b1:T714,

Side by side with this answer of Christ’s, let me set the words of the apostle John.

“He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (1 John 2:4-5)

We see from these two passages that it is impossible to overemphasise the importance of God’s Word in the believer’s life.

To summarise, the keeping of God’s Word distinguishes you as a disciple of Christ. It is the test of your love for God. It is the cause of God’s special favour toward you. It is the medium through which Christ manifests Himself to you, and through which God the Father and the Son come into your life and make Their home with you. Let me put it to you in this way.

Your attitude toward God’s Word is your attitude toward God Himself. You do not love God more than You love His Word. You do not obey God more than you obey His Word. You do not honour God more than you honour His Word. You do not have more room in your heart and life for God than you have for His Word.

Do you want to know how much God means to you? Just ask yourself, how much does God’s Word mean to me? The answer to the second question is the answer also to the first. God means as much to you as His Word means to you – just that much, and no more.

b2:Tc90,

In various places the Bible compares the life of a believer to the construction of a building.

For instance, the epistle of Jude says:

“Building yourselves up on your most holy faith.” (v. 20)

The apostle Paul also uses the same picture in various places:

“You are God’s building... as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation.” (1 Cor. 3:9-10)

“You also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22)

“I commend you... to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.” (Acts 20:32)

In all these passages, the believer’s life is compared to the construction of a building.

Now, in the natural order, the first and most important feature of any permanent structure is its foundation. The foundation necessarily sets a limit to the weight and height of the building to be erected upon it. A weak foundation can support only a small building. A strong foundation can support a large building. There is a fixed relationship between the foundation and the building.

In the city of Jerusalem, I once lived in a house that had been built by an Assyrian. This man had obtained from the municipality, a license to build a house of two stories, and the foundation was laid accordingly. However, in order to increase his income from renting the building, this Assyrian had built on a third story, without obtaining permission to do so. The result was that, while we were actually living in the house, the whole building began to settle down on one co

Foundations

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