IN part 1 we read about how Jesus confronted Satan in the wilderness: the ESV says: “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” Now we will turn our attention to the idea of moving by the Word. The apostle James wrote: “ But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” 1:21.
Abraham’s Journey
Early in Abraham’s experience He was guided by the Holy Spirit to leave his home for a land that would be shown to him: “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1. In the book, Reading the Old Testament through Jewish Eyes, this part of Abraham’s experience is explained by the following: “These words are the first God speaks to Abraham. They begin the journey that led to the beginning of Judaism, and then ultimately Christianity and the Western world as we know it today. Along with their universal historical importance, they are also deeply personal. God is inviting Abraham to trust in His promise and journey to an unknown destination. God’s call, however, is even more than that. It is an invitation to begin the journey every human being undergoes. That is the journey to self-discovery, differentiation, and maturity. While it may seem from this verse that this journey is purely about separating oneself from one’s family, it is much more subtle and complex than that.” Pg. 38,39
The Word Works Within Us
As we accept the Word within our minds, the Word works on the inside of us in such a way that it is evidenced on the outside through our actions. In the experience of Jesus in the wilderness, the Word in Him resisted the words of Satan. In Abrams experience the Word embraced led him to leave all that was familiar to him. Hebrews 4:12 states: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Notice the description living and active. Sin, unrecognized, unconfessed and unaddressed blocks the Word from acting within us. Like a clogged pipe, sin prevents the water of life from flowing through us to others. Sin causes us to resist receiving the Word of God and instead feed on the lies of the devil regarding the nature of our Creator, ourselves and the world around us. Sin distorts our ability to reason and contaminates our motives. God’s Word is like medication for our souls. The more we become familiar with it, understand it in context and learn to trust it in our lives is the more we will reflect the Divine Image.
The Battle of the Seeds
1 John 3:9 takes the idea of the Divine Word working within us to a deeper level: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” When we are born of God, the seed of His word germinating within us resists the seed of sin within our carnal nature. Jesus doesn’t invite us to focus on our weaknesses and evil traits in an effort to overcome them but to lead us to Him. Rather than investing our energy in becoming more familiar with the darkness within us we are called to become more familiar with the light of the Lord. 1 Peter 1:23 adds to the words of 1 John 3:9 “…having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…” As we allow the eternal and incorruptible seed of God’s word to live inside of us through bathing our minds in and reinforcing it’s principles in our characters through daily choices we will be kept, in righteousness (right-with-God), by that Word which overpowers the corruptible seed of sin within us. It is through this process that we are made overcomers through Jesus the Redeeming Christ! It is our job to make trusting in the Divine Word our final answer in every situation.