13.3 By His Word

We have asserted that God Life is Victory-over-death Life even when there is not yet any death known inside of creation. And that the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus was not a reaction to the death of Adam, but the appearance in space and time of the Life that has always been God’s.

Then, we have asserted that this Resurrection Life of God is our life now as well, and that He lives inside of our hearts, written as every Word God speaks. And we have seen that this Living Word enters into us through faith and not by sight, that is, we believe that God is telling us the truth. Then, out from us, the same Word, passing again through our faith, becomes the life we see all around us.

The Entrance of God. Finally, the most amazing thing we have seen is that this passage of faith, the doorway through which the knowledge of God enters into creation, is our human hearts of flesh. Your heart is the entrance of God.

My heart is the entrance of God. – I do not know that I have ever written any declaration of faith more precious than this. – My heart is the entrance of God.

A human being, then, is one who, by nature, calls God by His Word into being seen and known inside of creation. The speaking of the word is male; the entrance of the word is female. Both are qualities of God’s Spirit. Yet ‘God’ is never visible outwardly; it is that we call Him to be so, that is, we see God, and then we show Him to others.

Sustaining All. Sustaining (Greek – pheron) all by His power-filled Word (Hebrews 1:3). Isaiah saw that Spirit Word comes like the rain upon the earth to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, that is, to give the generation of life and to give the sustaining of life. The Greek word pheron contains three meanings, first, to bring forth (seed – generation of life), second, to sustain (bread – sustenance of life), and third, to carry.

Then consider this line. – For the Word of God is living and energeoing and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating through… (Hebrews 4:12). It is not we who cause the word to happen (human performance), but the Word who causes us to happen.

All That He Speaks. Martin Vincent, in his commentary on Luke 1, pointed out that the Bible does not actually say that “God can do anything,” rather, it says that “God does all that He speaks.” God does not do what He does not first speak, for, indeed, it is the spoken Word, that is Christ Jesus, through which all things come into being.

This lesson, then, is about our role as weak humans, entirely through faith, in the active and ongoing power of the Living Word to cause people to see and to know that God already IS. For out from Him and coming through Him and returning to Him are all things (Romans 11). This causing people to see and to know is the generation and sustaining of Life. It is what we do because we are human.

In Our Mouth and in Our Heart. I have said many times that Spirit and Word can never be separated. Now we see that there is a third element that also can never be separated from these two, and that is Resurrection Life. If the Word is in our mouth and in our heart, then the generation of Life is also in our mouth and heart – not just any ‘life,’ but Life that, by nature, swallows up death.

Consider this statement. – “I see God everywhere I look, and I especially see God when I see the broken and hurting, arrogant and foolish people all around me.” Sight and judgment are the same thing, that is, judgment as the quality of understanding the depths of something. Then, having seen God, I call it like I see it. I see (through faith – believe), therefore I speak – the Words of God.

Utter Human Weakness. This is where we say – Becoming what we already are.
All darkness takes place inside the human mind and heart. It is the human mind that interprets what is seen as not-God. I trust the words of the gospel. It astonishes me that most Christians do not. For most, if how they see things (theology) is different from the words on the page, then they will not believe those words. Every time I allow the mighty Words of Paul’s gospel, confirmed by the other New Testament writers, to adjust how I see, it is like stepping off of a cliff by myself into the unknown. It is an act of faith, and no human strength attends that act. It is an act of utter human weakness.

By Habit. Yet in spite of all these years of speaking this word, when I am inside of immediate human doing, as I am now in this great effort to get us moved to our new home, I do not always see God in everything by habit, though I do trust. Notice my choice of word – ‘habit,’ not ‘nature.’ Nature means you can’t help yourself; habit means something you learn or unlearn.

Jesus said, “Learn Me.” To become what we already are, we practice until it is our habit. Then, forever, God will reveal Himself through us in this same way – through our faith in His Word, that we would see only what God speaks.

The Knowledge of God. The glory of God already covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. In fact, you can’t touch anything except you pass through the great thickness of God in all His might and glory. It is the darkened human mind alone that refuses to see because of refusing to believe the Word God speaks. And how can we as the Church show to others what we ourselves do not yet see?

We are speaking, now, not of the Word entering into our hearts to be written there as all that we are, but rather, that same Word now passing through our mouth, out from our hearts, to become the knowledge of God all around us. We are speaking of singing the Song of the Lamb.

The Song of the Lamb. The “song of the Lamb” is mentioned only once, in Revelation 15 – and they were singing… the song of the Lamb. Then, in Revelation 14, John saw the firstfruits of Christ as those singing a new song.

The first part of the Song of the Lamb is fellowship with Father, a deep and intimate fellowship of closeness that He is always part of my life, regardless of any “feelings.” This fellowship is the essence and meaning of thankfulness. One might even call it the rhythm and source of the song. The second part of the Song of the Lamb is fellowship with Jesus, that He is every Word God speaks and that His Word is true. This singing is faith, and when the words of Jesus become our story of self, this is the harmony of the Song.

The Blessing of the Spirit. The third part of the Song of the Lamb and the topic of this lesson is the blessing of the Spirit. This is the sending forth of Word into our world to bless, to heal, to encourage, to give life. The blessing of the Spirit is all the melodies of joy, sung in harmony with the Word Jesus is, out from the deep rhythm of fellowship with Father.

The Spirit flowing out touches all things in accordance with the Word. Apart from Word spoken, the Spirit can do nothing. The Word by which the Spirit works inside our world is in our mouths. This is our authority. We bless, and we do not curse. It is our human nature to bless, but cursing is contrary to all things.

Judgment and Singing. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them (Revelation 20:4). This judgment and this singing are the same. We are judges; we sit in judgment; and judgment flows out of our mouths.

This has always been so, yet during our times of ignorance and childishness, we have attempted to speak as James said we cannot, and that is to bless some things and curse other things, starting with ourselves. The world has never known a pure Word coming out from the mouths of sons of God to bless and to heal, with no curse in it. Yet such speaking is our only human nature. To lie and to curse is demonic, as James also said.

Life Given to Others. My wife and I now own an acre-and-a-half of sloping land inside the little and rural town of Shepherd in east Texas. It is a magical place half treed and half cleared. It has many large oaks and large magnolias. The magnolia blossom aroma will fill the air for many weeks every spring.

I marked out the movement of the sunshine on the ground and determined those trees that shade my garden spaces. Six large oaks must come down, along with a few smaller trees. We have hired some local fellows to take them down. Yet as I marked those trees that must give way for the sake of my garden, I blessed them. I thanked each one for the life that it was and the life that it was giving to others. And I will make use of every part of those trees to bless and build up.

To Shepherd and to Guide. I love the concepts of working with nature found inside of what is called “permaculture.” Yet many of those who advocate such a practice insert religious ideas into the practical science, including such nonsense as “saving the earth.” The thing that will “save the earth” is the Words of Christ, words of blessing and life, flowing out from our mouths, guiding the touch of God’s devoted Spirit.

The “science” part of permaculture, that is, the observation of what God created, is wondrous beyond measure. Then, I place the Spirit of Jesus, sustaining all things by His power-filled Word, into the practical life of the earth. I do not “dominate” nature; rather, I shepherd and guide it.

The Web of Life. I brought home 28 little chicks who are chirping merrily in a series of boxes in our laundry room. I bless these little ones with the life of the Spirit. At the same time there is a village of fire ants amongst the trees behind the house. My foot was swollen, I think from the sting of one of them. Yet they also have their place in the life of the soil and my task is to limit their reach, not to destroy them. Of truth, science shows that when the vast web of life that exists in the soil is in balance, then such things as fire ants are limited.

When we are settled, my wife and I will walk this land and we will speak words of blessing out from the Jesus of our hearts, sending forth our devoted Spirit to give life to our beloved land.

And Then There Are Christians. Yet it is rather an easy thing to bless the natural world in which we live; humans are a different matter. Can I take the same joy I find in blessing happy little birds and turn it to bless the perverse, obnoxious, and morally culpable people who also inhabit my world?

And I am not speaking of the unregenerate. It’s not so hard to bless the unregenerate, for there is no committed relationship with them. Nicene Christianity and the love of this world have both taught us to lie to one another in every conceivable way. Our human nature is Christ, and there is nothing more contrary to Christ than dishonesty and manipulation.

Can Life Swallow up Death? The fire ants are not part of either death or curse. My job as the tender of our garden is not to destroy them, but to limit them. In fact, my chickens will be part of that balance. But words of dishonesty and manipulation coming to me from my brethren are death. Can the life that is inside of me swallow up such death?

Chemical poisons shatter the web of life in the soil, yet I have learned that certain plants, including sunflowers and yellow mustard, will draw that poison out of the soil into themselves. What life swallows up the death of human abuse in ongoing relationships? You see, we are not speaking of ‘life’ in general, but rather, very specific Spirit Words that are Christ Jesus.

The Proving of Christ. Words of dishonesty and manipulation, spoken at me by my brethren, are far more deadly than man-made chemicals. Dishonesty shatters trust, and trust is very hard to rebuild. In fact, Godly sorrow in open honesty heart to heart is the only soil where trust can regrow. You see, I am not speaking of anything unusual here, but rather of what has been the ignorant practice of Christians everywhere.

Here is the proving of Christ. As I speak Words of Life into the Spirit of God, will those same words swallow up the death that is the ‘norm’ in present Christian practice? The thing in me that doesn’t want to do that is NOT my nature. My nature is the good-speaking of Jesus, having defeated death.

By His Word. I have brought us right to the heart, to the pin-point entrance of God into our world. – By HIS WORD – through our faith in that Word that it is true, in the very face of the dragon with all feelings of contradiction and accusation, by that Word alone God enters into the knowledge of His creation.

It’s called life laid-down and love poured-out. It’s called the manchild seized into God and into His throne. It is our gift, our nature, our inheritance, found forever inside hearts of flesh, inside utter human weakness.

Life swallowing up death is what and who we are, the entrance and power of the All-Carrying One.