by Jim Gordon
When we talk about the Word of God we usually think of the Bible. If someone says the Bible is just a book we get all offended and ready to fight. We have been taught that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and he speaks to us from his word.
Actually, I disagree with that thought. Based on John 1:1 the Word of God is Jesus. He is the true, living Word of God. Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the perfect, inerrant and living Word. It is he who speaks to us by the Holy Spirit. It can be through the Bible, but it can be a number of other ways as well.
So often we Christians focus so much on the Bible that we forget we have the living Word of God inside us. The Holy Spirit, who is God in spirit form just as Jesus was God in human form, lives within us. This is a fact that is very seldom emphasized in churches today. We acknowledge that the Spirit is within us, but we would rather focus on a tangible bible and what the pastor tells us it says rather than put total dependency on the Spirit.
There is certainly nothing wrong with reading the Bible. It is God inspired yet not written by God or dictated by God. Through it we can learn from the past, we see the story of redemption throughout, we come to know about the unconditional love of God. In it we find what God is really like through the life of Christ. We learn what pleases God and we come to know that it is by grace that we have fellowship with him.
The Bible teaches us the Law and how we humans are completely unable to live a life pleasing to God through the law. The law was our tutor to show us that we need God’s grace through Christ.
The Bible teaches us of the freedom we now have in Christ. It teaches of the unconditional love God has for each of us. I personally do not believe God gave men the exact words to write, but he did inspire them. Just as someone may inspire me to write a book, it would still be my words and my experiences.
The books that make up the Bible are writings by men and women who wrote about their idea of God, their experiences with God and their love and fear of God. It can be used for instruction, inspiration, guidance, teaching and correction. Yet without the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit from within us the Bible is just a book of thoughts and ideas of humans about God.
Another issue with the written word is how we like to fight and argue over which version of the Bible is the true word of God. We need to remember that all versions of the Bible are only man-made interpretations of the words people wrote about God many years ago.
I feel sometimes we have made the Bible out to be part of the Godhead. It is not Father, Son and Holy Bible. We need to focus on Jesus. He said you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, it is these that testify about Me.
Only Jesus is the true and living Word of God. When we look to Jesus and listen for the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit within us, we will then come to understand truth from the living Word of God.
I was taught from a young age that the bible was God’s Word–essentially the only direct representation of God in the world. The goal was to study the bible and memorize it as much as possible. That was the way to better understand God and to be better “equipped” to avoid sin.
I was dumbfounded when a fellow follower of Christ first suggested to me that if we truly had the Holy Spirit to guide us, then perhaps there was more to living life than in the academic study of a book.
Now, the worship of the bible strikes me as absurd and pitiable. Life in Christ is so much more than the academic pursuit of theological and moral knowledge. It is like walking out of a dim, dusty library and experiencing a sunlit world full of experience and adventure and wonder. I actually appreciate the Bible more now than I ever have, because I recognize it for what it is. Like Dennis said, it is a series of signposts pointing to Christ.
Thanks for the great article!
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We sound a lot alike in this regard Norm. I agree with you. Thank you for the kind words.
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I’m often reminded of a quote that Bruce Lee made famous and that can be applied very well to the Bible:
“It is like a finger pointing to the moon. Don’t get so absorbed with the finger that you miss the moon!” – – – the finger being the Bible and the moon being Jesus.
I remember reading a story about missionaries in Africa who would often be asked by the natives, “Are you an “Old Testament” Christian or a “New Testament” Christian?
Maybe we should ask today, “Do you believe in Jesus or the Bible?”
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So true Dennis. Good quotes. Thanks for sharing.
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