The Beliefs of John Robert Stevens

John Robert Stevens was quick to point out that the apostles of the New Testament did not only preach or bring sermons; they spoke a living Word from God.

The early disciples of Christ had a unique power to turn the world upside down. What was the secret of their success? Was it because of the great abilities they had? I am sure the secret of that strange power was the Word of God which they spoke with great boldness. The early believers did not talk about the Scriptures or even engage in the exposition of Scriptures, as did the scribes and rulers of the synagogue. The consuming desire of the disciples was to speak, to proclaim the Word of the Lord.¹

The apostle Paul was very clear about this principle. He told the Corinthians that he would give them proof that Christ was speaking through him (II Corinthians 13:2-3). He thanked the Thessalonians for receiving his word “for what it really is, the word of God” (I Thessalonians 2:13). The early apostles did not just discuss the Scriptures and interpret them; they were the very mouthpiece of God. Speaking the Word on this level was highly encouraged by the early apostles. Peter wrote, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11a, KJV).

This level of prophetic utterance was what John Robert Stevens moved in. Early in his ministry the Lord spoke to him about this gift saying: “I will put My Word in your mouth.”² This concept of speaking a living Word is not relegated to sermons brought in a Sunday morning service. Instead, it is reminiscent of the early believers, who when they gathered together were anointed by the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). This is an expression of the power and anointing of God that rested on the Church in New Testament times. Stevens was determined that this same power and anointing would be found in the Church once again, in his generation. “The day of preaching about the Word of God will give way to the day of speaking His Word. This is the history of the book of Acts, and it is being repeated in these times.”³

Stevens believed that speaking a living Word is a powerful tool in establishing God’s will in the earth. Hebrews tells us: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3a, KJV). This is how powerful the Word is. However, this level of utterance was not something that every believer could simply start moving in immediately. God told the prophet Jeremiah to eat the Word (Jeremiah 15:16). He was also told that if he would separate the precious from the vile, his mouth would be as God’s mouth (Jeremiah 15:19, KJV). Stevens taught that this was the kind of relationship that the believer is to have with the Word; not just reading it, but digesting and becoming it. Stevens emphasized that it takes diligence in a genuine relationship with the Lord and the Scriptures to speak a living Word. He was clear that speaking a living Word was dependent on the Scriptures, and that it would never replace the Bible as the Word of God.⁴

Will [the spoken Word of God] make the Bible obsolete? No, it will make the Book more necessary than ever before. You must understand that it is no longer to be cold and impersonal—black print on a white page. He is going to write His Word in your heart until it becomes a living Word within you. The Word will indeed be made flesh and you will speak His Word and bring it forth in the name of the Lord. The words will leap from the page and will be written on the tablets of your heart, and you will be proclaimers and speakers of His Word. This is what God has in mind.⁵

See also, Living Word.

Stevens mentioned speaking a living Word 851 times in his written materials.