Commended to the Word of God

 

The apostle Paul said to the Ephesians, upon his departure from them;  “And now I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”  (Acts 20, verse 32)

The word translated “commend” in that verse, is translated as “commit” or “entrust” in other versions.  And those are probably better words for our understanding today.  We all have been put under the “stewardship” you might say, of God’s inspired word.  In other words, we’ve been entrusted with God’s Word, and put under the guidance, and oversight, of that word.  We’ve been “committed” to it, as one’s who are responsible for leaning that word, and for keeping that word, and obeying that word, faithfully.

“Be diligent”, the scriptures say;  “Study”..  Some versions say;  “..to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not be ashamed, correctly discerning the Word of God.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)

How are we going to correctly discern God’s word, unless we’re committed to it?  Unless we’re diligent; Unless we’re willing to study;  And then study some more;  And then “Keep” that word that we’ve learned, and that we’ve come to understand so well.  Keep it!  Keep it pure;  Keep it exactly as God has given it.  Don’t try to change it to fit our personal desires.  But keep it, the way God intended it to be.

Once again,  Acts 20. verse 32;  “And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” There’s nothing else, except the word of God, that can build us up spiritually, and that can guarantee us, of that inheritance in heaven.  There’s simply nothing else that can do it!  Nothing else has that power.

You know, sometimes we sing a hymn that’s called..  “Nothing But The Blood”.   And of course that’s speaking of the blood of Jesus;  There are certain things, that cannot be accomplished without the blood of Jesus;  But the blood of Jesus, CAN accomplish those things.  And what are the things that the blood of Jesus can accomplish?

Well, lets sing that song, “Nothing But The Blood”, and let’s hear about what the blood of Jesus can accomplish.  Turn to hymn #275 if you would please, and Bobbly can lead us in that song.  It’s a perfectly scriptural song;  And it’ll tell us what the blood of Jesus can accomplish..

 

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Nothing but the blood of Jesus can take away sin.  But you know, in the same way, nothing but the WORD of God, can accomplish other things.  The Word of God doesn’t take away sins, because nothing but the blood of Jesus can do that.  But yet, there’s other things, that only God’s Word can do!

Think about what the Word of God can do.  Just like we’ve already read from the scriptures, only the Word of God..  “..is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

What else can you think of, that ONLY the Word of God can do?  How about  1 Peter 1, verse 23..  “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”   Nothing else can do that!

Born again, of the Word of God!  Built up, so as to receive an inheritance in heaven!   Anything else come to your mind?

Listen to these words of God, spoken by Isaiah, in  Isaiah 55, verses 10 & 11;  “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”  

The Word of God has it’s very special purpose, or maybe we should say “purposes”.  One of those purposes is to “create” a Christian.  Born again of imperishable seed!   And another purpose is to build us up, and prepare us for heaven.  Have you thought of anything else?

Psalm 119, verse 105  says;  “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”   God’s Word can guide, and direct our every step!  Can anything else do that?  I dare say not!

Listen to this..  Hebrews 4, verse 12  tells us something that God’s Word can do..  “.. it pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow.  It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart!”  Nothing else can do that!

Here’s what God said through Jeremiah, in  Jeremiah 23, verse 29;  “Is not My Word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”  In other words, God’s Word not only has the power to build up like nothing else can do, but it also has the power to destroy like nothing else can!

And here’s something else;  God’s word is “the standard” by which all else is judged.  It is THE standard, which nothing absolutely nothing else can measure up to.   2 Timothy 3, verses 16 & 17  tell us;  “Every Scripture (All scripture) is God-breathed, and profitable for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God (or woman of God) may be complete, equipped for every good work.”   Complete, and furnished for every good work!  Nothing else can do that..  Nothing!  But the Word of God can! 

The Word of God is not only THE standard, for life, both physical life and spiritual life, but God’s Word is also the judge, of all who live!  Jesus said it, in  John 12:48;  “The one rejecting Me, and not receiving My words, has one judging him:  The Word which I spoke, that will judge him in the last day.”  Nothing else will judge anyone, except the all powerful, and almighty, Word of God!  Nothing else has that authority.

 

Can you think of a scripture I haven’t read yet, about the Word of God?

How about this one;  Isaiah 40, verse 8;  “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God endures forever.”  God’s Word, just like God Himself, is eternal.  

How about  Psalm 18:30;  “As for God, His way is perfect;  The Word of the LORD is flawless.  He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”  The “flawless” Word of God.   What else could we say is “flawless”?  Nothing!  Except for God Himself.

When Jesus said, in  John 8:32;  “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  What was He talking about?  What “truth” was Jesus talking about?  Well, obviously, He was talking about the Word of God.  He put it so plainly in  John 17:17;  “Thy Word is truth.”   You shall know God’s Word, and God’s Word shall set you free from sin, and build you up for an inheritance in heaven.

 

Here’s a few verses that tell us what our attitude should be, towards the word of God..

We’ll begin with the words of Job, from  Job 23;12;  “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;  I have treasured the words of His mouth, more than my portion of food.”  That’s what OUR attitude needs to be.  We need to treasure the word’s of His mouth, more than the food we eat, more than the money we earn, more than the things we buy, more than anything!  

Here’s what Paul had to say, in  1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13;  “And we also thank God constantly for this;  That when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers.”   Take a moment and think about how the Word of God, is “at work” in you!  What is that Word doing within you?  What kind of thoughts is it producing, and what kind of behavior is it producing, in you?  God’s Word is truly  “at work” in you, and in me, and in all of us.

Here’s an admonition from  Colossians 3:16;  “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  Let it dwell in you;  Let it “work” in you.  Let GOD work in you!  And be thankful!

Here’s a fact we should always remember;  It’s the words of Jesus, from  John 6, verse 63;  “The Spirit gives life; The flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you, are spirit, and they are life.”  The words of Jesus, the words of God, are life to our soul.  Always remember that, and be thankful for the words of God.

 

I’m sure there are more scriptures that talk about the word of God, and the word of Christ;  But I’m going to stop right here.  But before we stand and sing, let me say this about our closing hymn.  The hymn is titled;  Give Me The Bible, and as we know, the bible, is the written, word of God.  It’s the bible that produces our faith  (Romans 10:17)  It’s the bible that enables us to be born again.  It’s the bible that serves as a lamp to our feet.  It’s the bible that is our spiritual food.  It’s the bible that builds us up, to an inheritance in heaven.

Nothing can do what the bible can do!

Let’s stand and sing..  Hymn # 53,  Give Me the Bible.