HF134 - Born(e) of God's Word

To:  Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From:  "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Mon Nov 15, 2004   
Subject:  Bible Study HF134 - Born(e) of God's Word

Hebraics,

The following study will run along parallel 'related' tracks. One track has to do with a believer's birth into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. The parallel track has to do with the believer's life being borne up by God's Word. They tracks are pretty much one and the same.

This is Bible Study HF134 - Born(e) of God's Word.

We read in the Bible statements such as, “It came about the same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying...” Here ‘Word of God’ speaks of a communication of God, that is, the personal instruction of the Lord.

The communication of God is seen at the very opening of the Bible; “Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.”

Hebrews 11:3, says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

In the new covenant, Jesus is expressly called “the Word of God.” And so when people began to call on Jesus as Lord and Savior, they soon understand that Jesus really is the living Word of God. He is the very voice of God speaking into the believer's life.

Perhaps this is why we love songs like the Garden Song, which says, “He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is so sweet that the birds hush their singing.” This song carries the heart of what the Word of God means to a child of God. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” To hear the voice of Jesus is to hear the Word of God. What an awesome mystery this.

And so to be born again means to be born of God's Word. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Every person who has been born again, has heard the irresistible call of Jesus.

I well remember the first time the great Shepherd spoke to my heart. It seemed I could not find the Lord. It was only later that I realized that no one actually finds the Lord. The Lord finds us. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Anyway, I was intensely reading the Scriptures. In coming to a conversation between Jesus and His disciples, I saw where the disciples are asking the same questions that I was struggling over.

Then it happened. Philip keys in, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." It was in that moment that the Shepherd spoke directly to me. He said, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Buddy? He who has seen Me has seen the Father."

Something happened. It must have been the sound of His voice. I sat there unable to do anything but weep. Tears flowed down my cheeks, onto my Bible. I will never forget the first time I heard the Word of God speak to me. It was Words of Life. John must have trembled, when he wrote, "What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life." (1Jn1:1)

And so we hear Peter say, “For you have been born again not of seed that is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring Word of God. For, 'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.' This is the Word which was preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:23-25

Of course this wasn't the last time I heard the Word of God speaking to me. I came to realize that the very source of every believer's life is God speaking to us in Christ. We hear a living voice. No, it isn’t something audible. Yet it is something irresistible. This is why the apostle said, “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17)

Before going any further let’s again reach back to God’s original creation. Something happened when Adam rejected the truth of God. He lost his ability to enjoy direct communication with God on a true spiritual level. In the Old Testament the few people who had any sort of direct communication with God were generally the prophets. The prophets served as God's mouthpiece. To hear from God you sought out the prophet.

The issue of the prophet being God's mouthpiece began to diminish with the coming of Jesus. Today there is no need for a prophet of the Old Testament level. This does not mean that the Lord cannot speak to us through others, nor does this mean that God will not raise up someone to speak in a prophetic sense. What it does mean is that while God often speaks to us through others, we ourselves will always know that it is He who is speaking.

We have a promise for this through Isaiah; “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here am I.’” This promise links to the gospel age. (Isaiah 52:6,7)

The term ‘Word of God’ speaks of a special message from heaven, that is, the gospel of Jesus Christ. The message of the gospel carries in it the very life and voice of the living God. It is a living message to a dying world.

But what then of the Bible itself? Is it not also the Word of God? Absolutely. The Bible is the written Word of God. Believers should seek to live according to revealed truths of the Scriptures, keeping in mind that the Bible is a progressive revelation. It finds its completion in the message of the cross.

Here is where a crucial issue must be resolved. It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit will never speak to us in a manner so as to contradict God's written Word. We are actually instructed by the apostle to never exceed what has been written. (1Co4:6)

Then we need to understand the difference between letter-ism and literalism. The letter without a proper revelation of the spiritual truth behind it will gender to bondage. God's people need to know the spiritual reality behind God’s written word. This is one reason the Lord places in all believers the Holy Spirit. Any teaching that is man-centered will not carry the witness of truth.

This extends to pastoral teaching. The primary calling of a pastor is to oversee those who are allotted to his care. His overseeing ministry is for the safety of the flock. His primary gift is that of teaching. And yet the Lord’s assurances always remain the same. Each sheep is to know the voice of the Shepherd.

Now let's take a closer look at the second track, that is, being borne of God's Word. What does it mean to be borne by God's Word? Paul gives insight into this in his final instructions to the elders of the Ephesian church. Listen carefully:

"Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:31,32)

The language here is beautiful beyond measure. Where Paul says the word of His grace is able to build you up, the picture language here is God's Word is 'up-building' the believer’s life in the sense of making the believer a life to live in.

Paul is here speaking of the living essence of Jesus Christ in His speaking to us, opening our understanding, granting us insight and revelation, providing instruction, calming our fears, providing the answers we need when we need them, causing the sacred Scriptures to take on life. And in all this we begin to enjoy the gospel inheritance that belongs to all those who have been sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.

This really is a broad area, but the point remains the same, and it needs to be reemphasized. When the Spirit of Jesus enters the heart of a believing one, we then realize there is awesomeness to being heaven born. We discover it in the study of the Scriptures, in hearing the preaching and teaching of God's Word, in our prayers, in listening to the songs of Zion, or whatever the case. We realize the essence of the living Word of God filling out our lives.

This is one reason the child of God has such a longing for heavenly things. Heaven is already in his or her heart. Heaven is all about Jesus. And heaven on earth is Jesus sharing His life with us.

Keep in mind what the Lord said about His being continuously in our lives. He said, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." He said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." He said, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye on you." (Cf. Matt28:20; Heb13:5; Psalm 32:8)

There is so much more to be said about being born of God's Word, and borne of God's Word, but I'll leave off for now. The study is open for sharing. Feel free to provide your thoughts and ask questions. Also feel free to share a testimony.

The Lord bless you,

Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host 
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org

Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/

"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)

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