In Christian circles we hear the term “the word of God” a lot. But what does that actually mean? What are we referring to when we say “the word of God”? In this short paper I will attempt an explanation of what “the word of God” refers to and cite several passages of Scripture to back up my explanation.
The first thing “the word of God” can refer to is Jesus himself. In this instance “the word of God” refers to a person. In Revelation 19:13 we see that “He (Jesus) is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” In John’s Gospel we also see Jesus referred to as “the Word”. Chapter one verse one tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then in verse 14 John tells us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Jesus “has the role of communicating the character of God to us and of expressing the will of God for us.”
The second thing “the word of God” can refer to is actual speech by God the Father. We see this in a few forms. God speaks in decrees, or orders as we see in the creation account of the first chapter of Genesis. Psalm 33:6 also tells us:
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
God’s decrees cause something to happen or make things come into being. God also sometimes addresses man personally. This is seen in Scripture when man hears the actual voice of God. Examples include God speaking to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 and 3:16-19. God audibly spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai in giving the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament we see God speaking at the baptism of Jesus when He says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Additionally, God chooses human lips through which He speaks. Throughout Scripture God raises up prophets to proclaim His word to His people. Although human lips physically speak these words they still carry the weight and authority as being the word of God. Deuteronomy 18:18-20 tells us:
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
Similarly in Jeremiah 1:9 we read, “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.’” As I said earlier God’s word spoken through human lips carries the same authority as if coming from God himself. “To disbelieve or disobey any of them was to disbelieve or disobey God himself”Lastly God’s words are also in written form (the Bible). The first instance of this written form was found in the Ten Commandments: “And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:8). “The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (Ex. 32:16). Men appointed by God beginning with Moses did further recording of God’s word. “Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel (Deut. 31:9). “And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord (Josh. 24:26). God commanded Isaiah “And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever (Isa. 30:8). Likewise God commanded Jeremiah “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you” (Jer. 30:2).
In the New Testament we see the authors writing with the same authority as the writers of the Old Testament. In 2 Peter we see Peter referring to Paul’s writings as Scripture, referring to the books of the Old Testament:
And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
Likewise in 1 Timothy 5:18 we read, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’” The first part of that quote is taken from the Old Testament (Deut 25:4) and the latter from the New Testament (Luke 10:7) although both are referred to as “Scripture.” “Once again it must be noted that these words are still considered to be God’s own words, even though they are written down mostly by human beings and always in human language.”Three major benefits arise from the recording or writing down of God’s word. First, there is a more accurate presentation of God’s word for future generations. Second, the opportunity to continually read, review, and test God’s word is available in written form. And lastly, God’s word in written form is much more accessible to many more people than when it can only be proclaimed through oral repetition.
To review, “the word of God” can be used to refer to Jesus himself, who is the Word incarnate, or “in the flesh”. It can also be used to speech by God in the forms of decrees which cause things to happen or create out of nothing (ex nihilo), personal address by God in which His voice is audible, speech through human lips like those of the prophets, and speech in the form of His written word, the Bible.
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