Jesus is the Word of God. He is The Word of God.
The Bible contains some of the words of God.
Christians believe that God is uniquely revealed in Jesus. The Bible is not equal to Jesus as a divine revelation. It is certainly not superior to Him. Jesus is God revealed. The Bible is a collection of books and letters that serve as a record of God’s revelation.
I raise this concern, not because I have the answers, but because I have the concern. I am concerned that, as we promote the Bible, we demote Jesus. We become so accustomed to referring to “the word of God” (meaning the Bible) that we have perhaps, unknowingly, diminished the One who “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Ever since, as children, we first sang, “I stand alone on the word of God, the B-I-B-L-E”, we have perhaps given the Bible the place that should only be reserved for Jesus. Jesus saves, not the Bible.
Since the water’s not quite hot enough yet, let me add more wood to the fire. Bible worship is idolatry. The Bible is a story guide, a way to get to know the One who is the Way. The guide is not worthy of praise and adoration, only God is. Knowing every little detail about the guide is worthless if it doesn’t lead to the One who is worthy. To the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said, “You diligently study the scriptures, because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have eternal life.” (John 5:39, 40)
The scriptures do not exalt themselves. The written word always points to the Living Word. Attempting to squeeze the Living Word into a bound book makes it easier to categorize, classify and perhaps even attempt to control God. But God will not be constrained by human efforts to contain Him. He is too big, too mighty, too God for us to ever fully comprehend.
I offer none of these comments to minimize the Bible. I offer all of them to make sure we never minimize God. May the Bible always be a roadway to the heart of God. May it never be a roadblock. May we study the Bible in such a way that when we see phrases like “word of God”, we at least pause long enough to see if it is referring to Jesus rather than the scriptures about Jesus. And may we listen to ourselves more carefully, so that we give the honor and glory and praise exclusively to the One “called Faithful and True…His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”
(Revelation 19:11-13)
Dennis Lynn
Redwood Church
