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THE POWER OF THE WORD

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 5, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 10.

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THE POWER OF THE WORD.

By Geo. H. Heald, M.D.

BY GEO. H. HEALD, M.D.
“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” The Gospel does not simply tell of the power of God; it is the power of God. What is the Gospel?—It is the good news of salvation, the message of God to a lost race. It is the word of God spoken to a world of sinners; and as God’s word, “Let there be light,” was the power of God unto creation, so the word, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” was the power of God unto salvation.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” by his word; for “by the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth;” “for he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” “For the word of God is living [R. V.] and powerful.” This power is manifested not only in creation, but also in maintaining the universe; for we learn of Christ “upholding all things by the word of his power.” A crude illustration of this power is seen in the engineer who, by a motion of the hand, opens a valve, when the steam starts and maintains the ponderous machinery in motion. So the word of God, which ages ago brought the world into existence, is still powerful in maintaining that existence. This is the word which we might say is the power of God unto creation.
When man had sinned, God in his mercy spoke a message of conditional pardon. That message, while it included the promise of a Saviour, also was the power which enabled man to accept the proffered salvation. The Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.” “When ye received the word of which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
God’s power is infinite. Could he not have decreed that the heart of the most wicked would be made to praise him? Could not that word which caused light to shine out of darkness, have caused the light of his presence to shine in every darkened sinner who has ever trod the earth? Such would be within the power of an Almighty God; but the earth would then be peopled with those who serve God of necessity, and not with free moral agents, who, having the power of choice, choose the good and not the evil. So in establishing the free moral agency of his creatures, God has to that extent limited the power of his word of salvation (which otherwise would save every being on the earth and in the universe) to those who choose to accept that word. “Whosoever will, let him come.”
That word of God has been, ever since the fall, with mighty power and in various ways, influencing fallen man to accept the mercy of a tender Father. It is “the everlasting Gospel,” which, before Christ’s second coming, is to go “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.”
Should we not esteem it a most exalted privilege to be permitted to take part in proclaiming this Gospel? While our efforts may seem weak and faltering, and “to them that perish, foolishness,” we can take courage in the fact that God has “chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise,” and “the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,” in order “that no flesh should glory in his presence.” Let us, therefore, with Paul, “take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake,” remembering that God’s strength—the power of his word—“is made perfect in weakness,” is manifested through us when we find ourselves perfectly helpless, and will let him work through us.
Battle Creek, Mich.