In speaking about the Word of God, we must include all that God is speaking today, without distinguishing between the written Scriptures and prophecy. Inevitably critics will say that this is exalting prophecy to a place equal with the Scriptures; yet there are instances in which prophecy can be exalted above the Scriptures. It is better to hear the feeblest prophecy come forth from a brother who walks with God than to hear Scriptures read by an atheistic, modernist preacher. The Word of God is made of no effect by the way a skeptic preaches it, yet fails to believe it.
Nothing can parallel the glorious level of inspiration of the Word of God in the Scriptures. But to honor a prophecy or a psalm coming forth from someone in a spiritual worship service is better than to seemingly honor a Bible and call it the Word of God, while letting it collect dust on the shelf. Prophecy is to be honored above Scripture if that Scripture is only cold print that fails to enter men’s hearts. It does not become the Word of God until it leaps from the page into the heart and begins to live. The Word of God is a living reality, not a dead letter. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (II Corinthians 3:6). Too many people are dedicated to the letter that kills. Be dedicated to the Spirit that makes alive. Begin with the letter, but God forbid that you should stop there; that is only a starting point.
Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which liveth and abideth.
For, all flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower falleth: but the word of the Lord abideth for ever. And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you. Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation. I Peter 1:22–2:2.
Peter said, “You purified your souls so that you came into an unfeigned love of the brethren.” This was done through the Word of God, the incorruptible seed. Honor the Word of God in whatever form it takes, as long as it is alive, quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. Believers who walk with God today will be more addicted to the Scriptures than any group of believers in the history of Christianity. There will be more searching of the Word, more memorizing, more loving of the Word, and more honest digging into the Word. It will not be on an intellectual level of doubt, but in the Spirit of God, in faith, believing and seeing the Word come alive.
What you become in God is a result of the incorruptible seed, the Word of God that lives and abides forever. It is unlikely that anyone has ever declared the fullness of the truth that Christ is inbreathed in His Word, the incorruptible seed. He is even called the Word of God: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1. Jesus Christ is a person of the Godhead, the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. More than that, the book of Revelation even speaks about the seven spirits of God. There are seven spirits in God, yet God is One. There are still many mysteries which God will be opening to our understanding.
Jesus said, …The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63. How does God communicate Himself in His Word? Any man who embraces a Word from Christ receives a measure of Christ, for He is inbreathed in His Word. He is the One who brings Spirit and life to us in His Word. Oh, how little we understand of the Word of God! He speaks a Word, and what happens? Worlds come into being! When He speaks a Word, suns and moons and stars are created. Much is released when He speaks a Word. By His Word, God releases His omnipotence. By His Word, God also limits and restricts Himself beyond our understanding.
God speaks a Word, and it springs into being. It is done! In His heart it is accomplished; the ages unfold and come to pass in due course of time. God speaks of His Son as having been slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He speaks, and there is light. He says, “Let there be,” and it is so. Yet every time He speaks, He limits Himself as to what shall be done through His omnipotence and what His Word shall become.
Every time you stand upon a Word or a promise of God, He is saying, “If you believe in Me and abide in Me and My words abide in you, you can ask what you will” (John 15:7). It is unlimited for you, but for God it is a limitation. Every time He speaks a Word, He limits Himself. By His faithfulness and His integrity, He forever covenants with Himself that whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13). In other words, God limits Himself so that there will never be a man in all creation crying to Him whom God will not come and save. And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. John 6:37b.
When God gives a Word and you believe that Word in which He has conveyed Himself and limited Himself, that Word becomes a promise to your heart that unfolds everything before you. For time and eternity, that same promise restricts God and links Him to your weakness. God will keep on speaking and telling you many wonderful things. You may stagger at the words that come through foundational ministries, revealing what God wants to do for you and through you. But remember that the Spirit of God is inbreathed in men to convey and to channel the omnipotence of God and to tie God’s hands to a certain course of action on your behalf.
You will become what God speaks because you are born of an incorruptible seed, the Word of God. When God speaks to you and you embrace that Word, you will become His channel to speak a Word from the Lord. You will actually be freighting your words with God. It seems awesome, but that is what it means to be a living epistle.
There is no need to write books about God, giving all the theological proofs that there is a God. This was not done in the Scriptures. The Word simply states, “In the beginning, God….” No one needs to prove that He exists. What should be done when an atheist comes to believers with his books which say that there is no God? It is folly to give him a book to counteract his own book, saying, “Here is a book that says there is a God.” The atheist would probably have many books that say there is no God. Arguing leads nowhere. It is best to simply introduce an unbeliever to God and let him meet Him! He may be completely overwhelmed by the blessing of God’s presence that is coming forth in this day.
Peter not only spoke of what we are, by the grace of God in spiritual birth, but he also spoke of what we become as the children of God. Whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. II Peter 1:4. We get rid of the old nature and cultivate the divine nature by the precious promises of the Lord. First we are born by an incorruptible seed, but what we become after that birth is also achieved by the Word of God. By the Word of God we come into an existence in His sight. By the promises and the Word of God we become like Him and enter into His very nature.
Psalm 119:9, 11 also reveals the importance of God’s Word. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. In every case where there is a violation of that which God sets before His people, it is because they have not been addicted to the Word. Men stumble and have their problems, but they can rise above them and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust as they hold fast to those exceeding great and precious promises.
II Peter 1:19–21 tells us, And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
What a misunderstood passage that is! It is actually saying that no prophecy from God ever originated by the will of man, and therefore it cannot be interpreted by the reasoning of man. That is why the Bible does not seem reasonable to atheists. It was not intended to be reasonable. God does not appeal to the human intellect. Anything that man’s mind can understand can come from no higher source than himself. Any book that appeals completely and perfectly to a person’s mind is too human. The Bible is not human; it is divine. Its truths are not revealed by man’s own private interpretation; only the Holy Spirit makes them alive.
In Bible days, rabbis expounded the Word in the synagogues and misinterpreted it completely. However, ignorant and unlearned men leafed through the Old Testament Scriptures and saw that certain events happened “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets.” What happened to the scribes, the Pharisees, and the rulers? Why did they not know these things? They were reasoning by the wisdom of this world; consequently, they missed the revelation of the Spirit which brought the true interpretation.
As God prepares to bring forth another age, you will have to throw away the books that tell you the exact meaning of many passages of Scripture. No one yet knows ten percent of the truth that will be revealed even in the next few years. How can that truth be found? You must wait upon the Lord for it, because it is hidden in the Word in plain sight. It will spring forth into light by the Holy Spirit, not by private interpretation. By the Spirit of the living God, secrets and wonders and deep truths will spring forth like a daystar rising in your heart and heralding a new day. Understanding will come out of the Word of God to show you not only what you are to become as a partaker of the divine nature, but all that God has prepared for you in this day in which you are to walk before His face. Search the Word. Love it! Prepare for its unveilings. The best is yet to come. The best wine is saved until last.
Jesus said to the Jews who seemed to be so well-versed in the Word, “Ye search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” They just thought it; and none were more misguided. Jesus continued, “But these are they which testify of Me, and you would not come to Me that you might have life” (John 5:39–40). Look into the Word and find its treasures. Ask the Lord to open up the Word by the Spirit, for there are glorious truths yet to be revealed. The greatest prophecies are yet to be given. The greatest sermons are yet to be preached. The greatest ministry is yet to be proclaimed. The greatest works are yet to be accomplished.
II Peter 3:1–13 speaks about the unfolding Word of God. This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; that ye should remember the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your apostles (both the prophets and the apostles said this): knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
For this they wilfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God (notice: by the word of God); by which means the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word (note: by the same word) have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Everything you are to receive from God comes just as this chapter describes. If God is going to do something for you, He first gives a Word, saying, “This is what I have done for you.” By the Word of God, that blessing is reserved for you. Then you must come to the Lord with faith and draw it into action. Jesus does not have to be crucified again in order for a sinner to be saved. Salvation is already reserved for him. By one sacrifice He has forever perfected them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). It is an accomplished fact. Believe and draw from what the Word of God declares.
This passage also shows that judgment comes as a result of a Word from God. Long ago, in the antediluvian days, the earth and the heavens were reserved with waters until the hour of judgment. The flood came when the windows of heaven were opened and all the fountains of the great deep were broken, so that the waters came gushing up (Genesis 7:11).
Geologists wonder about some of the turbulent changes that have been discovered in the earth. They should consider the fact that in the heavens and in the deep there must have been great fountains of water reserved by a Word from God until the fountains of the deep opened up and the heavens rained. The earth was flooded and the world perished in that flood, all by the Word of God. By the same Word of God, the promise was given that such destruction will never happen again by water. But by the same Word of God, fire is reserved in readiness for the day of destruction. There are many promises about the fire of God coming in judgment.
Even a man’s future is held in reserve by the Word of God. From the great reserve of everything God has, He has spoken a Word; and as God’s remnant embrace that Word with faith in their hearts, it will come forth. The Word of the Lord will come to them, saying, “Arise, and speak this Word. Prophesy to that place!” Then some of the judgments which are reserved will immediately be loosed. The earth will be filled again with the judgments of God by a people who will speak them into action, because those judgments have been reserved; and they are ready to come forth by a Word from God.
Whatever God has done to a nation, He has done through a human instrument who proclaimed a certain Word. When He wanted to upset Babylon, He spoke to Jeremiah, “Prophesy against Babylon!” Jeremiah prophesied against nation after nation, and one by one they fell. Would they have fallen without that Word? No. God’s prophet created and brought forth the judgment with a Word from God. God had it already reserved, but He used a human instrument to pull the trigger. God loads the gun, but it is the believer’s mouth that pulls the trigger.
Your initiative in the fulfillment of the Word of God may be likened to a water faucet that is not completely open. You may have a limited flow as God is enabling you to make it happen. But you can speed up the process by turning the faucet on full force. You can open yourself to be a channel of God’s completeness and fullness. The sovereignty of God has dictated the course and the way it will happen, but the rapidity and the force with which it will happen is up to you. You can have a trickle or a torrent. God started it, and the trickle has begun. Open the tap fully, so that all He has in reserve for you can come forth in full measure.
At this time God is saying, “Your faith will light the fuse that ends one age and brings forth a new one!” This is the first time in the history of the world that this has been true to the extent that it is now. It is His good pleasure to give you the Kingdom; so make it happen! Press on into the level of utterance that God has for you now, and be a believer directed by the Word of the Lord. When He says, “Speak,” then speak and see it come to pass because He has ordained it to be. By His Word it has been reserved unto that end. Believe it! Those who started out with feeble little utterances will one day stand before the face of God and speak the Word that will completely change the course of the ages.