Tim Ross’s talk on “The Bible - The word of people or the word of God ?”

2. The Bible Contains The Word of God

The second way of considering the Bible as the Word of God is to say that it contains the Word of God. Although it was written by people, and may contain human errors, they have faithfully recorded what God said or revealed to them.i.e. Some bits of it are divine in origin, but others are human. The problem here is deciding which parts of the Bible are the divine bits, and how they apply to us. It leaves readers to choose as they like.

3. The Bible is About The Word of God

The Bible is primarily a record of revelation. It is the story of how God revealed his plan and purpose to his chosen people. Though the account is written by humans, and is therefore fallible, that revelation, when properly understood is still relevant for us today.

The problem with this view is that it is too easy to dismiss bits of the Bible as history and therefore irrelevant. With the parts we don’t like, we can just say, well that was then, but it doesn’t apply now.

All these approaches have the problem that they are limiting their understanding of the Word of God to the written word of the Bible. But, isn’t the Word of God more than the Bible?

The Word of God is more than the Bible

John 1:1-4

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

This makes it clear that the Word of God is something eternal, existing with God before creation (and the Bible) every came into being. The eternal Word of God is a part of who God is.

• 1 Peter 1:23
• “For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal.”
• Hebrews 4:12
• “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart
• ”More than written scripture, the Word of God is the embodiment of God’s authoritative and creative presence of God.

When God’s word is spoken, stuff happens; a universe is created, a storm is stilled, judgements are pronounced, lives are changed.

A fourth model for the Bible as the Word of God - Jesus

John 1:1-4 is talking about Jesus.

Jesus is God’s word incarnate; he is the Word of God personified in a human being.

Jesus is theanthropic – he is both divine (theos) and human (anthropos).

In the same way, the Bible is theanthropic. As the Word of God in written form, rather than human form, the Bible has both human and divine elements.

In its human nature, it is the product of thousands of years of human history and culture, it has been through committees and councils, it has been assembled, revised, edited and copied. But it is also instilled with the eternal Word of God – the same creative, communicative life of God, which brought the universe into existence.

So, God communicates himself through the words of the Bible regardless of any human failings.

Move onto part 3 >