There are a multitude of books that are available to us today. In ancient times, the Greeks of Alexandria, Egypt decided they would collect all the wisdom of the world into one place, thus the birth of the great library of Alexandria. They attempted to gather all the wisdom and books of the world of that time and store all of that wisdom in one place. Much of that wisdom came from ancient Arabia. This included books of Astrology, anatomy, and philosophy. Ancient Anatolia (Turkey) was a source of much wisdom, along with Greece. It was at this time the Septuagint (ancient writings of Moses and the Prophets) came into being. Alexandria was full of Jewish people and Rabi’s.
Over the years this did take place, and thus came into being the great library of Alexandria. It was one of the greatest sources of wisdom in all the world. But then, tragedy struck. It is somewhat controversial as to how this tragic fire started. Some historians say it was started by jealous competing leaders. However, it was destroyed, and a search for the wisdom of this library goes on still today. I have books in my library on this great historical accomplishment and its tragic ending.
Man’s search for wisdom and secrets of the universe has been going on from the beginning of time. Genesis 4 shows us how man in his earliest of times began to develop the world around him.
There is one book that surpasses all other books in its wisdom, and that is the Bible. It also is a very ancient book, having been written by many different men, over a period more that on thousand years, yet it is 100% cohesive. It tells the story of God and His relationship with man. It contains the covenants that God made with man, unilateral covenants. It contains Psalm [poems and music] that shows us man as he worships God. It contains the writings of Prophets, men called of God to proclaim His word, before His Word was written down as it is today. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the very Son of God and that He reflects the very character of God. He reflects the nature of God and is the very duplication of God’s nature. “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the Word of His power…”. [Hebrew 11: 2]
In this book, which we believe is God given, are powerful statements. Prophetic statements if you will. Authority is given in this book that gives Christ’s followers the right to use His name, in prayer and proclamation. What I am trying to say is plainly shown in the book of Acts. “And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from His body to the sick, and their diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out. [Acts 19:11-13] Some men saw opportunity here, so they tried to duplicate what Paul was doing in the name of Jesus and “the evil spirits answered them saying ‘I recognize Jesus and I have heard of Paul, but who are you’ and the evil; spirits leaped on them, and they fled the house naked and afraid”. [Acts 19: 15-16] The Apostle Paul had tapped into a powerful source. Where did he get that power to perform such miracles? He had discovered not only the Sonship of Jesus, but the power of Jesus.
We see the same thing happening in John 5. Jesus is in a confrontation with Jewish leaders regarding what He is doing. People were responding to His teaching and the miraculous was taking place. Jesus was questioned by these Jewish leaders and listen to what He says.”…truly truly I say unto you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees it is something that the Father is doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does also”. [John 5: 19}
Listen to Isaiah as he speaks prophetically; “So shall my words be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire” (Isaiah 55:11). God’s Words are miraculous. God spoke and there was light, God spoke, and vegetation appeared, God spoke and there were birds flying in the atmosphere He had created, God spoke, and the wild beasts appeared, and God spoke, and man was given life. Every Word that God speaks brings into being what He said. God speaks no useless words! How then can God’s Word contain the power that Jesus spoke of in John 5 and Paul demonstrated in Acts 19? How do we release the power of Jesus and His Word?
After my dad retired and sold the business at Polebridge, he put in water wells. He did not have a well drilling machine, but his ingenuity created his own well drilling. Actually, he did not drill but pounded a pipe in the ground to where the water table was. He then dropped a length of dynamite down to the pipe with a wire attached. He filled the pipe with water, then connected the wire to a detonator. The explosion shot water 50 feet in the air, but it had also blown a hole at the end of the pipe, and he had a well. He put in many wells up the North-Fork. All of his previous work was useless, until be activated the detonator. The power of the dynamite did its job.
It is a crude illustration, but just as dynamite was useless until the detonator was used, in a like manner, the promises that are given to us in the Bible are useless until we have a detonator that brings life to that promise. What was the difference between what Paul did in Acts 19 and the 7 sons of Sceva tried to duplicate in the following verses? Paul had a detonator.
There are some extremely informative verses in the Bible regarding this. I have pondered over them, seeking to understand what is being said and asking the Holy Spirit to help me grasp how to use His Word. “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of the soul and the spirit of both the joints and the marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
This is telling us that “…the Word of God…” (Greek Rhema) is being detonated by a higher power. In the original language, the words “living” and “active” are very interesting to study. The word “living “carries the meaning of “energy”. The word of God is like electricity flowing through a wire and that wire is me. It produces an energy far beyond my own capacity. The word “living” caries the same meaning as Genesis 2:7 where God breathed His life into the dust of a man, and man became a living being. The word “active” portrays that God’s Word carries the thought that God’s word produces a change. It is like yeast in bread. It has an effect when it is released. It takes a detonator for the written word to become the Living Word that creates energy and life. I believe that detonator is the living person of Jesus making the word alive by the Holy Spirit.
Alexandria had its great collection of books from all the then known world and became the center of learning, but I have the living Word available to me. It is a book that is full of wisdom, but more than that, it is a book that can give me life.
