“the Word which is also inwardly working itself in you” (1 Thess. 2:13, Rotherham)
The logos-word of God is seed (Luke 8:11) and it will bring forth a harvest if handled right (the “word of truth” can also be cut in incorrect ways – 2 Tim. 2:15). The seed of the Word must be planted, watered, and God will make it grow (1 Cor. 3:6) – this is a spiritual principle, as we explained in the previous teaching. Because God uses the Holy Spirit to work with His Word within you, Spirit-led transformation takes place. Many believers do however not know how to bring this about.
Throughout Scripture this process is metaphorized with the phrase “to eat the Scripture/scroll/Word”:
- 15:16 – “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart …”
- 3:1-3 – “Moreover He said to me, ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.’ So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, ‘Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.’ So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.”
- 10:9-10 – “So I went to the angel and said to him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said to me, ‘Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.’ Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.”
In The Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge the commentary on Ezek. 3:1-3 explains this metaphor as follows: “Receive My word into thy mind, let it enter into they soul; digest it, let it be they nourishment, they meat and thy drink, to do the will of thy Father who is in heaven.”
The same thought is repeated throughout Scripture, as if Father wants to continually remind us that there is power in the Word of God, that it is not mere people’s words about Him. He wants to remind us that the entire Bible encapsulates the inscribed Life that is in Jesus Christ. See how this becomes a refrain in the Word:
- 6:6-9 – “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
- 30:14 – “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” (Repeated in Rom. 10:8.).
- Job 22:22 – “Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.”
- 1:2 – “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
- 119:11 – “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
- 119:97 – “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.”
- 37:31 – “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.”
- 40:8 – “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”
- 2:10-11 – “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you …”
- Luke 2:19 – “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart …” (repeated in a similar fashion in verse 51).
- John 8:31-32 – “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
- 3:16 – “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
- 1 John 2:14b – “I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.”
But please note – this is not a strict, mechanistic, mantra-based repetition of Scriptures that “this life” (Acts 5:20) offers. You need to internalise the Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, think it over, ponder it prayerfully. It must literally be as 2 Sam. 23:2 holds forth: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.” Word and Spirit must always speak as one, as they are One (1 John 5:7). Paul explains it as follows in 1 Thess. 1:5: “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance … ”
Always remember the warning Jesus offers us in John 5:38-40: “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
To merely know the Scriptures and constantly quote them, like the Pharisees, is not the idea. The Scripture is the lifeblood of God. The life does not lie in the literal letters of the Word; we do after all know Paul’s warning in 2 Cor. 3:6: “for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Practically speaking a few guidelines about what has worked for me, in terms of memorising Scripture: I write important portions of Scripture on small index cards, with the Scripture reference on the back, and keep the pack with me. In the line at the bank, in the bathroom, in the car while waiting for my kids, or in a restaurant waiting for someone to arrive for a coffee date, wherever, I keep on repeating and memorising it, including the specific reference. When I struggle with the wording I turn it over, quickly check what is correct, and then continue. Once you know a Scripture, replace it with a new one. Also – pray the Scripture. (There are many books on this topic, for instance Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship by Kenneth D. Boa and Praying the Scriptures: A Field Guide for Your Spiritual Journey by Evan B. Howard, but the Holy Spirit is also sufficient.)
It is also important to know certain important portions of Scripture off by heart, “that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col. 4:6). You should not only know John 3:16, but also Gal. 3:16 and 2 Tim. 3:16. You should know where the Word speaks about being born again, the spirit of Elijah, who is a true Jew, the importance of baptism, being baptised in Christ, the gospel of glory, etc. If you are struggling to name Word correlations for the topics just listed, it is perhaps time that the Word should start living within you.
- Selah: Find a workable way to memorise Scripture.
- Read: 7-12; 2 Chr. 9; 1 Kings 10-11
- Memorise: 12:11.
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read any of the books mentioned in the teaching.
