The bible

1. The Bible – 16th
June 2016
“Sanctifythem by the truth; your wordis truth” (John17:17).
The phrase “word of God” appearsofteninthe Bible andcan have a slightlydifferentmeaning
dependingoncontextandthe HebreworGreekwordused. John1:1 says, “Inthe beginningwasthe
Word.And the Word waswith Godand the Wordwas God.He was inthe beginningwithGod.” Here,
Word is a title of the Lord Jesus.The termtranslated“Word” is logos,whichbasicallymeans“the
expressionof athought.”Logos can be thoughtof as the total message of God to man. We can learn
fromActs 11:1, “The apostlesandthe believersthroughoutJudea heard that the Gentilesalsohad
received the word ofGod” and alsofrom 1 Thessalonians2:13, “Andwe alsothank Godcontinually
because, when youreceived the word of God,whichyou heardfrom us, youaccepted it notas a
humanword, but asit actuallyis, the word of God,whichis indeedat work inyou who believe”. Jesus
embodiedthattotal message,andthatiswhyHe iscalledthe “Logos,” or “WordofGod” We can get an
understandingwhenwe read Colossians1:19, “For Godwas pleasedto have all hisfullnessdwell in
him” and alsofromColossians 2:9, “Forin Christall the fullnessofthe Deity livesin bodilyform”.
Logos isalsousedmany timeswhenreferringto whensomeonereferstothe written message of God.
For example we see in John17:17, “Sanctifythem by the truth; your word is truth”;and we are also
toldin1 Timothy 4:5, “…becauseitis consecrated by the word of Godandprayer. In Hebrews 4:12 it
says: “The word ofGodis aliveand active. Sharper thanany double-edgedsword,it penetrates even
to dividingsoul andspirit,jointsand marrow;it judges the thoughtsand attitudesof the heart.” We
geta deeperunderstandingwhenwe observe throughthe scriptureswhere Jesusshowedalink
betweenthe writtenWordof God and Himself,inthatHe isthe subjectof the writtenWord: “Youstudy
the Scriptures diligentlybecauseyou thinkthat in them you have eternal life. These are the very
Scriptures that testifyabout me” (John5:39).
AnotherGreekwordusedfor“word” is rhema.Rhema referstothe actual spoken/writtenwordsof
God. We can readfrom Hebrews 6:5, “…whohave tasted the goodnessofthe word of Godand the
powers of the comingage”.WhenJesuswasbeingtemptedbySatan,He answered, “Mandoesnotlive
by bread alone,but by every word[rhema] that proceeds from the mouthof God” (Matthew4:4). We
are toldin Ephesians6:17, “Take the helmet ofsalvationandthe swordof the Spirit,which is the word
of God”.Thisteachingtellsus to“take the helmetof salvationandthe swordof the Spirit,whichis in
reference to the word[rhema] of God.”Jesusdemonstrated thatwe needthe actual recordedwordsof
God to overcome Satan’sattacks on us.It is throughthe inherentpowerof HiswordthatSatan can be
rejectedandnotthroughhumanattempts.
As Christianswe mustclearlyunderstandthatthe phrase “Wordof God” meansmore than the printed
wordson a page.God is a communicatorandhas beenspeakingintothe humanrealmsince the
beginning. GodspeaksthroughHiscreation:“Theheavensdeclare the glory of God;the skies proclaim
the work ofhis hands. (Psalm19:1). Then throughthe ancientprophets:“Ispoketo the prophets,gave

2. them many visionsandtold parablesthroughthem.” (Hosea 12:10; andagainthrough Hebrews 1:1,
“Inthe pastGod spoketo ourancestors throughthe prophetsat many times andin variousways”.
God alsocommunicates throughthe HolySpirit:“Butwhen he, the Spiritof truth, comes, he will guide
you intoall the truth. He will not speakon his own;he will speak onlywhat he hears, andhe will tell
you what isyet to come. (John16:13. Furthermore Godspeakstous clearlyanddirectly through
Scripture:“ Forthe word of Godis aliveand active.Sharper than any double-edgedsword,it
penetrates even to dividingsoul andspirit,jointsandmarrow; it judgesthe thoughtsandattitudes of
the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
God speaksto us through the Personof HisSon, JesusChrist:Jesusanswered: “Don’tyou knowme,
Philip,even after I have been amongyou sucha longtime?Anyone who hasseen me hasseen the
Father. How can you say,‘Show usthe Father’? (John14:9). We can learn and getto know God better
by consciously seekingHimtill “youfind”Himandthenyouwill hearHimin everywaythatHe speaks to
us.