The Word

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John 1:1

    The Bible study group I've been leading has been studying through the book of Ephesians this semester. It's been a really great study and I've learned so much about living the victorious Christian life, being devoted to the body, and really and truly seeing and partaking in all that Christ has done for us and has for us. Last week we studied the armor of God from Ephesians chapter 6 and one thing stood out to me more than any other…The Word of God and it's role in believers' lives. I feel like this verse and others in the Bible about the Word have really brought home something to me that I've been feeling and wanting to express so much to others; the importance of the daily study of the Word of God.

"Your statues are wonderful, therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; 

it gives understanding to the simple." Psalm 119:129-130

     I believe that studying the Word daily is central and vital in a Christian's life, no matter where or who that Christian is. I can say this in all confidence because Christ should be at the center of our world, and as the verse above so aptly states it, Christ is the Word. It really makes it so simple to understand the connection when you look at John 1:1. If Christ is the one we love, desire and long to be with, and He is the Word, then we should also desire to long to be in the Word to know and love Him more.

"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, 

somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead." Philippians 3:10-11 

(one of my favorite verses right now…love the longing Paul has for Christ, I want that!)

      Each time we open the Bible we know Christ more intimately and understand His love for us more fully. Even if we've read the passage 1000 times, reading it that one extra time can unlock doors of desire and overflowing gratitude for our Savior that have never been opened before. Besides that, we will never know all that the Bible has to offer in this life, so there will never be a time in our lives that we are 'knowledgable' enough to stop studying.

     David Platt talks about desiring the Word in his book, Follow Me. "To those who are followers of Jesus, to men and women whose hearts have been transformed by the passionate pursuit and faithful love of Christ, His words are priceless. They are not merely read; they are reflected upon. They are not merely examined; they are enjoyed. They are not merely analyzed; they are applied. For the words of Jesus reflect the intimate relationship that disciples have with Him….The Bible is designed to be the disciples' daily bread. More important, more valuable, more treasured, and more desired than breakfast, lunch, or dinner."

     So that is the true and most basic reason to study the Word. We, as believers, desire to know Christ more and He's given us His Word to do so. But there are more 'practical' reasons to study the Word as well, and we talked about those at Bible study.

    "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." 

Ephesians 6:17

    In the imagery of the armor of God the only offensive weapon that we are given is the Word of God. In our spiritual battles on this earth the only thing we can do to offensively fight is use the Word of God. Every other piece of armor is a defensive piece so that we are protected, but when it comes to the Word, we can use it to wound the enemy. This is so powerful when we soak it in. We have a weapon against the devil. We have a weapon against the world. We have a weapon against our natural flesh that wants to sin. THE WORD.

"For the Word of God is living and active. Shaper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." 

Hebrews 4:15

      And yet we are slow to open the Bible and even slower to commit to daily reading and studying. This is a sad fact that I think has impacted our churches and culture so much. We treat studying God's Word as part of a checklist that may or may not get accomplished, as a discipline that we may or may not be able to do, or as a legalistic chore that we are afraid to commit to because it may mean we are working for grace. Discipling ourselves to study the Bible is not legalistic, it's Christian, it's Biblical and it's healthy. And saying that we just aren't disciplined so we can't get it done is just a poor excuse. When we look at the Word as Christ and say that we aren't disciplined enough to spend time with Him, it puts a whole new light on the matter and hopefully convicts us to get back to the Bible!

So why study the Bible, practically? Well, there are several reasons:
1. It is our offensive weapon. Ray Stedman, in our Joy of Living Bible study, says that the Word referred to in Ephesians 6 is the Greek word rhema, which "means a specific saying of God, a passage or a verse that has special application to an immediate situation." We aren't to throw the entire Bible at a situation when we are attacked spiritually. We are to choose a verse from our 'arsenal' that specifically counters satan's lies, shuts down our fleshly desires, or brings us back to a promise of God. Can we do this without studying the Bible daily? No! If we aren't in the Word, learning the Word and memorizing the Word we are going to have a poor arsenal when the devil comes knocking at our heart's door.

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 

Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees." Psalm 119:11-12

2. Being discerning as a learner and hearer. Our culture is full of deceit, lies, half-truths and twisted truths. The only way that we can discern what is God's biblical truth is by knowing the Truth ourselves. One member of Bible study put it this way (paraphrasing): if we hear something that we think isn't biblically sound or truthful but don't have enough knowledge of the Word ourselves to counter it, we stay silent just wondering, instead of speaking up and speaking truth into a situation. This can impact not only ourselves, but others around us. If we can't defend the truth, then they may be led astray while we sit there thinking 'I know it says something about this somewhere in the Bible.' I think this is a leading cause of un-biblical churches.

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

 2 Timothy 3:16-17

3. Witnessing to Christ's power and truth in our daily life to others around us. Besides hypocritical behavior, not much is more off-putting to unbelievers than Christians who don't know what they believe, why they believe it, or who don't have answers to questions about their faith. If we don't know the Word, we won't be able to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15. By having verses to coincide with what Christ has done in your life and is doing in your life, you are validating your beliefs to others and possibly (through the Spirit) winning them over to join you in Christ.

"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God." 

Colossians 3:16

4. Daily living: Another of the Bible study members brought up this great reason for studying. We study the Word because it speaks to us daily, right where we are, and right in the way we need it. Knowing this is true, why don't we eagerly open the Bible early and often in our daily struggles, instead of dwelling in our mind? I'm reading Bonhoeffer, a biography about a theologian/pastor in Nazi Germany, and he often wrote in his diary about how the scripture reading of that day settled his spirit, or urged him to action. Often he would get antsy if he wasn't in the scriptures enough because he knew, just like all believers do, that all answers are in the Bible. It's so exciting to see what Christ wants to teach us and bless us with each day, and we are sure to find it in His Word.

"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 11:18-19

     I'm sure that there are many more reasons to study, but I'm not writing this to convince you to study the Bible. I'm writing to urge you to do it, regardless of excuses. I can tell you from experience that the richest times for me sometimes come at the most inconvenient times when I've choses to leave the house, ignore facebook and study the Word instead. On the flip side, some of the worst days have been when I've decided to check my email just one more time before opening my Bible, or get one more chore done and then never get to study.

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises." Psalm 119:147 

**In case you are wondering, I do not rise before dawn to study ; )

Some encouragement for studying:
1. Usually when you don't want to study the most is when you need to study the most! The devil knows when you are weak and will do anything to keep you from getting refreshed, including keeping you busy.

"Be self-controlled and alert. your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…."1 Peter 5:8-9a

2. Don't believe the lie that you have to be a Type A disciplined person to study the Bible daily. It's a poor excuse to give to our Savior who died for us to say that we didn't study because we just weren't wired to be disciplined. The whole point of the Christian life is that we are not wired to be successful at it! Rather the Holy Spirit is in us to do it all through us.

"But Christ said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:8

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

3. You don't have to be in an in-depth study to study the Bible. You can read on your own, do daily devotions and meditations or journal about verses each day. The point is to be in the Word. With that said, I find that a structured study is a great way to eliminate the temptation to put it off until tomorrow, because tomorrow there will be a new lesson. I also love getting others' commentary as I read which studies provide and I absolutely love group study! It's so rich to study with other believers.

"Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders." 

Psalm 119:27

4. It's a learning and growing process and we all have ups and downs. There have been times in my life when I've studied so hard and so much and couldn't help but do one more study or hear one more sermon and it's been so fruitful and I've felt more full of Christ than I could have imagined (like this winter/spring) but then there have been other times when I have to fight each day to study, I have to convince myself to love it, and I have to pray for the Holy Spirit extra hard for enlightenment (the past few weeks). So hang in there if you are in a dry spell and keep fighting. The more you study, the more you'll love it!

"Oh how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, 

for I meditate on your statutes." Psalm 119:97-99

    I've probably said too much, as usual, but I just had to get this off of my heart and into the world in case anyone needs this encouragement like I do often times. I'm so honored that Christ chooses to reveal Himself to us any time we want to, all we have to do is seek Him. May we all seek Him more and more so that we can fall deeper in love with the one who gave it all so we can be His.

"Ask and it will be given to yo; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; everyone who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, 

the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8