His Living, Active Word

The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.

Psalm 12:6 (NIV)

God’s Word is flawless and timeless. We can put full confidence in it: “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8), and “Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

The value of a person’s word lies in the nature and character of the person who has spoken it. God’s word is eternal because he is eternal. His word is trustworthy because he is trustworthy. When he invites us to trust in his word, he is calling us to trust in him.

God’s words are different from your words or my words. In the material realm, words have no substance. They do not have mass and take up space. They are puffs of air. Earthly words communicate, but they do not accomplish work. I can’t say to an object, “Move from here to there,” and expect the object to move. I have to use physical force to move an object from one place to another. My words do not do my work.

In contrast, God does his work by his word: “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born” (Psalm 33:6).

In the spiritual realm, God’s words have substance. They are not puffs of air; they are the instruments of his action. “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). He created the earth by his word. And he saw his word carried out.

God still does his work by his word. He is still speaking his creating, sustaining, and ruling word. And he speaks his timeless, unchanging, eternal truth in real time.

Lord, I put my full trust in your powerful word.

The best evidence of the Bible’s being the word of God is to be found between its covers. It proves itself.

Charles Hodge(1797–1878), American theologian