RECREATED BY GOD’S WORD

“Of His own will He brought us forth by the WORD of TRUTH, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” – James 1:18

Paramount to the assurance of salvation is the revelation that we are redeemed and RECREATED BY GOD’S WORD: “Of His own will He brought us forth by the WORD of TRUTH, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (Jam.1:18). Christians are newly created, regenerated beings. Our new nature results from the action of the “word of truth” for the divine purpose of being a “kind of first-fruit” among all of creation. This infers what Paul says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph.2: 8-10). Regeneration is accomplished by Christ – the Word of truth – not by us; and done for His purpose, not ours.

Christ personifies the “Word of Truth”: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jh.14:6). As we remember our redemption, let’s recall what Peter wrote: “Having been BORN AGAIN, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the WORD of GOD which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away” (1Pet.1:23-24). God’s Word – the incorruptible, indestructible, living, and enduring seed – is the chief instrument of our redemption! Salvation is not by human generation or descent from godly parents, but by the Living Word which is not liable to decay or variation. Redemption – the highest of all gifts – comes from “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jam.1:17).

In essence, the Word of God brings forth new creatures. Luke 8:11 reveals that: "The seed is the word of God." The seed is not weak, helpless, or in need of the direct operation of some external force to be made alive, effective, powerful, or divinely reproductive. The seed is able of itself to reproduce: “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how” (Mk 4:26-27). The seed of the Word produces the new birth and the consequent indwelling of the Spirit.

God’s Word imparts to us Eternal Life. Were it not for His Word, we would not know that there was Redemption or a Substitution or a New Creation. Jesus told Nicodemus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ (Jh.3: 3, 6-7). To be born again implies an end to a previous life; a radical change of heart and of mind; and a completely regenerated being. There is no room for the old: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2Cor.5:17-18a).

Redemption is the highest and best of God’s divine gifts, and God’s Word is the instrument for accessing redemption!