That God’s word is essential to our salvation is beyond dispute. The Scriptures tell us that the word of God is able to save our souls (James 1:21; Romans 1:16, 10:17). We don’t always realize, however, the many ways the word of God can influence us.

The apostle Paul advised Christians, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). In this single verse, Paul mentions four means by which we gain knowledge of God’s word.

The things which you learned. We learn through study — the concerted pursuit and application of knowledge. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Learning never comes easily. The person who desires to learn the practice of medicine or law knows that he or she faces many years of training just to gain a minimum of proficiency. Once this level is reached, one must devote oneself to ongoing study in the latest techniques or legislation to remain competent.

For the Christian, the learning phase never ends. We will always need to mine the Scriptures for the knowledge that enables “life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

The things which you received. Learning is more than simply the intake of information. “Receive” suggests “embracing” something or “making a thing one’s own,” which takes us beyond mere understanding of God’s word to an implanting of it in our hearts (James 1:21).

I learned many things during sixteen years of formal education. But I didn’t receive everything I learned, as evidenced by the fact that I’ve forgotten a good deal of the material. Those things I truly received — that is, the information I impressed into my mind and put to good use in later years — I recall to this day.

When Simon Peter preached his great sermon on Pentecost, “those who gladly received his word were baptized” (Acts 2:41). Clearly, these not only learned the lesson of the sermon, but took it to heart and obeyed its commands.

The things which you heard. Some of what we learn and receive we gain through our own individual study. But many things we have learned because we heard them from sound teachers who instructed us in the word. Those who are taught inherit a responsibility to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).

Hearing good teachers is invaluable. We could never in a lifetime learn by ourselves all there is to learn. When we hear the instruction of others, we benefit from their study and gain the advantage of their wisdom and insights into the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-15). We must be careful, though, to examine in the light of the Bible everything we hear (Acts 17:11), because not every teacher speaks the truth (1 John 4:1; Galatians 1:6-9).

The things which you saw. One vital outcome of our association with mature Christians is their example. Paul not only taught people what God wanted them to do — he demonstrated it (1 Thessalonians 2:8-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

We can glean much by following the path of those who have walked in faith before us (Hebrews 13:7). By imitating the example of righteous men and women, we avoid many of the errors and pitfalls we would otherwise have to experience on our own (Hebrews 6:12). We just need to take care that we imitate what is good and not what is worldly (3 John 11).

Whatever we learn of God’s word — by study, by instruction, by example — we must be sure to do. All the learning in the world is of no avail to the one who fails to act as he knows he should (James 4:17). As David taught his son Solomon, so God in Scripture says to us: “Let your heart retain My words; keep My commands, and live” (Proverbs 4:4).