Many Jews and Christians refer to the Bible as the "word of God" or "God's word." Now, while I would agree that Scripture contains some of the words of God/God's words, it can be misleading to think of Scripture in these terms if we fail to acknowledge certain truths revealed in those writings! As I have said before, Scripture was/is a joint project between humans and Almighty God. Hence, it would be wrong to intellectually confine "God's Word" to the pages of any scroll or book. In other words, Scripture is NOT the only source of "God's Word" or message to humanity!
First, we should note that in the Hebrew Bible the "word of God/the Lord" most frequently refers to a special message from God, not to the whole of Scripture. Indeed, this usage of the phrase was used over and over again during the kingdom period of Israel's history. Samuel told Saul to stay behind so that he could show him the word of God (I Samuel 9:27). Moreover, reading into the following chapter, we are informed that Samuel then proceeded to anoint Saul as king in accordance with the Lord's instructions to him (I Samuel 10:1). Likewise, we read that the word of God came to Shemaiah (I Kings 12:22), and to Nathan (I Chronicles 17:3). In this context, it should also be noted that this phraseology was most often used to refer to spoken messages, not written ones. This last observation will take on even more significance when we consider the usage of this phraseology in the Greek New Testament.
In the Gospel of Luke, we read that "during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." (Luke 3:2-3, ESV) Moreover, the Greek word used in this passage and translated into English as "word" was rema. Interestingly, in Blue Letter Bible's outline of the word's biblical usage, we read: "that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word." Thus, once again, the clear implication being a message which has been delivered orally. Moreover, this same Greek word was used to describe Christ's statement about living by every word of God a little later in the same account (Luke 4:4).
Nevertheless, the most common Greek word used for this purpose in the New Testament is logos. In Blue Letter Bible's outline of its biblical usage, we read: "of speech, a word uttered by a living voice, what someone has said, the sayings of God." In other words, once again, the clear implication is of a message which has been delivered orally, not in writing. For instance, the Greek word logos appears in this description of crowds surrounding Jesus in the same Gospel (Luke). We read that "the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God." (Luke 5:1, ESV) In other words, the message which Jesus was delivering to the crowd was considered to be the "word of God." Jesus went on to say that those who hear (and act on) the word of God were his mother and his brethren (Luke 8:21).
Of even greater significance, in the opening to the Gospel of John, we read: "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God." (John 1:1, ESV) In the following chapter, we read that Christ predicted that he would be killed and resurrected, and that "When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken." (John 2:22) In this connection, it is incumbent upon us to note that all four Gospels are based on things which his disciples heard him say. In other words, what Christ delivered orally to them has become our Bible/Scripture! After all, Christ once told his disciples that "Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me." (John 14:24) Indeed, earlier in that same chapter, he told them: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, ESV) Indeed, just before his ascension to heaven, he instructed them to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)
Finally, in the anonymous epistle to the Hebrews, we read: "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." (Hebrews 1:1-3, ESV) Thus, when we speak of Scripture as the "word of God," we should remember that the word of God originated with the spoken word. Moreover, we must not forget that whatever we have in writing is inferior to THE WORD - the One who perfectly represents God and conveys his message to us through deed and the spoken word!
No comments:
Post a Comment