The Bible, the word of God

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dwight92070
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The Bible, the word of God

Post by dwight92070 » Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:04 am

This morning I viewed a sermon online that was quite illuminating by Eric Ludy. He asked us where we see ourselves in relation to the word of God. Are we above it, equal to it, or below it? Is our attitude and knowledge superior to the word of God, equal to it, or below it? Obviously, Eric directed us to what should be our position, i.e. the last choice.

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Paidion
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Re: The Bible, the word of God

Post by Paidion » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:46 pm

I know this post is almost 2 years old, but I ran across it today, and decided to express my thoughts on the subject "The Word of God":

THE WORD OF GOD

The expression, “The word of God” is never used in the Bible as a reference to the Bible. How could it? For when the writers used the expression, the Bible such as we have it, did not exist.

So to what did the expression refer?

1. First and foremost, it refers to Jesus Christ:

He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. (Re 19:13)

Also, Jesus is called “the Word” in John 1. The Greek word “λογος” (logos) is translated as “word”. This does not mean a single grammatical entity, but may refer to a speech, such as “Brother Joe will bring us a word.” In this way, Jesus is the Word of God, since God speaks to us through Him.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:12,13)

Some people think the author speaks of the Bible in the above passage. But is the Bible alive? Can the Bible discern the thoughts and intents of your heart? Notice in verse 13, the subject has not changed. “There is no creature hidden from His sight.” Everything … is open to His eyes. Would the writer refer to the Bible as "him"?

The following passage also refers to Jesus.

… since you have been begotten again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

We have not been begotten again (some say “born again”) through the Bible, but through the LIVING Word, Jesus Christ.

2. Sometimes “the word of God” referred to the word which God gave directly to his people. This is especially the case in the Old Testament. “The word of God came to...” and then one of the prophets is named.

Here is a New Testament example of the same:

...during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. (Luke 3:2)

3. Throughout the book of Acts, the expression “the word of God” refers to the gospel, the good news of the Kingdom.


And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John... (Acts 8:14)


There are also some passages in Paul's letters which also may refer to the gospel.

...[the church] of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known... (Col 1:25)

4. THE BIBLE

I regard the Bible as a book which records the history of the Hebrews in the Old Testament, the history of Christ in the four memoirs of Christ (the “gospels” as they are now called”), the history of the earliest church in the book of Acts, Paul's letters to the various churches and to Timothy, Titus and Philemon, John's writing, the elder John's writing, Peter's writing, James' writing, and perhaps Jude's. The author of Hebrews is unknown, though at some point, the church ascribed it to Paul so as to give it apostolic authority.

Any good histories of the same events will not be in complete harmony, and that is the case with the four memoirs of Christ. Mathew was one of the twelve, and probably remembered the events fairly well, though all memoirs were written decades after the events. Mark was a follower of Peter, and probably got information from Peter as Peter remembered. Luke was a physician, who travelled with Paul, and likely received his information from Paul. But Paul wasn't there when these things happened and had no experience with Christ prior to His resurrection. John, of course, was one of the twelve and wrote as he remembered it.

I'll give just one example of a difference details. Concerning Jesus' prediction that Peter would deny him, here is what Matthew remembered Jesus as saying:

Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” (Matt 26:34)

Matthew also records that Peter remembered the same words:

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matt 26:75)

But how did Peter remember Jesus' words as he related them to Mark?

Mr 14:30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the
rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”


The fact that there are variations in the accounts of the memoirs helps me to realize that they are genuine historical accounts. If they all harmonized perfectly, I would suspect that someone contrived the whole thing, maybe invented these stories.

The idea that all of the Bible is “God's word” doesn't make sense to me. For example, Paul's letters were letters of encouragement to the various churches. They even sometimes referred to personal matters. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul wrote:

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. (2Tim 4:13)


Paul had forgotten his cloak, his books, and his parchments at Troas. He asked Timothy to bring them, just as we might phone or email an acquaintance if we had forgotten something at his house. In what sense could this sentence of Paul's be “the word of God”? Does this have any relevance to us, 2000 years later? Are we encouraged or uplifted spiritually when we read these words? Have you ever heard a sermon on this text? Actually I brought this matter up with a pastor, and he declared that he had indeed preached a sermon on, “Bring the books and parchments”!
Paidion

Man judges a person by his past deeds, and administers penalties for his wrongdoing. God judges a person by his present character, and disciplines him that he may become righteous.

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Seballius
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Re: The Bible, the word of God

Post by Seballius » Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:47 pm

Good thoughts Paidion!

This statement made me laugh out loud when I read it.

“Actually I brought this matter up with a pastor, and he declared that he had indeed preached a sermon on, “Bring the books and parchments.”


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