Blessing of God's Word

How indescribably good is the blessing all Christians have in God's word delivered to us!  Sometimes when I read words written in a message or email it is impossible to decipher the tone or the intent of the writer.  I have read bios that give details about a person but I still do not know them at all.  There have also been many people I thought I knew who ended up being completely unlike my assessment or changed so drastically they were a stranger known in name alone.  God and His word do not change, and therefore what God has revealed about Himself can be known and relied upon.  Adopting a worldview with the lens of Scripture guides us to discern truth from error.

Recently I was told of a situation that illustrates this well.  Many times God-fearing people believe God has spoken to them, and while God is never wrong--sometimes we are.  I heard of a conversation between believers where one person believed God had said they would always be alone, and the other immediately replied that this was not God's voice.  How could the Christian be so sure?  Because of what Jesus Christ says in His word!  No Christian is ever alone since Jesus is with us.  Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  Since God is with us wherever we go and will never leave or forsake us, in Christ we are never alone.  Jesus was right in the middle of that conversation between Christians, for where we gather in His name there He is in the midst.  By faith in God, we can know He who is truth and reject lies that masquerade as truth.

Born-again Christians can know we are filled with the Holy Spirit, not because of a particular spiritual gift, but on the same basis we can know we can be born again and saved by faith in Jesus:  by the word of God.  John 3:16 famously says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  The only way we can be born again and pass from death to life is the indwelling Holy Spirit who regenerates those who receive Jesus and believe the Gospel.  Jesus pointed out no one can see the breeze that moves the branches of the tree, and the Holy Spirit operates in a similar fashion in those who are born again.  The spiritual, inner work of the Spirit will result in physical evidence that can be seen by everyone.  Though we live in bodies of corruptible flesh, the lives of Christians are no longer ruled by the works of the flesh but begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul wrote in Galatians 5:19-25, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."  Not only does the Bible truly and plainly tell us how things are, but it also provides guidance for how we are to live.  We can objectively know God by the revelation of His word, know we have eternal life, and know what pleases Him.