Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’" (Matt. 4:4, NIV).
Man could display their strength or power through their bulging muscle. But God could even exhibit His Sovereign Power just by His Word!
Are we aware of the power of His Word?
In Matthew 4:4, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “…man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
Notice that man does not need only physical things, like bread, to survive – “man does not live on bread alone.” He needs also to feed on “every word hat comes from the mouth of God.”
Jesus also said in John 6:63, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”
In the early chapter of John, He said in chapter 5, verses 24-25: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
Through God’s Word we truly live. No matter how we define “life,” no matter how alive we feel – if we do not hear His Word and believe, John 3:36 says: we “will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."
Great power indeed is in God’s Word.
Through His Word not only we can truly experience life, but even enjoy eternal life. Through His Word not only the physically dead could be raised back to life, but the spiritually dead as well.
Let’s proceed to find out more what the Sovereign God could accomplish through His Word. Let’s read Psalm 33:4-9, “For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”
We have here everything we see just by the mere power of His Word. We read also in Hebrews 11:3 in New American Standard Version – Updated Edition: “…the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”
Not only that, but the whole creation is also subject to His powerful Word.
David declared in Psalm 29:3-9, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’”
Elihu pronounced in Job 37:1-5:
"At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.”
So great is the power of His Word that it will always bring result.
We read in Isaiah 10:11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Through the power of His Word, we also experience the new birth. Peter wrote the Christians, as we read in 1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
Through His Word, the intention in our heart is exposed. Hebrews 4:12 states, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper 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.”
New King James Version renders it: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
And though there is great might in God’s Word that will inspire fear in our hearts, God’s people could also enjoy the power of its tenderness, as we read in the Song 2:14, “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.”
And the writer of Hebrews mentioned of those people in Hebrews 6:5, “who have tasted the goodness of the word of God.”
David proclaimed in Psalm 119:101-103, “I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Then, David went on to say that God’s Word could provide him guidance. In verse 105, he said: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
As Paul wrote Timothy in 2 Tim 3:16, “All Scripture…” – the written Word of God – “is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”
That’s the glimpse of the power of God’s Word.
But the Substance, the Personification is Jesus Christ. If you want to become more familiar with God’s Word, become more acquainted with the Son of God.
We read in John 1:1-3, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
We also read in Revelation 19:11-16, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. “
This King of kings and Lord of lords, while He was still on this earth related in John 10:3-4 that “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
Are we familiar with the Powerful Voice of the King? How much do we regard His Words?
He also said in Matthew 11:27-30, “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Is He also making known to us His Voice?
And if He had make known it to us and that we are sure He is calling us, “COME TO ME, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” – are we willing to come out from our own practices, own beliefs and worldly priorities?
Let’s respond to His call for the Word speaks: “…his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
PRAYER: Our Sovereign God – our Merciful Father – whose Power we cannot fully comprehend, we are so grateful for making Your Word available to us through Your Son. Help us to become more familiar with Your Word. Help us also to make Him known to more people, so they too can experience Your Power and Your Love. In His Powerful Name, we pray. Amen.
