Thy Word

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” ~Matthew 4:4

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the word of God. When talking about the Bible, it seems that many people nowadays like to try and discount God’s hand in his word, while as Christians we know the opposite is true. Psalm 12:6-7 says, “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” It’s incredible to think that through the course of thousands of years, over several different continents, that God preserved not only his word, but also his words, according to this verse, and that we can trust them today!

Not only that, but 2 Tim. 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction for instruction in righteousness:” According to this, not only was the Bible inspired when it was written and not only was it preserved by God – it IS inspired today! God gives inspiration to his words as we read them to give us light and insight! This gives whole new meaning to Hebrews 4:12 which states, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The word quick used here, while we usually take it to mean “fast” today, actually meant “alive” when this translation was made. For instance, Mercury was called “quicksilver” because it almost seemed to be alive under certain conditions. In this case, the Word of God is literally being described as alive, in part due to how God works through it, so not only is it preserved and inspired, it’s alive!

Finally, Psalm 138:2 says, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” Not only is the word of God inspired, preserved, and living – we can see the value that God gives to it – higher than even his own name! and he has given it to us to read! We serve an awesome God!