THE ETERNAL WORD (seventh superlative: Incorruptible seed). 1st Peter 1:24-25 The Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as the Word of God. The Bible is also the word of God, and the message of the Gospel is the “word… preached unto you.” The Lord is the eternal Word, the verbal and audible expression of God to the world: “The Word was with God and the Word was God.” Then John also wrote, “The world could not contain” the books that could be written about all Jesus did. However, in the Bible, we have the plain, readable words of God to us, and this word, too, “lives and abides forever.”
This life is very short compared with the eternal life revealed to us in the word of God and promised as the present and eternal possession of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This quotation from Isaiah 40 reminds us that all of our possessions, successes, and even all the people on earth will eventually wither and die. Everything will fade away, but not the word of God and the eternal life God has given us. We need to focus our attention, time, energy, and material success on what is permanent and eternal. “The things which are seen are temporal; the things that are not seen are eternal.” The main point of this quotation is that God’s word endures forever, and that is what believers are to pass on to people in the world when we preach the Gospel and carry out the commission our Lord gave us.
Whenever we pass on the message of the Gospel from God to people through us, we do so from the experience and expressions that come from our new birth, guided by the Holy Spirit, and should demonstrate the love we have for the eternal welfare of those to whom we speak. We need to be holy in our behavior, attitude, expressions, and even the tone of our voice. We have been loved by God with everlasting love, and we need to let that be seen through us. Our character and calling should be consistent with and compatible with the truth openly expressed in the message of salvation we preach.
The seed of the incorruptible word has to be planted and should be evident in the incorruptible life of each believer in Christ. Then it can be passed on as an incorruptible message of salvation from God to them through us. Basing our assurance of eternal life on the words written in the Bible is often rejected by people who do not have faith that comes from hearing the word of God. That word lives and abides forever, but strangely, people want to trust in their feelings, some personal experience, an imaginary vision, or other imaginary phenomena to make the saving work of God’s grace real to them.
How much more assuring the unchangeable, infallible word of God is to those who put their trust in Him. The word of God is a solid foundation upon which to place our faith and build our lives. Our faith has found a “resting place, not in device or creed.” It rests upon the living word of a living person who has been revealed to us in the word of God.
By nature, the life we see around us is temporary. It germinates, grows, and produces what its nature yields. And then, slowly but surely, it dies – gradually disintegrating into its original source. It is not eternal. By its nature, grass lasts only a year, and then another blade comes to take its place. Some trees last for generations, but they, too, are dying a slow death – they are not eternal. Animals, birds, and fish all have life cycles created by a wise Creator and maintained to fulfill a divine purpose, but they, too, have only a short life; none of them is eternal. Beauty and color are seen in gardens worldwide, in forests, mountains, and even deserts. But they, too, are only temporary – they wither and die – their beauty is not eternal.
A year seems long when one is a child. To them, forever is the time it takes to walk a mile. But as we grow older, the years seem shorter, and a mile is not much more than around the corner – so “forever” is used in a relative way – it doesn’t always mean what the words really say. None of our words truly captures the meaning of “forever” when God is speaking. Because “forever” to Him means totally without end, “forever” cannot change to suit men’s definitions. “Forever” is the length of the life of God. “Forever” describes the existence of His Holy Word. “Forever” has no limits on the truth within the Word of God, describing the consequences of sin. “Forever” is the length of the life God gives – “forever” is the length of the love that is His. “Forever” God’s Word is settled in heaven – “forever” is how long my sins are forgiven. I can’t describe the word, but this I see: “forever” is how long God’s trustworthy Word will endure.