Authority can be defined as the power to enforce rules or give orders. According to the dictionary, it can also be defined as persons in command or a person accepted as a source of reliable information on a subject. In other words, a person can be seen as an authority.

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God’s word is powerful and it is the source of eternal life. When some people hear about “the Word of God”, most times they only imagine the black and white print that is non living; a holy book that we read and take sermons out of. But in order to have a proper understanding of the subject, we will first and foremost look at the fact that the Word of God is based on the Holy Scriptures.

What is the ‘Word of God’?

  • It is the Person of God. We cannot separate God from His Word – John 1:1 [AMP]: “In the beginning {before all time} was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God himself.
  • All things were made by the Word. The Word of God is the source of life and it created all things (John 1:3, Genesis 1:1-3). Everything God said all came to pass.
  • All that God has ever done in ages past, what he is doing now and whatever he will do in the ages to come is done through his Word. The Word of God that we handle or touch today actually contains the very nature and power of God. God’s Word has power to create and make us what God desires us to be – conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
  • The Word of God is powerful and it is alive – Hebrews 4:12 [Living Bible]: “for whatever God says is full of living power, it is sharper than the sharpest dagger, cutting swift and deep into our inner most thought and desire with all their parts exposing us for what we really are”.
  • The Word of God is the wisdom of God – Proverbs 2:6 [Living Bible]: “for the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.”
  • The Word of God is Spirit and Life (John 6:63, Deuteronomy 8:3). Christians ought to live by every word of God.
  • The Word of God enhances our growth; we are made by the Word and grow into the mature stature of Christ by the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). The Word of God transforms us (2 Tim. 3:15).
  • God’s Word is pure, sure and Holy (Psalm 12:6).
  • The Word of God delivers and heals us (Psalm 107:20).
  • God’s Word never fails. It produces good fruit because it is an incorruptible seed (Isaiah 55:10 & 11). We cannot exhaust the list.

In order to enjoy all that the Word of God can do for us, we must believe God’s Word as the final authority of our lives. We must absolutely believe in the Word of God and obey all that is written in it. We must see or view it as the very Life and Person of God because God’s Word can save us and help us to know God. It is a message from God and a manifestation of His will. The Scriptures are a manifestation of God’s work and not man. We must be willing to submit to the Word of God because it has power to enforce, give orders, correct us, and it is reliable. “Every scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, (and) for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose and action) so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16 – 17 AMP).

In order to enjoy all that the Word of God can do for us, we must believe God’s Word as the final authority of our lives.

We must put our trust in God’s Word like Simon Peter in Luke 5:1-11. He toiled all night as a fisherman by the river but caught nothing. When he was told by Jesus Christ who physically was known more as a carpenter than a fisherman to cast his net (during the day time when fishes can easily see the net and run away) for a catch, we heard him say ‘nevertheless at thy word, I will let down the net’. We saw the tremendous catch he had for obeying the Word. The Word of God is to be obeyed in order for us to reap its full benefits.

Another example is the Centurion who had faith in the Authority of God’s Word (Mathew 8:5-13). He practically saw how God’s Word no matter where, when or how it was spoken had authority and commanded speedy answers. Our approach to God’s Word must be like the servants that Jesus’ mother spoke to at the marriage feast in Cana: “Whatever he says to you do it (John: 2:5). We must never argue with, doubt or neglect God’s Word. When we believe in God’s Word, we shall be saved and free from worries (John 14:1).

The Word of God is to be obeyed in order for us to reap its full benefits.

Finally, Jesus Christ in Mathew 28:18-20 told His disciples that “I have been given all authority in heaven and earth”. We can access this authority via the Word. May God help us to submit to the authority of Christ Jesus (the Word), Amen!

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