The Power of God's Word
Text: Isaiah 55:8-11
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Identify the controlling analogy from Isaiah 55:10-11 — rain and snow accomplish their purpose; the word does the same.
- Distinguish the two dimensions of the word's creative power: material creation (Gen. 1; Heb. 1:3) and spiritual creation (the new birth, the spiritual life, the resurrection).
- Name at least five specific functions of the word in spiritual creation using the scriptural images the cites.
- Explain what Paul meant when he called the gospel "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16) in light of this outline.
- State why the same word that created the universe is the right word to trust for the new creation of the soul.
Thesis
The word of God is not one power among others; it is the power through which God has always worked — creating the cosmos, sustaining it, ending it, and in the interval producing the new creation of souls through the gospel. "The gospel is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). The preacher's responsibility is to preach it; the hearer's responsibility is to receive it.
Burden
The outline is brief but dense with scripture — the outline itself is a demonstration of the word's breadth. The burden is to persuade the hearer to trust the word at the same level they trust any other power they depend on: not as one option among several, but as the instrument God has chosen and that cannot fail of its purpose (Isa. 55:11: "it shall not return to Me empty").
Introduction
"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it" (Isa. 55:11). The chapter opens with an invitation — "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters" (v. 1) — and grounds that invitation in the character of the one extending it: his ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts (vv. 8-9). The distance between his thoughts and ours is the distance between the heavens and the earth. And yet — what he sends down from that height does not fail. The rain and snow do not return to the sky until they have accomplished the watering, the germination, the harvest. His word is like that.
"The king's word hath power" (Eccl. 8:4). If the word of an ancient monarch carries weight because of the authority behind it, how much more does the word of the one who spoke the universe into existence?
I. Power of the Word in Creation
The word's power in creation is the foundation for its power in spiritual creation. The same God who spoke the cosmos into being has spoken the gospel into history.
In material creation the word was the instrument. "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible" (Heb. 11:3). Psalm 33:6, 9: "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host... He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Genesis 1:3: "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." The word is not a description of what God made; it was the instrument by which he made it.
The word upholds what it created. "He upholds all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3). The cosmos does not sustain itself; it is sustained by the same word that called it into being. Creation is not an event that ended; it is a relationship with the word that continues.
The word will end what it created. "But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (II Pet. 3:7). Revelation 10:5, 6: the angel with his foot on sea and land swears that time will be no more. The word that spoke creation in will speak it out.
In spiritual creation the word is the instrument of the same God working by the same method.
It gives light. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 119:105). The person in spiritual darkness is not helped by argument or example alone; the word illuminates what nothing else can reach.
It makes wise unto salvation. "The sacred writings... are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 3:15). Paul continues: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (v. 16). The word is sufficient for the whole work.
Fire and a hammer. "Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jer. 23:29). Fire purges; a hammer breaks what is rigid. The word does both: it burns away the chaff of false claims and shatters the hardness that resists it.
Incorruptible seed. "For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God" (I Pet. 1:23). Three dimensions of the seed's work: begotten by it (I Pet. 1:23; I Cor. 4:15 — Paul says "I begot you through the gospel"); quickened by it (Ps. 119:50 — "Your word has revived me"); brought forth by it (James 1:18 — "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth"). The new birth is a word event.
It sustains spiritual life. "Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (I Pet. 2:2). The word that births the Christian also feeds them — milk for the new believer, solid food for the mature (Heb. 5:12-14). Spiritual growth requires the word at every stage.
It edifies and gives an inheritance. "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified" (Acts 20:32). Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders entrusts them not to a set of strategies or a leadership structure but to the word. The word builds; the word bequeaths.
It saves. "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (I Cor. 1:21). "Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). The word is the means of salvation — not the supplement to it.
It raises the dead. "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth" (John 5:28-29). The word that creates and sustains will also raise. The resurrection is a word event.
It is the seed of the kingdom. "The sower went out to sow his seed... the seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:5, 11; Matt. 13:18-23; Mark 4:14-20). The kingdom expands wherever the seed falls and takes root. The church grows from the word; the word grows the church.
Conclusion
"It is easy to see why Paul said, 'Preach the word' (II Tim. 4:1, 2); and 'the gospel is the power of God unto salvation' (Rom. 1:16). Well may we stand in awe of it (Ps. 119:161), as it represents God's power." The word that spoke the cosmos into being, that holds it together, that will end it — is the same word that produces the new birth, feeds the new life, grants the inheritance, and will raise the dead. To stand in awe of it is not superstition; it is the response appropriate to the power that actually produced everything that exists.
The preacher's commission is simple: "preach the word" (II Tim. 4:2). Not opinions; not programs; not a social philosophy decorated with Scripture. The word. It will do what it was sent to do.
Application
Two applications:
For the preacher: the weight of responsibility falls on the word, not on the preacher's skill. The preacher is the rain; the word is the water. God sends both; neither returns empty. This is not an excuse for laziness — it is a ground for confidence. Preach the word; it will accomplish what God intends.
For the hearer: the word implanted is able to save your soul (James 1:21). The question is whether you have received it in humility — not evaluated it from a position of independence, not picked through it for the parts that are comfortable, but received it as what it is: the word of the one whose ways are not your ways and whose word does not return empty.
Invitation
"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat" (Isa. 55:1). The invitation that opens the chapter grounds everything that follows. The word is not for sale; it is not for the qualified; it is for the thirsty. If you are thirsty — if the poverty of what you have been feeding your soul on is finally clear — come.
Believe in Jesus Christ as the Word made flesh (John 1:14), the one in whom the creative power of God took human form. Repent. Confess his name. Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). And receive the word implanted — the incorruptible seed, the milk, the meat, the light, the fire, the hammer — everything you need for the life you were made for.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word | dābār | word, speech, matter | word, speech, matter | in Hebrew thought the word is not merely a sound but the expression of the speaker's will and power; God's dābār is his self-expression in action; when he speaks, something happens; "It will not return to Me empty" treats the word as a messenger sent with a commission — it will report back successful. | Isa. 55:11 |
| Incorruptible seed | sporas aphthartou | seed that does not decay | seed that does not decay | aphthartos is the adjective used for what is imperishable, immortal; the seed of the new birth does not carry within it the mortality of natural seed; the life it produces does not have a decay built in; the contrast is with the grass that withers and the flower that fades (I Pet. 1:24, quoting Isa. 40:6-8). | I Pet. 1:23 |
| Power of God unto salvation | dynamis theou eis sōtērian | the operative force (dynamis | the operative force (dynamis | same root as our "dynamite") directed toward salvation; Paul is not saying the gospel is one of God's powers; he is saying the gospel IS the power God chose for this work; the instrument is not incidental to the result. | Rom. 1:16 |
| Implanted | emphytos | implanted, innate | implanted, innate | used of the word already received and taking root; James is addressing believers, calling them to receive what they have already been given with humility; the word must not merely be heard but received as something planted — given soil and allowed to grow. | James 1:21 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Rain and snow accomplish their purpose — controlling analogy | Text | Isa. 55:10-11 |
| The king's word has power — intro | Intro | Eccl. 8:4 |
| Worlds created by the word of God | I.1 | Gen. 1:3; Ps. 33:6-9; Heb. 11:3 |
| Word upholds all things | I.1a | Heb. 1:3 |
| Present cosmos reserved for the word's judgment | I.1b | II Pet. 3:7; Rev. 10:5-6 |
| Word gives light to the path | I.2a | Ps. 119:105, 130 |
| Makes wise unto salvation — all Scripture profitable | I.2b | II Tim. 3:15-16 |
| Fire and a hammer — the word's penetrating force | I.2c | Jer. 23:29 |
| Incorruptible seed — born again of the word | I.2d | I Pet. 1:23; I Cor. 4:15 |
| Milk for the babe, meat for the grown | I.2e | I Pet. 2:1-2; Heb. 5:12-14 |
| Edifies and gives inheritance | I.2f | Acts 20:32 |
| Saved by the word | I.2g | I Cor. 1:21; James 1:21 |
| Dead raised by the word | I.2h | John 5:28-29 |
| Seed of the kingdom | I.2i | Matt. 13:18-23; Mark 4:14-20; Luke 8:11 |
| "Preach the word" — preacher's commission | Concl. | II Tim. 4:1-2 |
| "Gospel is the power of God unto salvation" | Concl. | Rom. 1:16 |
| Baptism for remission — receiving the word | Invit. | Acts 2:38 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 122. Primary texts: Isa. 55:8-11; Luke 8:1-15 (both stated by Boles). The outline has only two major sections (I: Power of the Word in Creation; II: Conclusion) — expanded into full sermon structure with the nine sub-categories of Section I developed as distinct movements. OCR corrections: "INTRODUCTI ON" → "INTRODUCTION"; "I Pet. I:23" → "I Pet. 1:23"; "I Pet. 2:I, 2" → "I Pet. 2:1, 2." Doctrinal audit: the word as the instrument of the new birth (I Pet. 1:23; I Cor. 4:15; James 1:18) developed without diminishing the Spirit's role; the word as the seed of the kingdom (the church) grounded in the parable of the sower texts; "preach the word" as Paul's summary commission retained; "the gospel is the power of God unto salvation" as the sermon's doctrinal climax; invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).
