What is the Word of God?
Scripture refers to the concept of the word of God often and in a variety of ways. In the most basic sense it means words from God (1 Sam. 9:27,1 Kings 12:22, Luke 3:2). But it also seems to mean more than just a general word. Jesus, responding to the Jews in John 10, quotes from Psalm 82:
Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?…He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken).1
While Jesus is addressing an entirely different issue here, He does, in His argument, equate the “word of God” with unbroken Scripture. That is, the word of God is the Bible. This is the idea in most of the references to the word of God throughout Scripture. John has an additional usage at the beginning of His gospel, where he calls Christ the Word. Though the word of God bears various meanings throughout the Bible, each reference essentially drops into one of two categories: God’s verbal communication—written and unwritten—and the person of Christ.
The Word Made Flesh
While the majority of the time, the word of God refers to His spoken or written word, John used it to describe something else. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” While we now know that the Word here refers to God, we still do not know much about it. Not until verse 14 do we read, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” This Word—who is God—took on humanity. He “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Christ is the only trinitarian member who fits this description. Hebrews echos this: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, [Jesus] likewise shared in the same.”2 This Word is not only divine, but it is Christ Himself.
This is sometimes confusing for us. How can Jesus be the Word if He is a person? A look at the Greek word John used helps us out. The word is logos, “which basically means ‘the expression of a thought.’ Logos can be thought of as the total message of God to man. Jesus embodied that total message, and that is why He is called the ‘Logos,’ or ‘Word,’ of God.”3 Hebrews 1 helps clarify this a bit more; “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”4 God spoke to us through Christ; He is God’s communication with man.
Scripture tells of our need for Christ, predicts who He would be, and records His life and His fulfillment of all that was predicted. It unfolds who we must be as His people and reminds us that He is coming back for us. Jesus is the epicenter of Scripture—the source of it all and the point of it all. He said, “The Scriptures…testify of me.”5 He is the fullness of the Word of God, the divine Word in human flesh.
The Written Word as Supreme
But, aside from John’s reference to Christ, the Bible uses “word of God” for God’s verbal communication with man. Sometimes that means what we typically think of—the Bible. Other times it refers to words that came directly from God’s mouth. Last month we covered a number of ways God conveyed His word: through personal address; though angels, dreams, and visions; through other men—audibly and in writing. Of these, He gave us a specific, inspired collection of writings we call the Bible. Though all of these various means are considered the word of God, His written words—found in Scripture—comprise the supreme Word. It is worth noting that, while He could have ordained any of these as His chosen channel, He gave us a Book. Grudem says:
The other forms of the Word of God are not suitable as the primary basis for the study of theology. We do not hear God’s words of decree and thus cannot study them directly but only through the observation of their effects. God’s words of personal address are uncommon, even in Scripture. Furthermore, even if we did hear some words of personal address from God to ourselves today, we would not have certainly that our understanding of it, our memory of it, and our subsequent report of it was wholly accurate…It is most profitable for us to study God’s words as written in the Bible.6
The Bible stands untouched as God’s primary means of communicating His character and will to man.
Scripture, as a written medium, surpasses other media in its accuracy and its accessibility.7 Having God’s words written gives us a much more accurate record of what He said and did. Just think of the tremendous erosion that would occur if we had to rely on a purely oral account of His word. Unwritten narratives quickly deteriorate and change form. “To depend on memory and the repeating of oral tradition is a less reliable method of preserving these words throughout history than is their recording in writing (cf. Deut. 31:12-13).”8 God’s word is surely more sound and accurate given its divinely-ordained written form.
The word of God is also more accessible in writing. God’s written words endure and can be repeatedly studied, digested, interpreted, and discussed, leading to “better understanding and more complete obedience.”9 A written message can also be more easily propagated than an oral account. Were it not for having it written, we would be entirely dependant on those who dedicate themselves to the memorization of the word. God’s word is far more accessible because it is written. “Thus, the reliability, permanence, and accessibility of the form in which God’s words are preserved are all greatly enhanced when they are written down.”10
The Sure Word
One final advantage of the written Word is that it is sure. It stands immovable even under the strongest attacks. Memories can be distorted. Visions, forgotten. Men, disregarded. But God’s written Word remains steadfastly the same. Even when we try to disregard it, to re-interpret it, to explain it away, its definite words with their definite meanings still speak truth to us if we will hear. It cries aloud, proclaiming with clarity the kingdom of God to any and all who prayerfully study it and obey.
The unshakable truth of Scripture stands in stark contrast to the take-it-or-leave-it mentality many own today. Though they claim that the Bible is authoritative and sure, they quickly dismiss unpopular or inconvenient beliefs and practices. Popular as of late (though it has been a struggle throughout church history) is the blatant disowning of biblical doctrine and practice under the guise of living in so-called “Christian liberty.” Clear biblical commands are discarded without reason or explanation. Now, Christians do have liberty in Christ, no doubt about that. He has set us free from the law. But we are freed to obey, not freed to sin.
Let me be clear: obedience and legalism are two entirely different things. Legalism attempts to use the law as a means of salvation, thinking that we can be justified before God by being or doing something. Scripture clearly condemns anyone who thinks he can earn right standing with God. Our church standards, our formal constitutions, our personal morality and convictions, cannot earn us a speck before God. Yet the blood-washed, regenerate believer must desire to live a God-honoring life. Christians are marked by their deliberate, faithful obedience to His word; a rejection of God’s commands is a rejection of God Himself. Thus James—almost to the point of being confusing—equivocates belief and obedience. He says, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”11 In that light, our standards, constitutions, and personal morality become an expression of love for our Savior. Christians must both believe correctly and live correctly, and the unmatched standard for an obedient Christian life is the Word of God.
The surety of Scripture also bears on our relationship with God—specifically on our hearing from God. Increasingly we find those around us looking for a personal word from God outside of His revealed Word. While they may not disown God’s Word in their ascribed beliefs, they practically remove it from their daily lives. The Bible is not their supreme source of divine truth; rather, their spiritual compass is set by what they sense or hear from God in their daily communion with Him. Sometimes they cite Biblical examples such as Abraham, Moses, or Paul, who all heard directly from God. It is true that He did speak directly with them, but note how rare these instances are, even in Scripture. I would be disappointed if you understood me to de-emphasize vibrant communion with God. I am concerned, however, that we not replace God Himself with a man-centered, subjective construct that bears only a faint similarity to who God has said He actually is. When we replace God’s Word with our experience of what we have heard, we risk misconstruing the true nature and character of God.
The greater concern, however, is that these subjective revelations often run perpendicular—if not contrary—to what God has already given to us. Often, we use the “Spirit’s” leadings to free ourselves from inconvenient practices or beliefs. Example: the headship veiling (though this is not a primary doctrine when we consider the focus of Scripture, our current cultural disregard for it has made it primary). A plain reading of “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head”12 should lead us to think that a man’s head should not be covered when he prays or prophesies, but a woman’s should be. In the clearest, simplest sense, we are instructed on how the headship symbol should be practiced. But many have disposed of it because they feel that God told them it is not important. While the covering is not the point of this article, a careful study of both Scripture and church history would show that nearly every era—save the last several centuries of western society—has understood and practiced this according to a simple understanding of the biblical text. Our disregard for this practice demonstrates a disregard for the authority of the Word.
I believe an honest assessment would reveal that these subjective leadings have less to do with a desire to honor God and have more to do with a desire to satisfy our own flesh. If we want to truly know what the Spirit says, we must subject ourselves to Scripture. The beauty of God’s sure Word is that, when we properly understand and apply it, we can have full confidence that we are completely within the will of God. He gave us His Word so we can truly know Him and truly obey Him.
The word of God has taken many forms throughout history. Many forms, but with one Source—one Speaker and Author. Regardless of the medium, each word points to Christ, the supreme Word, the Word made flesh. He is the fullness of God’s communication with man. But if we want to know Him, where must we go? To the enduring, accurate, accessible, sure written Word. To the inspired Bible, the unmatched source of God’s truth. The book that testifies of Christ, and tells us how we can best love and obey Him. To this gift from God, which makes us “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”13
- John 10:34-35
- Hebrews 2:14a
- “How Can Jesus and the Bible Both Be the Word of God?” Got Questions, accessed January 25, 2019, www.gotquestions.org.
- Hebrews 1:1
- John 5:39
- Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 50-51.
- Ibid, 50.
- Ibid, 50.
- Ibid, 50.
- Ibid, 50.
- James 2:17
- 1 Corinthians 11:4-5
- 2 Timothy 3:16b