The Word of God — Hans R. Waldvogel

The Word Dwells Among Us

The mightiest, most marvelous mystery expounded in the beginning was the Word. And the Word was God, and the Word dwells among us, and we beheld... I'd like to ask you, does the Word dwell among us? The same Word by which God spoke the world into being dwells among us.

It does. And we're often like the Pharisees and Scribes. We're looking in every direction, and we don't see Jesus Christ. Right within us, and right among us. I have a very quaint part of a sanctified imagination that gives me little illustrations.

Finding God Near Us

One time I saw a man standing on the street, and he was looking for his little dog. His dog got away from him. He was looking with all his might for his dog. I saw it. I watched him. And finally began to whistle.

I can't whistle like he whistled for the dog. He couldn't see him. He was so far away. And all the while, his little dog was between his legs looking to see what his boss was whistling. Then I saw in a deep life book the fulfillment of it.

Fare not abroad, my soul, man's favorite man. Be still, be strong, and find within the comership of God. Beyond is not the journey's end. The fool goes wayfaring abroad. And even as he goes, his friend is knocking at his heart.

The Kingdom Present in Christ

Here they were looking for the coming of the kingdom of God. And the king was there. And where was he? Bad people, thieves, murderers, drunkards. And they were all waiting for a chance to confess their sins and to be baptized and to be cleansed.

The word of God preached by that mighty prophet. And the Pharisees and scribes were just kicking and criticizing and whispering among themselves why he doesn't even wear a black petticoat, as Mrs. Hahn says.

No dog collar. They asked me again and again when I go to the hospital, where is your identification? A cop asked me the other day because I crossed the street against the red light. He said, you got your identification?

I took my New Testament out. My name was on it. That's the only identification I could show him. Well, what identification have you got, John the Baptist? Why do you baptize? He had a message. And here Jesus Christ was right among these publicans.

He got right in line. He didn't crown himself to the front like people do in Europe especially. They like a lot of cattle. They don't know how to stand in line when they want to get on a plane. The other day I had to take a plane in Paris, I think.

No, Frankfurt. And they all crowded ahead of me and I thought next was my turn and a lady or a woman pushed me right aside. And I said, all right, go ahead. Well, the result was that I got the best seat in the first class.

They didn't have any other left. Bescheidenheit ist seine Seele, doch weiter kommt man nur hier. But this time it paid off well. But Jesus didn't crown himself. He took his place behind Isidore Levinsky.

Maybe it talked to him about the weather and I don't know. But anyway, I knew him not. John had to take one by one. I baptized close to 200 one day. And I suppose John the Baptist was getting tired. But oh, he saw the dove coming out of heaven.

As he baptized one among that great crowd and as Ernest pointed out a while ago, he wasn't different from all the others as far as looks was concerned. There was no halo over his head. And only John saw that dove descending upon him.

Beholding the Glory of the Word Made Flesh

But we beheld his glory. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And where did we behold his glory? Well, where do you live? And he said, come and see into a fly infested hut. Dark place. I've been in Palestine.

And oh, how poorly people are living there. And here they came and they saw where he lived. And when they saw where he lived, how he acted, how he behaved himself, how he talked. There was something different there.

There ought to be something different in you and in me. There ought to be something different where we live. In our home. Home is the place we love the most and where we grumble the most. But I'm sure Jesus Christ didn't grumble.

He was the word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory. How very strange that here they beheld his glory. And how do I behold his glory? Why? By reading his life story. By reading the Bible.

Here, I'd like to make a bed. Of course, I don't say it. We shouldn't say it. But a hundred thousand years from now, if you don't believe me now, perhaps you'll understand Revelation better than we do now.

And you'll discover that these two prophets mentioned in Revelation are not John Taylor and Zion with his skull caps or some other presumption. But they're the Old and the New Testaments, these great golden sites through which God sends off holy ghost power, the word that I speak unto you, our spirit and our life.

Jesus comes to me in his word. The simple word of God. The Sermon on the Mount. The epistles that are written by the spirit of the living God. They bring to me the Son of God. They bring to me the word that created the heavens.

And they'll create in me the likeness of Jesus Christ. And I can behold his glory. And I'll never see it any other place. We have a great trouble in Europe. Prophets, false prophets that crisscross the country.

Not only in Europe, but here. Did you get that pamphlet, that magazine called, what in the world did they call it, Revelation? Picture of a man that looks like a woe-begone Madonna. And then inside, underscored.

Now, the Lord spoke to me that somebody's going to read this page who has ten dollars in his pocket. And if you'll send it to me, God will double that and give him a lot more. Now, maybe that's you. You'd be surprised how many people fall for that kind of balloon.

From this assembly, you'd be surprised how much money goes out into these. I told some of these false prophets they ought to raise beards. And they do. One of them raised a beard so big that he hides behind it.

And he tells people that unless you raise a beard, you can't go to heaven. He hates me because I make fun of him. Here are all the apostles and all. Here is the Son of God. Spirit and our life, the breath that comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.

Receiving Christ Through the Scriptures

He says, I've set before you life and death. Choose life. And here is life eternal. We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write. Oh, fools and slow of heart to believe all that Moses and the prophets did.

If they had believed Moses and the prophets, the rich man wouldn't have been in hell. And fools and slow of heart to believe all that the New Testament offers me. The unsearchable riches of Christ. The exceeding great and precious promises that thereby I might be partaker of his divine nature.

If I don't become partaker of your divine nature, it's because I have not believed the gospel. I have not received him. As many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God. And who are they?

They that believe on his name. Beloved, he dwells among us and he dwells among us. In every meeting he dwells. I marvel at the way Jesus Christ moves among us and speaks his word and gives us his truth.

And I marvel at the hardness of our hearts. I really am. Beloved, those are two great mysteries. Jesus Christ says the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven consist in the sower going forth and sowing. The seed of that seed.

And it requires heart. That's the soil. There's the garden of God. The heart. The human heart. And guarded with all diligence, but out of it are the issues of life. I think we look in vain to the eastern sky for some reddening and for some chariots of gold coming to bring the son of man.

If we don't find him in this book. If we don't discover him. What a book. What a book. What a life-giving word. It was made flesh and dwelt among us and it is waiting now to communicate itself to you and to me to make us a living epistle of Christ written by the spirit of the living God known and read of all men.

Believers as Living Epistles

Jesus Christ made that statement that the world may know that thou hast sent me and that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. And the world is still waiting for that epistle to be finished. It's going to be finished one of these days.

The sons of God are going to come forth one of these days in the very image of the son of God. Jesus Christ will come to be glorified in his faith and to be admired in all them that believe. There you are.

That's how I receive him. As many as receive him are they who believe him. And this word is given that we might know that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God and that believing you might have life.

There's something to receive. And that's why I say we ought to burn all the books that have ever been written except those that Brother Gardner and I have written. We ought to be compelled to eat this bread of heaven.

Scripture as the Source of Transformation

What change it will make. What transformations will come. All that we know today and all that we possess today of God we got out of this covenant. This wonderful Pentecostal movement that is today circling the earth is the result of people finding it in the Bible, in the New Testament and in the Old Testament.

And all the knowledge we have of divine healing, all the miracles and signs that are taking place today are the result of people finding again and discovering again the life of Jesus. Glory to God in the world.

But all the holiness that we know about, all the purity of heart, all the cleansing, all the power of overcoming comes to us through this word. Don't be mistaken about it. God is so willed. He says all scripture is given by inspiration of God that the man of God may be perfect.

And what is given? By doctrines reproofed. Brother Ernest spoke of it. Correction. Instruction. Enlightenment. And you know we shy away from it like they shied away from Jesus. Who can hear it? This is a hard thing.

Who can hear it? Oh thank God if he makes his word so alive that it hurts a little bit. What is doctrine? There's only one doctrine. It's the doctrine of Christ. You don't walk like other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.

That mind of yours has been renewed, been transformed. The mind which was in Christ Jesus now operates within you. Scientists are trying to create life. They have a peculiar sort of a mental mentality.

Trying to execute it. Beloved life can only be communicated through life. Jesus Christ said I am the way and the truth and the life. Oh I'm so glad that this life comes to me and is offered to me in this testament.

Christ’s Life Offered to Believers

And I can come with boldness with this testament and claim my inheritance. And it will be communicated to me. It will be mine. All the commands of Jesus Christ are offers of his divine nature. Of his life.

These words have I spoken unto you that in me you might have peace. And that you might know. Hallelujah. That my joy might remain in you. And your joy might be full. Why these are unspeakable blessings.

And here these disciples said we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the father. And he gives power to become sons of God to those who believe him. Who receive him. Listen the word trumps among us.

It's this. It does. And we're going to be responsible someday for what we do with him. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. And this chapter is a perfect marvel of revelation.

The Word from Eternity

It begins in the heaven. It's in the womb of eternity. In the beginning. He was telling that fellow that Clarence Darrow. When he was at that monkey trial in Tennessee. He says you begin with nothing.

We begin where God begins. And in the beginning was the word. Oh that's where we come from thank God. My father in the beginning was that word. And that word was God. It dwells. We behold its glory. Is this wonderful word.

Delighting in the Word of God

Your daily joy. Words were found and I did eat them. And thy word was to me the joy. And the rejoicing of my heart. For I'm called by thy name. Oh Lord God of hosts. It is so unspeakably wonderful. I said to the Lord one day I'm too slow.

I wish I had much more time. So slow every day I find new glories in this word. Then the Lord said something to me. It was really the Lord. He said well after you've been with me a thousand years you'll still find new treasures.

I know it'll be that way throughout the ages of eternity. This word is different from the word of man. And the doctrine of Christ is the beginning. That you put off the old man. Put him off. We try to fix him up.

We get all kinds of religions to paint him. Fix him up. Powder your nosy woes. Make yourself look a little business. God says put him off. Until we discover that all our righteousness is our filthy rags.

Even our prayer. Even our best efforts. They're filthy rags. I need something else. I need Christ. Put on the new man. Glory to God. Which after God is created in righteousness. That's the doctrine of Christ.

There's no other doctrine. Everything else. He said all that came before me were thieves and robbers. Who do you mean Lord? Buddha. Confucius. Plato. Socrates. Whatever their names are. They were thieves and robbers because they didn't know any better.

But I'm oh Jesus. The word came. Drought among us. Drought among us today. Oh let us occupy ourselves with him. When I occupy myself with his word. He comes to me. He receives me and he gives himself to me.

Christ as the Bread of Life

I am that bread that came down from heaven. Labor not for the bread that perishes. But for that bread which my heavenly father shall give unto you. Why do we pray? Give us this day our daily bread. Why?

Because the father has it. I'm always happy when we have fresh baked bread at home. Tastes so good. Well here's fresh baked bread. And the father offers it to me. Oh how I need him. How I need him. And I cannot please him if I don't delight myself in this law.