The Living Word

By Danny Saavedra

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”—Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

I’ve heard it said before that when you engage with Scripture, not only are you reading the Bible, but the Bible is reading you! You see, the Bible is the primary way God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. It’s the chief vehicle He uses to tell us who He is and to explain His heart, mind, character, nature, and will. It’s how He speaks to us and where we learn to identify His voice.

The Bible is God’s powerful, authoritative, enlightening, and life-changing self-expression. It’s the very breath of God on each page! 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NIV, emphasis added) declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Not only is the Bible a powerful book inspired by God, but it goes well beyond that, too! John 1:1 (NIV) tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Greek word here is logos. The concept of logos is kind of mind blowing. The simplest way to explain it is that logos is the reason behind something. The term basically describes a collection of things put together in thought and expressed in words. You see, ancient Greek thinkers and influencers were concerned with answering the biggest questions of reality. They wanted to find ultimate truth, purpose, and understanding behind everything. This is where logos came in. To the Greeks, logos was the universal reason found in all things giving life and meaning to the universe.

So, when we read the Bible, we’re not just reading the story of Jesus, we’re also reading Jesus Himself. We get to know Him, see Him, and hear Him for He is the living embodiment of the Word of God. He is, as the Jewish people believed, the driving force of God’s activity and will, giving identity and value to all things and, as the Greeks believed, the universal reason inherent in all things. He is the binding law that sustains all in existence (Colossians 1:15–17), giving purpose to all things, and He has chosen to reveal all this and Himself to us through Scripture!

Consider Luke 24:27 (NIV), which says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he (Jesus) explained to them (His disciples) what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Jesus opened the hearts and minds of His disciples so they could truly understand His Word and in turn understand who He is and who they are in light of that!

If you want to experience full at its very fullest, discover who you are, why you’re here, where you belong, and what your true and ultimate purpose is, then you must build your life on the Word of life! So, I pray during this season you would saturate your life with the voice and person of Jesus that is revealed to us through the Word of God by the Spirit of God.

Pause: What is your understanding of the Bible? How would you describe it to others? What is your relationship with the Bible? How frequently and why do you read it?

Practice: Read 2 Timothy 3:14–17 and Hebrews 4:12 and meditate on them today.

Pray: Father, may I value Your Word for what it is: a treasure. May I treasure Your Word more highly than all the gold in the world. Help me to hide Your Word in my heart, help me to build my life on the Word, and reveal Your Son in ever-increasing measure to me through the Word. Amen.