The Bible is a unique book. No other book has been given by God Himself. No other book speaks with the same authority, accuracy, or clarity. No other book convicts of sin, leads to salvation, and instructs in godliness like God’s Word does. But it is more than just an information bank, it is living and powerful. It is able to transform our lives. This is what we mean when we talk about the animation of the Bible.
To be animated is to be full of life, to be alive. Saying that Scripture is animated means it is not stagnant, but it is living and vibrant. It, being God’s very Word, possesses the same power as the words God spoke to create everything, “...the universe was created by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3 ESV).
Those words were rich with life and power when God created the world, but their power has continued far beyond the moment of creation. Life as we know it continues by the same Word. God “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). And just as His first creative words continue to exhibit their power long after they were spoken, the written words of Scripture continue to exhibit their power long after they were penned. God is actively using His Word to accomplish His purposes in people’s lives. It possesses in itself the ability to transform lives. Unlike any other book known to man, the Bible possesses a living quality that stems from its divine origin as the unique God-breathed (inspired) book.
This power is manifested in two primary ways. First, the power of the Word is seen in the way it reveals God and His glorious plan of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It’s the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). The emphasis here is on the power of the Word on the unsaved. This truth is brought out for us in many ways, but the classic passage is 1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God” (NLT).
The Word of God combined with the ministry of the Holy Spirit works in our hearts so that our sin and need are plainly shown. They work together to bring people to faith in Christ and into the new birth so they become the children of God (John 3:5; Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 1:1–4). First Peter 1:23 focuses on Scripture’s ability to transform us. Peter says that new birth comes through God’s Word. We are “born again…from the eternal, living word of God.” How do we know God’s Word is alive? Its effect. It imparts life to its hearers. It regenerates. It is life-giving.
Second, the power of the Word is seen in the lives of the saved as God uses it along with the illuminating and empowering ministry of the Spirit to conform us into the image of the Lord Jesus. Our Lord had this in mind in His prayer in John 17:17 when He prayed, “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”
Scripture helps us grow spiritually. In fact, it is essential to our growth. First Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.” A newborn baby is entirely dependent on his mother’s milk for daily nourishment. So too we Christians must continually feed on the Word if we are to stay spiritually nourished. Scripture is alive, it makes us alive, and it keeps us nourished.
Illustrations of the animating power of Scripture may be seen in the many pictures God gives us in the Bible of what His Word can do. It is pictured as a sword (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17), as a critic or judge (Hebrews 4:12), as a lamp or a light (Psalm 19:8b; 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23), as a mirror (James 1:22–25), as rain, snow, or water (Isaiah 55:10–11; Jeremiah 17:5–8), as food or bread from heaven (Deuteronomy 8:3; Job 23:12; Psalm 19:10b), and as gold (Psalm 19:10; 119:72, 127; Proverbs 8:10, 11; 1 Peter 1:18).
How does a right understanding of the Word’s life and power affect our daily walk?
First, it ought to impact our approach to evangelism. What do we rely on when we share the Gospel with unbelievers? Do we depend on our winning personality? Or maybe we hesitate because we don’t have people skills. Do we look for a neat trick, a new method, some marketing technique? Or are we confident that God’s Word is living and powerful, capable to convict and to save? It’s easy to think the simple Truth is insufficient, that we need to make the Gospel more accessible, more palatable, or more relevant. Yet God has told us that His Word is powerful. It accomplishes what He wants it to and He has promised to bless His Word, not our techniques. Believe it, share the Gospel, and watch God work through it.
What about our mentoring, counselling, and discipleship? If we believe Scripture is powerful, we ought to make it central to any solution we offer. Is our confidence in methods, systems, theories, and philosophies, or is our confidence in God’s Word? God has given us His Word so we may grow. Do we lead others to God’s Word so it can work in their hearts? Wisdom without the Bible is foolishness. Technique without the Bible is vanity. Sincerity without the Bible is misguided. Resolve without the Bible is weak. Philosophy without the Bible is empty. Accountability without the Bible is fickle. Many of these can be helpful in measure, but none are effective without God’s living Word.
This holds true not only in our care for others, but also in our own spiritual lives. Where do we turn when our faith is shaking, or when we fail? Do we soak ourselves in the Word? Or do we look for another spiritual high, another revival, the latest Christian bestseller, or another conference? Do we rely on fickle human experiences or do we return again to the living Word? We need to drink of the pure milk of the Word that we may be nourished and grow.
One final note. Scripture is powerful, but its power is vested in its truth. It is not a good-luck charm. You can write it on every wall of your house but it will have no effect on you unless you believe its words. The Bible is not fairy-dust to sprinkle over someone when they are having a bad day. It is powerful, wonderful, encouraging, life-giving, immeasurably valuable, but only as God’s Spirit instructs us in it and impresses it on our hearts.
We must know God’s Word, understand it, receive it, and submit to it. Scripture’s life-giving power is experienced in conjunction with good and faithful study of it. Let’s not think Scripture is effective if we do not understand it. We experience the animating life and power of the Word only as we encounter and engage with God’s truth held within the words on its pages.
