Chapter 6: Abundant Word
Bible Reading:
Hebrews 8:10-11
Psalm 19:7
John 5:39
Acts 17:11
Colossians 3:16
Ezra 7:10
The Perfect Law Declares the Abundance of God’s Word
The God whom we know and experience is exceedingly rich. The more we experience Him, the more we discover that our knowledge of Him is but a drop in the ocean, a single grain of sand on the shore—infinitesimal and insignificant. Yet even so, we must devote all the years of our lives to pursuing the knowledge of Him, for this is the highest meaning of our life. Concerning His abundance, we have already spoken of five aspects: (1) His abundant forgiveness, (2) His abundant grace, (3) His abundant love, (4) His abundant mercy, and (5) His abundant life. Now we must go on to the sixth aspect—His abundant Word.
How can we know that a learned scholar is full of knowledge and wisdom? It is revealed through what he says. By listening to his speeches or the words he speaks, we can discern the depth of his learning and the extent of his understanding and experience. In the same way, one reason we know that God is a an abundant God is through the words He Himself has spoken and revealed. Especially through His all-inclusive, inexhaustibly rich utterances, we come to know what an immeasureably abundant God He is.
How then do we know that God possesses rich and abundant Words? First, we can see this from the perfection of His law. The Bible is the Word of God, and it is also God's book of law given to humanity as the standard for our living. The Bible declare that the law of God is perfect, indicating that His Word is complete, flawless, lacking nothing. It is full, comprehensive, all-sufficient, and infinitely abundant.
Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect.” This indicates that the Bible is a complete and all-inclusive book of divine law. Consider it from the standpoint of age: whether one is a child, a youth, a young adult, a mature adult, or an elderly person, the Bible provides guidance. Consider it from the standpoint of occupation: whether one is engaged in agriculture, industry, commerce, education, the military, or any other profession, its principles apply. Consider it from the standpoint of culture: whether one is highly civilized or socially undeveloped, the standards for living are found within its pages. Furthermore, whether it concerns an individual's clothing, food, shelter, and transportation; family relationships between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters; or social relationships and interactions with others, the conduct of daily life, the way one treats people and handles affairs, one's behavior and character, and the principles by which one lives in the world, all are recorded and set forth in the Bible.
Even in the service and ministry of the church, the Bible alone is the unique standard to be followed. Whether in preaching the gospel, edifying believers, building up the church, or handling the various affairs of the church, everything must be based upon the Bible. For the Bible sets before us the principles for both human living and Christian service, directing us in the way we should walk. By following these divine standards, we may be justified before God and receive His blessing.
Therefore, the Bible is truly an all-inclusive and complete book of divine law. Its fullness and richness of content testify to the fact that the law of rhe Lord is indeed perfect. Yet the law of the Lord is only one portion of His rich and abundant words. From this alone, we can begin to realize how immeasurably rich and inexhaustible the words of the Lord God truly are!
Bearing Witness to Christ Reveals the Abundance of God's Word
The Lord Jesus said in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness about Me.” This shows that the Bible is also a book that bears witness to Christ.
God is infinitely great, yet all the fullness of God dwells bodily in Christ (Col. 2:9). This shows that Christ also is an infinitely abundant Lord. No wonder the Apostle Paul said that the stewardship entrusted to him was to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8), indicating that Christ is a Lord of infinite riches and greatness. Yet this Bible is also a book that bears witness to Christ. Since Christ is so rich, the content of God's Word, the Bible, must likewise be rich.
Because Christ possesses unsearchable riches, the Bible that bear witness to Him naturally contain the same unsearchable and infinite spiritual significance. For example, the New Testament opens with these words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Who, then, is Jesus? One explanation is that Jesus is the son of Abraham (lit., descendant), and therefore is prefigured by Isaac. Isaac has several notable characteristics:
He was the son of promise (Gal. 4:23); likewise, Christ was promised by God to be born as the Savior (Gal. 3:16).
He inherited all that belonged to his father (Gen. 24:36); likewise, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ (Col. 2:9).
He was obedient to his father (Gen. 22:6-8); likewise, Christ spent His entire life carrying out the will of God the Father (Heb. 10:7).
He was offered upon the altar (Gen. 22:9-10); likewise, Christ was offered on the cross (Heb. 9:14).
From Isaac alone, we can see at least these aspects of Christ. In addition, there are many other meanings that could be considered, but for lack of time we cannot mention them all.
Jesus Christ is not only the son of Abraham, but also the son of David. He is therefore typified by Solomon. Solomon also has several notable characteristics:
The meaning of his name is peace; Christ is also the One who gives peace to man (Col. 3:15).
Solomon was a king (1 Kings 4:1); Christ likewise was exalted to heaven to reign. (Acts 5:31).
Solomon was most wise (1 Kings 4:29); Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24), and He has also become wisdom to us (1 Cor. 1:30).
Solomon built the temple (1 Kings 7:51); Christ also builds the spiritual temple, the church (Matt. 16:18).
Therefore, through Solomon's typology, we gain some understanding of Christ. In addition, there are other meanings, but for lack of time we cannot elaborate further.
Consider another point. Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David, brought in through these two men. Abraham's principal experience throughout his life was faith, while David's principal experience was the cross. This tells us that Christ is brought in through the experiences of faith and the cross.
Dear brothers and sisters, if a single verse of Scripture bearing witness to Christ contains so many meanings, how much more the entire Bible, which bears witness to Christ from beginning to end! Can you then imagine how rich and abundant the content of God's Word must be? Its riches are beyond measure, its fullness beyond description. Truly, it is inexhaustible and immeasurable.
The Abundance of God's Word Portrayed Through Many Figures
The abundance of God's Word is also expressed through many different figures and symbols. The Bible uses more than twenty such figures to describe God's Word. However, due to limited time, we will mention only seven of the more familiar ones as examples.
Light
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This shows that one figure of God's Word is light, which directs us in the way we should walk. Proverbs 6:23 also says, “For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching a light.” The commandment and the teaching are both God's Word, and both are portrayed by the figure of light, instructing us how to conduct ourselves and how to live.
God's Word is portrayed by light, and one significance of this figure is its universality. In the universe, light reaches farther than anything else. It is nearly everywhere, the most widespread and all-pervasive of all things. This illustrates that God's Word is so rich that there is no place it cannot reach. Its richness is beyond measure, and its abundance beyond comprehension.
Our being consists of spirit, soul, and body. When God's Word reaches our spirit, it causes us to be regenerated. When God's Word reaches our soul, it removes every wrinkle and blemish, making us holy and without spot. When God's Word reaches our body, it brings healing to our physical being. Thus, our spirit, soul, and body are all revived and made vigorous. From the standpoint of our personal spiritual experience alone, there is nothing that God's Word does not instruct, nothing it does not remind us of, nothing it does not hear, and nothing it does not inquire into. How rich and abundant it is! How complete and full it is!
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever we come before the Lord and read the Bible, we should ask ourselves whether we have received the shining of the Lord's Word. If we have not received the enlightenment of His Word, we will be unable to see our own corruption and shortcomings, and naturally we will not receive the Lord's correction. Then there is the danger that we may remain in darkness rather than walk in God's light. Such a condition is indeed a most fearful and dangerous thing.
Rain
Deuteronomy 32:2 says, “May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.” Here we are told that the richness of God's Word is manifested through the figure of rain.
Rain also falls upon the whole earth, for God “sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). Rain descends from heaven, gathers into streams and rivers, flows downward or is stored in lakes, and eventually empties into the seas. The abundance of its water is beyond calculation. Since God's Word is likened to rain, its richness likewise is beyond measure and beyond estimation.
A normal Christian, when reading the Scriptures in life and receiving God's Word into the spirit, experiences it as rain that refreshes a dry and thirsty soul. Like a gracious shower, it removes the irritation and natural temper within the heart. Furthermore, as one receives the Lord's Word richly into oneself, God's Word accumulates and becomes a fountain of living water, from which rivers of living water flow out from within. Then, in the church's fellowship meetings or small group gatherings, when there is opportunity to share, God's Word, combined with one's experience, flows forth as rivers of living water from within, watering the dryness of the saints and supplying the needs of their spirits. Whatever is sought can be answered, and whatever is needed can be provided. This displays how abundant and how rich God's Word is, like the greatest reservoir in the universe.
Food
Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them.” Here, the richness of God's Word is illustrated by the figure of food. Consider the food needed for our physical body. From childhood, we need to eat every day. After we grow into adulthood, we still need food. We continue eating day after day, throughout our entire lifetime, until we leave this world in old age. How much food does a person consume in a lifetime? Who can count it? Moreover, this is true of all humanity. Regardless of race, nationality, gender, age, wealth, or social standing, everyone must eat. How much food, then, is consumed by the world's entire population? Who can know?
Spiritually speaking, God's Word is the food of the Christian. Every believer should read the Bible daily and feed upon God's Word. Consider this: if every Christian feeds on God's Word day by day throughout an entire lifetime, how much spiritual food will be consumed? And when we enter eternity, we shall see an innumerable multitude of believers from every age and every nation. How much of God's Word will they altogether have taken as spiritual food? From this we can see that God's Word is our food. How, then, could anyone calculate the richness of God's Word? Even if all the mathematics in the world were brought together, they could not measure it. We can only say that its abundance is infinite.
The Bible records that Joseph became ruler over Egypt, typifying Jesus Christ ascending the throne. During the seven years of famine throughout the land, even the people of all the land of Canaan had to go to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain. Whoever came to him was satisfied, and returned with food. The number seven signifies completeness, indicating that whatever the famine and whatever the need, Joseph's supply was fully sufficient. Food typifies the Word of God. Likewise, after Jesus Christ ascended the throne, He supplies the rich Word of God to all who are in need. Moreover, there is still an abundance remaining. As Luke 15:17 says concerning God's house, “there is bread enough and to spare.” Just imagine how exceedingly rich and abundant God's Word must be!
Seed
Mark 4:14, 20 says, “The sower sows the word,” and, “Those sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” This tells us that another figure of God's Word is seed. A seed can produce a harvest of thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold, portraying an abundance and fruitfulness so great that there is scarcely room to contain it.
If we observe the fields carefully, we will discover all kinds of plants growing in the wild, with seeds too numerous to count. Moreover, these seeds reproduce thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold, continually spreading and increasing. How could their number ever be calculated? The Bible uses seed as a figure of God's Word. Therefore, its richness can only be imagined, not fully described. God's Word is so rich that it may be compared to the world's greatest botanical garden of seeds and plants, vast beyond measure and overflowing with abundance.
Dear brothers and sisters, Christians must bear much fruit so that God may be glorified. If we are to bear much fruit, one indispensable factor is that we receive more seed, that is, the Word of God. The characteristic of a seed is that it can continually reproduce, generation after generation, without end. Its harvest can be gathered in abundant measure. If we allow God's rich Word to work freely and to be sown into the saints, the result will be glorious: fruit bearing thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. For example, in preaching the gospel, we will gain people as a fisherman catches fish. In visiting believers, all whom we contact will be revived. Our daily living will become a testimony, shining like a bright lamp, so that when people see us, it is as though they see the Lord Himself.
Life
The Lord Jesus said in John 6:63, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Here we see another figure of God's rich Word, namely, life. The value of a thing is not determined merely by its quantity, but by the quality and preciousness of its nature. Likewise, the value of richness depends upon its quality. For example, the United States is considered a wealthy nation not only because of its vast territory and abundant resources, but also because of its fertile land and rich reserves of minerals and petroleum. By contrast, although the Arctic and Antarctic regions also cover vast areas, they are barren lands, unsuitable for cultivation and lacking in mineral and oil resources. Therefore, they are regarded as desolate and unproductive regions. Thus, whether something is truly rich depends not only upon its extent, but also upon its nature.
God's Word is life, what could be more valuable than life itself? If a man gains the whole world yet loses his own life, what profit is there in it? Life is more precious than the whole world, and spiritual life is even more precious than natural life. Because God's Word is life, it reveals the supreme value of God's Word. What in all the world can be compared with it? Its worth is unmatched in all ages and unrivaled throughout history. Through this we see that the richness of God's Word is an immeasurable treasure of infinite value, beyond all estimation and beyond all price.
Dear brothers and sisters, since God's Word is life, are we continually receiving spiritual life and supply from His Word, so that our spiritual life may keep growing? Or is the Bible to us merely a book of doctrines, serving only to increase our knowledge? May the Lord have mercy upon us.
Sword
Ephesians 6:17 says, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The sword is the weapon by which the church defeats the enemy, the devil. Suppose we are spiritually rich people. If we should fall into the hands of the enemy, our riches would be plundered by Satan, and even our spiritual life would be endangered. Yet through God's Word, we are able to overcome the enemy and preserve our spiritual riches.
The United States is a wealthy nation, and its national defense is also strong. In recent times, although Japan's economy has caught up with that of the United States, regrettably, while the nation is prosperous, its defense is comparatively weak. Thus, it is rich but not strong, lacking the power to defend itself and therefore unable to guarantee its security.
God's Word is a sword. How great is its value! It not only makes us rich, but also strong, enabling us to overcome the enemy, the devil. As Christians, we must not only know God and experience God, but also defeat the enemy. We rely on God's Word as our sword to fight against the devil, overcoming every temptation, trial, and attack, and thus obtaining complete victory. This shows how great and how exalted the value of God's Word is. It enables us to realize more fully its incomparable functions and immeasurable riches. Its power surpasses even that of the most advanced modern weapons, for it is able to overcome the evil spirits of the unseen spiritual realm and defeat Satan, the enemy himself, thereby securing the greatest victory in the universe.
An Everlasting Inheritance
Psalm 119:111 says, “Your testimonies are my heritage (inheritance) forever, for they are the joy of my heart.” Here, an everlasting inheritance is used as a figure to express the value of God's Word.
People consider different things to be their inheritance. Some regard houses, land, factories, or businesses as their inheritance; others regard gold, cash, stocks, and other possessions as their inheritance. Yet all these material inheritances of this world are temporary and will pass away. We bring nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it when we die. God's Word, however, is an everlasting inheritance. Whatever we experience of God's Word in this age carries eternal value. Therefore, the value of God's Word is eternal. Its preciousness is beyond estimation.
Since God has given His Word to us as an everlasting inheritance, we ought to devote ourselves diligently to reading the Bible and uncovering their treasures, so that they may become our spiritual experience. In this way we may inherit these unfading and incorruptible riches, this eternal possession, and thus be richly supplied with an abundant entrance into the kingdom of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, many parents desire to leave an inheritance to their children. If we truly have our children in mind, the most important thing we can leave them is an everlasting inheritance. What, then, is this everlasting inheritance? It is God's Word. Therefore, we must leave to our children the rich and abundant Word of God. Brothers and sisters, may I ask: what inheritance are you leaving to your children? Houses, land, businesses, and wealth? Or the abundant Word of God? Never forget that worldly and material inheritances are only temporary, for “the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25). If we leave God’s Word as an inheritance to our children, then we will become the wisest and most discerning parents in the world! (However, this does not refer merely to the written words of the Bible, but rather to the living Word that has been personally experienced and lived out.)
Our Attitude
Since we know that God's Word is so rich, what then should our attitude be?
Daily Searching
Acts 17:11 records “...searched the Scriptures daily.” Since God's Word is infinitely rich, Bible reading is like mining for gold. It may be difficult and demanding. It requires time, effort, mental concentration, and even physical strength. Yet once a nugget of gold is found, the reward is beyond compare. Therefore, each one of us should search the Scriptures daily, so that we may enter into this spiritual wealth and become spiritually rich, heavenly millionaires, possessing riches as abundant as those of our heavenly Father.
Richly Indwelling Through All Wisdom
Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” This means that we should not only search the Scriptures daily, but also go a step further by storing the Lord's word in our hearts, treasuring it within, and never forgetting it. In addition to receiving God's word when the Holy Spirit speaks it into our hearts through the written words of Scripture as we read the Bible, we must also use all wisdom to keep the Lord's word within us and retain it in our hearts.
For example, some brothers and sisters systematically memorize the Scriptures, learning a few verses each day in an orderly and disciplined way. Others focus on remembering the facts, key points, and central truths of the Bible. According to the measure of their capacity and ability to receive, they store God's Word richly within their hearts.
Receiving the Revelation of Christ
The Bible is a book that bears witness to Christ, and Christ is its content. Therefore, we should ask the Lord to reveal Christ to us through the Holy Spirit, that we may know Him more. After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples and did something of great importance: He opened their understanding of the Scriptures so that they might know Christ through them. Luke 24:44-45 records: "Then He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” This shows that the central revelation of the Bible is Christ. May the Lord open our eyes, that through the Bible we may receive the revelation of Christ and come to know Him more and more.
Practicing the Word
Ezra 7:10 records: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it.” With regard to God's Word, we should not only study it, but also practice it. Today, many Christians do not fear God and have little desire to do His will. As a result, they merely listen to and talk about God's Word without acting upon it. But those who fear God and love Him seek to understand His will through His Word and then faithfully put it into practice. The more we practice God's Word, the more we experience God. As a result, we are brought into all the riches contained in His Word.
留言