How you use God’s Word—how you regard it in your life—will ultimately determine what you will value in your life. How you see and interpret His Word determines your response and your actions. God’s Word is His communication to each of us for our understanding, our edification, and our instruction. We respond, in kind, as His servants and all of this is for His glory and His purpose. The Word has power in that it cannot be confined to one area. “Then God’s message flourished and multiplied (Acts 12:24).” It is those who hear God’s Word and act on it who find favor with God, as Jesus states. “He said, ‘Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!’ (Luke 11:28)”
How you see God’s Word may have a lot to do with how you are exposed to it. In the church today, there are three modern philosophical Christian views of God’s Word:
1. Liberal
- In this view, the Bible is not considered as a collection of factual statements but rather the collection of thoughts and beliefs of the writers of the Bible at the time of its writing
- The supernatural power of God is undermined
- The Bible is erroneous
2. Neo-Orthodoxy
- Revelation of God is source of doctrine (a combination of observation of nature and human reasoning)
- The writers of the Bible were mediators of God’s Word and, because of their finite ability and sinful nature, they were capable of error in their writing.
3. Fundamentalist
- A Protestant movement that emphasizes the literal interpretation of the Bible, with God’s Word as being the final authority
- The Bible and its teachings represent the fundamentals of the Christian life
All three of these views, however, need to be compared to what God’s Word declares about itself as a foundation and how we are to respond to it. First, scripture is inspired by God and was recorded for man’s teaching and for training (2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16).
God’s Word inspires us to heed His words because its message is truly good for us. “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24).” “And now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified (Acts 20:32).”
The Word of God gives us life (Genesis 1). The Word also brings prosperity (not exclusively in the sense of monetary value) and also disaster. “I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things (Isaiah 45:7).”
God’s Word also enlightens us. It brings light to a dark mind (Isaiah 8:18-22; Acts 26:18; Psalm 43:3). Are you building your life with the foundation of God’s Word? It does good for those who are obedient to His Word (Micah 2:7; Proverbs 28:18; Psalm 119:97-104).
Akron Alliance Fellowship 