Builds you up and gives you the inheritance:

Acts 20:32

32     “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

     

            This is what His Word can do for us. It can build us up daily. Of course, it can do nothing if we don’t read and ponder it. We have to permit God to put it into action in our lives. This verse also says that it gives us our inheritance … not the “in the sky, when we die” inheritance, but the “on the earth, while we live” inheritance. Our inheritance begins now, but only as we allow His living Word to work in our lives.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My Word is for your edification. It will build you up, not tear you down. It has life in it to perform My will. It only brings beneficial things to your life. It never brings you down, only up. If you will obey My Word, you will see new life in you. It will never cease to grow in you and to bring you into your inheritance. You can trust it because you can trust Me. I will never do anything harmful to you, and it will never do anything harmful to you. It will only bring about blessing, never a curse.”

            62. His Word builds me up every day, as I read and obey it. I can then experience my inheritance in this life.

Word is living:

Hebrews 4:12

12     For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

     

            Here is a different reference to God’s Word being alive. Not only is it alive, but it is also full of life. It’s not just surviving. It’s doing something. It’s examining what’s proceeding out of our hearts. Is it something from our spirits, or is it from our souls? It’s impossible for us to tell on our own. We need this living Word to enable us to distinguish which it comes from. Back then when this was written, it would have been nearly impossible to tell where the bone left off, and the marrow began. That’s the way we are without the Word to “slice” those thoughts into their core pieces, so that we can know from where they come … our souls or our spirits. If we don’t continue to read and meditate upon His Word, we won’t have any ammunition for the Spirit of God to use to reveal to us the origination of the thoughts and intentions of our hearts.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Do not think that My Word is an inanimate object. It came from Me. I breathed on it, and it came into existence. It has My life in it, and it will accomplish what I intend for it to do. It will work in your life to show you the right way to go. It works inside you to bring about My will in your life. It will show you which of your thoughts are My thoughts, and which are those of the flesh. You can trust My Word to do what I have intended it to do. It will dwell deeply inside of you to bring about My will in your life. It is able to distinguish between what My Spirit tells you and what your soul tells you. It will never fail because I never fail. When I say something, it always comes to pass.”

            61. As I read God’s Word and allow Him to have His way in my life, that living Word can discern what is from my spirit, and that which is from my soul. I can rest assured that which is from my spirit is from God and is the best thing for me to do. 

The Word of God

  

            At this time we’ll look at the Word of God. Jesus was called the Word in the Gospel of John. Here, though, we’re considering the written Word. Of course, we mean the Bible. It is the Bible that gives substance for the Holy Spirit to work on in our lives. He uses it to bring us into conformity with Jesus. Someone once said that without the Spirit you’ll dry up, and without the Word you’ll blow up. You need both working in your life. If you only study the Word absent the Spirit, you won’t have anything to help put force behind the Word. It will be relatively useless. And if you only go after the things of the Spirit without the Word to bring stability, you can get off into error or at the very least not have any productivity in becoming like the Son.

            Imperishable seed:

1 Peter 1:23

23     for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

     

James 1:21

21     Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

     

            When we were born of the Spirit of God, it came about as the result of our hearing the living Word of God concerning our need for salvation. When we responded favorably to that seed (Word) which we heard, we were born again. This seed is not like any other seeds which we may have planted in the ground. Those seeds could perish under many different conditions. The seed by which we were born from above will never perish. This means that its “fruit” that grows is also imperishable. This Word produces a “fruit” astonishing … the salvation of our souls. This salvation is not just a one shot get to Heaven salvation. It includes a lifetime work in our soul area to bring us closer to the image of Jesus Christ. In order for this imperishable, living Word to bring us closest to that image, we need to “help” it by putting aside all filthiness and what remains of wickedness from before our coming to Him. This prepares the “ground” of our heart for the seed to grow to its fullest.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "What I have given you is so precious. It is My life through My Word. My Word will never fail. It is imperishable. All else may fade away, but My Word will never fade away. It will always come to pass in due season. You can count on My Word to do in you what I said it would do. It will never fail. You can accept it or reject it, but it will do the work that I have chosen for it to do as you allow it to do in your life. Count it as precious, for it is so. Hold it fast, for it will never let you down.”

            60. I have been born again of an imperishable seed … the living Word of God. It began its work at rebirth and continually works to make my soul into what God has planned for me.          

How can anyone attempt to live as God intended without relying on the Holy Spirit? He is involved in everything we do for God. God knew we needed Him. That’s why Jesus rose from the dead so that we might walk in newness of life through His Spirit. If He had just died for our sins, we would have had forgiveness; but without Him rising from the dead and giving us the Holy Spirit, we couldn’t begin to become what God intended. We were destined to have the Holy Spirit in our lives.