One of the most powerful tools God has given us is His Word. Yet how many of us truly understand how to wield it? Today, we'll examine how confidence in Scripture serves as a crucial pillar for both our faith and our witness to the world around us.
John 1:43-45: "The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'"
When Andrew and Philip encountered Jesus, they didn't just meet a good teacher or a wise philosopher. They met the One who makes sense of everything they had ever read in Scripture. Their immediate declaration was, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote!" It was like they finally found the key that unlocked the entire Old Testament.
Think about what a profound revelation this was. These men had grown up hearing the Scriptures read in the synagogue. They knew the stories, the laws, the prophecies. But suddenly, in the person of Jesus, it all made sense. Every sacrifice, every festival, every promise pointed to Him.
In Genesis, Jesus is the Word of God and the promised seed. In Exodus, He's the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus, He's the greater High Priest. In Numbers, He's the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. In Deuteronomy, He's the prophet promised to Moses.
He's the righteous Branch promised to Jeremiah, the greater Lamb prophesied in Isaiah, the Son of Man described by Daniel, the true Shepherd seen by Ezekiel, and the royal King promised to David. He is the point of every sacrifice, every festival, every feast. He is the embodiment of the Tabernacle and the greater Prophet, Priest, and King.
When you come to realize this—that God has a supernatural Word that reveals a supernatural person—it invigorates and accelerates your Christian testimony to the watching world. If you want to be a Kingdom ambassador, you must ground your life in the words of the King.
You may have a basic grasp of Scripture right now, but if you're a child of God, it should be your absolute aim that a year from now, you know more of the Word of God and consequently more of the God of the Word than you do right now.
Sometimes we look at others and think, "I'll never be a scholar like that person." But every Christian is called to be a theologian. Theology isn't just for pastors or professors; it's for every believer. It's simply the study of God—basking in the wonder of who God has revealed Himself to be in His Word.
If you know God—if you have a real relationship with Him—your greatest desire will be to know Him more deeply. That's your greatest privilege. As Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the rich man in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me."
You were made to boast, and your boasting is in the fact that you have come to know God. Each year should bring a sweeter understanding as you develop confidence in the credibility, continuity, and transforming power of God's Word—all of which points to the person of Jesus Christ.
1. How has your understanding of Jesus as the central focus of Scripture grown over the past year?
2. What specific steps could you take to deepen your knowledge of God's Word in the coming month?
3. How might a greater confidence in Scripture change the way you share your faith with others?
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis