Jesus Christ the Word of Life

When a man speaks, it is his word that emanates from him, from his heart and his mind. Words are powerful to give life or to kill. God is so serious about our words that every idle word will be judged on the last day (Mt 12:36).

When God speaks, it is His Word that emanates from Him. By His Word, God created the physical universe (Jn 1:3, 10). He spoke all things into existence that exits (Heb 1:2), and He sustains all things by His Word (Heb 1:3). Creation all holds together by this Word.

In any particular election year, we are reminded that a politician cannot be separated from his or her words in the past. Words have meaning and consequences. Words reveal the heart. Spoken or written lies can come back to haunt a politician or anyone else. Slander and libel are sins.

Words of truth, in a world of lies, are powerful and despised. Satan is the father of lies (Jn 8:44), and there is no truth in him. His children follow his example (1 Jn 3:10). The tongue is a little member of the body, but it is the cause of so much trouble in the world (Jas 3:3–13).

The sins of the tongue are legion, and the wages for these sins is death (Rom 3:23). Jesus Christ, however, came to bring life. Jesus said to His disciples, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life (Jn 6:63).”

When Jesus came into the world, He was the Word incarnate (Jn 1:14). When Jesus spoke, some recognized He had the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68). Those souls appointed to eternal life, even today, believe the Word spoken, taught, or preached to them (Jn 2:22; 4:41; 8:31; Acts 4:4; Eph 1:13). They, too, glorify the Word of the Lord (Acts 13:48).

The Holy Spirit gives life to the elect of God (2 Thess 2:13), using the Word that gives faith (Rom 10:17). The unregenerate hears the Word of God, and the Spirit of God causes the particular hearer to comprehend and believe that which is proclaimed as Good News (1 Cor 2:15; Col 1:9).

Just as Jesus testified to the validity of the Scriptures being the written Word of God, it is the Scripture that bears witness to Jesus being the Word that was from the beginning with God and the very emanation of God — the word made flesh (Jn 1:14; 5:39–47). Just as Mary Magdalene wished to hold fast to the risen Christ (Mt 28:9), whom she loved, so the lover of Christ, today, holds fast the Word of life (Phil 2:16).

It is the Word of God that gives light, that is, understanding to one’s path through life (Ps 119:105, 130) The Spirit guides the children of God into all truth (Jn 16:13), by illumining God’s Word of truth (Ps 119:160).

Many are exposed to the Word of God in their lives (Mt 24:14; Mk 16:15), even as many encountered Jesus during His earthly ministry. Just as Jesus did not heal all the sick, or raise but a few from the dead, so His Word is only effectual in the lives of His remnant people (Ps 115:6; Jn 8:43; 1 Cor 2:14–15).

When the Word of life does not give life (Jn 5:24; 6:63, 68; 1 Jn 1:1), it is because the seed of the Word falls on unproductive ground (Mt 13:3–9), that is, the heart and mind of the reprobate (Acts 13:46). It is the Spirit and the Word that sanctify (Jn 17:17). This is the Word of truth in the power of God (2 Cor 6:7). This Word of truth is the Gospel that we preach (Col 1:5).

God brings us forth to life (Jn 6:63), by the Word of truth (Jas 1:18), granting us faith (Phil 1:29), by His grace (Eph 2:8–9). This is the act of love, by which the Spirit, who is given as a token of God’s love (2 Cor 5:5), is sent by the Father and the Son (Jn 14:26; 15:26), to those whom the Father gave to the Son in eternity (Jn 6:37).

Therefore, there is no greater act of love in this world than a Spirit-filled preacher heralding the Gospel (Rom 10:15; 2 Tim 1:13; 1 Jn 2:5). Testifying that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 18:5), his light goes forth, as wisdom and with power (1 Cor 1:24). The preacher pleads with men and women to be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:20), wielding the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17), the Word of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19).

Those who receive the Word of life (Rom 10:8), by grace, continue in God’s Word (Jn 8:31), which now richly dwells in them (Col 3:16), nourishing the soul of the saint with words of faith and sound doctrine (1 Tim 4:6).

The Word of God keeps spreading (Acts 6:7), growing and multiplying (Acts 12:24). It is a Word that occupies the heart (Dt 6:6; 30:14; Job 22:22). It is treasured by those who love the Lord (Ps 119:11), and who stand in awe of God’s Word (Ps 119:161).

My dear reader, this Word of life is living and active, sharp and piercing with precision judgment (Heb 4:12). The Word of God, in the heart of man (Dt 6:6), is a morning star dawning in a dark place (2 Pet 1:19).

Examine yourself, by the explanation of God’s Word, working in the life of the believer. Do not be deceived, the Word of life has either given you new life or it has not (2 Cor 3:16; 5:17). Whether it has (Jn 5:24), or has not afforded you life on this day (Jn 8:37), it should be your expedient impetus, to sit under a true Gospel preacher, to read the Scripture often throughout each day, even as you eat food. May you taste and see that God’s Word is good, for giving life abundant and eternal.

David Norczyk

Spokane Valley, Washington

December 14, 2022