost. Jesus often spoke of people having eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear; and on a particular occasion Jesus explained to His disciples in Luke 9 that they should be careful to let His words sink down into their ears—but they still did not understand what He meant, and many church goers today do not either.
I observe this phenomenon, or shortsightedness, all the time in churches that I visit. And I am convinced that the same life giving synthesis or effect, unique to God alone, that was attendant during the creation of space, time and mass – a supernatural effect over which man has no control – is a divine entity that cannot be feigned or replaced by any human religious system or technique. But it is necessary for the Word of the Lord to communicate or disseminate its life giving qualities to people as they read it or hear it. It is at this point that religion devoid of His purpose and unction can no more quicken this eternal necessity in human listeners, than can a man by taking thought add a single cubit to his stature.
This is the reality that we learn from the divine acceptance of Abel’s offering in Genesis 4, and is a common fact of God’s dealing with man throughout the Scripture. God has a standard that He will honor, an approach that He will accept, and an attitude that He will receive… and He will not violate this standard! So all of the church growth theories, revival engagement efforts, and megachurch processes, fall to the ground empty and non-effective to add one human soul to the Kingdom, because the Scripture says, “except the Lord build the house they labor in vain.” Moreover, it is the Lord, and only the Lord, that can add to His church. Man can guide, teach, preach, play pretty music, use all sorts of influential gadgets (and all these behaviors and tools has some legitimacy I guess), but only the blood of Jesus has the power to remit sins! This is both a sovereign fact and action! The fact that the Creator God inculcated His divine mind into human language convention, by moving His men, the prophets and apostles, to record His ideas into a book is, without question, an unspeakably wondrous thing!
Jesus, furthermore, said that if we continue in His word, we will be His disciples indeed, because our continuance to read, study and obey His word will permit us to know the truth, and it is His truth that produces the Biblical worldview that will set us free. (John 8:31-32) It is this behavior of “continuing” that is the difference between the nominal “churchanity” and authentic Christianity. The Greek word here translated “truth” is ä·lā′thā·ä, meaning to open or unseal and speaks of a freedom to live free from the slavery of sin. A freedom (intellectually, morally and spiritually) that is only attainable…through the light of His Word (A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the NT, Vol. 5, pp.148-149). God bless you for your continued prayer and financial support to the ministry of Creation Truth Foundation…Thanks a million! (Isaiah 40:28-31)
Sincerely, GTS
