I'm reading from God's Word in
2 Peter 1, beginning with verse 19. Simon Peter, the apostle,
says, We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do
well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts,
knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private
interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. The book I am reading to you
from is God's Word. It is the inspired, infallible,
inerrant, eternal Holy Word of God, simply referred to as the
book or Bible. The existence and preservation
of it is wonderful and amazing. It's a miracle. What we have
here, the possession of it and the belief of it is the greatest
of all gifts to mankind. Now this is not a message to
prove God's Word. The Creator does not prove Himself
to creatures. He does not need to. This is
not to prove the Word of God, but to declare it or confirm
that it is indeed the Word of God. And I'll give you several
reasons, three points. We know it is God's Word by the
testimony of it. We know it is God's Word by man's
rejection of it, man, his belief of it. And we know it is God's
Word by the many infallible proofs or evidences of it. We know it
is God's Word by God's testimony of it or what he says about it. He has said in the Psalms, I
magnify my word above all my name. He said, is not my word
like a fire, saith the Lord, and like a hammer? The word of
God, scripture says, is quick, powerful, sharper than a two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit,
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Neither is there any creature
that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and
opened under the eyes of him with whom we have to do." This
is God's Word. What God says of this book is
proof that it is His Word. And then the Word was made flesh. The Word of God The manifestation,
the revelation of who God is was made flesh. God declared
himself in the Bible. God who is unseen declared himself,
and then the unseen God was made flesh. A body hast thou given
me, Christ said. And he became flesh. The Word
was made flesh, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. The voice of God came walking
upon this earth, and His name was and is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is how we know it is God's
Word, because the Word of God lived and walked among us. We
know it is God's Word by man's rejection of it. Man's rejection
of God's Word, the truth. Scripture says, the natural man
receiveth not the things of God. The carnal man is enmity against
God. He does not like to retain God
in his knowledge. Scripture says that man is enmity
against God. Christ himself said, this is
condemnation, that light is coming to the world, but men love darkness
rather than light. The word of God, like light,
makes manifest the darkness, reproves the works of darkness,
exposes sin and corruption, and man loves sin and corruption
and so hates the light. Christ is the light. Man is under
captivity to the God of this world who is the father of lies,
who loves a lie, and he's made man to love his lie. So we know
it is God's Word because man hates it. Secondly, we know it's
God's Word because some believe it. God, in great mercy and grace,
gives this gift of faith and understanding of His Word. A
man can receive nothing except it be given him from above, Scripture
said. And as many as received this
gift of grace, they were born. Born of God, not of blood, not
a will of the flesh or the will of man, but born of God. Paul thanks God that many receive
the Word, not as the words of man, but as it is in truth, the
Word of God. It is a miracle, this gift of
faith is a miracle. It causes those who once believed
a lie to love the truth, to cause those who once loved sin to hate
it and love holiness, to cause those who once loved lies to
believe the truth and say, Let God be true and every man a liar. As David said, I esteem all thy
precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every
false way. And he that is of God heareth
God's word. Christ said, My sheep hear my
voice, and this book is God's word. Thirdly, we know that this
is God's Word by the many infallible, undeniable proofs of it. First of all, let me give you
several points under this heading, that we know it by the many proofs
or evidences of it. First of all, we know it is God's
Word by the ancientness of it or the antiquity of it, how old
it is. The first entry into this book was over 3,500 years ago. The last one was 2,000 years
ago. Where are the books of men 3,500
years old? Scripture says, forever, O Lord,
thy word is settled in heaven. Yes, the antiquity of it or the
age of it proves it's to be God's word. Secondly, how it was put
together and preserved. Over 40 different men, most did
not know each other, were used to write this book. And I quoted
to you in 2 Peter 1, it says, Holy men spake as they were moved
by the Spirit of God. So these 40 men, most did not
know each other. And it took over a period of
1,500 years to compile or put together the book, God's Word. But it all tells the same story. And it has been preserved for
these many years. Many have tried to destroy it.
Many have tried to disprove it. But the reason it cannot be destroyed
is the master copy is in heaven, as I quoted. Forever, O Lord,
thy word is settled in heaven. There was a wicked king back
in the days of Jeremiah. He did not like what Jeremiah
was saying, because Jeremiah had nothing good to say about
man and nothing good to say about those who claimed to be his people,
but were not, were hypocrites, the Israelites. And Jehoiakim
was his name, this wicked king of Israel. And he took the book
of Jeremiah and took a knife and began to cut out pages of
the book and throw them into fire. Well, all the Lord did
was told Jeremiah to write another one. And men have tried to destroy
this book over the years, but cannot, because it is God's Word. We know it is God's Word by the
matter of it, the message of it. As I said, these 40 men,
different men over a period of 1,500 years, wrote as they were
moved by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God, Christ said,
takes the things of His, takes the things of Christ, and shows
them and reveals them. They are they, Christ said, of
the Scriptures, which testify of Me. This whole book speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis, he's the creator. He's
the light of the world. He's the woman seed. In Exodus,
he's the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, he's the great
atonement. In Numbers, he's the brazen serpent. In Deuteronomy, he's the city
of refuge. In Joshua, he's the scarlet line
in the window. In Judges, he's the angel of
the Lord. In Ruth, He's the kinsman redeemer. Samuel, he's the covenant
mercies of God. Kings, he's the greater than
Solomon. Yeah, he's the king of kings. And on and on it goes. In the Psalms, he's the shepherd. In Proverbs, he's wisdom personified. Song of Solomon, he's the bridegroom. Isaiah, the great substitute
for his people. Jeremiah, the physician. Lamentations
of Sufferer, Ezekiel, the Glory of the Lord, Daniel, He's the
Beloved, and on and on it goes. This book speaks of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is Christ in picture in the
Old Testament, in type, in promise, in prophecy, in shadow. In the
New Testament, He's Christ in person, and Christ's prophesied
coming again. This book is a book concerning
God's Son. We know it is God's Word because
of the purity of it, the holiness of it. Proverbs 8 says there's
nothing forward or perverse in it. There's some evil and some
perversion in most all things that we read today. Subversions,
subtleties, lies, man's opinion, hearsay, and heresy. God's Word
is holy. It's the holy Word of God. It's
truth. And all that is in it promotes holiness and goodness
and godliness and righteousness and justice and equity and uprightness,
mercy, love, peace, and truth. For these reasons and many, many
more, it is obviously God's Word who is holy. and is not man. It is the holy word of God. We know it is God's word by the
prophecies or predictions of it. All have, all are, and all
shall come true. And they all point to the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the sum and the substance of this book.
As said, the Old Testament says someone is coming. The Gospels
say he is here. The epistles and the revelations
say he's coming again. He is the spirit of all prophecy. And then we know it's God's Word
by the impartiality of it, the truth of it concerning man. All
things are naked and open and revealed. God's biographies of
men are very revealing. Man would not put the things
about himself in there that God put about men. Abraham's flaws,
Abraham's sin, David, Solomon, Simon Peter, The sins of the
greatest of men are all exposed because the best of men are men
at best, and that every man at his best state is altogether
vanity. And man is a sinner that needs
saving one way, by the grace of God that is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It shows the depravity of man,
the sinfulness of man, the total necessity of man be saved by
grace that no flesh should glory in his presence. This book was
written for the glory of God. And we know it's God's Word by
the relevance of it. how current it is, how it meets
the need of all, laborers, lawyers, kings and peasants, male and
female, old, young, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, all need this
book, all stand to be judged by it. We know it is God's Word
by the power of it. Men are born again, translated
from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear
Son, delivered from captivity, made new creatures, given new
minds, new hearts, new wills, a new walk, a new speech, a new
family, new companions. We know it is God's Word by the
miracles of it, the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk,
the dead are raised. We know it is God's Word by the
mystery of it, that the wisest of men cannot figure it out,
cannot understand it, while it's hidden from the wise and revealed
by God's power and God's Spirit unto babe. We know it is God's
Word by the wisdom of it, making wise the foolish and making the
foolish wise. We know it is God's Word by the
experience of it. God's people, they hear it, they
believe it, they experience it. It's a savor of life unto life. Christ said, My sheep hear My
voice, and they are brought into conviction, comfort, teaching,
leading, guiding, instructing. This is God's Word indeed. Oh, may He speak to your heart
is my prayer. Amen.