Jesus: The Word Made Flesh | EP 18

Need a faith boost? Enjoy these freebies!

Find the Bible Study Method For You

4 Daily Habits Of Strong Christians

What God Would Tell You If He Were Your Marriage Counselor

Hello!

Have you ever treated the Bible like a collection of facts instead of a living Word meant to transform your life?

In this episode, we take an honest look at what it really means to know Jesus beyond Bible study methods, notebooks, highlights, and head knowledge. Because while studying Scripture is important, the real question is: are we allowing the Word of God to actually change us?

We’ll talk about the difference between simply learning the Bible and living it. Through scripture, personal testimony, and practical examples, this episode explores how Jesus—the living Word—wants to actively lead, correct, strengthen, and mature us in everyday life.

We’ll also address a subtle trap many believers fall into: accumulating biblical information without spiritual transformation. Because knowing facts about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him through intimate fellowship.

If you’ve ever felt spiritually stuck despite spending time in Scripture, this episode will challenge you to move from simply hearing the Word to becoming a doer of it.

Scriptures references from this episode:
John 1:1 NKJV
John 1:14 NKJV  
James 1:22 NKJV 
Philippians 3:7-10 NKJV  
Colossians 2:6-10 NKJV (verse 10 in the AMPC)
Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

❓ Have a question? Submit it and it may be featured on a future episode

💌 Join the Your God Sister podcast email list Season 1 is wrapping up on May 26, but through emails, I’ll continue sharing what God is placing on my heart with you until we return for season two in January 2027. 

📖 Mr. Right, Is That You? (Ebook) Learn from Ruth and Boaz as you faithfully navigate you season of singleness.

If the Your God Sister podcast has been a blessing to you, please consider supporting the show. Thank you!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever felt like the Bible was simply a lot of words on a lot of pages? Have you used the Bible to come up with your own solutions? Have you allowed the Word of God to change you? Let's talk about it. Recently I had the opportunity to teach Bible study. What I'll share with you today is what the Lord had given me. Have you thought about the Bible as a lifeless book with a bunch of do's and don'ts? You may have even approached the Bible as a book to be conquered. You may be really proud of your study methods, your notebooks that are filled with colorful writing. Your Bible has become a color-coded catalog of facts. That's not all bad, but the question is: have you allowed the truth of God's word to change you? Bible study is good, but Bible living is better. If we are not changing, all we have become are lifelong learners. But the Bible tells us in James 1.22 we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Welcome to the Your God Sister Podcast, where we address life challenges with biblical answers while enjoying our time together. A couple of constants here are what the Bible says and what the Lord speaks to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. My name is Joy Cooper. I am an associate pastor. I am a youth minister, and through the years I've had the opportunity to mentor young ladies. But on this podcast, I'm here with you. I have some scriptures for us today, and my heart is that you will come away from our time together, changed for God's glory and for his use. So let's start. Let's look at John verse 1 or chapter 1 and verse 1 in the New King James Version. It says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In John, he's speaking of Jesus. Jesus is the Word. Jesus was the Word made flesh. Jesus is the Word. And so we can think about it like this. Sometimes we think about the Bible as a lifeless book, but it's not. It's the Word. It's Jesus. It's Jesus. And whether it's Old Testament or New, it's all pointing to Him. It is all telling us about Him. I was in a couple of days ago, and I'm a telling myself, okay? And tell you a secret. A couple of days ago, I wanted a Chai Tea Latte, and I had it all planned. I had to run some errands, and I was going to get my chai tea latte with oat milk. I was going to get a grande. And they've changed it. They said, oh, it's not as sweet because we want people to be able to customize it. So I even had my own sugar-free syrup. Yes, I bought this big old bottle of sugar-free syrup in the car with me because I was going to do the thing. So I'm I'm on my way. I had just made one stop and I was like, all right, I'm about to get my chai chi latte. I mean, it was planned. I was ready. And I just felt in my heart, no. And I was like, forgot, I got the sugar-free syrup. So it's not even gonna be, you know, because I've been trying to control my sugar intake. So I was like, I got my sugar-free syrup. And I just felt like the answer was no. And so I said to myself, in Christ, I can say no. And that was it. It was done. Any other time I would have gone back and forth in my mind. I would have reasoned, well, I got the sugar-free syrup, it's okay. I haven't had one in a couple of days. I would have done all of that. But the word, Jesus was the word for me in that moment, and I said no. So what I'm talking about here is sometimes if the word is just lifeless to us, then we can reason, we could finagle our way around, we can come up with, we could even come up with a scripture that'll that'll encourage us doing the thing that we want to do that we shouldn't do. I could be like, oh, in Christ there's freedom. Yeah, but that's not what we're talking about here. Because in my spirit came the no. And so for me to hear and to understand that this word is alive and it changed me. It changed me in that moment so that I was able to put the flesh under because the word, which was Jesus, is what got me through that moment. And so a lot of times we're so excited about our Bible study. We, like I said, we color code things, we have notebooks full of notes, but if we're not changing, then you really should just close your book. If you're not allowing the word of God to actually change you, because it's not lifeless, the word of God is not lifeless, it's alive because it's Jesus. This is so good. And so for me to have gone against that no would be me going against Jesus. In Christ, I could say no to chai t latte. And that's what the word is supposed to be for us. It's supposed to actually dictate our lives, not be something we conquer, not be something, you know, sometimes we get so excited about accumulating Bible facts. So we sit in church and we take notes, and that's not bad in and of itself, but it's a farce if you're not changing. I'm pausing for emphasis. If we just sit and write notes and color code our verses, and I've got this Bible study thing, I'm doing it this way, and I got these study resources, and we're still getting offended, we're still being dishonorable, we're still unable to keep our flesh under, tell our flesh no, then what is it for? And that's what the Holy Spirit was was ministering to me. I I got to experience it firsthand. I tell you, every time I go to church, it's like I'm constantly becoming something new because I'm letting the word penetrate my heart, I'm letting the word come off of the page and change me. That is what it is for. It's not to be hoarded in notebooks, and this is this is revelatory because for me to even like the Holy Spirit allowing me to be able to verbalize these things was just so wonderful. So let's keep going. Let's look at Philippians uh uh chapter three. I don't know why I've been wanting to start with the verses first. Philippians chapter three, verses seven through nine. In the New King James Version it says, but what things were gained to me? These things I have counted loss for Christ. Yet, indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. So I want to stop here and then I'll keep going to verse 10, but I want to stop here for now. Paul is saying all this other stuff, all these things, all of the um outer things, they're loss once they're they come in comparison with Christ. In comparison with Jesus, everything else is a loss. He is to be elevated to the primary seat in our life. He's to be first, he's to be who we're going after, who we're seeking after. And in the way that is done by the Spirit, not mentally trying to grasp Jesus, not accumulating facts about Jesus, but knowing the person of Jesus, knowing him. And that is what I experienced a couple days ago when it was like in Christ, I can say no. That's knowing him, that's knowing the power of him as the word in my life. And I'm asking the Holy Spirit, even as I speak, that your mind, this is not even about your mind grasping what I'm saying. As I was preparing for this, I asked that the Lord penetrate your heart with this revelation. This is not grabbing things with the mind. That's too basic. We got to go to the spirit, which is an elevation in our knowledge. It's a higher way of knowing. Grasping things in the mind, okay, that's fine, but that's not the highest and best. Grabbing things by the spirit in our heart is where it takes root and actually changes our lives. So that's what Paul is talking about here. And he says that I may gain Christ and be found in him. So when I said in Christ, I can say no, I was found in him. I that strength to say no was found in him. Now, if I was just picking some random verse, it wasn't gonna hold at that point. The Holy Spirit was on that statement. In Christ, I can say no. In Christ, I have the authority, in Christ, I can put my flesh under. In Christ, I rise above chai tea lattes with sugar-free syrup. That is what will guide our lives, that is what will shape our lives, that is where our strength is, that's where our maturity is, that's when we grow up spiritually. Because I have to say it, there are many who have big notebooks, lots of underlines, all of these things, all of these methods, all of it, Bible journaling. And I'm not knocking these things, but many times all of that is accumulated, but the person is still a spiritual baby because it's not actually affecting everyday life, that spiritual maturity, when your everyday life looks more and more like Jesus, and you have to know him personally, intimately, in fellowship in order for that to happen. It's not just knowing facts, you know. We know facts about um historical figures. I know facts about uh historical um people we've read in books, presidents, um, civil rights leaders, um, religious leaders, all these all these things, but I don't know them. I've never sat down, never talked to them, never fellowshipped with them, never had long-term relationship with them. So I just know facts about them. We have to be careful that we don't put Jesus in the category of just a religious historical figure that we know facts about, because otherwise, his activity in our life is stunted and not because of him. This is good. We're gonna keep going. So Philippians 3, verse 10, but I want to read this verse in the Amplified Classic Edition. It says, For my determined purpose is that I may know him. I get excited every time I read that, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of his person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from his resurrection, which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share his sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into his likeness, even to his death in the hope. That's exactly perfectly stated what I've been saying. This is our determination, this is our purpose, this is our focus, this is our lifelong journey to know him. Not facts, to know him. Like I am to the point in my life where I'm I'm getting to know the personality of my savior. I'm getting to know how wonderful he is, how he thinks about things, how he sees things, and then as I get to know that it oozes out onto me in my life, and then I can look like, think like, talk like, walk like him. Because I know him. That is what our Christian life is to be about. You know, the the Lord shared this with me, and it was so revelatory. He said, Christianity and actually living from a position of in Christ are two different things. Christianity has the the fingerprints and the the hands of man smeared all over it. It's like a little kid just smearing their hands and their their face all over like a mirror. You see all those marks. That's what Christianity. It's been it's been marred by humanness. But the position of in Christ, that is what we should strive after. Am I a Christian? Yes, but I'm a Christian who lives from the standpoint of I am in Christ. And that's the revelation that Paul, through all of his letters, is really talking about the believer's position of in Christ. That is what this is about. That is what we should seek after. That is what we should go after. That should be our heart's desire and our daily quest. I will be found in him, I will know him, I will be intimately acquainted with him, and that makes a difference. That's when you grow up, that's when you start looking more and more like Jesus. That's when you cease to be offended. That's when, you know, because I was thinking about this, I was like, you know, how is it that we could be in church, go to church Sunday after Sunday, week after week, uh taking notes, hearing sermons, but not changing. That shouldn't be. That really should not be. And if that is the case, something needs to be tweaked, something needs to be changed. And we can change it. We could say today, Lord, I am letting the words in this Bible come off the page and come into my heart through the person of Jesus. I will live as He wants me to live. I will hear His voice in real time in situations in my life and let that word be what I live by, not just what I read, what I live by. I'm hoping I really hope this is this is coming across clearly because it has really been big in my heart. It's no longer enough for us to just accumulate facts about Jesus. It is time that we know him, know him as an intimate friend, know him as our Savior who gets to lead and instruct and guide, and we actually listen. This is so good. So look at um Colossians 2 6 through 10, and I'll read that in the New King James Version. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. As you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving, beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power. This is so good. This is one of my favorite scriptures because it just gives the picture of what I'm saying. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. And I've said this before: we can't leave him at our salvation experience. Hey, thanks, Jesus. I'm not going to hell, I'm going to heaven. Thanks. See you later. And then you just go back to living your life as you lived before you accepted him. No, you received him, so then walk in him. Walk in him as the word. Walk in him. Let him tell you what to do throughout your day. Let him give you wisdom and understanding. Let him give you information that you couldn't get any other way. Let that word become alive. It's alive. And then this is so interesting right here. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy. I looked up that word philosophy in the concordance in the Greek, and it said, lovers of wisdom. And if you think about this in the context that we're speaking of today, sometimes we're so excited to just be gathering these facts. I'm filling out my notebook, I'm writing in my Bible, I'm underlining verses. All of that is good if you were doing that to the end of, I'm doing this so it will change me. Not I'm doing it because I think that's what I'm supposed to do, or I just love being a lifelong learner of the word. We are to be doers of the word and not hearers only, not learners only. So that is so good right there. And it says don't be cheated by that. That's the lesser flow to just be a lover of wisdom. It's a higher flow to live out what we see in God's word, to live out what Jesus is saying to us every day of our lives, how he's correcting us, how he's promoting us, how he's motivating us, how he's leading us and guiding us. That is what this is about. So, in closing, I want to share this last scripture with you. And this right here, this right here, this right here. It's good and you could take it. Okay? Hebrews 4, 12. And I'm gonna read this in the New King James Version. For the word of God is living. Yes, living because it's Jesus. Jesus is the word made flesh. He was the word made flesh. He came to this earth, but he was the word of God in a body. 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 morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. When I read this, and I was uh I told you I was sharing in Bible study. When I read this, I said, This verse sounds like surgery. You got sharp swords, piercing, dividing. I was like, that sounds like a surgical procedure. And it is, spiritually speaking. The word of God, Jesus as the word, Jesus as as God's uh instruction to us cuts off all the stuff that is not like Him. The Word, when it is living, when it comes off the page, when it's more than just facts that are hoarded, it changes your life. It cuts out the things that are not like God, it cuts out offense, it cuts out pride, it cuts out sin. It cuts out doubt, it cuts these things out. That is when you know the word is being activated in a life, is being engaged in a life. If you could just sit and be the same after encountering the word, you're just encountering as facts, as written facts. You ought to know and be able to tell when the word is being activated in its living form because it will cut stuff out of you, it'll be uncomfortable. Like, oh man, I oh I I want to have an attitude, but I know better. God, oh Jesus, I hear you. I know, I know. I in Christ I can walk in love. In Christ, I am no longer upset. In Christ, I can do it. I sometimes look at myself lately because I have grown so much, because I have allowed the living word of God to mature me. Sometimes I look at myself almost from outside looking in, like that would have ticked me off 10 years ago. I'm changed, I'm new. I would have got 17 lattes on one day. I'm changed. I'm new. That is what this word is to do. It's to cut, it's not to cut us up, it's to cut out, you know. You think about um infection. You got to get that out. If somebody has an infection, you know, back in the day we've all seen those movies. Somebody had an infection, it might have had like a snake bite or something. You have to cut that stuff out. That is what the word does. Any foreign body, anything that is not God, anything that doesn't come from our Father needs to be extracted, and the living word of God will do it. Hallelujah. Thank God for his living word. Jesus, in the word we see, we have, we know it's powerful. It's more than words on a page. Pause and think on these things until next time. It's shout out time. I'm saying hello to listeners in Westfield, Indiana, Chino, California, Boardman, Oregon, and Columbia, Missouri. Thank you so much for listening. It is my joy to have you with us. I want to share some special news. You do not want to miss the next episode. I'm trying to tell you. It's going to be a grand celebration. My birthday is May 26th, and we are going to have a great time together. To make it extra special, I will have a very special guest on with me. So again, you really, really, really don't want to miss it. Mark your calendar, set an alarm, do whatever you have to do. We are going to have a fantastic time. So please plan to join us. Also, remember to sign up for the Your God Sister Podcast email list. Because season one is ending soon, but through emails, I'll continue sharing what God is placing on my heart with you until we return for season number two. Wow. Whoa, that's so exciting! Season number two. Praise God for this journey. I will leave a link for you to sign up for the email list, but we'll talk soon. Until next time, know what the Bible says and treasure what the Lord speaks to your heart.