“…whoever looks INTENTLY (parakuptō: exhaustively, painstakingly, thoroughly) into THE PERFECT LAW THAT GIVES FREEDOM and CONTINUES in it—NOT FORGETTING what they have heard but DOING IT—they will BE BLESSED in what they do.” (James 1:25)
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD HERE,
- LOOKING INTENTLY: Why would we exhaustively, painstakingly and thoroughly study Gods Word? Because God’s Word is “…LIVING and POWERFUL, and SHARPER than any TWO–EDGED sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a DISCERNER (kritikos: judge, the right view) of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The Word of God is WAY BEYOND WRITTEN WORDS on a page. Somehow God has caused His Word to be ALIVE and full of POWER and when it goes in it PENETRATES our very being, and when it comes out it PENETRATES those who hear it. God reveals His Word to us AS WE read and hear it. “All Scripture is GOD–BREATHED (The NIV interrupts this correctly, theopneustos: God’s breath) and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be THOROUGHLY (paideia: instruction that helps us to reach full development) equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) God miraculously BREATHES HIS WORD INTO US when we receive it.
- CONTINUING IN HIS WORD AND NOT FORGETTING IT: “…the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and BRING TO YOUR REMEMBRANCE ALL that I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
- DOING HIS WORD: Jesus said, “…blessed are those who hear the word of God and OBEY IT.” (Luke 11:28) “…BE DOERS OF THE WORD, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but A DOER OF THE WORD, THIS ONE WILL BE BLESSED IN WHAT HE DOES.” (James 1:22-25)
Remember this, “In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD. He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1-2) The form Jesus was in, in the beginning was THE WORD OF GOD. In the Textus Receptus, the original writings of the Apostles, (1st John 5:7) says, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the FATHER, THE WORD, and the HOLY SPIRIT; and these three ARE ONE.” Then John goes on to tell us what happened when Jesus was born into this world. “…the WORD became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Where is Jesus NOW, “…You can be sure that I AM always with you, to the very end.” (Matthew 28:20)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham