John 17:1, 13-17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee … 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH : THY WORD IS TRUTH.
I have been amazed at the number of Christians who tell me that they have never heard the Voice of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus said:
(John 10:27-28 NKJV) My sheep HEAR MY VOICE, and I know them, and THEY FOLLOW ME. [28] And I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
And we are told in Romans 8:14 (NKJV), “For as many as are LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE THE SONS OF GOD”.
The Christian follows the voice of Christ. The Christian is led by the Holy Spirit of God. If you say, “I have never heard the Voice of Christ” then either Jesus is a liar or you are in an abnormal place. You may be saved, you may not be saved. But if you’re saved, you hear the Voice of Christ.
How do we hear the Voice of Christ? We must first hear the Word of God, the Voice of God. Before Jesus went to Calvary He prayed first the wonderful prayer of John 17. In that prayer Jesus said,
I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD
As Jesus spoke to His disciples and the Church He was (and still is) forming, Jesus said “Father, I have given them THY WORD”. Jesus did not come and make up His own rules. Jesus told His followers:
(John 5:19 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but WHAT HE SEES THE FATHER DO; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
(John 12:49-50 NKJV) For I have not spoken on My own [authority]; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, WHAT I SHOULD SAY AND WHAT I SHOULD SPEAK. [50] And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, WHATEVER I SPEAK, JUST AS THE FATHER HAS TOLD ME, SO I SPEAK.
Jesus Christ spoke the Word of God. Jesus quoted direct, explicit verses of Scripture some 70 times. Jesus alluded to Old Testament scripture 150 times. As there was only the Old Testament when Jesus walked the earth, He quoted from all three sections the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.
The Father spoke to Jesus through His Word, the Holy Scripture. When Adam (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-6)failed to heed the Word of God, receiving instead the word of the serpent, he brought sin into the world. When Cain (Genesis 4:6-8) refused to hear the Word of God, instead listening to his own opinions and desires, he murdered his brother and became a marked fugitive. When Pharaoh (Exodus 5, 7-14) refused to hear the Word of God clearly presented he died with the army of Egypt in the Red Sea. When King Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-23) ignored the Word of God he lost his throne to David. When Israel refused to enter the Promised Land, ignoring God’s Word, the entire generation died (Numbers 13-14; Psalm 95:7-11). When Achan ignored the Word of God, both he and his family were destroyed (Joshua 6:18-19; 7:1-25). There are many more illustrations in the Bible, for I haven’t even touched the New Testament yet. The truth is that any willing rejection of the Word of God, the Bible, is a sin that will cut you off from the presence of God.
Isn’t The Bible Just A Book Written By Man?
At this year’s Southern Baptist Convention messengers will debate over “women pastors”. A lot of Christians make the statement, “What’s wrong with a woman Pastor?” When the Apostle Paul was telling his disciple Timothy how to establish churches in his absence, Paul laid out the qualification for the “Bishop” or Overseer of the local Church. In that text Paul said:
(1 Timothy 3:1-2 KJV) THIS IS A TRUE SAYING, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. [2] A bishop then must be blameless, THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
When Jesus prayed for His Church, He prayed:
John 17:17 SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH : THY WORD IS TRUTH
It is the Word of God that is true. I have heard people say, “Well, that the person holding the episkopē, the Office of the Overseer, that statement “husband of one wife” is just Paul’s opinion”. But that’s not what Paul says. Paul states:
THIS IS A TRUE (pistos, faithful, true to God) SAYING
Paul says “this is what is accurate according to God”. Paul is not basing this on his own opinion, but in the previous chapter stated:
(1 Timothy 2:12-14 KJV) But I suffer not a woman to teach, NOR TO USURP AUTHORITY OVER THE MAN, but to be in silence. [13] FOR ADAM WAS FIRST FORMED, THEN EVE. [14] And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Paul does not base his “faithful truth” of Chapter Three on his opinion, but refers to the Holy Scripture. It was ADAM WHO WAS FIRST FORMED. It was ADAM WHO BROUGHT SIN INTO THE WORLD. Not Eve, but Adam. Not because Paul is prejudiced, or woman hating, but because this is what the Word of God states.
The Bible was written by MAN, not by woman. But those who wrote the Scripture did so UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOD. The first five Books of the Bible, called the Torah, were written by Moses … but only as God relayed them to him.
(Exodus 24:1-4 NKJV) Now {God} said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. [2] “And MOSES ALONE SHALL COME NEAR THE LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.” [3] So MOSES CAME AND TOLD THE PEOPLE ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD AND ALL THE JUDGMENTS. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “ALL THE WORDS WHICH THE LORD HAS SAID, WE WILL DO.” [4] And MOSES WROTE ALL THE WORDS OF THE LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
The Bible is not a collection of male writings. It is what Jesus considered the Word of God. The Apostle wrote:
(2 Peter 1:20-21 NKJV) … no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, [21] for PROPHECY NEVER CAME BY THE WILL OF MAN, but HOLY MEN OF GOD SPOKE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The Bible is God’s Word. The Apostle Paul said:
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, [17] THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE COMPLETE, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
God speaks to us through His Word, through the Bible. It teaches us. It rebukes us. It shows us how the citizen of Heaven’s Kingdom should walk. It is the Scripture that tells us what is good and a good work. It also tells us what God has forbidden, what is a bad work.
Good Works Begin With A Good
Understanding Of The Bible As It Is Written
Jesus prayed:
John 17:17 SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH : THY WORD IS TRUTH
Word Study: The word rendered “SANCTIFY” is the Greek hagiazō, which means “to dedicate to God, to set apart for God’s use, to distinguish from the kingdoms of this world and mark as a citizen of Heaven”. God our Father is “SANCTIFIED” or set apart from the world (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). We who are saved are “SANCTIFIED” or set apart from the world and unto God. Sanctification is both a completed work and an ongoing work. The day we received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit sanctified us by causing us to be born again:
(Hebrews 10:10, 12-14 NKJV) By that will we HAVE BEEN SANCTIFIED through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. … [12] But this Man, after He had OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOREVER, sat down at the right hand of God, [13] from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. [14] For by one offering He has perfected forever THOSE WHO ARE BEING SANCTIFIED.
The Christian is a “new creature in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). When we believe the Word of God concerning the Gospel, God changes us from lost to saved, from a child of Adam to a child of God. We are set apart for God’s use at the point of salvation. But we also grow as Christians. We grow by studying and doing the Word of God, what the Scripture says. Jesus commanded us:
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Consider the “Good Work” of Water Baptism: Jesus commanded water baptism of those who believed in Him. It is an ordinance, an order from our Lord. As Baptists we believe that a person is baptized not by sprinkling or pouring, but by immersion in water. Our Lord Jesus led the way in baptism. Baptism is the outward profession of a person who belongs to the Kingdom of God. When Jesus was baptized:
Mark 1:10-11 .. And straightway coming up out of the water, {Jesus} saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: 11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
When Jesus was baptized, submitting to John the Baptist, then the Father endorsed His ministry as the Christ. Jesus was not sprinkled with water, but CAME UP OUT OF THE WATER.
Word Study: The word “baptize” is transliterated from the Greek βαπτίζω baptízō, {pronounced bap-tid’-zo}, which means “to immerse, to submerge, to make fully wet”. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance notes, “used only in the New Testament of ceremonial {washing}“. Further, the Scripture compares baptism to a symbol of death in:
Romans 6:3-5 Know ye not, that so many of us as were BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore WE ARE BURIED WITH HIM BY BAPTISM into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
When the disciple goes down into the water, this is symbolic of their death to their old way of life. When they come up out of the water this is symbolic of their resurrection into new life with Jesus Christ as their Lord. In the early Church baptism was by immersion in water. For instance, when Philip led the Ethiopian Eunuch to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior …
Acts 8:36-39 … the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Baptism in water is a good work the Christian does in honor or what Jesus commanded us to do. But this is not the only good work. As Christians grow through Bible reading and prayer, God reveals other works that they must do.
Care must be taken to read scripture in its context, and not to add to it nor take away from it.
Moses told Israel (whom God had saved) to carefully adhere to the Word of God if they wanted to be blessed. He said:
Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. 2 YOU SHALL NOT ADD UNTO THE WORD WHICH I COMMAND YOU, NEITHER SHALL YOU DIMINISH OUGHT FROM IT, that ye may KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD YOUR GOD which I command you.
God said that if Israel kept the Word of God, doing as the Lord said, that they would “LIVE, GO IN, and POSSESS THE LAND”. You can be saved and ignore the Word of God. But you cannot be saved and BE BLESSED if you ignore God’s Word.
Understanding God’s Word and Doing God’s Word gives the Christ follower the best life. Listen to the Psalmist:
Psalm 19:7-10 The law of the Lord is PERFECT, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is SURE, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the Lord are RIGHT, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is PURE, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is CLEAN, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS altogether. 10 MORE TO BE DESIRED ARE THEY THAN GOLD, yea, than much fine gold: SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY and the honeycomb.
God’s Word is “forever settled in Heaven” (Psalm 119:89). It is His Word that shows us how to walk with God (Psalm 119:105). The things of this world come and go. But the Bible says:
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOREVER.
It is the Scripture that teach us to be like Jesus. The Scriptures themselves point to Jesus. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) states:
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
We cannot hear Jesus unless we read the Word of God. We cannot please God and do as He commands unless we DO what we have read in the Scripture.
Jesus prayed:
the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world
When we lock our focus on the Scripture and do what it tells us, we will not be politically correct. We will not be pleasing to the world. But we will be the people that God wants us to be. Let us strive to be His people, to honor Jesus by honoring the Word of God. Amen.
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