KNOWING AND DOING GOD'S WORD

Suppose a man wishes to do something for you. Before he does it, he expresses his thought or purpose in words. Then he fulfills the words by doing what he has promised. This is also the way God works. His words have their value from what He does. In creation, His Word was with the power: He spoke and it was done.

"If any man will do his will, he shall know" (John 7:17).

Some time ago, I received a letter from an earnest Christian asking me for some hints to help him in Bible study. He wanted some guidelines as to how to begin and how to go on, so he could better understand and know the Bible. The very first thing I said to him, the thing that comes before all else, is this: In your Bible study, everything will depend upon the spirit in which you approach it.

The Objective Of Bible Study

In worldly things, a man is ruled and urged on by the goals he sets for himself. It is no different with the Bible. If your aim is simply to know the Bible well, you will be disappointed. If you think that thorough knowledge of the Bible will necessarily be a blessing, you are mistaken. To some, it is a curse. To others, it is powerless; it does not make them either holy or happy. To some, it is a burden; it depresses them instead of quickening them or lifting them up.

What should be the real objective of the Bible student? Because God's Word is food, bread from heaven, the first reason for Bible study is: a great hunger for righteousness— a great desire to do all God's will. The Bible is a light, and the first condition to its enjoyment is a sincere longing to walk in God's ways.

This is what the Bible teaches us: "Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it."

There is no blessedness in hearing or knowing God's Word apart from keeping it. The Word is nothing if it is not kept, obeyed, and done.

"If any man will do His will, he shall know." According to this saying of our Lord, all true knowledge of God's Word depends upon there first being the will to do it. God will unlock the real meaning and blessing of His Word only to those whose will is set upon doing it. I must read my Bible with one purpose. "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it" (John 2:5).

The Importance Of Words

Words stand between the will and the deed.

Suppose a man wills to do something for you. Before he does it, he expresses his thought or purpose in words. Then he fulfills the words by doing what he has promised. This is also the way God works. His words have their value from what He does. In creation, His Word was with the power: He spoke and it was done.

God always does what He says. David prays, "Do as Thou hast said' (2 Samuel 7:25). Solomon also says at the consecration of the temple: "Who hath with His hands fulfilled that which He spake with His mouth;" "The Lord hath performed His word that He hath spoken;" "Thou hast kept...that which Thou hast promised him, and spakest with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thine hand."

In the writings of the prophets, God says, "I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it" (Ezekiel 36:30). And the prophets say, "What Thou hast spoken, is done" (Jeremiah 32:24). The truth and the worth of what God promises consist in this, that He does it. His word of promise is meant to be done.

Doing God's Word

This is no less true of His words of command, of things which He wants us to do. If we do not do them, if we seek to know them, if we admire their beauty and praise their wisdom, but do not do them, we delude ourselves. They are meant to be done. It is only as we do them that their real meaning and blessing can be revealed to us. It is only as we do them that we really can grow in the divine life. "Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10). We must approach God's words with the same objective God had in mind that they should be done.

This principle is true in any pursuit of knowledge. edge or in any kind of business. The pupil or apprentice is expected to put the lessons he receives into practice. Only then is he prepared for further teaching. In the Christian life, Bible study should be more than mere theory-more than a pleasing exercise of mind and imagination.

Bible study has little value for a life of true holiness or Christlikeness until the student makes God's purpose his very own and listens when He says, "Do all that I speak."

This was the distinguishing mark of the Old Testament men of faith. "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him" (Genesis 12:4). "As the Lord had commanded Moses, so did he" (Exodus 40:16) is the description of the man who, as a servant, was faithful in all his house. And of David we read: "I have found.. a man after Mine own heart, which shall do all My will" (Acts 13:22). In Psalm 119, we hear him speaking with God about His Word and praying for divine light and teach-ing, always accompanied by the vow of obedience or some other expression of love and delight. It is the doing of God's will, as it was with God's own Son, that is the one secret of entrance into the favor and the mind of God.

Young Christian, when you ask God to lead you into the treasures of His Word, do it as one who presents himself as a living sacrifice, ready to do whatever God says. Seek this with deep humility. To enjoy your food, you must first be hungry. The first requirement for Bible study is a simple longing to find out what God wants you to do and the determination to do it. "If any man will do His will, he shall know" —the Word of God will be opened to him.