Week 6 Day 2-Read the Word

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Day 2 – Read God’s Word (John 15:2-3)

² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away (can also be translated as “He lifts up”); and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

         Verse 3. The word “clean” in verse 3 is the same as “prune” or “purge” in various translations of verse 2. The whole of Jesus’ teaching spiritually cleans us. “Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word” (Ephesians 5:25-26). When we line up God’s word to our lives, the Bible helps us purge the bad out of our lives.

         Secondly, God’s Word, when obeyed, purifies the good into our lives. “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth...” (1 Peter 1:22). By coming to God’s Word we not only know the evil we need to stop doing but we also can see the pure, good works we should start doing. Being clean does not mean perfect. Earlier that night, Jesus came and washed the disciples’ feet. Jesus said “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean….” (John 13:10)

    Christians have been thoroughly cleansed. The Greek word for “clean” in both John 15:3 and 13:10 is a word from which we get the English word “catharsis”, meaning we are cleansed through and through. Even still, we still need our “feet washed” in the spiritual sense to rid ourselves of the contamination that we have in walking in this sinful world.

    God’s Word is profitable. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 states “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The profit we gain is not necessarily financial, but for doctrine (teaching us what the right path is), reproof (telling us when we have gotten off the right path), correcting (bringing us back to the right path), and training (helping us learn and show others how to stay on the right path).

    When we read God’s Word, apply it to our lives, memorize and meditate on it, we see its power. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God 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 of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

    There are three couplings in this passage. The first is between the division of your fleshly soul (that is, your natural emotions, mind, and will) and your godly spirit (the Holy Spirit within you placed by God). That division is sometimes hard to distinguish. God’s word will assist you in making the distinction between what you want and what He wants.

    The second is the division of the marrow of the bone is talking about your body. The purpose of bone marrow is to produce blood cells and the Bible states that life is in the blood! God’s word brings the proper division in the flesh of what your body should do. The Word will bring good life-blood cells out of the marrow and ensures it is joined properly in the body.

    The third living and active division comes in discerning what your thoughts of your mind and your intentions of your heart can be. God’s word is living, not passive, and will actively judge and discern not only your mind’s thoughts but also your heart’s intentions.

    We need to read, apply, memorize and meditate on God’s word because it protects us. “How can a young man cleanse his way? ​​By taking heed according to Your word… ​​Your word I have hidden in my heart, ​​That I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:9, 11). By embedding God’s word in our hearts and lives will protect us from committing sins. We see this not only in the psalms but in the very temptation of Jesus, as He answered each temptation with the Word of God. Christ’s example was to give us a pattern on how to deal with sin.

    Knowledge alone of God’s Word alone is not enough, as we see in the final part of the Sermon on the Mount. “He who hears my words and does them,” was what makes the difference in the two foundations. We will see tomorrow how obedience to the word in our lives is how the rubber hits the road in our growth.

Day 3, Obey God