To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 18:20:58 -0500
Subject: HF044 - The Word of God
Hebraics,
I am going to do something a little different with this Bible study. I
would like to provide some extra Scriptures for you to reference on your
own. These Scriptural references will be preceded by cf. (Cf. comes from a
Latin term that means to compare.) Take time to vew these Scriptures.
This is Bible study HF044 - The Word of God.
In this study we are going to deal with a subject that is rich in
meaning. It has its mystical side and its practical side. What this
study will do is help open up your understanding to what the term
'the Word of God' actually means. Please take time to think about
what you are reading. Then let's open it up for discussion.
It is common to read in the former testament something on this
order; "It came about the same night that the word of God came to
Nathan, saying..." (1 Chronicles 17:3) What can this mean? How
can the word of God come to someone.
Let's begin with the last book of the Bible. It ends with a warning, which
says, And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the
holy city, which are written in this book. (Revelations 22:19)
Does this warning simply apply to the book of Revelations, or is it a
warning concerning the whole of the Bible? It is safe to assume that the
warning applies to all the Scriptures, since the Bible is one book, and
has one underlying message. The book of Revelations simply finishes out
the written record of God's redemption.
We find a similar warning in Proverbs 30:5,6, where it says, Every
Word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in
Him. Do not add to His Words or He will reprove you, and you will
be proved a liar. There are numerous other references to the purity of
God's written word. In fact the apostle Paul tells us to never exceed what
is written. God has given the Bible as a safeguard for the faith of His
peoples. (We will talk about the Bible a little later.)
But does the term 'Word of God' simply mean the Bible? Not
necessarily. The term 'Word of God' by itself simply means the
communication of God. God communicates, therefore, He speaks.
At the very beginning of the holy writ, we hear, "Then God said, 'Let
there be light'; and there was light." (Genesis 1:3)
David said, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and
by the breath of His mouth all their hosts." Then we hear, "For He
spoke, and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast." (Psalm
33:6,9)
And in Hebrews 11:3, it says, "By faith we understand that the
worlds were created by the word of God, so that what is seen was
not made out of things which are visible."
I was at the hospital yesterday to minister to two different people. Both
needed prayer. And both had ventured to death's door. The first person
took great hope from what I shared with her. The second person asked me
quite earnestly, "How do I pray to God?" He wanted to know how God
spoke
to humans. Out of this conversation I was able to share the gospel story.
At the end, the gentleman prayed on his own accord. There was no question
that the Lord's presence was there. We will be baptizing him shortly.
My point is that all God's children become acquainted with His
living Word. This is why we love songs like the Garden Song, which
says, I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the
roses. Then it goes on, "He speaks, and the sound of His voice, is
so sweet that the birds hush their singing. This song carries the
heart of what the Word of God means to a child of God. The Word
of God is Jesus speaking into our lives. Jesus said, My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27)
In the new covenant, Jesus is expressly called the Word of God.
He is God's Word fully incarnate or personified in human flesh. This seems
mysterious enough, but when we receive into our hearts Jesus as our Lord
and Savior, we realize that He truly is the living Word of God. Thus all
our communication with God is found in Jesus Christ.
To be born again means to be born of God's Word. Jesus said, It
is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing (Speaking of His
flesh at that time.); the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and
are life. (John 6:63)
Then we hear Peter say, "For you have been born again not of seed
that is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and
enduring Word of God. For, 'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory
like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but
the Word of the Lord endures forever.' This is the Word which was preached
to you."
The source of our faith is God speaking to us in Christ. We heard a
living voice. No, it wasn't something audible. It was something
irresistible. This is what the apostle meant, when he said, "So faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Rom. 10:17 - The
Greek word rhema, means that which is uttered by a living voice.)
But now we need to reach back to the Old Testament prophet, and,
in turn, look to the Scriptures themselves. Something happened
when Adam rejected the truth of God. He lost his ability to enjoy
direct communication with God on a true spiritual level. So in the
Old Testament there were few people who came to have direct
communication from God. They were generally known as the
prophets. The prophets came to serve as God's mouthpiece. If you
needed to hear from God, you went to, or, in the case of a King,
sent for the prophet. (Cf. 1 Sam. 9:27; 1 Kings 12:22; 1 Chron.
17:3; Luke 3:2)
This particular role of the prophet being God's mouthpiece to His
people diminished with the coming of Jesus, and under the New
Covenant. (Cf. Heb. 1:1,2. Also cf. Heb. 8:10-13. There was an
overlap of the prophetic ministry during the transition of covenants, but
today there is no need for a prophet of the Old Testament level. This does
not mean that the Lord cannot speak to us through others. He will very
often speak to us by others, but we ourselves will know that it is He who
is speaking.
We have a promise for this. God said through Isriah, "Therefore My
people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who
is speaking, 'Here am I.'" (This promise is linked to the gospel. Cf.
Isaiah 52:6,7)
This does bring us to other thoughts concerning the Word of God>
the term does apply to the Scriptures, but not just the Scriptures
alone. The term Word of God speaks of God's message of the
gospel. The message of redemption is the underlying message of
the Bible. Today we know it as 'the Word of the Cross.' (Cf. Acts
17:13; Rom. 1:16; 2 Co. 2:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12; Gal. 1:6-9)
The Bible is God's written record of His redemptive plan in Christ.
But it was also written to provide a guide for moral character.
Therefore, the Bible is exclusively God's Word to man. Paul said, I would
not have come to know sin except through the Law. (Romans 7:7)
Paul also said, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." (2
Timothy 3:16)
The Greek term for inspired means to 'out breath.' Paul's point is
that the Scriptures came from God's mouth. They come to us in
their completed form through the apostles. Thus the Bible carries a
living testimony to God's truth. This is why Paul says that we are
never to exceed what is written. (1 Corinthians 4:6)
The Bible as the written Word of God was given to guide God's
people in the way of salvation and in the paths of righteousness.
(Cf. Psalm 19:7-14) The single greatest witness that our faith is
correct, is if we are living by the testimony of the Scriptures.
Believers should seek to live according to revealed truths of the
Scriptures, keeping in mind that the Bible is a progressive
revelation. It finds its completion in the message of the cross. (Cf. Luke
24:44-47; 1 Co. 15:1-5) With this in mind, the Holy Spirit never speaks to
any believer in a way as to contradict God's written record. (Cf. Isa.
8:20; Matt. 5:17,18; Acts 1:16; 1 Co. 4:6; Rom. 15:4)
To finish up this study let's talk about how we got our Bible. The
word canon comes from the Greek word kanon (kan-ohn') which
means a rule of measure. Metaphorically it speaks of any rule,
standard, principle, or law that is used for investigation, judging,
living, and acting. The canon of Scriptures is the Bible in its completed
form. Nothing to be added. Nothing to be taken from it. (Cf. Psalm 119:89)
The Old Testament canon begins with the writings of Moses and
concludes with the book of Malachi. (Over a 1000 years in writing.)
The Protestant Bible as a rule accepts the Hebrew canon. (The
Catholic Bible adds the apocrypha. These 13 books were written
after Malachi. They were never accepted in the Hebrew canon.)
Why should we accept the Hebrew Scriptures? Because it was to
the Jewish prophets alone that God committed the written oracles.
It was through them that the Messiah came. (Cf. John 4:20-22;
Rom. 3:1-4; Rom. 9:3-5.)
The formation of the New Testament canon was not a conciliar
decision. The apostolic writings were treasures of the churches.
They came together in the providence of God. Over a short period
of time, the New Testament received its fixed form with the twenty-
seven books we now have. There are sixty-six books that make up
the entire Bible. Revelations completes the canon of Scripture.
The test of New Testament canon included three things: (1) Did it
have Apostolic authority? Written by an apostle or a close
companion. (2) Does it have witness of the Holy Spirit? The
testimony of truth. (3) Was it in use by the Christian church from
earliest times? Was it beloved by earliest Christians. (Cf. Eph. 2:19- 21)
Here are some things we need to understand about the Bible
Modern language translations are important. Any living language is
constantly changing. Older translations may not clearly convey
what is being said in the language of modern readers. This is why,
though the King James Version has its own beauty, it is not able to
speak with clarity to our modern generation. It was written in
Elizabethan English.
There is a difference between letterism and literalism. The letter
without a proper revelation of the spiritual truth behind it genders to
bondage. God's people should seek the literal meanings in the Scriptures
and allow the Holy Spirit to transform literal truths into spiritual
realities. (2 Co. 3:5,6, 12-18)
In the new covenant the Lord places in every believer the same
Holy Spirit who breathed forth the Scriptures. Truth can be tested.
(See John 16:13-15) Any teaching that is man-centered and does
not agree with sound doctrine that conforms to godliness, or any
teaching that does not lift up Jesus Christ is not to be accepted as
Biblical.
As for Biblical teaching, the purpose of pastoral teaching is not to take
the place of a believer's direct access to truth. The primary calling of a
pastor is overseeing those who are allotted to his care. His overseeing
ministry is for the safety of the flock. His primary gift is that of
teaching. Yet the Lord gives true believer a safeguard against false
teaching. (Cf. 1 John 2:19-21, 27.)
The study is open for discussion. If there is a portion you wish to
respond to, or discuss, or ask questions about, you can reference
that part in your reply. You won't need to include the entire study in
your responses.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)