Able to Save (6)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes… Romans 1.16

No ordinary Book
When Paul wrote that the Gospel is the “power of God for salvation,” he was not just talking about the Good News that Jesus has risen from the dead. He might just as well have said that the Scriptures are the power of God for salvation, since, as we have seen, the central message and focus of the entire Bible is the story of Jesus Christ and way of redemption and salvation God has accomplished through Him.

The Bible is power – the power of God – which results in salvation, and joy and rejoicing without ceasing.

The Bible is thus no ordinary book. It is the Word of God, and it has power to open minds, recalibrate hearts, and retool consciences and wills, so that people believe its teaching, and begin to be made altogether new in Jesus. Nothing compares with the Bible’s power to make us new. Because it is the very Word of God, it knows us, becomes implanted in our souls, and, working with the Spirit of God, accomplishes results we could never achieve without the power of the Word working in us.

What kind of power?
But what kind of power is this which the Word of God wields? And how does it wield it?

There are, of course, many kinds of power at work in the world. Power is simply one form or another of energy directed at the end of accomplishing some work. Electrical power turns on our lights. Gas power cooks our meals and runs our cars. The power of wind and rain grows our gardens, and so forth.

The power of the Word of God is spiritual power. That is, it works at the most fundamental level of human existence. The world may scoff at the idea of spiritual anything, but this only demonstrates the degree to which it has been blinded by spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. Believers, awakened by the Word and Spirit of God to the larger realities of the world – the unseen realities of Christ and the Spirit – know full well that spiritual power is the most important kind of power to possess.

And the Bible possesses it in spades.

That power becomes effective in our lives as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to accomplish real transformations in how we think, feel, and will. The power thus generated in our soul releases energy for good works and good words, as we become increasingly transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the operative power of the Word of God, without Whose interventions and operations we will never be able to know the power of the Word for salvation. As we position ourselves before the Word of God – whether reading or hearing it, ready to receive and obey it – the Spirit takes that Word and applies it to the spiritual core of our lives. If we are truly listening, and willing to be taught, and if we can face up to areas of our lives where we need to repent of sin and cling more closely to God, then the Spirit will implant that Word in new ways, release His power and generate new spiritual energy, and further His work of making all things new in our lives.

The impact of its power
But how do we experience the power of the Word of God? That is, how can we know when that power is energetically at work in our lives? In various ways.

First, by the power of the Word the Spirit confirms the teaching of Scripture to our souls, and we become, and remain, persuaded that Christ is real, God is real, salvation is real, and that, praise God, we have it. The Spirit works continuously with the Word of God to unleash spiritual power in our souls, assuring us that we have been forgiven, we belong to God, He is making all things new in our lives, and we will dwell with Him forever.

Imagine if we had to fight that battle every single day! Instead, each time we sit down with the Word of God, the Spirit reminds us in our soul, that we’re right where we ought to be, children of our heavenly Father, feeding on the spiritual nourishment He provides for us in His Word.

Further, the power of the Word works to bring to light any sins which we have committed or which linger in our soul (Ps. 139.23, 24; Jn. 16.8-11). At times, when we’re reading the Word, we should experience a very uncomfortable sense of “Uh oh.” At the same time, the Spirit will use the Word powerfully to convince and direct us in the way things should be in our lives, to illuminate a path that runs through the pleasure and will of God to the newness of life God intends for us. So that the power of the Word to convict is also a power to persuade and to enable us to think differently, love more appropriately, and will according to the will of God.

That power then becomes operational in our daily lives so that we are able to do the good works for which we have been redeemed, and for which the Word and Spirit of God equip us day by day (Eph. 2.10; 2 Tim. 3.15-17).

The power of the Word is the power of God for salvation. It is a true spiritual power that works, the more we subject ourselves to it, to make all things new in our lives, and to bring us ever more firmly and consistently into the joy and rejoicing of the Lord.

For reflection
1.  In what ways do you experience the spiritual power of the Word of God?

2.  Suppose someone were to tell you this is all just a psychological thing; there are no spiritual powers. How would you respond?

3.  What do we mean by the “soul”? What is your responsibility with respect to your soul, and how does the Word of God fit in to this?

Next steps – Conversation: What are some ways you have recently experienced the power of God’s Word working on your mind, heart, or conscience? Share your observations with a Christian friend.

T. M. Moore

To learn more about understanding and using the Bible, enroll in the course, Introduction to Biblical Theology. It’s free and online, and you can study at your own pace or with friends. To learn more and to register, click here. This week’s study is Part 5 of a series on The Word of God, and is available as a free download by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.