In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
Revelation 19:13 describes Jesus
“He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
Jesus is the Word of God but the Bible is of course no ordinary book. When reading an ordinary book it is not necessary to meet the author to benefit from the book. With the Bible, everything is different. It is vital & necessary to meet the Author if you are to understand the Bible. We can’t expect to know the Bible of God without knowing the God of the Bible. We must know Jesus, the living Word of God, in order to truly comprehend the Bible, the written words of God. One can never understand the message and intent of the Bible, unless you have a redeeming encounter with its Author.
Jesus quoted the Old Testament about 180 times in the Gospels. Jesus prayed in John 17:24,
“Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the foundation of the world.”
We can see from his prayer that God loves Himself & God loves us. God brings His own love for Himself and His scripture into us when we are saved & the delight Jesus has had for the Father and for the scriptures is shared with us. His love for scripture is not a love of doctrines and principles but of the story of the one true God, His love, and how He has revealed Himself to people throughout History.
The Illuminative quality of God’s words.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:16-19,
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who trust, according to the working of his great might”
In this scripture we can see that God is the one who gives us wisdom, who reveals knowledge of Himself, who enlightens our hearts and minds.As said before ‘we can’t know God’s Bible without knowing God’. It is the Holy Spirit who illuminates us to the scriptures. The Bible must be illumined by the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit’s illumination and teaching, the Bible itself is just another book!
1 Corinthians 2:12 explains how the Holy Spirit of God is essential to learning the knowledge of God.
"Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ."
The Bible contains the words of God, inspired by Him. His words are powerful because He is God. Our understanding of His words only comes through us trusting Him and Him being alive and active in unfolding His words to us.
The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. -Psalm 119:130
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. -Psalm 119:105
In Psalm 43:3, the Psalmist prayed this:
“O, send out Your light and Your truth, and let them lead me.”
Note the combination of light and truth in his prayer. It is wise to pray to the Holy Spirit for His light before you expose yourself to His truth.
The Psalmist in Psalm 119 frequently asks God for illumination.
Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things. -18
Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me! -29
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. -37
You have taught me. -102
Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word! -169
It is not enough to have the Bible. Many people take up the Bible and read—and receive no benefit at all. Why? Because they had the truth, but had no light to detect it.
The Invaluable quality of God’s words.
Psalm 12:6 reveals the absolutely reliability of God's words.
“The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.”
God's words are untainted by falsehood or deception. As some translations put it "the words of the LORD are flawless"
Psalm 19:7 says – The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Psalm 33:3-4 says – The word of the LORD is right and true; he is trustworthy in all he does.
The following are a few practical examples that express the value of God's words.
God’s words help lead us to salvation, eternal life.
John 5:24 – Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and trusts him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
Romans 1:16 – Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who trusts"
Paul wrote to Timothy "You have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through trust in Christ Jesus." -2 Timothy 3:15
God’s words equip us for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
God’s words are food for our spirit.
Matthew 4:4 – Jesus said, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Note that Jesus said "every word." God has not stopped speaking to us just because the Bible is completed. Illumination involves present interaction from God.
The value of life, food, and provision for good work is immeasurable.
Psalm 119 also expresses the invaluable quality of God’s words.
The words of your mouth are better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. -72
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word. -114
I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil. -162
The Infinite & Eternal quality of God’s words.
God constantly holds an infinite supply of wisdom and knowledge. He has revealed much wisdom and knowledge in the scriptures.
Isaiah 40:13-14 – Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?
Psalm 139:17 – How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
Psalm 147:5 – Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
God's words are eternal thus it benefits us to invest what time we have into one of the only things that lasts beyond time itself.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Psalm 119 indeed expresses the infinite & eternal quality of God’s words.
Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. -89
Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live. -144
Remembering that Jesus is the Word of God
The Bible tells me about the voice of the person (Jesus) to whom I'm meant to relate. If you don't get to know the person of Jesus you will not understand the Bible. If you separate the present tense life of Christ from scripture then you have a dead book.
The Word of God is Jesus and He said that the Holy Spirit would lead us to all truth not the holy bible. I'm not saying that the Bible isn't important. The book itself is not essential but its truths are. God can and did teach people those truths without the book. For many hundreds of years Christians did not have bibles in their homes. How did they possibly make it? They had a real spiritual relationship with God.
Today we think "If I haven't read the Bible everyday I can't possibly know God's heart." Do not beat yourself up about not reading the Bible as much as you think you should. As a child of God the words of God should never condemn you. If you still feel condemned by the Bible because you aren't "measuring up" and because you keep failing then your focus is not on Jesus it is on you. The Bible in the Christian life is not meant to be used as, "I'll follow the rules in the book and then I will meet Jesus." The truth is "I'll meet Jesus and He'll bring the truths of this book alive in me." The Bible is not a guide book. The Bible is a grace book that points us to Jesus.
Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
The Word of God this scripture is talking about is Jesus not the Bible. Certainly Jesus is living and active. 1 Chronicles 28 says, "The LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts." To think that quoting scripture to someone is guaranteed to pierce to their soul is a false idea. The living God is the one who does this, you can not force it. It is His job to do. Jesus is the sword of the Spirit spoken of in Ephesians 6:17. Jesus is a life giving Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 15:45). The Word of God is the loving, present tense Jesus speaking to the heart.
A lot of churches will teach that the Christian life is about oughts, shoulds, musts, supposed tos, trying to live by the laws that God had put in place, coming up with and following principles and methods for Christian living. What all of that is really doing is looking at pages in a bible and looking at a historical figure for methods and rules. The reality of the Christian life is Christ in you right here and right now, we are in union with Him. We live not by methods, rules, and trying to replicate past happenings but by living right here, in the here and now, with Jesus Christ and His life living in us.
Paul gives us great insight into the value of knowing Jesus in Philippians 3:8,
"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as turds, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through trust in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on trust."
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This was my first public teaching on Oct 12, 2008 then known as 3 Qualities That Show The Importance of Scripture.
It has been heavily revised and added to on Oct 27, 2011.
