Month: October 2023

“God has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:2-3).

Jesus is holding up the world and all that is in it by “the word of His power”.  That must be a powerful word!  We have seen the miracle work of the word of God’s power throughout the history of the world.  God spoke, “Let there be light” and there was light.  God spoke, “Let us make man in our image” and man was formed.  Jesus said, “Rise up and walk” and the lame were healed.  Jesus said, “It is finished” and the sacrifice for our sins was completed.  Jesus said, “In that day, I will be in you” and it is a promise we can take to the bank.

God speaks, incredible things happen.  This is the “word of His power”.  And Jesus is the one who upholds all things by this word because He is the Word of God.  Jesus is the Word of God!

Throughout the New Testament, the phrase “word of God” refers to Jesus and His gospel message.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14).  Jesus is the Word!

After Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles spread the message of the Word [Jesus] far and wide.  Throughout the book of Acts, the “word of God” is shorthand for Jesus and His gospel message.

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).

“The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

“Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John” (Acts 8:14).

“Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God” (Acts 11:1).

“When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper” (Acts 13:5).

“But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds” (Acts 17:13).

“And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:11).

Throughout the book of Acts, just like today, the “word of God” (Jesus and His gospel message) was proclaimed and received.  And when it was received, lives were changed.  People were saved, born again, adopted into God’s family.  Hearts were made new.  The Holy Spirit came to dwell in new believers.  Folks became “obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).  In short, lives were changed by believing the word of God.

That is how powerful the word is.  The range of the power of God’s word is immense.  It is so specific that it can change an individual’s heart.  It is so broad that it can create and sustain the world.  And in a beautiful promise of the new covenant, this divine power lives in you.

“But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come.  For people will appear … having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.  Avoid such people” (II Timothy 3:1,5).

When I think of the appearance of godliness but denying its power, I think of all the legalistic systems we have set up to guide the Christian life.  At their root is a formulaic effort with very little thought given to the power required and available and necessary to live the Christian life.

The Holy Spirit is the power.  But formulas for godliness that rely on following the red-letter words of Jesus, or a list of commandments, or spiritual disciplines are ideas without power.  The Holy Spirit is the power!  When we deny the importance and the work and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us, we may as well just be following any guru’s list of ideals; any popular leader’s design for successful living.

Legalism has an appearance of godliness, but leaves out the power of Christ living His life through us.  As Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 2, “These (legalistic rules) are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Colossians 2:23).  These rules are without power and “are of no value” to free us from “fleshly indulgence”; to free us from the power of sin.

It is interesting how the apostle Paul explains why people run to these rules in the verses following our opening passage.  Let’s pick it up again at II Timothy 3 verse 5.  “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.  Avoid such people.  For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:5-7).

Folks are embracing the rule-based mindset because they are “burdened with sins”.  They don’t know what to do with the guilt they feel over their sin.  Or they are weighed down with “various passions” and don’t know what to do to resist the temptations of the flesh.  So they listen to teaching that offers a formula for victory over sin, but denies the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of our new nature, the power of our new heart, the power of our holy and righteous new self, the power of Christ living His live through us, the power of our new creation.

When we learn and believe that Christ has completely forgiven us of all of our sins, we are free from guilt and shame.  We are no longer “burdened by our sins”.  The burden is lifted.  When we rely on the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit active in us, we have all we need to resist the temptations of “various passions”.  Do we always resist?  No, but the power available to us is literally divine and much stronger than formulas or self-effort or willpower.  Knowing, in the deepest way possible, the power of Christ is the true answer to our sin, not an appearance of godliness with no power behind it.

Finally, “always learning but never arriving at a knowledge of the truth.”  Oh, this is so true.  How many of us attended Bible study after Bible study but did not hear or embrace the truth of God’s grace and power given as a pure gift to us?  We were always given more work to do.  We were rarely given the truths of the new covenant to believe.

Friend, do not fall into the trap of an appearance of godliness but denying its power.  If you have been following these posts, this is our seventeenth message regarding the incredible power of God in us with many more to come.  The power of God is an inexhaustible supply.  And it is given to you the moment you believed.

“For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-control.  Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (II Timothy 1:7-8).

Let’s continue in this short section of Scripture by adding verse 8.  Because we are infused with His Spirit of power, love, and self-control, we never have to be ashamed of the word of the Lord; the gospel message of Jesus.  We never should feel shame if we are called to suffer for the gospel.  And we should never be ashamed of being associated with others who are being put down for sharing the good news.

Because the world system is opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, it will always make us out to be the foolish ones.  Don’t believe them.  We have the words of life; words the world needs to hear and embrace.

Can you remember back to your high school or college days when a popular student made sarcastic remarks aimed at outspoken believers?  How did you feel?  Did you want to be lumped in with the Christians who appeared foolish in the world’s eyes?  Because of the desire that many of us feel to be liked, it can be a challenge to identify with those who are being put down by the “in” crowd because of their faith.

But the apostle Paul calls us to join him in suffering for the gospel.  The very thing, shame, that the world is trying to throw our way is to be rejected.  We should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.  Shame and timidity do not fit our new Spirit.  We are to be courageous in the face of being maligned.

And our power to withstand the world’s attempt to silence us with shame is once again provided by the promise of God’s Spirit under the new covenant.  Paul is saying in these verses, “Even in my suffering for the gospel, I am buoyed by God’s power.”  Even if we suffer for the gospel, we are buoyed by the power of God in us.

The power of God in us gives us the fortitude to withstand the shame, the shade, and the insults that may come our way.  The power of God in us energizes us to respond with grace, not anger.  The power of God in us is a spirit of courage, not fear.