God honours his Word
God honours his word. As John Stott has written:
‘Behind every word is the person who speaks it, and the authority he possesses or lacks. God’s Word has power for the sole reason that it is God who speaks it. His Word is creative (“for he spoke and it was done,” Ps. 33:9), productive (“my word … shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,” Isa. 55:11), and redemptive (“it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe,” 1 Cor. 1:21). Still today God honors his Word. Whether we share it with a single individual or preach it to a congregation or broadcast it by radio or distribute it in print, through it he can put forth his saving power.’
(Christ the Cornerstone, chapter 6)
Bryan Chapell expands a similar thought:
Precisely how the Holy Spirit uses scriptural truth to convert souls and change lives we cannot say, but we must sense the dynamics that give us hope when we preach God’s Word. The Bible makes it clear that the Word is not merely powerful; it is without peer or dependence. The Word of God
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creates: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Ps. 33:9).
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controls: “He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles.… He sends his word and melts them” (Ps. 147:15–18).
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convicts: “Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully …” declares the LORD. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:28–29).
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performs his purposes: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth … so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10–11).
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overrides human weakness: While in prison the apostle Paul rejoiced that when others preach the Word with “false motives or true,” the work of God still moves forward (Phil. 1:18).
(Christ-Centred Preaching, chapter 1)
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creates: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Ps. 33:9).
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controls: “He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles.… He sends his word and melts them” (Ps. 147:15–18).
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convicts: “Let the one who has my word speak it faithfully …” declares the LORD. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:28–29).
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performs his purposes: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth … so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:10–11).
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overrides human weakness: While in prison the apostle Paul rejoiced that when others preach the Word with “false motives or true,” the work of God still moves forward (Phil. 1:18).