THE IMPLANTED WORD

[tomdurst]

THE IMPLANTED WORD

by Thomas E Durst

James 1:21 (Amplified Bible)

21 So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.

When we receive and welcome God's Word through the working of the Holy Spirit upon our hearts it is "implanted and rooted" in our hearts and contains the power to save our souls. Salvation as used in the Bible means far more than just "escaping hell and gaining Heaven" as is popularly believed by a lot of Christians. Salvation includes wholeness, restoration, healing of body, mind, and spirit, and provides everything needed to prepare us for fellowship with the Living God and with one another.

What is important to remember is that this all-inclusive salvation is not accomplished through human will power or by gaining information about certain facts which may well be true and very wonderful. Salvation involves having the Living Word literally implanted in our hearts in such a way that it imparts to us the power of the Almighty Creator God. That is a fullness that is beyond any human imagination and rarely understood and experienced in the shallow, popular religion of today.

I believe that in the written Word of God, meaning the Word of Truth as we find it in the Bible, we are privileged to partake of the Living Word so that it becomes the Word made flesh in us. The power and life of God will flow through us as they are implanted within us by the Holy Spirit. People will be blessed by our very presence and will not know why. Isn't it worth spending more quality time with God so that we can bless the world by unleashing the power of God within it? The Bible writers spoke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and so we partake of that same life giving Spirit when we prayerfully study their writings. I think we need to reflect upon and internalize the power of God's Word much more than we do. Millions of people over the centuries have been totally transformed just by reading the sacred pages of the Bible. This should not be taken lightly.

We have historical accounts of how for long periods of time the Bible was kept hidden from the common people and those who translated it and tried to make it available to everyone were often persecuted and put to death. Religious leaders were deathly afraid that their power over the masses would be broken when people began to get hold of the power of God as mediated in the Scriptures. However God has had His hand over His Word and it is still the most sought after book in the world in spite of all attempts to stamp it out or to discredit it by so many "very learned" scholars. The reason the Bible is in such high demand is because it meets the deepest needs of human beings as nothing else has in human history.

I did an electronic search for the English word "power" in the Amplified Version and it occurs 473 times and the greater portion of those verses relate in some way to God or to His power working through various people. Doesn't this tell us about something wonderful available to us that we have barely tapped into? I think the enemy has done a better job of keeping us away from a meaningful relationship to the Bible in our modern age than when it was a prohibited book. We have more Bibles and all kinds of helps available now than ever before but for the most part the power of God's Word when really implanted in us by the Holy Spirit is sadly neglected and little experienced. Human methods, much entertainment, and electronic gadgets have often been substituted for the power of God's Word.

The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.--Martin Luther


I especially urge you to read LIFE IN GOD ALONE which is on the link below:


LIFE IN GOD ALONE



The three articles THE IMPLANTED WORD, THE SECRET OF REAL LIFE AND ENERGY and LIFE IN GOD ALONE are closely related and are possibly the most important articles that I've written thus far. Read them often. TD

[Kenneth]

Excellent thoughts on salvation. It is indeed a lifestyle, not just a ticket to pie in the sky.

[John VT]

Amen Thomas!

I share with you, your love and admiration of the Word.

I really appreciated this broader view of Salvation.

"Salvation includes wholeness, restoration, healing of body, mind, and spirit, and includes everything needed to prepare us for fellowship with the Living God. It includes our justification, sanctification, power for daily living, wisdom, etc."

With this caveat:

Salvation includes... everything needed to involve us in fellowship with the Living God.

I believe that some of the shallowness that we witness in religion is due to a lack of present tense agreement with the Spirit. "Pie in the Sky" Theology is only the outward manifestation of an erroneous belief system. Religion notwithstanding, this is a system of beliefs that are meticulously crafted by the flesh and are supported by its five senses.

Rom 8:1 There is, then, now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit; 

Whereas the TRUTH of our standing is so beautifully stated also in Romans. (From the Message Bible)

Rom 8:29 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. 

Rom 8:30 After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. 

One can not truly "Walk in the Spirit" without a receptiveness to the deep cleansing work of the water of the Word! Which I suppose allegorically describes an activity of the Implanted Word.

John VT

[Levi Chuks]

Beautiful!

Glory to GOD!!!!!!!

[Grey Masha]

Amen, Tom so touching godly words glory be to God.

[Grey Masha]

Amen am so courageous with all the articles you posted and are so genius God bless you.

[Karen White]

Thank you Tom for your steadfast focus on The Word . Your work stands out as a clear and true pointer to the Lord.

[tomdurst]

“There is something you can't fix, can't heal, or can't escape, and all you can do it trust God. Finding ultimate refuge in God means you become so immersed in his presence, so convinced of his goodness, so devoted to his lordship that you find even the cave is a perfectly safe place to be because he is there with you.”― John Ortberg

[DAVID PAUL]

Your Articles are Very Encouraging Brother.