The Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the Church

Chapter 4—The Word of God

“The word of our God endures for ever. And this is the very word which has been preached to you.” 1 Peter 1:25, Lamsa’s translation. BSPC 63.1

In the first chapter of his first epistle the apostle Peter emphasizes three incorruptible things, things that are intimately related, and that have a vital bearing on our eternal salvation. In the fourth verse he points forward to the inheritance promised to the faithful children of God, and he designates this the “inheritance incorruptible.” In verses 18, 19 he shows how it is possible to obtain the character that will fit us to dwell in the kingdom of God. This is not through any merit of our own, but through the “cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:14.) We were “not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ...; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” His is the incorruptible sacrifice, which brings to us the inestimable blessings of redemption. This is the divine provision for a lost race, and the only provision whereby man can be saved. BSPC 63.2

As the apostle further develops the thought, he refers to that unique yet vital and wonderful change wrought in the heart of the one who yields in complete surrender to the claims of Christ the Lord. The old man dies, a new life is begun. In other words, one is “born again” or “born from above”; he becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. This miracle is wrought by the implanting of the divine seed, and this, watered by the refreshing of the Holy Spirit, brings forth the “new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24. This divine seed is the incorruptible word of God. BSPC 63.3

Hence we have the “inheritance incorruptible,” the hope set before us; we have the incorruptible redemption, the salvation of Christ Jesus which will prepare us to enter the eternal abode; and we have the incorruptible word, which, when received and obeyed, will transform our lives and work in us to “will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. BSPC 63.4

This incorruptible word of our God is the center and circumference of the everlasting gospel message God has given to the children of men. And the apostle declares, “This is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” This word of God is dynamic; something happens when the word of God begins to work. This is not to be wondered at, for after all the word of God is “alive”; it is the “living” word. We read that “the word of God is quick” (Hebrews 4:12), the word “quick” here meaning “alive,” “living,” et cetera. The word is so rendered in the phrase “our fathers ... received the lively oracles” (Acts 7:38); and again in the expression, “I am he that lives” (Revelation 1:18). Yes, the word of Jehovah pulsates with life. Just as God gave to His beloved Son “to have life in himself” (John 5:26), so hath He decreed that His word is life, and that it “lives and abides for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89. It is the word that will remain when all the ephemeral things of earth have disappeared. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35. Hence the word of God, the word that saves, the word of our blessed Lord, not only is a living word; it is incorruptible, and it will stand throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. BSPC 64.1