IS THE BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD? Today, I saw the following statement on one of the group pages that I follow; “I see there is a big misunderstanding regarding the Word of God (which is Jesus) and the Bible. Many brethren speak about the Bible as the Word of God, this is due to a lack of knowledge. Who is the Word of God? It is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. I know this misunderstanding comes a long time in modern Church, but if we declare the Bible as the Word of God then we are speaking untruths because Jesus is the Word of God” My first response was one of utter surprise and then one of sorrow, sorrow that people can believe everything they read on internet or heard from some wise guru or preacher. Whilst I know that the person does not speak for the group, I must respond to this error. For the past 3500 years or so and if we start with the “Old Testament”, (1400 BC), we accepted the Scriptures and the Bible as the Divine Word of God. Now It has become a truism and trend among many of the Christian internet sect, and something like the above half - truth has become popular in theological circles for some time now and many young believers fall for this lie and other false doctrines. Of course Jesus is the Word of God in flesh (no debate), but so is the Bible the written Word of God fulfilled by Christ. And here lies the problem NOT knowing the Scripture; The mission of these false teachers is to convince you to let go of the Biblical traditions they call the old ways - for the new, they are putting the dialectic practice to work. When we replace the doctrine in Scripture with doctrines of men – our own interpretations become what we follow. This is a repeat of what the Pharisees did with their own interpretations and additions to the law in Jesus’ day. For years we have seen spiritual movements divorce them-self from the Word of God and think they are being led by the Spirit. Now the emergent movement that has become mature in its position and they show their disregard for the Word. Neo-Orthodoxy teaches that the Scriptures cannot be relied upon. . The reformation began by going back to the Bible. Jesus referred to the Old Testament in nearly everything He taught. Jesus began His ministry by quoting Isaiah 61, Scripture, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus always quoted the Scriptures as the final source of authority (Matt. 22:29 32; Mark 7:9, 13). He often stated the phrase, “It is written,” (repeated 92 times New Testament), “have you not read?” “search the Scriptures”, “is it not written in your law?” “You err, not knowing the Scriptures...” Back to the Bible is what Jesus pointed the Pharisees too that were wrong in their religious practices- back to the Bible is what the apostles told the church. Peter wrote “That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior” (2 Peter 3:2; Jude 1:17). The light has not changed; the Bible says the light is His Word that is constant in a dark fallen world. In other words, if our Lord Jesus Christ of the Gospel identifies the Scriptures as God’s Word, why should we question it? SCRIPTURE IS THE WORD OF GOD. Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God,” etc. (I Thess. 2:13.) For the Lord himself has said in the Gospel, “It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of My Father speaking through you”; therefore “he who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Matt. 10:20; Luke 10:16; John 13:20). In a sense, it is only as we acknowledge the Bible as the Word of the Father about the Son that we truly see the Son as the Father’s own True Word. It is through the testimony of the Word of God written that we recognize Jesus as the Word of God Incarnate. What’s more, given the current illumination of the text by the Spirit we ought that “God himself spoke to the fathers, prophets, apostles, and still speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures” and His Spirit about the Son. True Bible believers; want to live by what is written in the Bible, not something new by some smooth talker selling silky stories to move the crowds. I find little difference on doctrine from “emergent liberals” and the Gnostics of the New Age. Gnosticism believed that God communicated revelation directly to the spirit, bypassing the mind, not using doctrine, the Word. The New Age Movement bases their teaching on that experience is a greater teacher than God’s Word, which Jesus taught and called the truth. This is why they can accept other religions practices, because they are not practicing Word. Why are they not practicing the Word? Because they do not recognize it as God’s authority over their lives. Paul admonishes “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16). On the other hand he warns in 1 Cor.4:6 “not to go beyond what is written.” How can the church be effective in the time we live in? Not by becoming Postmodern, or multicultural or adopt inter-spirituality .By rejecting the Word of God given by the Spirit of God, they are rejecting the Word of God that became flesh- Jesus Christ. But this is what this emergent movement is about; they adopt other religions practices and unbiblical teachings and interpretations to produce their own kind of spirituality .I agree with W. E. Vine when he wrote, “Those who have been known as men of God have lived under the power and guidance of the Scriptures” If the Bible is not the WORD OF GOD and if we believe such nonsense, then we have made the Bible into an idol and then it is the Golden Calf of our day. Who is the one confused, God or man? We then have two views in conflict, an infallible person reading a fallible Scripture or fallible person reading the infallible Scripture. I choose the later. So then, is Jesus the Word of God (Logos)? Yes and Amen. Should we still speak of the Bible as the Word of God? Of course we should – Jesus told us to. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: — 2nd Timothy 3:16 Soli Deo Gloria
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 09:51:58 +0000
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