THE WORD OF GOD AND ITS POWER, PS 107:20

DR. BIODUN SOTUNMBI

By way of definition a word is the unit of language but in biblical terms the Word is the Gospel Message. In theological terms the Word is God Himself. It is also His begotten son, Jesus Christ the Saviour, John 1:1-3

The Gospel Message is therefore the Word which Jesus Christ sowed into human heart. Those whose believe it are saved. Those who do not are condemned because they reject the offer of salvation and eternal life, John 23:16-18.

Such is the power in the Word that all that God needed to do was to deploy it, to counter the darkness and chaos that satan, the fallen archangel had imposed on the earth, following his disgraceful expulsion from heaven, Rev. 12:7-12, Lk. 10:18.

God spoke the Word and the earth was restored to its original perfect state. The forces of darkness, of which satan was commander-in-chief, were defeated for the second time.

“And God said, Let there be light

and there was light,” Gen. 1:3

Without light the follow-on creation of plant and animal life, and the creation of man, God’s “image and likeness,” Gen. 1:26, would have been a waste and God knew that – as they would not have survived. In any case, Jesus the co-creator with the Father, and the Light of the World, John 1:6-12 was present. Darkness had to give way to light.

The Power of the Word

1.     It heals those who are physically and spiritually sick, men and women who may be heading for destruction, Ps. 107:20.

2.     It delivers those who are oppressed by satan. The Madman of Gadara was totally lost. He had turned his back human habitation, living among the dead. If he had any family members at all they had abandoned him as the legion of demons in him and turned him into a wild animal, more or less.

But when Jesus saw him all He had to do was speak the word in the form of a command to the ravaging spirits in him:

Come out of the man thou unclean spirit, Mark 5:8

and they left their host pleading for divine mercy. No demon can look at the face of Jesus and stand. If they tried to destruction awaited them instantly. It did not matter at all that they were 5000 or 6000 in number, the power in Jesus and His word subdued them, Mark 5:9-13.

3.     Certainly there is power in the Word. Jesus and His disciples were in a boat and there arose a tempest. The disciples were afraid, worried that the boat might be turned over by the angry waves. But Jesus was sleeping unpertubed until the frightened disciples woked Him up. He rebuked the winds and the sea, thus making both of them look foolish for upsetting His disciples. He had power over the elements, Matt. 8:23-27.

4.     He brought the dead back to life in a way that shamed death and its sponsor, satan. On being told that His friend, Lazarus, was dead He simply said he was sleeping. When He reached the graveside He didn’t address death or satan nor did He worry about the rotten flesh of the deceased. He simply conversed with His Father and thereafter spoke the word.

Lazarus come forth John 11:43

And he who was dead came back to life. Not only that, a few day after Lazarus sat at table with Him sharing a meal, John 12:1

What else can one say about the Word, either as the Bible or a gospel message? If you allow it to dominate your life it will keep you away from sin, Ps. 119:11, Ps. 22:1. When you are sick you remember God’s promise concerning your health, 3 John 2. When you are weak the Word gives you strength, Isaiah 41:10-13. The Word truly heals. Study and mediate on it as God told Joshua, Joshua 1:8 and it shall do wonders, even today, John 14:10.