What on Earth have we done with the Teachings of Jesus? ~ His Words – His Words will never pass away ~

In previous blogs I have covered the top ten teachings according to the frequency with which Christ taught (seen on page 133 of the download ‘What on earth have we done with the teachings of Jesus’).  We are now covering the Words of Jesus in the Words of Jesus.  What the Word is and what the Word brings us.  The next of these is ‘His Words will never pass away’.

We live in a temporal world.  Nothing seems to stay the same for long.  Just as we get used to a certain set of circumstances, the rug is pulled and we are faced with a new set.  It was John F Kennedy who said, ‘there is nothing more certain and unchanging than uncertainty and change’.  It is certainly true today when the world is changing beyond recognition and we are all having to adjust to a new modus operandi – or a new way of living.

We have an eternal spirit

We are physical beings and for the most part, our physical world dominates our bodies and souls – how we feel, what we think.  But we are tri-part and we also have a spirit that will last forever. We live the spiritual life by ‘faith’.  But this is not a blind faith.  Those that have been truly on the path of faith will know with absolute certainty that what they believe has been made manifest in their lives.  Hebrews 11:1 says faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

An assurance about what we do not see.  This assurance causes us to believe that this is not all there is.  The physical environment will pass away for each of us personally at some point.  It may be a frightening thought.  But faith enables us to face it, accept it and embrace it.

Jesus said, Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away Matthew 24:35.  His Words, like the spirit within us, will never die away.  His Word was there at the beginning.  John 1:1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word of Life

19 books later in the Bible is the book of 1 John 1:1 which starts with a very similar theme.  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

Once our lives have been truly touched by Jesus we can never be the same.  He is the Word of life.  His Words bring life, they are the very essence of life and they bring us into eternal life.  Jesus said, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Who else can make such a claim in this world? Where else can we go to find the Words of eternal life?

Jesus has the Words of eternal life

Jesus is the Word of life.  His Words breathe life into our very beings.  It was Simon Peter who said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life”.

Henry says – Christ here assures us that heaven and earth shall pass away.  They continue this day indeed, according to God’s ordinance, but they shall not continue for ever (Ps. 102:25, 26 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment).  All that we see with our eyes will one day disappear. (2 Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare)…. But My Words shall not pass away.  

The Word of Christ is more sure and lasting than heaven and earth.  Has He not spoken? And shall He not do it? We may build with more assurance upon the Word of Christ than we can upon the strong foundations of the earth.  For, when they shall be made to tremble and totter, and shall be no more, the Word of Christ shall remain, and be in full force, power, and virtue. 1 Peter 1:24-25 All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field, the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than the Word of Christ, so it is expressed in Luke 16:17.

They shall never pass away

Isaiah 54:10 reads “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

The fulfilment of these Words might seem to be delayed, and intervening events might seem to disagree with them, but do not think that therefore the Word of Christ is fallen to the ground.  For that shall never pass away or go unfulfilled either in the time or in the way that is here prescribed.  In God’s time, which is the best time, and in God’s way, which is the best way, it shall certainly be fulfilled.  Every word of Christ is very pure, and therefore very sure.

Adapted from the Matthew Henry Commentary

The Word is Living

The Word is living
The Word is light
It is the source
Of all delight.
 
The Word is living
The Word is true
Holy and hidden
Yet forever new.
 
The Word is living
Warm never cold
Making new
All that once was old.
 
The Word is living
The beautiful sacrifice
Jesus Christ the One
Who paid the price.
 
The Word is living
It delights the soul.
When hearts are broken
It makes them whole.
 
The Word is living
The Word is life
The Word the conqueror
Of all manner of strife.
 
The Word is living
On it you can depend
The Word is Jesus Christ
The beginning without end.
 
By the late Andrew Feakin
(passed away 16th March 2019)

Prayer:  Father, I thank You for the assurance that the Words of Christ bring to our lives.  Thank You that through Him we may come to You and have eternal life.  May we live being eternally minded. In the name of Christ I pray.  Amen.

His Words will never pass away – Are Taught by the Father