The Foundation of Our Faith

(1 Corinthians 2:9-13) The same God who gave us the Scriptures works in us to help us understand them. He also gives us a work to do! The Word of God is the foundation of our faith. (0977250328) ----more----

 The Works of the Bible

Did you know that by the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Old Testament books had been generally accepted as inspired writings? The New Testament books were listed in their current form by AD 397. Most of them were accepted immediately after the time of the Apostles, but by AD 397, all of them had, if you will, passed the test.

In other words, they bore the mark of Divine authority. They were accepted by local New Testament churches as having evidence of being the very word of a living God. Throughout the centuries, the word of God has been passed on to us. It is beautiful to see how God has overseen the preservation of His word for every generation. I thank God for that because the word of God is the foundation of our faith.

The Importance of Applying God's Word

Now, I want to come full circle in our discussion about what the Bible says regarding the word of God, bringing it to where we live, to our hearts, and to its application in our lives. You see, my friend, you could accept the fact that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself.

You can say you believe that God breathed it, that it was inspired by God. You can even agree that God has promised to preserve His word for every generation, but if you don't allow that book to affect your life, you've fallen short. You've missed the whole point. God gave His word so that it would change our lives. 

Did you know that there is a work God does through the word and a work we are to do in the word? That's what I want to focus on today as we conclude our study of what the Bible says. I am praying that this series will be the impetus, the motivation, the prodding from God, if you will, for you to love the Scriptures more, to engage with the word of God more deeply, and to learn all that God has to say to you.

God's Work Through His Word: Illumination

Let's begin with how God uses His word in our lives. In 1 Corinthians chapter two, the Bible states, beginning in verse nine, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 

Hear me with your heart, please. You can't be spiritual without being scriptural. Do you see how the Holy Spirit is connected to the word of the living God? May I say to you that God's work through His word is a work of illumination. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, helping us understand the word of God.

One of the greatest prayers in the Bible is found in Psalm 119:18. The Psalmist prays, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” What is he praying for? Light, illumination. I want to tell you that the God who inspired the word now works in illumination. The same Holy Spirit who gave the word now opens your understanding to it.

You have the Author living with you all the time. The best way to understand a book is to talk to the person who wrote it. The best way to understand God's book is to talk to God, because I promise you, He'll respond; He'll teach; He'll speak. Jesus said in John 14, 15, and 16 that the Holy Spirit would come to teach us all things and to bring all things to our remembrance. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives, helping us understand and apply the truth. That is His work through the word.

Our Responsibility: Interpreting the Word

If that's His part, what's our part? Our work in the word is the work of interpretation. In other words, we have to be good students. Here's the verse: 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 15 says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” That is our job: to rightly divide, to rightly interpret. If God's work relates to understanding the truth, then our work relates to investigating it.

In other words, we should approach the word of God by studying it for its literal interpretation to find out exactly what God has to say to us, with the goal of applying that to our lives. Now we are in 2 Timothy, so let's look across the page to 2 Timothy chapter 3. Let's complete the circuit. We began with this: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." You remember that in verse 16, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. But here’s the goal: “that the man of God may be perfect or mature, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 

Someone else said, "We can say God speaks in His word, the Bible."

This is true. We can provide book, chapter, and verse. We can quote scripture and state, "This is what the Bible says," because we are standing on a firm foundation. When you stand on the word of God, it becomes the foundation of our faith.

Outro and Resources

Simply repeating what others have said about the Bible is not enough; we must understand the biblical reasons behind what we believe. We hope you will visit us at etj.bible to access our library of Bible teaching resources, including book-by-book studies of scripture. You'll also find studies to watch, listen to, or read. We are so grateful for those who pray for us, share the biblical content, and invest in helping us advance this ministry worldwide.Again, thank you for listening, and we hope you'll join us next time on "Enjoying the Journey."

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