THE CENTRALITY OF THE WORD OF GOD Devotion 1 of 30 When God created man, He made him in His own "image" (Gen 1:26-27; 9:6; 1 Cor 11:7), after His "likeness" (Gen 1:26; 5:1), and after His "similitude" (James 3:9). Man is not a replica of God, but reflects the nature of God – like the moon reflects the light of the sun. As such, man has been made with the intention of him KNOWING God (Jer 31:34; John 17:3; Heb 10:30; 1 John 5:20), having FELLOWSHIP with Him (Gen 5:22; 6:9; 1 Cor 1:9; 1 John 1:3), and WORKING together with Him (1 Cor 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). Tomorrow:
"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." (Psa 138:2) ". . . for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!" (Amplified Bible)
One of the basic postulates of Scripture is that sin had a direct impact upon man's realization of these objectives. Now it is said of all men in their natural state, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). Sin introduced a circumstance that is the very antithesis of the God in whose image man was made. It brought moral and spiritual decay and deterioration that consummated in moral and spiritual death, as well as the ultimate demise of the body. This has caused a separation from God (Isa 59:2), alienation from the life of God (Eph 4:18), and hostility toward Him (Rom 8:7). What is even more, there is nothing man himself can do about his situation. It is in this sense that he is described as "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1), and "having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). God Himself assesses the human race in these words: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom 3:10-12).
That is the human circumstance apart from God – apart from Divine intervention. That is, if God does not Himself do something about this situation, nothing can be done to resolve it. In order to confirm that this is the case, God, in His longsuffering, allowed all men to chart their own course for 2,500 hundred years – from Adam to Moses. During that time, the Almighty spoke to a few people, involving them with Himself: i.e. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and a few others. However, the race did not improve. No one made themselves righteous. No one was able to overcome the debilitating effects of sin.
In order to confirm that man's liability was more than ignorance, God isolated a
particular people from the rest of the world, giving them a righteous Law, with attending statutes
and ordinances. He told them how to live, what to do, and where to do it. If mankind only
required direction, there certainly were plenty of directions in that Law. If the human condition
could be corrected by routine, this Law would do it – and it was given by God Himself.
However, after 1,500 years, there still was no improvement in the condition of mankind. It was
still declared that there was no one who was righteous. During this time, as well the initial period
of history, the only people who obtained any kind of acquaintance with God were those to whom, God revealed Himself – and there was not a single exception.
Finally, although purposed "before the world began" (1 Tim 1:9), "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal; 4:4-5). According to that purpose, those who are so adopted, have "the Spirit" of God's Son "sent into their hearts" (Gal 4:6). He is "the Spirit of adoption," relating them to the God in whose image they were created (Rom 8:15). Now, under the government and guidance of Jesus, the redeemed are enabled to know God, fellowship with Him, and work with Him.
The purpose of this series of devotions is to confirm the pivotal role of God's Word in the initiation, maturity, and culmination of the "great salvation" that is realized in Christ Jesus. God's Word is the appointed means of impacting the rationality and willingness of humanity. It provides a spiritually intelligent framework within which life is lived with both purpose and satisfaction, and for the glory of God.
God's Word is actually the expression of His mind the communication of His will and of His thoughts. Left to himself, God said of humanity as a whole, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa 55:8-9). Were it not for the Word of God, that miserable condition would have remained forever unchanged. If God had not told us His mind, there is no possible way that we could have discovered it. It is for this reason that Moses declared, and Jesus confirmed it, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Mat 4:4). Luke stated it this way, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY word of God" (Luke 4:4).
God has communicated no word that is not conducive to life: man lives by "EVERY word of God." That Word has enlivening power, being "quick and powerful," or "living and active" (Heb 4:12, NASB). Therefore, the spiritual life of a person is directly proportional to what he has ingested of the Word of God. With that in mind, we will proceed with this series.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for giving us Your Word.