What God's Word Doesಮಾದರಿ

GOD’S WORD EQUIPS

Proverbs 22:21—In a general sense, it can be said that the Bible was written to convict sinners of sin and to equip believers for service. Here are four ways that it accomplishes the latter:

a. It equips us for evangelism. In Acts 8:26–35, Philip the evangelist used Isaiah 53 to point the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ.

b. It equips us for counseling others. In his two letters to Timothy, Paul constantly urged this young man to preach the Word of God (1 Tim. 1:3, 18; 4:13–15; 2 Tim. 2:1–2, 15). “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed” (1 Tim. 4:6).

c. It equips us for using one’s spiritual gifts from God. A spiritual gift is an ability given to the believer by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of edifying the church and glorifying God. In Ephesians 1:17–19 and 4:7, 11–14, Paul said knowing God’s Word will provide us with the maturity we need to use our gifts in the most effective way.

d. It equips us for doing battle with Satan. In Ephesians 6:10–17, Paul likened the believers’ armor to that used by Roman foot soldiers. In this comparison the Word of God is likened to the soldier’s sword (Eph. 6:17).

This Bible study is an excerpt fromThe OPEN Bible, Published by Thomas Nelson Bibles