What a remarkable command from the Holy Ghost. Being a doer of The Word, and not just a hearer, gives us the assurance that we will not be a self-deceived believer. The Holy Ghost will never command us to do something without giving us the power to do it.
I am convinced that the power to do James 1:22 is found James 1:21: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls."
The King's English is a little blind to us concerning this verse. I am going to use another translation to help you better understand the fullness of this verse: "So strip yourselves of everything that soils you, and every evil growth, and in a humble spirit let the message that has the power to save your souls be planted in your heart" (Goodspeed).
This verse is loaded with instructions that give us the ability to successfully and consistently be a doer of the Word. First of all, it tells us to lay apart all filthiness, and superfluity of naughtiness; or everything that soils us and every evil growth.
You and I must first be aware of the things that will soil us, and evil things that are endeavoring to attach themselves to us. We are commanded to lay them apart, lay them aside; and strip ourselves of those things (Heb. 12:1).
We are instructed to receive with meekness the engrafted Word which has the ability to save our souls. To receive with meekness simply means to humble yourself to be teachable.
Meekness doesn't mean weakness. It means letting go of what we think and submitting our mind, will, and emotions to God's Word. Meekness is strength under control. It means to be teachable.
The engrafted Word must be embedded into our life to the point that it becomes second nature for us to be a doer of it. I can't help but think of a surgeon that makes a skin graft onto someone's body.
The surgeon takes a portion of skin from another part of the body and places it on a previously injured area. If the skin graft is successful, then it will be received by the other skin around it.
It has blended in so well that it is accepted as belonging.
That is exactly the way The Word of God must be received in our lives. The Word is received so well that it becomes a supernatural part of who we are. The Word of God has taken such a position in our lives that it is accepted as belonging.
The attitude that we have toward the engrafted Word will determine how much of our soul is saved (Luke 8:18).
What does it mean to have our soul saved? First of all, let's determine who James is writing to. He is writing to people who are already believers, so James could not be talking about receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives.
He is talking about the believers' mind, will and emotions going through a healing process by receiving the Word of God with a teachable attitude.
The word "save" in this verse means to heal, make whole, recover, preserve. That takes time. It takes time for the mind, will, and emotions to be healed and to be made whole. We grow from glory to glory (Rom. 8:29-31).
The Bible says, "All of us have had the veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect his Glory even more."
Lay apart all filthiness and overflow of evil, and receive with a teachable heart the engrafted Word.
It's up to us; God has given us all the power we need to attain a high level of spiritual activity in this life.
We must first receive His Word and do it. It's important to realize that there are no shortcuts to this process. It will take work and study. However, it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
Receive with meekness.
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Anthony N. Wade gave his life to The Lord Jesus Christ in 1973 and along with his wife, has been serving in ministry for decades.
