Several weeks ago, many of us tuned into Super Bowl LVIII and saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in a thrilling overtime victory. During the week before the game, I remember tuning into a sports news broadcast just as one commentator talked about the total 24/7, absolute dedication the coaches and players from both teams need to have while preparing for the Super Bowl. He described how critical it was for both teams to use every waking moment until the game to come up with every conceivable advantage they could leverage, and any possible weakness in the other team they might be able to exploit to win.
The Greek verb to dedicate is “hagiazo” and it means to devote, dedicate, set apart, sanctify, or consecrate. It’s the word Jesus uses in John 17:17 when he prays for his apostles and asks the Heavenly Father to “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (NASB). The apostles were chosen, set aside, and consecrated by Christ for the mission of taking His word into the world. For the rest of their earthly lives, they would be dedicated to the divine calling to take the Good News (e.g., the Gospel) into the world. The apostles’ calling was first and foremost a ministry of the Word. They were empowered for this task by the Holy Spirit who, after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, brought back to their remembrance all the things that Jesus had said and done when he had been with them. The Holy Spirit also gave them the gift of prophecy so that they could proclaim additional divine revelation. Through the filling and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the years to come they would proclaim all these things and also make sure they were written down. Those apostolic writings are referred to as the “autographs” of the New Testament books. Copies of those apostolic writings which have survived through the centuries are now the foundation of our faith and practice as Christians.
As born-again believers, we likewise need to dedicate ourselves to being students of the Word and sharers of truth. And, in this day and age, as we see more and more attacks upon the Word come from different directions, we also need to do whatever we can to ensure that God’s truth remains available for future generations of believers. May we each consecrate ourselves to this goal and pray for God’s guidance. The faith of future generations of believers depends upon our generation’s faithful dedication to this task.
Pastor Dave Korinek