The word of God also washes us. It washes our being organically and metabolically. When God’s word enters into our fibers organically, it washes us metabolically.
Furthermore, the word of God builds us up. As members of the church, the Body, we all need to be built up. Because we are peculiar, it is difficult for anyone to deal with us, much less to build us together. However, the word of God can touch us inwardly and make it possible for us to be built up in the church. Because we are peculiar in ourselves, we cannot be built up in this way unless the word of Christ inhabits us. Although the peace of Christ arbitrates within us, it is not the peace which builds us up. The peace keeps us in the proper situation for the building work to be done by God’s word. Because it is the word of Christ which builds us up, I bear a heavy burden to release God’s word. The more the word of God is released among us, the more building up there will be.
The word of God also completes and perfects. Elsewhere we have pointed out that a baby is complete in organs, but not in functions. In order for a child’s bodily organs to function properly, the child needs to grow. Perfection always comes by the way of growth. The more a child grows, the more his functions are completed and perfected. The same is true in spiritual experience. As members of the Body, we all should function. But if we would function, we first need to be perfected by the word of God. Because God’s word nourishes us, we have growth. Then through the growth, the functions come forth. The nourishment we receive from the word of God completes us and perfects us as members of the Body. For this reason, we say that the word of God perfects us.
The last function of the word of God we shall consider in this message is its function of edifying us. There is a difference between being built up and being edified. Being built up is related to the church corporately. Being edified involves being built up individually, primarily in the matter of virtues. We all need to be edified, or built up in a personal way, for we all lack certain virtues. For example, we may be short of such virtues as patience, wisdom, humility, or kindness. The word of God truly edifies us in the matter of virtues. The more we have of the word of God, the more virtues we shall have. Our kindness, patience, wisdom, and humility will all be increased by the word of God.
All of us need to be edified in virtues through God’s word. Some of us are characterized by quickness and others, by slowness. In certain situations quickness is a virtue. If a group of brothers need to hurry to be on time for an important appointment, quickness is a virtue. But in taking care of someone who is very ill, slowness may be a virtue. We need to be edified so that we may be able to act either quickly or slowly.
In certain situations we need to speak in a free, bubbling way. But in other situations we should be very restricted in speaking, even silent. In the right situation speaking in a bubbling way is a virtue, but in other situations it is not. The same is true of quietness. In matters such as these we all need edification.
Only the word of God can edify us and cause us to be properly balanced, discerning, and moderate. Concerning quickness and slowness, we need to be moderate. We should be moderate even in our love. Some saints love others according to their emotional tide. When the tide of love is high, they love others excessively. But when the tide is low, they do not show love for anybody. They seem to be like statues, altogether without feeling. First we need to be edified personally in the matter of virtues. Then we shall be built up together with others in the church life.
We have seen that the word of God enlightens, nourishes, quenches our thirst, strengthens, washes, builds up, perfects, and edifies. What a great need we have for the word of God!