The Word Of Life
THE WORD OF LIFE
The fifth aspect is found in the phrase "hold ing forth the word of life" (v. 16). In 1:19 we have the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and in 2:16 we have the word of life. Between them we have the pattern of salvation with the standard, the operating God, the divine life with the divine nature, and the function of reflecting the light of Christ. What a tremen dous provision! With such a rich provision we can be saved constantly.
We thank the Lord for two great gifts—the Spirit and the Word, the Bible. Every child of God must learn how to get into the Word of God by the divine life and nature. This is to contact the Scripture by exercising our spirit to touch the indwelling God. Such contact, based on the divine life and nature, is very different from reading the Bible merely with the exercise of the mind. Some Christians analyze the Bible purely in a mental way, others emphasize the memori zation of Bible verses, and still others, especially those with seminary training, expound the Word in a doctrinal way. If we approach the Bible only in these ways, we shall not touch the word of life. Instead, to us the Bible will be a book of