Q. What is the Word of God?
A. The Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, being inspired by God, is the Word of God and is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
Doctrine
When we speak about the Word of God, we are usually talking about the Bible*. The word bible comes from the Latin word for book, which is why the Bible is often called the Holy Bible. Something is holy when it is set apart or sacred because of its relationship to God. For example, Moses sprinkled blood on the tabernacle and furniture to make it holy--to set it apart or consecrate it (Exodus 29:38-46). In 1 Peter, Peter says that Christians are a holy nation--that is a nation set apart for God (v. 9). The book we use for Christian worship, the Holy Bible, is unique and special when compared to all other books.
The Holy Bible refers to the Old and New Testaments. Most Protestant Bibles only include these two sections, but Catholics and Mormons add additional books to their lists. However, evangelical Christians, conservative Protestant Christians, only recognize 39 books of the Old Testament (1. Genesis, 2. Exodus, 3. Leviticus, 4. Numbers, 5. Deuteronomy, 6. Joshua, 7. Judges, 8. Ruth, 9. 1 Samuel, 10. 2 Samuel, 11. 1 Kings, 12. 2 Kings, 13. 1 Chronicles, 14. 2 Chronicles, 15. Ezra, 16. Nehemiah, 17. Esther, 18. Job, 19. Psalms, 20. Proverbs, 21. Ecclesiastes, 22. Song of Solomon, 23. Isaiah, 24. Jeremiah, 25. Lamentations, 26. Ezekiel, 27. Daniel, 28. Hosea, 29. Joel, 30. Amos, 31. Obadiah, 32. Jonah, 33. Micah, 34. Nahum, 35. Habakkuk, 36. Zephaniah, 37. Haggai, 38. Zechariah, & 39. Malachi) and 27 books of the New Testament (1. Matthew, 2. Mark, 3. Luke, 4. John, 5. Acts, 6. Romans, 7. 1 Corinthians, 8. 2 Corinthians, 9. Galatians, 10. Ephesians, 11. Philippians, 12. Colossians, 13. 1 Thessalonians, 14. 2 Thessalonians, 15. 1 Timothy, 16. 2 Timothy, 17. Titus, 18. Philemon, 19. Hebrews, 20. James, 21. 1 Peter, 22. 2 Peter, 23. 1 John, 24. 2 John, 25. 3 John, 26. Jude, & 27. Revelation).
The Old Testament was, is, and will always be God's Word. Some heretical groups have denied the Old Testament and the God of the Old Testament. They taught that the God of the Old Testament was a tyrant. However, the God of the Old Testament is the triune God of the New Testament. Jesus did not replace the God of the Old Testament but is the second member of the Holy Trinity--the God of the Old Testament. Furthermore, Jesus did not reject the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets [the Old Testament]; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." Though Christians do not keep all of the Old Testament laws as the Hebrew people did, the Old Testament still instructs Christians and shows us who God is [the role of the Old Testament law for Christians is very complex and will be dealt with more specifically in a future post].
The Holy Bible is God's Word because it is inspired by God. Peter, in 2 Peter 1:21, wrote, "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." Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, wrote, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Let us now unpack what these to verses mean. First, "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man" means that when men and women spoke on behalf of God, if it was a true prophecy, it was not their own ideas but God's ideas. The word prophecy used here doesn't refer to just future predictions, but all words spoken on God's behalf. Next, "but men spoke from God" and "All Scripture is breathed out by God" both have the idea that the words prophecied, or spoken on God's behalf, were in fact God's words. They were not summaries of God's words or interpretations of God's words, but in the fullest sense, they are God's Word. When I wrote above, "Peter...wrote...," I could just have easily and correctly said, "God said..." Peter's words found in his letters in the Bible are God's Word. However, and this is important, "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit carried the men along so that it is God's Word, but they are also the words of the biblical writers. That means that the biblical books that were written by Moses, Samuel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Paul, and James were all inspired by God or God-breathed, but they also follow the usual vocabulary and grammar of the men who wrote them. We should not expect that because Genesis and Revelation have the same divine author, the Holy Spirit, that they should sound the same. Instead, God inspired the men to communicate His Word while they used their own language and style.
Finally, the Word of God is the only infallible rule for faith and practice. Infallible means that it is incapable of making a mistake. It will never fail. It will always accomplish its purpose. This is important because it means that the Bible is always the place we should go for making decisions regarding faith and practice. What should we believe about God, Jesus, work, humanity, or happiness? If you want to know what to believe, you should go to the Bible. How should you treat your neighbor, what kind of Church should you go to, or what kind of person should you marry? If you want to know what you should do, you should go to the Bible. It is important to understand that the Bible is the source for understanding both in our religious life and the secular life because the Lord is Lord over both of those lives--and such a dichotomy is likely not even worth considering. For the Christian, every act should be an act of faith in the living God. That is why Paul wrote, "All Scripture is...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God's Word, though first and foremost is a revelation of who God is to humanity is also useful in forming men and women into competent workers for God--"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:7-8).
Now, it must be admitted that there are gray areas in which the Bible does not directly or clearly address the topic well enough that it can cause divisions in the church. For example, some Christians baptize their infants while others believe baptism is for those who are professing Christians (I hold to the latter). Some Christians believe that complete abstinence from alcohol is biblical while others believe that moderation is the biblical expectation. Then there are other areas that the Bible does not speak to directly, such as to one's profession or the specific person one should marry. However, biblical wisdom should be applied to both of these decisions. For matters such as these, it can lead to Christians separating, for example, as a Baptist, I can't be apart of a Presbyterian church because of our beliefs on baptism and church government. However, I'm thankful for the many faithful Presbyterians who are faithfully proclaiming the message of the gospel. There are however those who disagree with me where I believe Scripture is clear. For those, they that reject what is clearly taught in Scripture knowingly, I would consider outside the faith and would have no fellowship. These would include true Catholics who believe our works merit God's forgiveness, Mormons who deny that there is only one God and that he is triune: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the Trinity will be addressed later). There are others as well. The main point I want to make is that the Bible does allow for some differences between Christians in which I might disagree with them but still believe they are Christians in fellowship with God while at other times there are those whose beliefs are clearly antithetical to the Word of God and those who hold those beliefs are not Christian and do not know the true God.
Problem
The problem is that mankind, to a large extent, does not accept the Bible as God's Word and live in defiance to the God who made them. All of our social ills are the result of rejecting God's Word.
Solution
The solution to this problem is twofold. First, many men and women, who do not put their faith in God, but because of God's common grace, receive some of what the Bible teaches, and it benefits society. The greatest example though is when the Spirit awakens the heart (as addressed last time on how can we know there is a God), and the sinner receives God's Word as divine and believes. Therefore, though there are likely many good things that men and women can be doing, the best way to solve the problems mankind faces is by teaching God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation, primarily for the salvation of sinners to the glory of God, but also for the advancement of a society that might heed God's Word even without faith.
Virtue
In James 1, James argues that man's anger cannot "achieve the righteousness of God" (19-20), but that humanity should "in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls" (21). The word implanted here is a reference to the preaching of God's Word, the gospel, that people should receive with humility because it alone can save their souls. Thus, our moral virtue when coming to Scripture should be one of humility and submission because it is God's Word. We should not try to reason with Scripture, twist Scripture, or reject Scripture--surely we should not get angry at Scripture. God's Word is Gods' Word; our simple task is to submit wholeheartedly in humility and accept what it teachers and do what it says.
*Theological Note: When making reference to the Word of God, I noted that we are usually talking about the Bible. However, the most compelling and powerful communication about who God is and what is purposes are is the Lord Jesus. That is why John calls Jesus the Word, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-2, & 14). The author of Hebrews says something similar to begin his book, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). Therefore, when making reference to the Word of God, we may actually be referring to Jesus, but the usual use is in reference to the Bible.
Written by Michael Naaktgeboren
A. The Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, being inspired by God, is the Word of God and is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
When we speak about the Word of God, we are usually talking about the Bible*. The word bible comes from the Latin word for book, which is why the Bible is often called the Holy Bible. Something is holy when it is set apart or sacred because of its relationship to God. For example, Moses sprinkled blood on the tabernacle and furniture to make it holy--to set it apart or consecrate it (Exodus 29:38-46). In 1 Peter, Peter says that Christians are a holy nation--that is a nation set apart for God (v. 9). The book we use for Christian worship, the Holy Bible, is unique and special when compared to all other books.
The Holy Bible refers to the Old and New Testaments. Most Protestant Bibles only include these two sections, but Catholics and Mormons add additional books to their lists. However, evangelical Christians, conservative Protestant Christians, only recognize 39 books of the Old Testament (1. Genesis, 2. Exodus, 3. Leviticus, 4. Numbers, 5. Deuteronomy, 6. Joshua, 7. Judges, 8. Ruth, 9. 1 Samuel, 10. 2 Samuel, 11. 1 Kings, 12. 2 Kings, 13. 1 Chronicles, 14. 2 Chronicles, 15. Ezra, 16. Nehemiah, 17. Esther, 18. Job, 19. Psalms, 20. Proverbs, 21. Ecclesiastes, 22. Song of Solomon, 23. Isaiah, 24. Jeremiah, 25. Lamentations, 26. Ezekiel, 27. Daniel, 28. Hosea, 29. Joel, 30. Amos, 31. Obadiah, 32. Jonah, 33. Micah, 34. Nahum, 35. Habakkuk, 36. Zephaniah, 37. Haggai, 38. Zechariah, & 39. Malachi) and 27 books of the New Testament (1. Matthew, 2. Mark, 3. Luke, 4. John, 5. Acts, 6. Romans, 7. 1 Corinthians, 8. 2 Corinthians, 9. Galatians, 10. Ephesians, 11. Philippians, 12. Colossians, 13. 1 Thessalonians, 14. 2 Thessalonians, 15. 1 Timothy, 16. 2 Timothy, 17. Titus, 18. Philemon, 19. Hebrews, 20. James, 21. 1 Peter, 22. 2 Peter, 23. 1 John, 24. 2 John, 25. 3 John, 26. Jude, & 27. Revelation).
The Old Testament was, is, and will always be God's Word. Some heretical groups have denied the Old Testament and the God of the Old Testament. They taught that the God of the Old Testament was a tyrant. However, the God of the Old Testament is the triune God of the New Testament. Jesus did not replace the God of the Old Testament but is the second member of the Holy Trinity--the God of the Old Testament. Furthermore, Jesus did not reject the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets [the Old Testament]; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." Though Christians do not keep all of the Old Testament laws as the Hebrew people did, the Old Testament still instructs Christians and shows us who God is [the role of the Old Testament law for Christians is very complex and will be dealt with more specifically in a future post].
The Holy Bible is God's Word because it is inspired by God. Peter, in 2 Peter 1:21, wrote, "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." Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, wrote, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Let us now unpack what these to verses mean. First, "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man" means that when men and women spoke on behalf of God, if it was a true prophecy, it was not their own ideas but God's ideas. The word prophecy used here doesn't refer to just future predictions, but all words spoken on God's behalf. Next, "but men spoke from God" and "All Scripture is breathed out by God" both have the idea that the words prophecied, or spoken on God's behalf, were in fact God's words. They were not summaries of God's words or interpretations of God's words, but in the fullest sense, they are God's Word. When I wrote above, "Peter...wrote...," I could just have easily and correctly said, "God said..." Peter's words found in his letters in the Bible are God's Word. However, and this is important, "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit carried the men along so that it is God's Word, but they are also the words of the biblical writers. That means that the biblical books that were written by Moses, Samuel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Paul, and James were all inspired by God or God-breathed, but they also follow the usual vocabulary and grammar of the men who wrote them. We should not expect that because Genesis and Revelation have the same divine author, the Holy Spirit, that they should sound the same. Instead, God inspired the men to communicate His Word while they used their own language and style.
Finally, the Word of God is the only infallible rule for faith and practice. Infallible means that it is incapable of making a mistake. It will never fail. It will always accomplish its purpose. This is important because it means that the Bible is always the place we should go for making decisions regarding faith and practice. What should we believe about God, Jesus, work, humanity, or happiness? If you want to know what to believe, you should go to the Bible. How should you treat your neighbor, what kind of Church should you go to, or what kind of person should you marry? If you want to know what you should do, you should go to the Bible. It is important to understand that the Bible is the source for understanding both in our religious life and the secular life because the Lord is Lord over both of those lives--and such a dichotomy is likely not even worth considering. For the Christian, every act should be an act of faith in the living God. That is why Paul wrote, "All Scripture is...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God's Word, though first and foremost is a revelation of who God is to humanity is also useful in forming men and women into competent workers for God--"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:7-8).
Now, it must be admitted that there are gray areas in which the Bible does not directly or clearly address the topic well enough that it can cause divisions in the church. For example, some Christians baptize their infants while others believe baptism is for those who are professing Christians (I hold to the latter). Some Christians believe that complete abstinence from alcohol is biblical while others believe that moderation is the biblical expectation. Then there are other areas that the Bible does not speak to directly, such as to one's profession or the specific person one should marry. However, biblical wisdom should be applied to both of these decisions. For matters such as these, it can lead to Christians separating, for example, as a Baptist, I can't be apart of a Presbyterian church because of our beliefs on baptism and church government. However, I'm thankful for the many faithful Presbyterians who are faithfully proclaiming the message of the gospel. There are however those who disagree with me where I believe Scripture is clear. For those, they that reject what is clearly taught in Scripture knowingly, I would consider outside the faith and would have no fellowship. These would include true Catholics who believe our works merit God's forgiveness, Mormons who deny that there is only one God and that he is triune: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the Trinity will be addressed later). There are others as well. The main point I want to make is that the Bible does allow for some differences between Christians in which I might disagree with them but still believe they are Christians in fellowship with God while at other times there are those whose beliefs are clearly antithetical to the Word of God and those who hold those beliefs are not Christian and do not know the true God.
Problem
The problem is that mankind, to a large extent, does not accept the Bible as God's Word and live in defiance to the God who made them. All of our social ills are the result of rejecting God's Word.
Solution
The solution to this problem is twofold. First, many men and women, who do not put their faith in God, but because of God's common grace, receive some of what the Bible teaches, and it benefits society. The greatest example though is when the Spirit awakens the heart (as addressed last time on how can we know there is a God), and the sinner receives God's Word as divine and believes. Therefore, though there are likely many good things that men and women can be doing, the best way to solve the problems mankind faces is by teaching God's Word, from Genesis to Revelation, primarily for the salvation of sinners to the glory of God, but also for the advancement of a society that might heed God's Word even without faith.
Virtue
In James 1, James argues that man's anger cannot "achieve the righteousness of God" (19-20), but that humanity should "in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls" (21). The word implanted here is a reference to the preaching of God's Word, the gospel, that people should receive with humility because it alone can save their souls. Thus, our moral virtue when coming to Scripture should be one of humility and submission because it is God's Word. We should not try to reason with Scripture, twist Scripture, or reject Scripture--surely we should not get angry at Scripture. God's Word is Gods' Word; our simple task is to submit wholeheartedly in humility and accept what it teachers and do what it says.
*Theological Note: When making reference to the Word of God, I noted that we are usually talking about the Bible. However, the most compelling and powerful communication about who God is and what is purposes are is the Lord Jesus. That is why John calls Jesus the Word, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1-2, & 14). The author of Hebrews says something similar to begin his book, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2). Therefore, when making reference to the Word of God, we may actually be referring to Jesus, but the usual use is in reference to the Bible.
Written by Michael Naaktgeboren
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