“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.” Exodus 33:13
The Bible, from the very first pages declaring to mankind that God created the heavens and the earth, to the last pages where God declares that He will create a new heaven and a new earth, there is the revelation of God in truth to mankind, given so that by that truth man can know his Creator and Redeemer. The Bible is not a magical book, but one of the unveiling of God’s Person, His nature and His ways. He does not reveal Himself in Scripture in a manner that is contrary to what He is, for He cannot, and will not lie. He is the God, who as the Apostle Paul wrote, “…remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself,” (2 Tim. 2:12), remaining the same yesterday, today, and forever. Or as the hymnwriter wrote: “Thou changes not; Thy compassions they fail not, as Thou hast been, Thou shalt forever be.” So why the existence, and preservation of the Bible? And why is it that of all peoples of the earth, you and I have been brought into contact with its powerful message, and soul-saving power, at this time, in this generation?
First and foremost it must be understood and grasped that the message of the Bible is a message of Eternal Life and the glory of God. It is a message to be proclaimed, and heard, then adhered to. It was John the Apostle who wrote down the following in Jesus’ prayer just before His death and resurrection: “And this is eternal life, that they may KNOW You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Jn. 17:3) The Bible is a book given by God, written over a period of two thousand years, by at least forty authors, who proclaim the same God, the God of Creation, who is also the God of Redemption. He is revealed as the God of glory, the one and true God, whose call to every man is first hear what He is saying, as opposed to all other voices in the world. However, there is so much more than hearing, for in that call is the expression, and revelation of His grace and mercy to the helpless, hopeless, and lost soul, to arise, come forth from the dungeon of darkness, unbelief, and godlessness, into the light of Christ’s countenance, and the acceptance and faith in His finished work on the cross to save. And yet, there is more than this, for the Bible tells us that for that believer, who has been saved by no righteousness of his own, but according to the mercy and grace of God, there is a blessed oneness with Christ by His Spirit which the Father has accomplished. All things of the old life lived and expressed by faithlessness, and godlessness, are swept away by the more than sufficient power of the blood of Christ, when first the repentant heart turns to Christ alone to be saved. It is then also that, not only are all sins washed away in the blood of Calvary, but the Holy Spirit comes to reside in the heart of every believer. The cry of the heart at Christ’s coming to indwell the heart, is “Break down every idol; cast out every foe; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
The Bible is God’s revelation to His ways in meeting the needs of men. So true is the expression: “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” God is the provider of every good and perfect gift IN CHRIST, the believer having been made perfectly, and entirely whole. The ways of God are revealed to men in the Bible so that men might know with assurance, not only the essential and objective truths of God’s ways but also know the very life of Christ by His Spirit, Christ dwelling in the heart by faith.
Dear Father, Teach us well Your ways today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.