Pat
Well-Known Member
Reminders and Final Thoughts – THE WORD OF GOD
Where we spend eternity is contingent on what we believe. What we believe is reliant on an authority. The authority of Christianity is the Word of God. The Bible is known as the Word of God which endures forever. 1 Peter 1:23-25 Jesus is also known as the Word of God who lives forever. John 1:1, :14 What is the difference?
The 39 books of the Old Testament were known as the scriptures, the inspired, written “Word of God.” After His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples, “These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then He opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures.” Luke 24:44-45 Today, in addition to those scriptures, we have 27 other inspired books, also called scripture, recorded in the New Testament. Peter confirmed that the letters written by Paul in the New Testament were part of the scriptures, “…even as our beloved brother Paul … has written to you … in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable twist, as also they do the rest of the scriptures, to their own destruction.” 2 Peter 3:15-16 Even at that early date, (about 67 AD) Paul’s letters were on equal footing with the rest of the scriptures. All 66 books of the Bible are the total, inspired, written Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 We are commanded not to add to, nor take away from any of it. Revelation 22:18-19
The term “Word of God,” also refers to the second person of the triune Godhead. The Word is God. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John 1:1 The Word is the Creator. “All things were made by Him.” John 1:3a and, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 The Word of God then became flesh, John 1:14 was named Jesus, and He is the manifestation of all that God is. “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;” Colossians 2:9 Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that the words of Jesus are the words of God. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, …” The Word that became flesh in order to die, be buried, and rise again, is still alive. “For the word of God is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 139:23; Jeremiah 17:10
Think about this: God communicates to us through His Word, both written and living. He doesn’t use one without the other. It is by the faith provided when hearing from the Word of God that we are saved. “So then, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17 Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6 and, “My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 Read your Bible. The Word of God is speaking to you. Are you listening? Hebrews 4:7
