“The New Creation” Day 17: The New Creation cannot grow without the Word of God.
Jesus had just been baptized and had received the affirmation from heaven that He indeed was the “beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). Immediately after this, He was led into the wilderness to be tested by the devil:
“And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””
Matthew 4:2-4 ESV
With the first temptation, Jesus answers Satan with what God has said. In fact, He begins with asserting that man cannot live with only physical food. He must have the word of God. Yes, a person can live, in terms of days spent on the earth, with only physical food and drink. But in order to have that abundant life, the life that does not stop here, indeed, to attain eternal life, we must also have God’s word.
In each of the two subsequent temptations, Jesus again answers with the word of God:
“Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’””
Matthew 4:5-10 ESV
Child of God, there is no way to overestimate the need for the word of God, not just to navigate our daily lives in a fallen world, but to also find our way into eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus had been talking to His disciples and the multitude following after Him, about the fact that His body and blood are necessary to truly have eternal life:
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.””
John 6:53-58 ESV
Many of the people were offended, not being able to understand what He was saying. Jesus then offers these words to help them understand the point of what He is saying:
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
John 6:63 ESV
At another time, Jesus spoke about the way to truly be His disciples, offering this:
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
John 8:31-32 ESV
Eternal life and walking in the Truth, are only possible by valuing, knowing, and speaking, the word of God.
The Apostle Paul offers this advice to Timothy:
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
Paul knew the importance of knowing the word to the degree to which a person can—as stated elsewhere by Peter—“always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Without a constant diet of the foundational doctrine, found only in the word of God, the new creation cannot grow and mature. This is why we find Peter also giving this direction:
“as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,”
I Peter 2:2 NKJV
God gave us His word, through which we can come to know all that He has for us, and how we can obtain it.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
Make no mistake, the new creation we become through salvation, must have the word of God in order to become what the Lord has prepared for us to be. Neglecting the same, results in immature, unprepared, easily deceived, Christians.