Monday, November 28, 2005

What the word of God, says about the word of God

Whew, its been a while since I've posted anything. I'm in the final push of the semester and my time is limited. However, this is a topic that has been swimming around in my head for a while. I felt like I needed to get it posted. At least I feel like its post-worthy.

First of all, when you start reading the Bible in Genesis, the word of God is the actual words coming out of God's mouth, like when He's addressing Abraham or Moses.

Genesis 15:1- After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

So this raises the question, is the rest Bible, the word or words from God Himself? Or are there human fingerprints all over it? Now this is where the debate comes in, because there are definitely two sides to this issue. Some theologians say yes, that the Bible is the word of God and that it cannot be criticized or faulted. It is inerrant and infallible. However, I agree with the other side of the story and say that this book of ours is not the direct words of God and that there are mistakes in it. For example, in the book of Judges, Joshua dies twice, once in chapter one and then again in chapter two. And also, in the book of Genesis, there are actually two accounts of creation, one in chapter one and another in chapter two. If a book is so perfect, then why are there these problems? Is this book the complete perfect word of God. I think not. (If you're still not convinced, check our the numbers of David's men in some of those stories, there are two different accounts and the numbers do not match.)

Another thing I would like to kindly point out, is that there are three members of the trinity, not four. The Bible is not one of them. Arguing that the Bible isn't perfect and has mistakes in it does not change who God is. It makes God a bigger God.

The whole point of this book is Christ, without him these words are meaningless. This Bible that we have cannot stand on its own like God can. It cannot take the place of God in our lives. I worship the God of the universe, not this book of words that cannot begin to describe him.

Ephesians 6:17
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Without the Spirit, the Bible is powerless.

So what is the word of God? John 1:14 says it best:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

Without Jesus, Christianity wouldn't have come into existence. Without Jesus, we would not have a proper interpretation of the Bible. If you want a correct interpretation of the Bible, look to Jesus because he is the Word of God incarnate. He lived the interpretation of the Scriptures. Still not enough? Then look to the Spirit for help, because that's His job. He hears everything the Father says and tells us.

This is why we have to be so tight with God, because we can't understand this book without Him. We cannot be book worshippers, because books cannot save us. God wants our hearts first and foremost.