Revelation 19 lists among the various names of Jesus, the Name which is Word of God. John 1 records that Jesus is the Word (the Word of God), who was in the beginning, who was with God as one of the Tribunal persons and who was God then just as much as He is God now, having been manifested as the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The Word of God – what a name to be given! Just as words are made up of letters or alphabets and used to communicate a person’s thought, the mind of God is revealed to us through His Son, Jesus, the Alpha and Omega (divine alphabets), the Word of God.
Jeremiah 23:29 is a question that is posed to us, a question posed by God Godself which asks “is not My WORD (note singular) like as a Fire? and like a Hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?”.
The Word of God is a Fire. When you encounter Jesus Christ, He has a burning effect in our lives. The two on the road to Emmaus expressed that as The Word of God opened up the Scriptures (the inspiration of God), their hearts burned within and they then beheld the glory of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 24:32). As the consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24), Jesus, the Word of God incinerates sin and its power from our lives. As silver is purified from the dross, He purifies us, so that we may first see him and then reflect His glory in and through our lives. I once read on a T-shirt, the following words – “To prevent burning in Hell, you must be exposed to the Son (Jesus)“. Not only does the Word of God consume unholiness, but the Word of God is also on that warms the heart. Charles Spurgeon once said that The Word of the Lord is like a fire, for it warms and comforts the hearts of His people. Jesus advised that we can cast our anxieties on Him, for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7) as He will comfort us no matter how weary our hearts are.
The Word of God is a hammer. He came down hard as a hammer when he cleansed the temple (Mark 11:15-19) of unholiness and personal self-centeredness (focused on financial gain instead of prayer). Jesus, the hammer cleanses us (the temple of God) from all uncleanness and He can break the bondage of self-centeredness and personal pursuits that trump over seeking His Kingdom and His Kingship first (Matthew 6:33). He can also break the sin of the world, hard-heartedness of those who are defiant in refusing to believe in Him (John 16:8-9). Sometimes, we think that the someone is unreachable with the love of Christ and we write them off. But when you attempt to nail a stubborn nail, we keep on hammering it until it sinks in. We must therefore drive the words of the Love of Jesus Christ, His Grace and Salvation to those who are hard-hearted. The good news is that we are merely wielding the hammer, which is Jesus, the Word of God and He will drive the Word in. The Bible says that every knee will bow, some willingly and others possibly by the coercion of the Hammer (Word of God) knocking their knees so that they succumb to His authority and Sovereignty. No exceptions, all will bow to Jesus. Finally, as the hammer, Jesus is intolerant of tolerant Christians who have made the Church of God an unholy place, accommodating of sin itself (instead of just the sinner) or who have made His Church a financial money-making business. What began as a call in Palestine, became a philosophy in Greece, a structure in Rome, a culture in Europe and sadly an enterprise in North America. We must be cautioned lest we are beguiled as well.
The Word of God is a fire and hammer. He exists eternally, and cleanses our unholiness, consuming the dross of sin from our lives, and can break the hard-heartedness of our hearts that seeks after ephemeral and insignificants pursuits of power, position, prestige, popularity or pleasure, instead of His Kingdom and His Kingship. The Name is Word of God.
