But the word of the Lord abides forever.  1 Peter 1:25 and Isaiah 40:8  NASB

Word – Since this New Testament reference is a quotation from an Old Testament verse, we can look at both the Greek and the Hebrew.  The Greek word is rhema.  The Hebrew word is dabar.  Both words mean “to speak, that which is spoken.”  Understanding what these two words mean tells us something very important.  It tells us that what will eternally remain is God’s spoken word.

Think of the power in this statement.  God spoke everything into existence.  There is no other ancient cosmology with anything like this concept.  God’s breath, through His word, brought us to life.  God’s spoken word declares our redeemed status before Him.  God will bring this world to an end with a single spoken word.  And when Moses asked for God’s name, God spoke the word of Being.  For those of you who have any philosophical intuition, you should be shuddering at the awesome power of this declaration.  God is a God of language.  He speaks – and the world is born, sustained or ended.  The most powerful concepts of the faithful are based in the spoken word.

How grateful I am that men moved by God wrote down His words.  That’s what makes the Bible so important.  It is our roadmap from God.  It is the record of God’s communication with us.  I believe that every word in the Bible is incredibly powerful, spiritually vital and carefully chosen.  I could not live in this world without it.  But someday I will be with the author, and the book will no longer be needed.  I will sit face to face with the One who wrote it.  I will hear Him speak His words.  I will no longer have to rely on translators (won’t that be wonderful).  What a day that will be.  I can get an autographed copy of the original.

The best part of rhema is that God does not wait until heaven to speak to me.  He whispers His words all the time.  God talks to you and to me.  It is almost too wonderful to believe.  His spoken word is the ground of our very being, filled with power beyond anything we can think of, and still He wants to whisper how much He loves us.  He wants us to speak to Him and He wants to answer us.  Go ahead.  Open your mouth.  You are speaking His language.

Topical Index:  word, spoken, rhema, dabar, 1 Peter 1:25, Isaiah 40:8

TRAVEL NOTE:  Tomorrow I will be heading for Italy and then Greece.  I will be lecturing on Greek mythology and Greek philosophy on the cruise ship Silhouette.  I will not be back in the USA until September 7.  Patrick will watch over Today’s Word and Michael will make sure your book orders are filled, but my ability to answer blog questions and email will be severely limited.  I’ll send some photos if I can.

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