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Deuteronomy 8:3 says that “man lives not by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out from the mouth of Jehovah”; in Matthew 4:4 everything is replaced by every word, referring to the law, the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances as the words that proceed out of the mouth of God:
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In Deuteronomy the laws, the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances are all God’s word, and the totality, the aggregate, of God’s word is Christ (John 1:1, 14); therefore, to live by every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God is to live by Christ, the embodiment of the divine breath.
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All the words in Deuteronomy are God’s breathing, and God’s breathing is altogether embodied in Christ; as we read Deuteronomy, we need to inhale all that God has exhaled, all that He has breathed out; by inhaling the divine breath in Deuteronomy, we will enjoy Christ, the embodiment of the divine breath; the more we receive the breath of the speaking God, the more we will enjoy Christ.
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Whereas the children of Israel were charged to keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances, we today need to keep Christ; by taking Christ, keeping Christ, and holding fast to Him, we will gain Him, enjoy Him, and live Him; we need to love Christ, keep Christ, teach Christ, wear Christ, and write Christ—6:1, 5-9; Phil. 3:9; 1:19-21a.
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God was leading His people into the good land, a type of Christ, by Christ, and He was sustaining them on their way to the good land also by Christ, who is everything that proceeds out through the mouth of God; every word in Deuteronomy is the very Christ, who is now the word of God for us to receive as our life and life supply—Psa. 119:1, 9 and footnotes 11 and 91.
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Because the Scriptures are the breathing out of God, the exhaling of God (2 Tim. 3:16), we should inhale the Scriptures by receiving the word of God by means of all prayer (Eph. 6:17-18); as we are teaching the Bible, we should be exhaling God into people.
Morning Nourishment
Deut. 8:3 And He humbled you and let you go hungry and fed you the manna…so that He might make you know that man lives not by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds out from the mouth of Jehovah.2 Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Paul’s writing in Romans 10:6-8 further indicates that every word spoken in Deuteronomy is Christ, for Paul applies the breathing of God to Christ. Christ is the Word who has come out from God….(John 1:1, 14). This Word who was in the beginning, who was with God, who was God, and who became flesh is Christ. As the Word, Christ Himself is the word rehearsed in the book of Deuteronomy. (Life-study of Deuteronomy, p. 5)
Today’s Reading
We need to realize that every word in Deuteronomy is a life supply for us. The children of Israel were sustained by everything that proceeded out of the mouth of God. This actually means that they were sustained by Christ, for…whatever proceeds out of God’s mouth is Christ. On the one hand, Christ is the good land; on the other hand, He is the food which sustains us on the way to the good land. He is the One who can make it into the land. God never intended that we make it in ourselves. The Lord is leading us into the good land by Christ, and He is sustaining us also by Christ, who is everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God. This means that Christ is sustaining us to enter into Himself.The Bible is not merely a book of history, stories, and teachings. The Bible is the embodiment of Christ. Whatever Christ is and has and whatever Christ has done, is doing, will do, and can do are embodied in the Bible. To read the Bible, therefore, is to participate in Christ. Since the Bible is God’s breath, God’s exhaling, the best way to study the Bible is to breathe it, to inhale it.
We should not think that the word is distant, and we should not ask who will ascend to heaven to bring the word down or who will go across the sea to bring the word to us (Deut. 30:11-13; Rom. 10:6-7). The word is very near—it is in our mouth and in our heart (Deut. 30:14; Rom. 10:8).
Christ as the word has already come down in His incarnation, and He has already come out of the abyss, out of Hades, in His resurrection. In resurrection He has become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) as the breath for us to breathe. This means that He is not only the word but also the Spirit. When we receive His word, we receive the Spirit, for the words He speaks to us are spirit and life (John 6:63).
Learn to inhale the breath of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. If we breathe the processed Triune God, the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Spirit will be with us (2 Cor. 13:14).
When we take the word by inhaling the Bible, we will be able to do in Christ what we cannot do in ourselves. Consider what Paul says in the book of Philippians, which is a deuteronomy, a respeaking, of Moses’ words. In Philippians 4:13 Paul could declare, “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.” These “things” are itemized in verse 8, where Paul says, “What things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” Before Paul was in Christ, he could not do any of these things. But in Christ, the One who empowered him, he could do them all. This can also be our experience today. If we would have this experience, we need to enjoy the Divine Trinity by inhaling the Bible, the embodiment of Christ. (Life-study of Deuteronomy, pp. 7-8, 22-23)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “Teachers’ Training, ” chs. 1-2