“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls”
the implanted word,
The word “implanted” comes from two words: in and to plant. The idea then is to plant in. The “implanted word” is the Word of God rooted in our souls.
If we allow the Word to take root in our hearts, we will be powerful Christians because we will carry the character it innately provides wherever we go. If the Word of God gets a welcoming attitude of reception to its principles in our souls, it will “save our souls.”
“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).
Principle:
When we allow the Word of God to take root in our souls, it will become part of our norms and standards for living.
Application:
The Word of God should be like a seed implanted in our soul that takes root in our character. We constantly open our will for God to speak to us about any issue any time.
“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:11-13).
There are two things that we must do to deliver our soul from sin: 1) put off filthy garments of sin and 2) welcome the Word of God into our soul. If we do one without the other, we will fail. It is not enough to confess our sin for we must take in the Word of God to displace the vacuum created by dealing with our sins.
A vacuum will always draw something into it. That is why if we simply confess sin without taking in the Word, sin will always draw back into our souls. If we displace the Word for our sin, we will have a strong base for overcoming sin.
