The Word of God & the Scriptures
Page 2
For three hours I read Bible verses on the Word of God and looked up their context. From the very beginning, my heart began to stir. By the end, I was throwing my hands in the air in praise to God.
What I was learning was life-transforming.
There's nothing in the New Testament that refers to the Scriptures as a whole as "the Word." There are places where individual Scripture quotes are referred to as God's Word, but nowhere that the term "Word of God" is a reference to the whole of Scripture, which is the way we most commonly use the term.
There are numerous places, however, where "the Word of God" cannot be a reference to Scripture.
For example, 1 Thessalonians 2:13 says that the Thessalonians correctly received Paul's Gospel as "the Word of God." Since 1 Thessalonians is Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, he is clearly not referring to any Scripture.
Consider, too, the prophecies of Agabus. Only two are recorded in Scripture. Are those the only two prophecies of Agabus that were God's Word? Are they the only two prophecies he gave?
I want to suggest that Agabus gave many prophecies. He was already called a prophet before the first prophecy Scripture mentions (Acts 11:27-28). Weren't his earlier prophecies—if they were true prophecies—also "the Word"?
In fact, Paul's not referring to anything written, because that verse mentions the Word of God which the Thessalonians heard from Paul and his companions.
I want to show you that he's also not simply referring to a general message that he preached.
Remember, God's Word is living … (Heb. 4:12)
The Word of God Come to Earth
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was Divine. … And the Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:1,14)
This part everyone knows. The Word came down from heaven. However, according to the Scriptures, the story doesn't end there.
The Word Spread to Men
I have given them your Word, and the world hates them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (John 17:14)
This part we are a less familiar with. The Word of God came down from heaven, and he gave some of that word to the apostles. Once the apostles received that Word, the world hated them.
God's Word separated them from the world. Like Christ, the Word himself, they were no longer part of it.
It goes yet one step further:
Nor do I pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their Word. (John 17:20)
The Word of God that had come down from heaven, which the apostles had received from Jesus Christ, was passed on to others. Those others believed because of the power of the Word which the apostles had received.
Are you getting excited yet? There's a lot more coming. I'm going to give you examples in Scripture and from Christian history showing exactly how all this works.
But there's one more step. What about those who received the Word from the apostles, what do the Scriptures say they did with it?
