The Absolute Effectiveness of God's Word

The Word of God

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

So shall my word be that goeth forth our of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

Perhaps the greatest view we have into the vast expanse of God's raw power, is through His word. From the dawn of the History of Redemption, God has delighted to reveal Himself as the supreme communicator. Creation becomes the pattern for understanding God's effectiveness in His communication. God said, "let there be light: and there was light." In no case did God ever command anything into existence with His voice, that did not spontaneously begin to exist.

Likewise, not one word of God has ever fallen to the ground without successfully achieving the purpose for which it was sent – not in creation or in any other sphere where the Almighty exerts the influence of His voice! Jesus gave us a glorious object lesson when He stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and commanded with a loud voice that he "come forth." Jesus didn't have to repeat Himself. He didn't need to! The word of God from His own lips was efficient in performing precisely what Christ had desired to be done. In John 5:25 Jesus declared, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Our God has never commanded a single stony heart of a dead sinner to become a heart of flesh that did not instantly begin to beat.

It cannot be overlooked that true preaching of the Gospel is the actual "word of God" (1 Thessalonians 2:13) and that it carries in it the same raw power that God used to speak the world into existence (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18). Every time God sends His word via the Gospel, it always accomplishes His precise purpose. The preaching of the Gospel is the means God uses to convert His people to Himself. Acts 13:48 teaches us that "as many as were ordained to eternal life" believed the Gospel preached to them by Paul. I like the phrase: as many as. It means not one more, or one less! How could that be possible without God omnipotently working through His word to bring His children to faith in Him? Paul was not hesitant to tell the Thessalonians that they had from the beginning been chosen to salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and the belief of the truth. What is the means that God uses to accomplish this? His word (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

God's word is His tool for sanctifying His sheep (John 17:17). It is in His word that He appears to His people (2 Samuel 3:21). God has given us His word so that creation would become a stage for the declaration of His glory. He has spoken life into our hearts that we would have the ability to behold His glory. And He appears to us through His word, revealing to us His glory and majesty. As we gaze on His beauty, in His word, we are more and more transformed – by the Spirit into that same image (2 Corinthians 3:18).

It is God's purpose that His word, from start to finish, would transform us into the image of His dear Son...and His word will not return to Him void!