His Word is Always Greater Than Our Word

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” Recently while studying John 4, these words slapped me in the face as if I had never seen them before.

If we are not careful, those of us who preach and teach the Word of God regularly can start thinking that the power to change lives comes from our words, our wisdom, our eloquence, and our “advanced” learning. The implication from the language used here is that while some were introduced to faith in Christ by the word of the woman, they did not come to fully know Him until they heard the Master Teacher’s Words.

Preaching brothers, may we never forget that our words should only impress those who hear us if our words lead them to Jesus. Every word we speak must be in tune with every Word of God. When we allow His Word to become our words, we will be much more effective in helping those who hear us know Jesus. It is also true that the more emphasis we place on His Word, the less stress we will have and the more peace we will have in our hearts as we work for Him.

This passage brings to mind the words of the Prophet Micaiah, who said, “As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I shall speak.” Many years ago, while listening to brother Wendall Winkler discuss 1 Kings 22, he said of this verse, “The ‘what’ of Divine revelation, must be the ‘that’ of human proclamation.” May God help us to make sure that our words are saturated with His Word! Then lives will be forever changed, and we will all have a better understanding of what it means to know Him. As well, this will strengthen our resolve to keep on preaching!