Powerful & Eternal Word
For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.
1 Thessalonians 1:4-8
Father, help me release the chaos of this day. I seek you, I desire you, I need you, I breathe in your holy Presence. Help me truly engage in holy communion with you. Amen.
Writing to the church in Thessalonica, Paul says the gospel of Jesus Christ, when delivered to them, came upon them “in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” The words of the gospel are not mere words, they are God’s holy word filled with power, conveying Him. God’s holy word is powerful beyond our ability to imagine, and it is living and active.
I think about a Bible sitting on a shelf, unused, collecting dust, but longing to be opened, filled with power longing to be tapped, because God’s word is powerful and the thoughts communicated by His holy word lead to faith and new life and God Almighty Himself. It is so much more than a mere book; it communicates the living word of God revealing who He is and His kingdom and the keys to His kingdom, the gospel of Christ Jesus. I fear that we, here in the United States, where Bibles are incredibly available and accessible in a variety of translations, even freely available on our phones, have begun to take God’s holy word for granted. I fear that some might regard it as not worthy of time or attention, and by doing so miss out on the true joy of life, communion with God, because God’s holy word is packed with power and life.
This morning I enjoyed a surprisingly cool breeze as I sat outside reading Psalm 33, which says,
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm. Psalm 33:6-9
When God speaks amazing things happen. God speaks and the heavens come into existence out of nothing. God speaks and chaos becomes order. God’s word is unbelievably powerful, and through His holy word He speaks to you, me, us. He breathes the breath of life. Breathe in His holy Presence, His life.
I ponder the creation accounts in Genesis, and John’s description of the beginning as he introduces his presentation of the gospel, and once again, I am suddenly struck by the life-changing importance of God’s holy word and I am amazed that God communicates with us through His holy word, that He loves us so much, that He is faithful, merciful and just, and that so often I miss the glory of it all. So often in the busyness of my life, in the chaos of the world, my heart is hardened, and I fail to hear His voice as He speaks to me. Does that ever happen to you? Yet He is here, surrounding us, dwelling within us, speaking to us, inviting us into communion with Him, planting His holy seed across every sort of soil, including the dry rocky place I am at times.
Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Just as God is all-powerful, eternal, holy, pure and divine, so are the words of Christ Jesus. And by the Word and through the Word, all things came into being. John begins his presentation of the gospel writing,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:1-5
The Word is the light and life. Life came into being through Him. His life is the light of all people. Jesus is the Word. He has always been and He will always be. And the word of God is living and active, working within our hearts. The writer of Hebrews writes,
Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. Hebrews 4:12-13
His holy word is living, active and intimate, seeing all, knowing all, exposing all, transforming both physical and spiritual realms, and the thoughts communicated through it lead to faith, light, life, order and renewal.
God’s holy word is also the sword of the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 6:17), useful for offesnsive and defensive maneuvers against the “the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11), and the source of peace, rest and shalom for those who have ears to hear (see Hebrews 4:1-11). God, through the writer of Hebrews, urges us to hear His voice and receive His message through softened hearts saying, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus explains that God generously scatters His holy seed across every sort of soil – soil trodden into a hard path, rocky soil, weedy soil and fertile soil. He then explains that the seed is the word of the kingdom of God (see Matthew 13:19), and demonstrating one of many battles taking place in the spiritual realm, as God generously scatters the word everywhere, Satan snatches it away, and cares of the world choke it out, but some of it lands on fertile soil and produces an amazing crop (see Matthew 13:18-23).
When God speaks, amazing things happen. God’s holy word is amazing. It is powerful beyond our comprehension. It is eternal. It is active and living. It is the sword of the Holy Spirit. It leads to faith, light, life, order and renewal. How could we possibly take it for granted?
And we are called to serve as His agents, helping Him spread His holy word, helping each person we encounter to be a little more fertile, so that His seed might sprout and grow, encouraging folks to slow down, breathe in His holy Presence, commune with God, allowing His peace, rest and comfort to invade and transform their spirits and souls, and growing in faith. We are participants in the holiest of processes, and it is an awesome privilege, an awesome responsibility, a sacred trust.
But how can we present to others a life we do not experience? Jesus calls us to serve as witness, testifying to the life we know. If our lives show no evidence of a foundation of faith, no evidence of peace, comfort or rest, no evidence of light or life, why would anyone desire our Christ?
Paul wrote to Christ’s followers in Thessalonica, commending them for their exemplary lives of faith. They received the gospel of Christ Jesus, they believed the message, and the words came upon them “in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction,” and when they were persecuted, they remained steadfast in their faith, and they became known as imitators of the Lord, and they became an example of faith for all the other churches that heard about them. By faith and through faith, they were a beacon of light in a dark world (see 1 Thessalonians 1:4-8).
When God speaks, amazing things happen. God’s holy word is powerful, living and active; it is the sword of the Holy Spirit and the source of peace, rest and shalom. May God’s holy word, through Christ Jesus, come upon you in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, now and always, Amen.