[Gospel Lesson 3] God Works Through His Word

“Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”— Hebrews 6:17–18 (KJV)

In Lesson 1, we met the Creator God. In Lesson 2, we learned that we come to know Him through His Word.

Now we come to another important question:

How does God work in our lives?

Many people wait for God to change their circumstances. They want God to solve their problems, heal their relationships, or remove their difficulties.

But before God changes the things around us, He wants to do something much deeper.

God wants to plant His Word in our hearts.

When His Word enters our hearts and we receive it by faith, the power of God begins to work within us.

God Plants His Word in Our Hearts

One of God's greatest works is putting His Word into the heart of a person.

Jesus compared the Word of God to a seed.

“The seed is the word of God.”— Luke 8:11 (KJV)

A seed may look small and insignificant. But inside that tiny seed is life.

When it is planted in the right soil, something begins to happen.

First, roots grow where no one can see them. Then a small shoot appears. Eventually, the plant grows, flowers, and produces fruit.

The Word of God works in the same way.

At first, you may simply hear a Bible verse. It may seem like only a sentence.

But when that Word enters your heart, it does not remain merely as information.

God begins to work through it.

The Word changes the way you see yourself. It changes the way you see your circumstances. Most importantly, it changes the way you see God.

This is faith.

Faith is not forcing yourself to feel confident.

Faith begins when God's Word enters your heart and you receive what God has said as true.

When God's Word Enters, Life Begins

Think about how new life begins.

When a man and a woman love one another, marry, and become one, new life can be conceived. Something that did not exist before begins to live and grow.

There is a similar spiritual principle in our relationship with God.

God gives us His Word. His Word contains His heart toward us—His promise, His love, and His will.

When we receive that Word into our hearts, it brings life.

Peter writes:

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”— 1 Peter 1:23 (KJV)

The Word of God is an incorruptible seed.

Human words change. Our feelings change. Our circumstances change.

But God's Word lives and abides forever.

That is why our spiritual life cannot be built upon how we feel today.

It must be built upon what God has said.

The Bible Is One Story About Jesus Christ

The Bible contains 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. These books were written across many centuries by many different human writers living in different circumstances.

Yet from Genesis to Revelation, one great story unfolds.

That story points us to Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself said:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”— John 5:39 (KJV)

When Jesus spoke these words, He was speaking about the Scriptures His listeners already possessed—the Old Testament.

That is remarkable.

The Old Testament does not simply contain stories about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Israel. Through its promises, sacrifices, shadows, and prophecies, it points forward to God's work of salvation.

And at the center of that salvation is Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament prepares us for the Savior who was to come.

The New Testament reveals the Savior who came.

As we read the Bible with this in mind, we begin to see Jesus more clearly—His righteousness, His sacrifice, His love, and the salvation God accomplished through Him.

Who Is the Author of the Bible?

The Bible had many human writers, but Scripture tells us that its message came from God.

Paul wrote:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God...”— 2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)

And Peter explains:

“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”— 2 Peter 1:21 (KJV)

The writers had different personalities, backgrounds, and styles. Yet God worked through them to give us His Word.

This is why the Bible is more than human wisdom.

Through Scripture, God speaks.

And when God speaks, His Word has power.

Knowledge Is Not Enough

Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures:

“...are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”— 2 Timothy 3:15 (KJV)

Notice that Scripture gives us not merely knowledge, but wisdom that leads us toward salvation in Christ.

There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Imagine having a refrigerator filled with excellent ingredients.

You may have fresh vegetables, meat, spices, and everything necessary for a wonderful meal.

But having ingredients is not the same as knowing how to prepare them.

Knowledge gives us the ingredients. Wisdom knows what to do with them.

In the same way, a person may know many Bible verses and still fail to understand the heart of God.

We can know the stories.

We can know the commandments.

We can know Christian terminology.

But God wants His Word to go deeper than our memory.

He wants the Word to enter our hearts.

When the Word enters the heart, it begins to change the way we think.

The Word Changes the Heart

Sometimes our hearts become frozen by circumstances.

A problem arises, and we worry.

Someone hurts us, and resentment grows.

Something does not happen the way we expected, and disappointment fills our hearts.

We try to change our feelings, but we cannot.

Then the Word of God enters.

It is like sunlight shining on ice.

The ice does not have to struggle to melt.

When the warmth of the sun reaches it, melting happens naturally.

The Word of God works in our hearts in a similar way.

A heart filled with fear can receive God's promise.

A heart filled with condemnation can hear what Christ has accomplished.

A heart filled with despair can discover hope.

The circumstances may not immediately change.

But the heart changes because the Word has entered.

This is how God works through His Word.

God Cannot Lie

Why can we trust God's Word?

Hebrews gives us a remarkable answer:

“...it was impossible for God to lie...”— Hebrews 6:18 (KJV)

The Bible does not merely say that God does not lie.

It says that it is impossible for God to lie.

Human promises are different.

We may sincerely promise something today and still fail tomorrow.

Sometimes we change our minds.

Sometimes our circumstances change.

Sometimes we simply do not have the power to fulfill what we promised.

But God is not like us.

He knows the beginning and the end.

Isaiah 46:10 says:

“Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”— Isaiah 46:10 (KJV)

God knows what will happen before it happens.

And He has the power to accomplish what He has promised.

Therefore, faith does not rest on our ability to keep believing.

Faith rests on God's faithfulness to His Word.

“Can These Bones Live?”

Ezekiel 37 gives us a powerful picture of God's Word at work.

God brought the prophet Ezekiel into a valley filled with dry bones.

The bones were not merely dead.

They were very dry.

Then God asked Ezekiel:

“Son of man, can these bones live?”— Ezekiel 37:3 (KJV)

From a human point of view, the answer was obvious.

No.

There was no life.

No strength.

No possibility.

But Ezekiel did not answer according to what his eyes saw.

He said:

“O Lord GOD, thou knowest.”

Then God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones.

Ezekiel spoke the Word of God.

And something began to happen.

“...there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.”— Ezekiel 37:7 (KJV)

Sinews appeared.

Flesh came upon them.

Skin covered them.

Then breath entered them.

What had been a valley of death became:

“...an exceeding great army.”— Ezekiel 37:10 (KJV)

What changed the dry bones?

The bones did not change themselves.

They did not try harder.

They did not create life within themselves.

The Word of God came to them.

And God's Word accomplished what was humanly impossible.

God's Promise to Israel

God then explained the vision:

“Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel...”— Ezekiel 37:11 (KJV)

Israel was experiencing devastation and exile, and the people said:

“Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost...”

But God saw something different.

Where Israel saw death, God spoke of life.

Where they saw hopelessness, God gave a promise.

“Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves...”— Ezekiel 37:12 (KJV)

The vision first spoke hope to a people devastated by exile and promised God's restoration. Christians have interpreted the broader prophetic significance of Ezekiel 37 in different ways, including how it relates to later Jewish history and Israel.

But the central truth of the passage is unmistakable:

What looks impossible to man is not impossible to God.

When God gives His Word, the situation does not determine the outcome.

God's promise does.

God Confirmed His Promise With an Oath

This brings us back to Hebrews 6.

God wanted the heirs of promise to understand:

“...the immutability of his counsel...”— Hebrews 6:17 (KJV)

The word immutability means that God's purpose does not change.

But God went even further.

He confirmed His promise with an oath.

Why?

Not because God's Word was uncertain.

He did it so that we could have strong consolation.

God knows how easily our hearts shake.

Today we believe.

Tomorrow circumstances change, and doubts enter.

We look at ourselves.

We look at our failures.

We look at our feelings.

Then we wonder:

“Can I really trust God's promise?”

Hebrews answers:

Yes.

Not because your heart never changes.

But because God does not change.

Not because your faith is always strong.

But because God cannot lie.

Faith Rests on What God Has Said

This is one of the most important lessons we can learn about faith.

Faith is not looking inside yourself and asking:

“Do I believe enough?”

Faith looks at God's Word and asks:

“What has God said?”

Suppose God has made a promise, but my feelings tell me the opposite.

Which one should I trust?

My feelings change.

God's Word does not.

Suppose my circumstances seem to contradict God's promise.

Which one should determine my heart?

Circumstances change.

God's Word remains.

Suppose Satan accuses me and tells me there is no hope.

Where should I turn?

Back to the Word of God.

This is why salvation must ultimately rest upon what God has said and what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ—not upon the changing condition of our hearts.

Let the Word Enter Your Heart

Every Word of God is like a seed.

A seed does not produce fruit while it remains in your hand.

It must enter the soil.

In the same way, it is not enough for God's Word merely to be printed in our Bible or stored in our memory.

It must enter our hearts.

When the Word enters the heart and is received by faith, God begins to work.

The dry bones can live.

The frozen heart can melt.

The hopeless heart can receive hope.

And the sinner who has no way to make himself righteous can discover what God has already accomplished through Jesus Christ.

That is why the gospel does not begin with our ability.

It begins with God's Word.

God speaks.

We hear.

The Word enters the heart.

And God works according to His promise.

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”— Romans 10:17 (KJV)

So when doubts arise, do not begin by looking more deeply into yourself.

Return to the Word.

Because our thoughts can change.

Our feelings can change.

Our circumstances can change.

But God cannot lie.

And what God has promised, He is faithful to fulfill.