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Obedience to the Word of God: What It Looks Like

Christians, hearing the phrase “obedience to the Word of God” might be quick to assume that this is a call to obey what the Word of God has to say. They’ll hear the words and think that there is some command, or some passage of the Bible, that is not being obeyed and this is the reason for the call that we need to be obedient to the Word of God. Indeed, there are many passages that highlight the importance of obeying what God has to say: we must submit to what He says. He is the master; we are the servants.

That said I like Paul’s example of how one ministers in obedience and subjection to the Word of God. In Colossians 1:225-28 he sees himself as completely swallowed up in the mission and calling of the church. The church, he knows, is to suffer so he happily rejoices in suffering for her. Christ’s body is to be continually afflicted and, in obedience to the word of God, Paul tries to take on what is lacking in those afflictions. God commissioned him to do the work and he sees himself as a complete servant that is wholly given to that work so as to present the word of God in its fullness.

But the obedience to the word of God is also seen in the future reality of the church. Let me explain.