1006. 985. Word of God: Its Authority and Adaptability

985. Word of God: Its Authority and Adaptability

The authority and adaptability of the Word of God as the—

1. Preacher’s Message—Mar_16:16-20; 1Co_1:23; Act_5:20. The true preacher has no fads to air, no fancies to unfold, no fallacies to express, but the facts of the Gospel to proclaim.

2. Believer’s Foundation—Rom_10:17; Mat_7:24-29; Psa_119:40. Faith has no being nor well-being only as it is founded on, and fashioned by, “as the truth is in Jesus.”

3. Saint’s Element—Joh_17:17, R.V.; Psa_119:133; Jas_1:25. As we live in the air and the air moves the lungs of the body, so the truth is the saint’s environment and equipment for all life’s doings and duties.

4. Christian’s Rule—Php_2:16; 2Ti_2:15; Act_17:11. The Living Word is the Root upon which we grow, and the Written Word is the Rule by which we square. The straight-edge of the Word will always make the walk straightforward in the conduct.

5. Pilgrim’s Guide—Heb_11:10, Heb_11:13; Psa_73:24; Joh_15:3. The pilgrim finds the Word a staff to aid him, a cordial to strengthen him, a compass to guide him, a bank to supply him, and a star to cheer him.

6. Soldier’s Weapon—Mat_4:4, Mat_4:7, Mat_4:10; 1Ti_6:12, R.V.; Eph_6:17. No enemy can defeat us if we obey God’s Word fully, believe its promises, and wield it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

7. Worker’s Study—2Ti_2:15; Psa_119:162; 1Pe_1:11. We need to study the Word wholly, to be correct; to search it diligently, to be capable; to ponder it prayerfully, to be devout; and to practise it fully, to be assured.

8. Husbandman’s Food—2Ti_2:6; Jer_15:16; Joh_6:53, Joh_6:63. To feed upon the Word is to become like the Word upon which we feed. For brawn and brain we need the right food. Novels and novelties will never make us stalwarts in the Christian life, but the truth will.

By: DR. F. E. MARSH