“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
In the Old Testament, the Lord told the people to obey His commandments, because they were men of the senses and it was not in them to obey. Their walking in His blessings was contingent on their obedience to His Word (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). However, in the New Testament, we are not “to obey”, but “to do” the Word of God. That’s because we were born of the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23). But what is it to “do” the Word and how do you “do” the Word?
James gives us an insight: “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:23-25).
There’re two important things for you to note here: Firstly, he likens the Word of God to a mirror that reflects exactly what you look like. Secondly, he likens the man who doesn’t “do” the Word to the man who looks into the mirror, turns round and forgets what he looks like.
Therefore, the man who “does” the Word is the one who looks into the Word of God (the mirror) and doesn’t forget what he saw. In other words, he keeps the image that he saw of himself and acts accordingly. For example, if he saw that he was a joint-heir with Christ, statements like, “I am broke” or “I’m average” immediately gets out of his vocabulary. He squares his shoulders and walks and talks like a king!
Once you come in contact with what God has said concerning you, endorse it and immediately begin to act in accordance with that Word, irrespective of your feelings or the circumstances. That’s how to do the Word. You also need to realize that the more you look into the mirror of God, the more you become what you see. That picture of you that you see in the Word is what you must keep declaring with your mouth. You must keep declaring what God says concerning you in His Word; that’s the seal that ties everything together.
Confession
I’m a doer of the Word of God! As I look into the mirror of God—His Word, I do not forget the pictures of me that I see. I keep those images ever before me and I am daily transfigured into the realities of what the Word of God says about me, hallelujah.
Further Study
2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
Amen. Yes