The Eternal Word & Spirit, Day 8

One aspect of the Life-Giving Word and Spirit needs to be established. It is impossible to bestow that which one does not possess. Therefore, if we are to receive eternal life, the Word and the Spirit must be eternally life-giving. This is how it has been since the beginning of creation; our first reference to the Triune God is contained in the first three verses of Genesis.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light;' and there was light." Gen. 1:1-3

In the above, we find all in perfect unity. The Almighty, His Spirit hovering, speaking forth the Word working to create. This may, at first glance, seem apparent, but consider it if the Word or the Spirit were not eternal. How would that affect our salvation?

Hebrews 9:13-14 states, "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." If the Word of God made flesh is not eternal, then the blood and resurrection of Christ would have been a temporal work for a specified number of individuals. And if the Spirit were not eternal, sanctification would cease in the believer's life, leaving us without a witness or a seal to our inheritance (Rom. 8:16, Eph. 2:8-9). We would certainly not be overcomers. But this is not the case: both are eternal and eternally at work.

Earlier in the book of Hebrews, the author notes this when discussing the priesthood, saying, "And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'…But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:15-17, 24-25). Jesus is our eternal priest, having died and risen again! And because the Spirit is eternal, we can have confidence that we are empowered to live the life of an overcomer! The Apostle Peter said, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever" (1 Pt. 1:23). I am now born of an incorruptible seed. Where before death was the antithesis of life, eternally separating me from God, now, for those who live in Christ, it brings about multiplication!

The eternal nature of God means that I can rest secure in the saving and sanctifying work of the Word and the Spirit. I am a recipient of eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). This should encourage our hearts. No matter what life throws at us or what comes our way, as I remain in Christ, I am assured of my eternal salvation because I have an eternal Advocate and Witness. So, the next time the enemy throws fear your way, remind him of this:

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Is. 40:8)!