Is the Bible the Word of God?
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- Book Contents
- Title Page
- Introduction
- General Information About the Word
- The Word is a Spoken Thing
- The Word Is Not Seen
- Obeying The Word
- If the Bible Were the Word of God
- The Real Word of God
- False Claims
- Conclusion
- Pastoral Letter
- Further Study Materials
- Visit our Bible topic page for more study materials about the Bible.
Is the Bible the Word of God?
General Information About the Word
Those to whom the Word of God comes are themselves called “gods” (Ps. 82:6; Jn. 10:35) because the entrance of the Word of God transforms men into beings of understanding beyond the realm of normal human existence. It enables men to see life aright; that is, to see it from the divine perspective (Ps. 119:105). The Word of God is truly, as David said, a thing to be received with great joy (Ps. 119:162).
Those whom God honors by speaking to them are, by the mere act of receiving God’s Word, set apart and given authority among men (see 1Tim. 5:17; Heb. 13:7). Yet it is obvious that not everyone who owns a Bible has such authority. One may own a Bible, and even be well schooled in the original biblical languages, without experiencing the Word of God.
“Word” is used at times as a synonym for God’s promises (1Kgs. 2:4; Deut. 9:5; 1Kgs. 8:56; 2Chron. 6:10; Rom. 9:9). By the Word of the Lord, according to Psalm 119, David was promised life (vv. 25, 107, 154), strength (vv. 28, 116), salvation (v. 81), mercy (v. 58), blessings (v. 65), merciful kindness and comfort (vv. 76, 82), understanding (v. 169), and deliverance (v. 170). “Word” is also used in reference to the promises God made to Abraham concerning his having a son by Sarah (Rom. 9:9) and concerning the land of Canaan being given to his seed (Deut. 9:5). To break a promise is called “breaking one’s word” (Num. 30:2), and God has been known to break His promise when provoked by sin to do so (Num. 14:34; 1Sam. 2:30).
The Word of God is described in many ways in the Bible. Here are some of the principal descriptive terms I found:
The word of God’s grace. . . . Acts 14:3; 20:32.
The word of faith. . . . . . . . . Rom. 10:8.
The word of reconciliation. . . 2Cor. 5:19.
The word of truth. . . . . . . . . 2Cor. 6:7; Jas. 1:18.
The word of life. . . . . . . . . . 1Jn. 1:1.
The word of Christ. . . . . . . . Col. 3:16.
The faithful word. . . . . . . . . Tit. 1:9.
The word of righteousness. . . Heb. 5:13.
The word of the oath. . . . . . . Heb. 7:28.
The word of exhortation. . . . Heb. 13:22.
The word of prophecy. . . . . . 2Pet. 1:19.
The word of my patience. . . . Rev. 3:10.
However it is described, the Word of God is to be respected. Of course, some fear God’s Word and some do not (Ex. 9:20-21), but only the man who fears God’s Word will find favor in His sight (Isa. 66:2, 5). God will show favor to the man who trembles at His Word (Isa. 66:2; Jer. 26:2-3). Wise Daniel, who trembled at the Word of God that came by the mouth of the angel (Dan. 10:11; cp. 4:17; Lk. 1:38), was dearly loved by God (Dan. 9:23). So we see that to fear and obey God’s Word is the mark of a wise man. Despising the word of a king in the ancient world was a crime punishable by death (Ezr. 6:11; Eccl. 8:4); nevertheless, obedience to the Word of God takes precedence over allegiance to any king (Dan. 3:28; Acts 4:19; 5:29). The clear lesson being that obedience to the Word of God is to be chosen over life itself, and many are those who have been forced to make that very choice.