By Gerald Gates
How blessed we are that our God and Father, the one who created us, has given us His word of knowledge and instruction by the prophets, by the apostles and by His only begotten Son. We are reminded in Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” God gave His word to the prophets and the apostles. And Jesus is the solid foundation on which their writings are based. And by the power of the word given to us, we have access to what God wants us to know and to do, giving us motivation to be rooted and built up in the Lord Jesus. We are taught from Matthew 28:18-20 ESV, “And, Jesus came and said to them. ‘All authority in heaven and on earth have been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” If we hold to His teaching, then we can be assured that Jesus will be with us in truth and spirit. He has all authority from God. Remember the wise person is the one who hears the words of Jesus and does them (Matthew 7:24-25). We will grow and be able to stand if we build our house on the “Rock”, the teachings of Jesus which is the instruction of God (John 12:49-50).
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:9-11 ESV, “For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.“ God has spoken to us in a very personal way by His Son, Jesus who took the form of a man (Philippians 2:6-8, Hebrews 1:1-3) and spoke directly to the people he lived among, helping them, instructing them, warning them, and dying for them.
May our daily walk be in step with our Lord Jesus, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith. Let us be reminded of the things we were taught when we put on Christ in baptism from the word of the gospel, turning from sin to God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving for His grace. Let us strive to pray to God every day and read the Bible so that we consider and do the things God instructs us to do. It may be building on what we already know, or it may be reminding us of truths that we have forgotten or neglected. As living sacrifices, we are instructed to make the effort to grow in our understanding and our actions: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 ESV.
How good it is when we accept what God has revealed to us! We cannot change His word, but we can change our thinking to see and walk according to God’s pattern for us. In the days of Moses God instructed His people, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2 ESV. Proverbs 30:5-6 ESV states: “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” And when the Lord had revealed the words of the book of Revelation to John this is recorded in the last chapter Revelation 22:18-19 ESV, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book.” Holding to God’s word is required of the child of God, just as Paul instructed, warning against prideful judgements toward one another in 1 Corinthians 4:6 ESV, “I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.”
Let us be thankful for the word of truth God has revealed to us that we may obtain the promise of eternal life by faith in Jesus. Will we choose to walk daily following God’s word that our inner being may be renewed day by day even as our physical body ages? (2 Cor 4:16).