From the beginning in the garden of Eden (and the word Eden means a paradise of unbroken fellowship and rich pleasure as this garden was God’s heart for man and woman), the subtle and crafty enemy of humankind challenged the truth of God’s communication to His offspring, Adam and Eve. Satan suggested, “Hath God said?” with the intent of challenging the goodness or blessedness of His Lordship in forbidding partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with its deception of a life of independence from the Creator. As we know, Adam and Eve bought the lie about God and cut themselves off from the tree of life. 

Fast forward to our day, and we have the Holy Bible, God’s Covenant Book, again telling us of the way God has given to return to Him as our source of His satisfying eternal life. Jesus Christ once received as Savior and Lord is pure fulfillment to the human heart. John 14:6 records the Redeemer’s words, “I am ·the way, and the truth, and the life [orthe one true way to have life]. ·The only way to the Father is through me [No one comes to the Father except through me].” (EXB) And John 10:10 sets before us the reality about life in God vs. the death the enemy prowls around to bring. Jesus’ wake up call here is, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” (AMPC)

The essential thing is to let the Person of Jesus be our very life—our feed. And, the way we feed on Jesus is through taking in His Word and spending time before Him drawing ever closer to His heart. We talk with Him and sit at His feet and listen. [We go within where He resides in our spirits by way of the new birth John 3; we are one with Him there, 1 Corinthians 6:17 reveals. His kingdom is inside us, John 17:21 states.] And we then partner with Him in becoming His yielded instruments of righteousness to realize His heavenly will done in us and through us on earth. 

Yet, as the antagonist of truth still comes with, “Hath God said?” when we are tempted to yield to that in us that is of Adam, it’s profitable to put before us what God declares about His commandments. The Bible is spiritually discerned i.e. deeper and deeper levels of experiencing it and understanding it open up as we obey it. 

A couple of verses put forth the relationship between alignment with God’s Word and flowing in His love. Jude 21 says, “Stay always within the boundary lines where God’s love can reach and bless you.” (TLB) John 15:9-11 warns not to doubt God’s love as His Word points us to walking in dependence on the Lord of love: ^“I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you]. If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing.” (AMP) 

King David knew intimacy with the Father because he spent so many hours in His great and glorious presence. He wrote of the fulfillment that he knew through letting God direct his life: “Your pleasant path (d) leads me to pleasant places. I’m overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following You!” (d) Or boundary lines. (Psalm 16:6 TPT) David also had great insight into the operation of the Word of God in the human heart. In Psalm 19, he penned the attitude we are to have for what God has said. “Yahweh’s Word is perfect in every way; how it revives our souls! Yahweh’s laws lead us to truth, and His ways change the simple into wise. Yahweh’s teachings are right and make us joyful; His precepts are so pure! Yahweh’s commands challenge us to keep close to His heart! The revelation-light of His Word makes my spirit shine radiant. Yahweh’s decrees are trustworthy….The rarest treasures of life are found in His truth.” (Psalm 19:7-10 TPT) David added, “That’s why God’s Word is prized like others prize the finest gold. Sweeter also than honey are His living words—sweet words dripping from the honeycomb! For they warn us, Your servants, and keep us from following the wicked way, giving a lifetime guarantee: great success to every obedient soul!” (Psalm 19:10-11 TPT)

Israel’s beloved ruler wrote his longest poem, Psalm 119, extolling the authoritative communications of the Lord God. A few excerpts give the sense of the Word of God.

You’re only truly happy when you walk in total integrity, walking in the light of God’s Word. (Psalm 119:1 TPT)

Make me passionate and wholehearted to fulfill Your every wish, so that I’ll never have to be ashamed of myself. (Psalm 119:80 TPT)

I’m lovesick with yearnings for more of Your salvation, for my heart is entwined with Your Word. (Psalm 119:81 TPT)

Standing firm in the heavens and fastened to eternity is the Word of God. (Psalm 119:89 TPT)

I’ve learned that there is nothing perfect in this imperfect world except Your words, for they bring such fantastic freedom into my life! (Psalm 119:96 TPT)

I need more revelation from Your Word to know more about You, for I’m in love with You! (Psalm 119:125 TPT)

Break open Your Word within me until revelation-light shines out! Those with open hearts are given insight into Your plans. (Psalm 119:130 TPT)

The sum total of all Your Words adds up to absolute truth, and every one of Your righteous decrees is everlasting. (Psalm 119:160 TPT)

Jesus was the Word made flesh—the very embodiment of the full meaning of the Bible. And we, too, are to become living epistles or letters of Christ as the means to our glory.  Obedience to the Bible restores us to the image of God marred when Adam fell by his act of transgression. We are recovering the bliss of union with God. 

“And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).” (John 1:14 AMP) Jesus is the depiction of where the Word and the Spirit are taking us. The Son is our pattern.

The passage that describes believers becoming the Word is in 2 Corinthians: “You yourselves are our testimonial, written in our hearts and yet open for anyone to inspect and read. You are an open letter about Christ which we ourselves have written, not with pen and ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Our message has been engraved not in stone, but in living men and women. (2 Cor. 3:2-3 PHILLIPS)

Then in 1 John there is more: For all who obey His commands find their lives joined in union with Him, and He lives and flourishes in them. We know and have proof that He constantly lives and flourishes in us, by the Spirit that He has given us. (1 John 3:24 TPT)

John speaks emphatically in his epistle of the way to stay on fire in the gaining of Christ and the recovery of all once lost, “So you must be sure to keep the message burning in your hearts; the message of life you heard from the beginning. If you do, you will always be living in close fellowship with the Son and the Father. And He Himself has promised us the never-ending life of the ages to come! (1 John 2:24-25 TPT)

Let us recover the real life of God we are designed for and have wisdom and discernment to field the question, “Hath God Said?” with a submission to “It is written…” In Matthew 4:4, Jesus answered satan by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”(MSG)

For further study, see R. C. Sproul’s DVD series and Study Guide Hath God Said? Available from Ligonier Ministries https://www.ligonier.org //YouTube videos: Jesus and the Word of God: Hath God Said? RC Sproul What is the Standard of Truth?: Hath God Said? RC Sproul Inspiration, Infallibility, and Inerrancy: Hath God Said? RC Sproul

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