Means of Grace
You have dealt well with Your servant, O LORD, according to Your word. Psalms 119:65
When someone tells you, “You have my word,” your response will greatly depend on who is speaking. If the person has a history of breaking promises, you’ll roll your eyes at him. If you have built a steadfast trust with that person over many years, you might have faith in even her most outrageous claims.
When God tells you, “You have my Word,” there is no doubting His faithfulness and its power. In fact, since the Word of God is a means of grace, it has the power within it to make you believe it. God’s Word has the power to bring a newborn baby to faith. It has the power to convert a thief being executed on a cross. It has the power to throw down haughty kingdoms (even Satan’s kingdom!). It has the power to comfort the brokenhearted. It was used by our Savior to combat the devil’s temptations in the desert. It can be used to fight the devil tempting you to curse the person who cut you off in traffic.
God’s Word is the exclusive means by which He deals with His servants. And since it is the word of the Maker of heaven and earth, it is fully trustworthy all by itself. Yet, by the faith we receive from the Gospel, its truth is revealed to us by its evidence of God’s promises kept. Didn’t God promise to send salvation through the Seed of the woman? Didn’t He promise to deal with us not according to our sins, but according to His mercy? Didn’t He promise that our Redeemer would not rot in the grave, but rise on the third day? Didn’t He promise to declare us justified through Christ? And all these things have come to pass! Therefore believe His promise to raise you on the Last Day. You have His Word.
Abiding, steadfast, firm, and sure,
The teachings of the Word endure.
Blest he who trusts this steadfast Word;
His anchor holds in Christ, the Lord.
The Lutheran Hymnal 290:4