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Feeding on the Word - the secret to the inner life!


Vine Abider

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I enjoyed this verse and devotional this morning! The words that proceed out of God's mouth - they are Spirit and they are life to us!  Without feed upon His word - not just by mental knowledge - our spirits are refreshed with His life inwardly, and this life gives us the ability to love others and Him - WORDERFUL! (personally, I am touched that I need to feed on His word - taking the Word in by prayer - more frequently . . . otherwise I am just a malnourished and puny Christian.)

BTW - the Lord said "It is written" not "It was written."  This shows the Word is something that has present ramifications and affect for us.

The secret of His inner life

"But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

These words, quoted by the Lord from Deuteronomy 8:3, not only reveal how He handled the devil's attacks, but they also show us the secret of His inner life. It is clear that the strength of the Lord's inner life was maintained by His regular feeding upon the Word. He was not living on bread alone, but on every word proceeding out through the mouth of God. If the Lord felt the need to spend time with the Father, feeding upon the Word, how much more do we need this kind of practice. The Lord Jesus was intrinsically the living Word (Gk. logos), yet He took time to feed on the written Word; and He could testify to the devil that this was the way He was living. He was living on every word proceeding out through the mouth of God.

Our inner life is constituted with the same inner life that was in Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 6:17: "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Our human spirit, which has been regenerated through the new birth, is mingled with the Lord Himself, who is the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Thus, what was true of the Lord's life in the flesh is still true of His life in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit dwelling in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22). Now we must come to know in our experience how our inner man needs and requires regular times to feed upon the Word (1 Pet. 2:2-3). This was one of the Lord's secrets in maintaining His supply to live out the Father's life, and it must become our secret as well (John 6:57).

(from The Supplied Life by B. Freeman)

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1 hour ago, Vine Abider said:

I enjoyed this verse and devotional this morning! The words that proceed out of God's mouth - they are Spirit and they are life to us!  Without feed upon His word - not just by mental knowledge - our spirits are refreshed with His life inwardly, and this life gives us the ability to love others and Him - WORDERFUL! (personally, I am touched that I need to feed on His word - taking the Word in by prayer - more frequently . . . otherwise I am just a malnourished and puny Christian.)

BTW - the Lord said "It is written" not "It was written."  This shows the Word is something that has present ramifications and affect for us.

The secret of His inner life

"But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

The testimony of the scriptures throughout is that our God is a Living Lord

who speaks to His people now as ever before.

Matthew 22:

29 Jesus answered and said to them, 

“You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,

but are like angels of God in heaven. 

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead,

have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 

33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Therefore:

Hebrews 3:

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,

in departing from the living God.

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;

lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning

of our confidence steadfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice,

harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

It seems that I have mentioned this many times before,

but no one listens!   :)

Edited by Mr. M
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On 2/24/2024 at 5:09 PM, Mr. M said:

The testimony of the scriptures throughout is that our God is a Living Lord

who speaks to His people now as ever before.

Matthew 22:

29 Jesus answered and said to them, 

“You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage,

but are like angels of God in heaven. 

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead,

have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 

33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

Therefore:

Hebrews 3:

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,

in departing from the living God.

13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;

lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning

of our confidence steadfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice,

harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

It seems that I have mentioned this many times before,

but no one listens!   :)

I'm glad you answered like this. While everything you write is true, you supported @Vine Abider's point. God's Word IS for instruction, but instruction OUTSIDE of men does not help a fallen man. What man needed was WORDS that were EATEN. Israel were a privileged Nation. They were given the ORACLES of God, but outside of them the WORDS had no profit. Nicodemus illustrates this problem very well. He came to Jesus a "TEACHER". But our Lord's answer was "You need an INTERNAL change" and reminds  Nicodemus of Israel with poison coursing in their veins. If the looked up at Him who was lifted up, the deadly contents IN them would be replaced by LIFE (Note; Israel were not healed by the Brazen Serpent. They "LIVED")

It is not that God's Words are not useful when printed and read, but their main purpose and effect is when thy are SPOKEN. They become something LIVING when they are read out loud and can be even formulated into a prayer

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On 2/25/2024 at 1:43 AM, Vine Abider said:

I enjoyed this verse and devotional this morning! The words that proceed out of God's mouth - they are Spirit and they are life to us!  Without feed upon His word - not just by mental knowledge - our spirits are refreshed with His life inwardly, and this life gives us the ability to love others and Him - WORDERFUL! (personally, I am touched that I need to feed on His word - taking the Word in by prayer - more frequently . . . otherwise I am just a malnourished and puny Christian.)

BTW - the Lord said "It is written" not "It was written."  This shows the Word is something that has present ramifications and affect for us.

The secret of His inner life

"But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

 

Hi VA,

A very important discussion. God`s word helps us to stand against the enemy`s lies. (2 Cor. 10; 5) However, it is the truth of Christ, His character that feeds our spirits. `partakers of the divine nature.` (2 Peter 1: 4)

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59 minutes ago, AdHoc said:

I'm glad you answered like this. While everything you write is true, you supported @Vine Abider's point. God's Word IS for instruction, but instruction OUTSIDE of men does not help a fallen man. What man needed was WORDS that were EATEN. Israel were a privileged Nation. They were given the ORACLES of God, but outside of them the WORDS had no profit. Nicodemus illustrates this problem very well. He came to Jesus a "TEACHER". But our Lord's answer was "You need an INTERNAL change" and reminds  Nicodemus of Israel with poison coursing in their veins. If the looked up at Him who was lifted up, the deadly contents IN them would be replaced by LIFE (Note; Israel were not healed by the Brazen Serpent. They "LIVED")

It is not that God's Words are not useful when printed and read, but their main purpose and effect is when thy are SPOKEN. They become something LIVING when they are read out loud and can be even formulated into a prayer

Has in due time manifested His Word through preaching...

Titus 1:3

... how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14

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Spoken through Jeremiah: 15:16, (ESV),

Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.

One that incorporates His words into their very being lives the words that are spirit, and it's obvious to those which interact with the believer. There are certain aspects of a person's behavior that clearly announce to others that, here is a Christian.

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On 2/25/2024 at 1:43 AM, Vine Abider said:

 

The secret of His inner life

"But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4

 

Hi VA,

Just another thought I had. When we say `words,` people can think - `a, it, is, but, however, the, this, etc.` They are words but that is not what Jesus is referring to. The `words` that God speaks are truth, and we interpret those in our language using our alphabet. 

Jesus is God`s `alphabet,` and we see God`s truth in Him. Jesus even said `I am the Alpha and Omega,` the two ends of the Hebrew alphabet. Thus, every part in between. 

His Omniscience –  “I am the Alpha & Omega,”

Christ is the whole alphabet, from whom the entire vocabulary for expressing revealed truth is derived. All the treasures of wisdom & knowledge are in Him. (Col.2:3) There is no such thing as knowledge before Him & there cannot be any beyond Him.

Christ, as the Alpha & Omega, is the only way to spiritual secrets, (Rev.2:17) He is the key to unlock the treasures of truth, Himself the interpreter of the invisible, (Rev. 3: 7) & the Door of entrance to eternal enjoyment.    (Ps. 16:11     John 10:9)  

 

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21 hours ago, Mr. M said:

Has in due time manifested His Word through preaching...

Titus 1:3

... how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14

Amen! Faith by hearing, and rivers flowing out of us because of what went into us - John 7:37-39

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@Mr. M @D. Adrien @Marilyn C @AdHoc Just think . . . we know that "the worlds were framed by the Word of God" (Jesus), and nothing came into existence apart from Him.  So all matter was out from Him.  But then it is stated that "the Son was granted to have life in Himself."  So then the very words He speaks, "they are Spirit and they are life."  Wowzie!

Matter is one thing, but life is a whole 'nuther ballgame folks!

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8 minutes ago, Vine Abider said:

@Mr. M @D. Adrien @Marilyn C @AdHoc Just think . . . we know that "the worlds were framed by the Word of God" (Jesus), and nothing came into existence apart from Him.  So all matter was out from Him.  But then it is stated that "the Son was granted to have life in Himself."  So then the very words He speaks, "they are Spirit and they are life."  Wowzie!

Matter is one thing, but life is a whole 'nuther ballgame folks!

Yes! Matter is nothing on life ... but DIVINE LIFE ... that's a double wowsie!

The Greek is especially generous. It has THREE different types of LIFE;
"Bios" - the physical vitality
"Psuché" - the psychological life
"Zoe" - The God-kind of Life

All men possess the first two, but only Believers possess the third. Such a lofty calling, but oh so much responsibility!

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