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John 1:1, 14; 6:63; 1 Pet. 1:23; 2:2; Matt. 4:4; Jer. 15:16; Job 23:12b; Eph. 6:17-18a; Col. 3:16; Eccl. 12:1; Psa. 119:11
I. The importance of the Word of God to the believers
II. The essence of the Word of God — being life to the believers
III. The function of the Word of God — giving life to the believers
А. Causing men to be regenerated
B. Being the believers’ spiritual milk
C. Being the believers’ bread of life
IV. Using our spirit and our mental faculty to receive the Spirit and life from the Word of God
А. By pray-reading
B. By reading
C. By studying
D. By memorizing
[After we are saved, in order to have spiritual growth, we must know the Bible. For two thousand years Christians have acknowledged one thing, that no one can know the Lord well without knowing the Bible.
The spiritual inheritance which God has given to us includes, on the one hand, the invisible Holy Spirit and, on the other hand, the visible holy Bible. On the one hand, the Spirit is within us; on the other hand, the Scripture is outside of us. A proper Christian must be balanced in these two sides. If we only have the Holy Spirit within but do not have the Scripture without, we will make mistakes easily. If we only have the Scripture without, but do not have the Holy Spirit within, we will become dead, without vitality or livingness.
A Christian is like a train which needs motivating power within and tracks without. Having these two aspects — the inward and the outward — coordinating together, the train can move, even move very well. This is exactly true of the Holy Spirit within us and the Holy Scriptures outside of us. If you are filled with the Holy Spirit within and you also know the Bible without, then, as a Christian, you are living and stable, and you are also active and accurate. You are a Christian who is living and stable as well as active and accurate.]
[Most Christians know that the Bible is the Word of God. But many do not know the very essence of the holy word in the Bible. Anything that is solid always has an element and an essence. We need to consider what the essence of the word of the Lord is. The holy word that has been spoken by God through the generations is the very embodiment of the Triune God. This is based on John 1:1 and 14. Verse 1 tells us definitely that the Word, the holy Word, is God. The word that has been spoken through the generations is God Himself essentially. The Word is God Himself, not in person but in essence. This simply means that God is altogether embodied in the Word. God is Spirit, and a spirit is mysterious and invisible. But the Word is something in black and white. It is visible and solid. Thus, the Word is the embodiment of the mysterious and invisible God. Although God is invisible and mysterious, the Word is not. The solid and visible Word embodies God. The Word defines, explains, and expresses God.]
[In Chapter one of the gospel of John, we are told that the Word was God Himself embodied to be Jesus. When Jesus speaks the word, whatever He speaks is spirit and life. The Lord Jesus said in John 6:63, “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life.’’ The Word today is the Spirit and the life.] [If we contact the Bible only with our mind, the Bible will be only the letter to us. But whenever we contact any part of the Bible with our spirit, that part of the Bible becomes spirit and life to us.]
[The first practical function of the Bible in us is to cause us to be regenerated (1 Pet. 1:23). The Bible is the Word of the living God, and it contains the life of the living God. When we receive the word of the Scriptures into us by faith, it comes into us like a seed of life, sowing God’s life into us; thus, we have God’s life and are regenerated.]
[When we first get saved, we do not have a strong enough comprehension concerning spiritual things. Some portions of the Scriptures are like milk that can nourish us and make us grow in our spiritual life (1 Pet. 2:2). Hence, a newly regenerated believer must long for the word of the Bible, like newborn babes longing for the guileless milk of the word. Otherwise, his spiritual life cannot grow, and he will continue to be one who is an infant in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1-2).]
[The word of the Scriptures is also our spiritual bread of life (Matt. 4:4). Just as our physical life needs nourishment, so also our spiritual life needs nourishment. The nourishment of our spiritual life can only be supplied by the word of the Bible. In order to be living and strong before God, we cannot depend on bread alone, but on every word, that is, the word of the Bible, that proceeds out through the mouth of God. We must take the word of God as food and eat it (Jer. 15:16), even regarding the word of the Bible as more important than our food (Job 23:12b). Otherwise, our spiritual life cannot grow. We must practice to have our faculties exercised in apprehending the word of the Bible so that we may be able to understand the words that are hard to interpret; that is, like those who are mature, we can eat the solid food (Heb. 5:13-14). Otherwise, our spiritual life cannot be strong.]
First Peter 2:2 tells us that we may grow by the guileless milk of the word. The term “of the word’’ in Greek is logikos. [This word, in Romans 12:1 translated reasonable, is derived from the noun logos — the word; hence, of the word; having the sense of pertaining to the mind (in contrast with the body), to the rational faculties; hence, rational, logical, reasonable. The milk of the word is not milk for the body, but milk for the soul, the inner being. It is conveyed in the Word of God to nourish our inner man through the understanding of our rational mind, and is assimilated by our mental faculties.] [Although the nourishing milk of the word is for the soul through the mind, it eventually nourishes our spirit, making us not soulish but spiritual, suitable for building up a spiritual house for God.]
[The Lord indicated that for giving life, He would become the Spirit. Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the life-giving Spirit. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we get the Spirit who is life.] [The Scripture is the embodiment of God as the Spirit. The Spirit is therefore the very essence, the substance, of the Scripture, just as phosphorus is the essential substance in matches. We must strike the Spirit of the Scripture with our spirit to catch the divine fire.]
Pray-reading is the best way to receive the Spirit and life from the Word of God. When you read the Word of God, do not read only with your mind. You also must use your spirit by calling and praying. Ephesians 6:17 and 18a says, “And receive…the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit.’’ When you read the Word of God, some word may touch you; immediately turn that into prayer. Suppose you are reading the above verses. You may pray, “O Lord, I am here to receive the sword of the Spirit. O Lord Jesus, You are the Spirit; I want to receive You. The Spirit is the word of God, Lord. As I am pray-reading your word, I am receiving Your Spirit. Hallelujah! I am praying in my spirit to receive You through Your word.’’ If you would pray like this, you will be energized by the Spirit and life, and you will be burning in your spirit by the divine fire.
We need to read the Bible from cover to cover. Decide before the Lord how much you want to read every day. If you read three chapters from the Old Testament and one chapter from the New Testament every day, it will take you about one year to finish the Bible. If you read one chapter from the New Testament every day, it will take you about nine months to finish the New Testament. You need to set up your goal for Bible-reading and carry it out accordingly. As you are reading through, pray with the verses that touch you, write down what you see, then tell people around you what you wrote down. Tell your parents, your siblings, your partners, your serving ones, and your friends.
You also need to use your mind in studying the Word of God. You must let the word of Christ fill your mind and let it dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16). When you study, you must think; as you think, you must pray and enjoy. This practice will help us receive the milk of the word for our mental faculties and will nourish our spirit. You may study a book in the Bible, such as John or Romans, with the help of the footnotes and the references in the Recovery Version, as well as the corresponding life-study messages. Thank the Lord, we have the Recovery Version and the life-study messages for every book of the New Testament. You may study any book in the New Testament with the aid of so many helpful publications. You may study the lesson books for the junior high and high school students. You may study the Life Lessons and Truth Lessons. There are many ways for you to study. Fellowship with your parents, serving ones, and elders concerning how you may study the Word of God.
We also need to memorize the Word of God. This may be overlooked by most saints. Memorizing the Word of God is very helpful. Have you ever experienced a lack of the Word of God in your preaching of the gospel? You may not know what to say when preaching to a friend. If you memorize a verse a day, in three years, you will have about one thousand verses memorized. You will not have to worry about what to say or where to find the verses you want to quote. Young people should definitely memorize verses. What you memorize in your youth may never be forgotten. You can use the verses for the rest of your life. Your mind becomes cluttered with too many things when you get older. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth.’’ One of the best ways to remember the Lord is to memorize His word. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against You.’’ What you keep in your heart (mainly your mind) will help to keep you from sin and will help to form you according to God’s desire.
In conclusion, we must use our spirit and our mind to contact the Word of God daily to receive the Spirit and life that we may be enriched. Then we may have a strong spirit to experience life and to grow in life until we reach maturity.
