The Essential Message of God's Word
by
Jack W. Hayford
Each time a person picks up a Bible, he or she opens the grandest
message ever given to earth. Nothing has ever come to the hands
of humankind that even approaches the completeness and clarity or
the love and grace presented in God’s Word.
Exceeding any of its other superlative qualities is the Bible's
unique, multi-dimensional power. The Bible breathes with truth that
is proven in its power to set human beings free. The Bible transforms
individual men and women trapped in any and every order of human
failure, lifting them from selfishness and sin to dignity and destiny
by the power of the grace it reveals. And the Bible heals the human
soul through its unparalleled ability to communicate and infuse
love into and through human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Truth, grace, and love abound here—but the power, which attends
and actuates them is the dynamic difference in the Bible’s
message. Of all the writings that have affected human thought and
behavior, the Word of God stands alone in this respect: received
in faith, it is “a word with power.”
The central theme of the Bible focuses on power, but not in the
sense that human reason or institutions pursue it. Fallen man tends
to think of power only in terms of self-serving possessiveness or
dominating control. Power in human hands, apart from God’s
transforming grace in the life, is self-centered, manipulative,
and inevitably destructive.
But the power the Bible reveals differs radically at every point.
The power that flows through and from the Word of God finds its
fountain in the heart of God’s love and its foundation in
the wisdom of God's purposes. By understanding His heart and His
purposes for us, we can approach the Bible clearly and properly.
Its essential message expresses His heart and aims at fulfilling
His purposes. The quickest summary of the Bible's message might
be made with a three-word outline: revelation, redemption, and restoration.
The Bible’s revelation helps us understand two fundamental
facts: (1) God's original and benevolent order and design for humankind
on earth, and (2) humanity's distortion of that design through refusing
God's order.
Redemption in the Bible reveals God’s pathway to recovering
His intended order and design for man. It is taught in two parts:
(1) In the Old Testament, the pathway to recovery is introduced
through the sacrificial system of blood atonement, forecasting a
future plan of final redemption. (2) In the New Testament, the promised
redemption is accomplished in the person of Jesus Christ, through
His life, death, and resurrection. Placed in Christ by God’s
grace, humanity experiences redemption now in part and shall experience
it in full in the future.
God offers the promise and the possibilities of restoration to
all who receive His redemption in Jesus Christ. Restoration aims
at two goals: (1) to return human beings to the personal relationship,
intimacy, and companionship with God that He intended from the beginning;
and (2) to return redeemed men and women to their original place
of rulership over all things under God, experiencing the privilege
and joy of partnership with Him.
These three points make clear the whole flow of God's dealings
in the Bible—in both redemption and restoration. His program
of salvation can be seen as a twofold plan, intended to bring mankind
both into a renewed relationship with Him and into an active partnership.
The more clearly we see God’s intention in the salvation He
has given us, the greater will be our expectation and thus our readiness
to respond to the Father’s fullest purpose for us. Indeed,
clearly perceiving God’s revealed plan of redemption and restoration
lies at the core of the great breakthrough—taking place in
the global church today.
A Holy Spirit-begotten dynamic has invaded the whole church within
this century. What began with the holy quest of a few individuals
seeking to unlock the secret to the early church's power has led
to a century-long awakening to the work, ministry, and gifting of
the Holy Spirit. The dramatic impact has invited comparisons with
the turnaround seen in the church during the Reformation over four
hundred years earlier. This expanding, ongoing work of renewal by
God’s Spirit within His church has caused many to recognize
that humankind's salvation has a "kingdom" objective:
first, the recovery of a former rebel (man) through divine forgiveness,
for renewed fellowship with God; and second, the reinstatement of
a former ruler (man) to obedience and rulership under God.
The idea of the kingdom of God, then, runs through the whole of
Scripture. It reaches its culmination in Jesus' declaration and
ministry of "the gospel of the kingdom" and His commissioning
and enabling the church to proclaim and demonstrate that message
throughout the world by the power of the Holy Spirit. Until believers
grasp the full meaning of "the gospel of the kingdom,"
they may miss the fullness of God's intention for the redeemed.
Too many see their salvation as involving only their forgiveness
for sins in their past, their call to holy living in the present,
and their hope of eternal joy in heaven in the future. As blessedly
true and fully meaningful as these dimensions of salvation are,
if salvation is limited to these, believers neglect another crucial
dimension: the divine intent to restore man's original "ruling"
or "dominion" aspect--the rulership (ministry in the Spirit's
power) intended to be joined with our fellowship (renewed intimacy
and companionship with the Father).
The Bible's "power" theme thus has a positive and negative
aspect. The power of God Almighty, who created all things and then
placed man in dominion over the earth, is recognized as the fountainhead
of all power. The power of sin to break man's relationship with
God--and thereby cause his loss of "ruling" ability--is
acknowledged as the corruption of power. Not only has man misused
and forfeited his rule through disobedience, but by submitting to
sin he surrendered his rule to the Serpent, who then seized the
temporal control of this present world order.
The purpose of Jesus' coming was not only to bring saving forgiveness
to sinful man, but also to break the power of the Serpent's usurped
control. And the purpose of Christ in His church is to extend the
ministry He began: (1) extending the message of kingdom grace and
forgiveness to lost sinners, that they might be restored to fellowship;
and (2) extending the message of kingdom authority and dominion--ministering
with love and power through the Holy Spirit's fullness in their
lives to break the bonds of evil, heal human brokenness and need,
and begin again to partner in the rule of God toward the full restoration
of His kingdom.
Every believer is called both to be forgiven and to be filled with
the Holy Spirit. Salvation's forgiveness opens the door to joyous
fellowship and Holy Communion with our Creator-Father through the
work of Christ. Then, salvation's fullness opens the door to responsible
growth in partnership with our Redeemer-Savior through the power
of the Holy Spirit. At that point "the gospel of the kingdom"
has found its fullest expression in our open hearts. As in Jesus'
parable of the sower, the seed of truth multiplies as it falls on
hearts that are completely open to all that redemption affords us
in Christ Jesus. |
Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233