The Purpose of the Word

God's Word gives life.

Able to Save (3)

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1.21

Never smart enough
Simply put, people would like to live forever. Nobody wants to die, and if we could figure out a way to avoid that inevitability, we surely would.

It has always been thus. Even in the Garden of Eden our first parents wanted to live forever. They wanted to be wise, like God; to have dominion over all the creatures in the Garden, just like God; to be free and happy and totally in charge of their lives, like God.

The problem Adam and Even encountered was twofold: First, they wanted to be like God, and that’s not an unholy aspiration (1 Jn. 3.1-3). But Adam and Eve were not content to be like God; they wanted to be God, having absolute and sovereign authority to live their lives as they saw fit.

Then, second, being creatures and not God, they discovered they weren’t smart enough to figure out on their own how to live forever. Their desire to be God plunged them into the Lie, and left them flailing against ever-encroaching death all their days. Wanting above all else to live forever, they trusted their own inclinations above the revealed Word of God, and forfeited joy and rejoicing for sin, struggle, strife, and death.

Alas, things haven’t changed much since then.

God’s Word for salvation
From the beginning, God understood this. So, having created Adam and Eve, intending them to live forever, He spoke to them and explained what they needed to do to achieve that condition which both they and He desired. God’s first words to Adam and Eve concerning what to eat and what not to eat were words designed to save them from death.

And all the Word of God is just the same.

As we have seen, the Apostle James explained that the Word of God is able to save our souls. Politics, things, relationships with other human beings – none of these can accomplish that amazing feat. In our natural condition, before hearing the Word of God, people are dead in their trespasses and sins, as Paul explained in Ephesians 2.1-3. But when we hear with understanding and faith the Word of God in the Gospel – our soul being enlivened by the Spirit of God – then we are saved from that condition of death and born again into eternal life with God. The indwelling Spirit of God then uses the implanted Word of God to transform us into the renewed image of God, opening to us throughout the process a life of joy and rejoicing.

All the rest of our lives is an adventure of growing in the salvation God has freely given us in Jesus Christ, increasing day by day in the promises, blessings, and advantages of knowing and serving Him according to His Word. As God’s Word becomes more deeply planted in our souls – enlightening our minds, transforming our affections, and aligning our wills with His – we experience more and more power to resist the devil, reject the allure of sin and the Lie, and overcome its power in our daily lives. And we know more of His joy and rejoicing in every aspect of our lives.

How to get there
But this increasing salvation from the power of sin doesn’t just happen. God’s purpose in giving us His Word is so that we might grow in the gift of salvation. But we have to “work out” our own salvation in fear and trembling before the Lord (Phil. 2.12, 13), turning to His Word to show us our sin (Rom. 7.7) and guide us in the footsteps of Jesus along the path of Kingdom greatness (1 Jn. .:1-6; Matt. 5.17-19). This is why reading, meditating on, and studying the Bible must become anchor disciplines of our lives.

Before this can happen, however, we have to rid ourselves of remaining vestiges of the Lie and its attendant lifestyle. Repentance, as we have seen, is a first fruit of feeding on the Word of God. James says the Word of God will only become implanted in our souls as we “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness.”

So a twofold process is required for God’s Word to fulfill its purpose and do its work in our lives: We must turn away from all sin, whatever God makes known to us as contrary to His Word and will; and we must take up the Word of God – reading, meditating, studying, and so forth – in order to plant it deeply and firmly in our soul.

As we do this, we align with God’s purpose in giving us His Word, and we will discover more and more the power of that Word to accomplish its saving work in our souls.

For reflection
1.  What’s the difference between working out our salvation and working for it? How can we know when we’ve got this right?

2.  Review James 1.21: Explain the twofold process by which the Word becomes firmly and deeply implanted in our souls.

3.  What do you think are the primary obstacles keeping Christians from a more vital and consistent involvement with the Word of God?

Next steps – Preparation: How would you describe the work of God’s Word in your soul? Are you experiencing more of the salvation God has given you? Spend some extended time in prayer reflecting on these questions.

T. M. Moore

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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.