The Doctrine of the Word of God – Part 1
Part 1: Introduction and the Word of God in the Bible
This study will be seven sessions long with six topics laid out on the doctrine of the Word of God and a summative review and Question and Answer session as the seventh session. The outline of approach is as follows
1. The Word of God – What is it?
2. The Canon of Scripture – Where can I find it today?
3. The Authority of Scripture – Do I have to listen to God’s word?
4. The Clarity/Perspicuity of Scripture – Can I understand what the Bible is saying?
5. The Necessity of Scripture – Why the Bible?
6. The Sufficiency of Scripture (Sola Scriptura) – Who has the final say in my faith?
Since this study is intended to function as an overview and not an in depth study, I will be as non-technical as I can be but some places and explanations will require some depth but I offer it only to encourage you to grow and to be firmly rooted in your own faith and to be able to share and live it out in the world. Christians who cannot defend or articulate their faith to the world usually end up submitting their minds to the world in the place of God’s word. God calls us to “do our best” to show ourselves approved, to handle the word of God rightly; to think his thoughts after him; This is our path for the next few weeks and I believe God will bless us for walking it as we seek to know our God through His word.
PART I. The God who speaks
One of my favorite movies is Conan the Barbarian. One scene that always sticks out to a “manly” man like myself is when one of the characters asks the question, “what is best in life?” The first guy answers with some sort of romantic answer about having the wind in his hair and a falcon at his side, to which the questioner promptly says, “wrong!” Then he asks Conan, “what is best in life?” and Conan sharply answers, “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!” That has to be one of the all-time cheesiest lines in a movie, but the question most certainly is not. What is the best thing in life? The Bible answers by saying that knowledge of God is. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says,
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’”
People spend all their life attempting to plummet the depths of the universe, seeking to know a bit about all things, as if life were just a giant game of trivia. Some people spend all their life trying to be successful in business, in war, in their own little fields, and others just spend their life trying to gain material possessions and money. But the reality is that all those things are temporary. Money can be stolen, possessions broke, success can be turned around in a moment and at some point death will come and none of those things will fair you any good. Rather, the best and most important thing in life is to know God. But how can we know God? He is completely other than us, and on top of that there is our sin that separates us further. Men have created religions as attempts to bridge their own gap to get to God, but have failed miserably. Rather, if we are to know God, it is not us who must go up to him, but God who must condescend down to us. God, therefore, reveals himself. That is to say, God is a speaking God, a communicating God and Christianity teaches that He has spoken.
Hebrews 1:1 tells us that “in various times and in various ways God spoke…”. Some of this speech has been preserved and recorded and handed down to this day in the Bible and some has not. Some of God’s speech has remained and continues to remain hidden from us. The Bible is, however, an artifact of God’s revelation of Himself.
What is the Word of God? To begin with, we must say immediately that the word of God is NOT just the Bible. Scripture itself reveals that God’s word did not only come in the form of written text. That is to say, the word of God came in many different forms and through different mediums. Hence, the word of God can be seen as the sum total of God’s communication with his creatures. It is important that we know and distinguish the forms of God’s communications to broaden our understanding of God and how he has worked in the history of salvation and eventually to see where and how he speaks today. The purpose of this study will be to introduce us to what the Bible says about what the word of God.
The Decrees of God
First, we see God’s word as Speech by God within himself. But this speech comes in various ways. For instance, it might come as God’s controlling power. We see this clearly in creation in which God’s word is seen as a “great power that makes things happen. ” God spoke and things came into existence. We see this in passages like Genesis 1:3 in which God spoke and light came into existence. In Psalm 33:6 that says, “by the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” Hebrews 1:2 says, “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.” That is to say, God’s speech in these times comes through his son which is the same speech of God that created the world. Hebrews 11:3 says “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God. So that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” After identifying the Word of God as distinct from God the Father in person, John 1:3,10 say, “All things were made through Him (logos), and without him was not anything made that was made…He was in the world , and the world was made through him (logos), yet the world did not know him.” In Romans 4:17 we see that God’s word “calls into existence the things that do not exist.” Finally, in 2 Peter 3:5-7 we read that the Earth was formed “by the word of God.”
The Word of God is clearly powerful in this respect. Theologian Wayne Grudem says, “these powerful, creative words from God are often called God’s decrees. A decree of God is a word of God that causes something to happen.” John Feinberg defines God’s decree as “his decision concerning whatever will happen in our universe” . We have already seen God’s decrees that brought about creation in the scripture passages just mentioned, but there are other passages in Scripture that demonstrate how comprehensive God’s word is for all of life and the certainty by which God’s will is accomplished through his word. For example, in Isaiah 55:10-11 which reads,
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
And do not return there but water the earth,
Making it bring forth and sprout,
Giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
But it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
And shall succeed in the things for which I sent it.”
This passage clearly displays the inevitable resulting efficacy of the Word of God that goes forth, in this particular passage to reveal God’s inevitable blessings that will come up his people by his grace. God’s word of decree includes his judgment (Isaiah 46:9-11) and the sustaining and governing of all that happens in creation that we might consider ordinary (Hebrews 1:3; Matt. 8:27). These decrees are not all revealed to us. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed to us belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” But all this to say about God’s word, says John Frame, that when God speaks he is speaking as LORD of all creation and his speech, therefore, expresses his attributes of control, authority and presence .
God’s Word as Personal Address
Secondly, God’s word comes in the form of redemptive revelation as personal address. This is God himself speaking to individuals or communities with an audible voice or in a way that clearly communicates to the audience. Again, we this in God’s first commands to Adam in the garden in the cultural mandate to fill and subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28). God reveals his laws to man (Gen. 216-17; Exodus 20:17), his judgments (Gen. 3:16-19), his grace (Gen. 3:15) and most importantly he reveals himself (cf. Exodus 20:1-3). These words of personal address are in human languages. That is, God has condescended down to our level of understanding. Why? The answer is because God’s communication to us is genuine. God intends to be understood. Some people object to “revelation” from God or the idea of a Bible even because they want to argue that God is so beyond us (transcendent) that he is not able to communicate with his creatures. But this Bible knows nothing of this. Rather, he who created us and our language is able to enter and use his own creations to communicate with us according to the rules of grammar and syntax of our own languages.
One important observation about God’s word as it comes in this form and others to us, is that God’s word was always given to further advance his purposes of redemption. That is to say, God’s words never came to reveal mundane things like “whom should I marry” “what career shall I take” or things of that nature. For that God gives wisdom, not revelation. Rather, in Scripture God’s redemptive revelation was given to move along his will for redemption which culminated in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Many Christians believe today that God speaks ordinarily but this was never so in the Bible. He spoke only to certain individuals that God used to further his plan of redemption. Hebrews 1:1-2 reveals that God’s last speech was given through his son, Jesus Christ. In Him, the revelation of God has reached its climax. Prior to Christ, what you have in the Biblical drama is little glimpses of who the redeemer was but he was not fully revealed till the incarnation. Jesus told Phillip in response to his request to show them the Father, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
God’s word through Human lips
Another way in which God has spoken is to speak through the mouths of human beings. The most obvious of this is the “thus saith the LORD” speech that came from the mouth of prophets. In the Bible we this in Jeremiah 1:7 which says,
“But the LORD said to me,
Do not say, “I am only a youth’;
For to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.”
Notice, the message originates with God but it is not God speaking it but another agent. Notice also in Jeremiah 1:9 where God says to Jeremiah, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.” Notice, it is 2 persons (God and Jeremiah) but the word spoken is one and the same.
Moses was privileged with the same authority. In Exodus 4:12 God says to Moses, “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” In I Samuel 15:1-3 Samuel issues commands from God to King Saul and when Saul disobeys the words that came from Samuel, Saul is held accountable in verse 19 and 23 as disobeying God himself. The Apostles also spoke with this very similar authority from Jesus Christ himself. The Apostle Peter bore witness to God’s speech through the lips of human beings in 2 Peter 1:20-21 as he says, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Several things need to be observed about the word of God in this form. First, we must openly acknowledge that the word of God was at one time in oral form. It is not uncommon for zealous Protestants, when arguing against Roman Catholics, to go too far in their zeal for the doctrine of Scripture and zeal against the Roman Catholic doctrine of Tradition that they say that the word of God was ever and always in the Bible. But clearly this is not so. At one time, there was no Bible only the words that God has spoken to certain individuals. It is OK to acknowledge this. Even the Bible acknowledges that all that was spoken by Jesus, for instance, was not recorded (John 20:30-31; 21:25). The second thing we need to observe is that even though God’s word came through sinful and imperfect creatures, the words still bear the very same authority as God’s direct speech. That is, the authority and truthfulness of these words is in no way diminished: They are still completely and truly the very word of God.
God’s word in written form
The final form of God’s word as speech is in the form of the written word of God. As I mentioned earlier, Scripture is an artifact of revelation. That is, it is the record of God’s revelation. As we will learn later, it is God’s covenant document left to us as a witness of the covenant between God and man. Scripture is, by far, the most accessible of God’s word while other forms remain hidden or are no longer in operation for redemptive reasons, namely the fulfillment of promises in Jesus Christ. The very first time we see God’s word being written is actually conducted by God himself. In Exodus 31:18, the tablets of stone with the law of God were said to be written by the finger of God himself (cf. Exo. 31:18; 32:16; 34:1,28). Later we see statements like “Moses wrote…” (Exodus 24:4; Numbers 33:2; Deut 31:9; 31:22; Mark 12:19; Luke 20:28). In Jeremiah 30:2 God spoke and said, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.”
One of the strongest passages in all of the Bible concerning the Scriptures as the Word of God is 2 Timothy 3:16 which says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and training in righteousness.” The particular Greek word that is used here is a unique one in the entire Bible. Some scholars have said that the apostle Paul may have actually coined this word and this is the first time in all ancient Greek literature that it makes an appearance. The Greek word is theopneustos which is translated in some translations as “inspired” but best translated by the NIV as “God-breathed.” The image that is created is that just as when a person speaks and exhales breath from their mouth as they are speaking, so the scriptures are the breath of God that is released from His own mouth as He Himself speaks through the pages and writings of scripture. In awesome imagery, Paul reveals to us the origin and nature of scripture as from God and being the very verbum dei (word of God) and vox dei (voice of God). All Scripture is God speaking. We shouldn’t miss that about the text.
So again, we should note that God’s word in written form lose no authority or majesty. It is quite common for people to want a “less incarnate” and “more spiritual” Word of God without the human medium. For instance, many would rather hear God speak audibly or to their minds than read the Bible. But, as you can see, this is to say that God’s word become less authoritive based on the mediums that God chooses. It is actually a form of unbelief because it demands that it will only trust one medium of the Word of God over another as if we have the authority to tell God how he can speak to us. If you recall in I Kings 19:9-13, when God speaks to Elijah, he is looking for God in the spectacular ; in a strong wind that tore apart the mountain, in an earthquake and in a fire but the Lord was not in any of those things. Instead, God’s voice was in a low whisper. You see, often and ordinarily, God reveals himself and his ways quietly and often unnoticed or passed by because they are so ordinary. How does God speak through a book some skeptics ask? Why a book? I have heard people say that unless God does a miracle for them they will not believe in Him. Yet, as Scripture says, “God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise” (I Cor. 1:27). I once heard a tale of a priest in Notre Dame who decided to commit himself to solitude in the cathedral until he heard the voice of God speak to him. Day after day after day he prayed and waited in silence, hoping to hear the voice of God. I don’t know how it ended for him but the irony of it all was that there in the cathedral was an open Bible as he stood waiting for God to speak and all he had to do was read.
God’s word written, God’s word spoken, God’s word on the lips of another all bears the exact same authority. Nothing is lost. There is hint in Scripture where King Saul could have faulted Samuel for not speaking God’s word clearly. Saul was accountable to God himself for the words that came out of Samuel’s mouth. The people of Israel were held accountable to the words of God written on the tablets of stone, that were written on scrolls that came from the voice of God at Mt. Sinai. There was no difference in accountability. It is important that we see this. God’s word is God’s word no matter what the medium.
God’s word in human form
Last and finally, and it seems, the most inglorious to many and below God, but yet the most surprising condescension and the most humble form of God’s word was in the human person of Jesus Christ. In the prologue of the Gospel of John we read, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.” This is a startling revelation for the Jew who conceived of monotheism as only mono-personality but now, John reveals that the very word that brought creation into being, the very word that brought salvation, the very word that sustained the universe, that guided them, that was God’s law to them, was a person from the beginning! This word pre-existed creation and verses 2 and 3 go on to say, “ He was in the beginning with God.” It’s a small thing, but the personal pronoun is significant. The Word of God is not an impersonal agent, or a mere “thing” of God or merely something God possesses or does. He is a person who was in eternal fellowship with God. Verse 3 goes on to say, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” Colossians 1:15-17 sheds further light on this Word of God:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
All things were created “through him” and “for him”. Think about that for a bit. The very purpose of the existence of your life is “for him”. You exist “for him”.
Consider something of the progression of the revelation of God’s word as we have seen, and as played out in the history of redemption. First, God’s word was seen as his speech, albeit the speech that brought creation into existence or God’s speech to his creatures directly. From there, it was on the lips of humans like Moses, God’s first prophet, and eventually the lips of others. Then it was committed to writing. All these things have the appearance of “human” in the sense but it was God’s word in its final and fullest revelation in Jesus Christ, as fully human. John 1:14 says, “And the word became flesh….” Phillippians 2:7 says that Jesus Christ, the eternal word, “took on the form of a servant.” The Word of God that eternally dwelt in the presence of God the Father became a human being fully and completely. So much that Hebrews 1:1-2 says that the dignity of the Son is far better than the dignity through which the Word of God came in any other human medium be it dreams, or visions or even the lips of a prophet. The Son is the fullest and final revelation. Jesus did not have to say, “thus saith the LORD,” but could say, “I say to you….” with equal authority! Jesus could say to his critics and disciples that all the Bible up to him was about him (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, 44-45).
In Psalm 107:20, the word of God is revealed as the saving agent of God. In Jesus Christ, this passage is brought to its fullest meaning as Jesus Christ, the word of God, became flesh and dwelt among us for one purpose: to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). As God’s word goes forth and does not return void, so the Word of God was sent with a mission revealed in passages like John 6:37-39 and John 17. Jesus, the word of God, says, Hebrews obtained eternal redemption and having done so, sat down at the right hand of God the Father. John also refers to him as the “word of life” in I John 1:1 and at the end of redemptive history, Jesus Christ will return as the “Word of God” in Revelation 19:13.