Is the Bible the Word of God?

If the Bible Were the Word of God . . .

Taken to its logical end, the idea that the Bible is the Word of God will lead us to some strange conclusions. Please allow me to demonstrate this with some good-natured humor. I love and respect every fellow believer who is persuaded to believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and I would never do anything to belittle them. But just for fun, let’s assume that the Bible is the Word of God, and then, using the following Scriptures, let’s observe the unlikely conclusions that follow.

The Word of God was in Balaam’s mouth (Num. 22:38), indicating that Balaam’s mouth was enormously wide, which may explain how he became such a famous prophet. However, surgery on his mouth was probably not required, as it certainly must have been for King David. In his case, we are told that the Word was in David’s tongue, of all things (2Sam. 23:2). Who might have performed the surgery and wedged the Bible into his tongue, or how he was able to chew and speak afterwards is unclear, but obviously, modern notions that advanced medical techniques were unknown to those ancient people are clearly unfounded. Why, according to Scripture, it was a normal procedure for the Word of God to be implanted not only in the mouths of God’s people but also in their hearts (Deut. 30:14; Rom. 10:8; Ps. 119:11; 1Jn. 2:14)! Modern surgical procedures are inadequate to perform such an operation.

Jeremiah, however, did not enjoy the Word being inside of him. It burned like fire, he said (Jer. 20:9; 23:29). This must have been a terrible disappointment to Jeremiah because he was overjoyed when the Word was first given to him (Jer. 15:16).

Jeremiah’s difficulties notwithstanding, we are exhorted to taste the Word of God for ourselves (Heb. 6:5). This exhortation indicates that having the Word in our stomachs may be as beneficial as, and certainly seems safer than, having it in our hearts. For those of us who are concerned about such matters, infection will not be a problem if the Bible is in your mouth, heart, or stomach, because the Word of God is pure (Ps. 119:140). At any rate, we are exhorted by these verses to take the Word within us. Indeed, we must do so; otherwise, we will be unable to believe Jesus (Jn. 5:38; 8:37).

If the Word is the Bible, then apparently it was the custom of ancient saints to leave their Bibles lying in the walkways of their cities, because Peter said many stumbled at the Word (1Pet. 2:8). Peter himself, however, did not follow that tradition. He refused to leave his Word anywhere, for any reason (Acts 6:2). Further, if the Word of God is the Bible, then one who is sick might consider placing the Bible on his hurting parts, for the Word heals and delivers (Ps. 107:20).

Anyone desiring spiritual purity might want to take the Bible apart and tape the pages over himself, for the Word also sanctifies (1Tim. 4:5). (Of course, this would be unnecessary for those who have the Word put into their heart, or stomach.) After all, if the Bible is the Word of God, it created and sustains this universe (Ps. 33:6; Heb. 11:3; 2Pet. 3:5,7), and if the Bible (being very small at that time) destroyed the ancient world with the flood (2Pet. 3:6), it can surely heal and sanctify.

Exactly how the earliest congregations washed themselves using the Bible is not clear (Eph. 5:26), but if we bathe using the Bible, I firmly believe that we will become as clean as they did by bathing with it. In this regard, it is no wonder that David praised the Word of God (Ps. 56:4,10), for it had cleansed him (Ps. 119:9). It had also given him life (Ps. 119:50), as it did to thousands of dry bones in a valley somewhere in Babylonia (Ezek. 37:4).

Please forgive my tomfoolery, but there is a serious purpose in it. For if we believe the Bible is the Word of God, and if we carry that idea to a strictly logical conclusion, every impossible conclusion reached in the preceding paragraphs would be true. What this tells us is that the Word of God is not a physical thing, and if it is not a physical thing, then it cannot be a book.

Of the Word of God coming to him, David said, shortly before his death, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was in my tongue” (2Sam. 23:2). We all understand that the Word being in David’s tongue meant simply that he spoke the Word of God to Israel (Ps. 119:172). We all know also that the Bible didn’t create and doesn’t sustain this universe; but the Word of God does (Jn. 1:1-3). According to the will of God, Christ created and holds this universe together (Heb. 1:3).

But, just to drive the point home, let’s continue together with more of these outrageous conclusions, which must be true if the Bible is the Word of God.

In Samuel’s day, the Word of the Lord was hard to find (1Sam. 3:1). Much later, the prophet Amos foretold of a time when people would travel in every direction, looking for the Word of God, unable to find it (Amos 8:12). This leaves one with the impression that sometimes there was a lack of Bibles in Israel, for we are told that the kings of both Israel and Judah often sent “inquiring” for the Word of God. Ahab (1Kgs. 22:5), Jehoshaphat (2Kgs. 3:12), Josiah (2Chron. 34:21), and Zedekiah (Jer. 37:17) were among the kings who sent servants to ask for the Word of God. Why they didn’t have their own copies, we are not told. According to the Law of Moses, they were supposed to keep a copy close to them always (Deut. 17:18-20).

Then again, it may only have been that they were unable to catch their copies of the Word, for Psalm 147:15 tells us that God’s Word runs very swiftly. Nor are we told why they always sent to the prophets to find the Word. Apparently, whenever a king’s Word started running, it ran to a prophet. At any rate, it seems that the prophets were forever well-stocked with Bibles. Everyone seemed to know where to send for the Word when they wanted one.

There is no scriptural basis for thinking that the prophets’ Words were slower of foot than the kings’ Words, but owning slow-footed Words would explain why the prophets always seemed to have the Word when they needed it. Or maybe one long-forgotten qualification for being a prophet was that one had to be fleet-footed, so as to be able to catch the Word. If the kings had known that the Word is actually God (Jn. 1:1), they probably would have tried harder to keep up with their own copies, but that truth wasn’t revealed until Jesus came. At any rate, there seemed always to be much envy against the prophets for having the Word when no one else could keep theirs.

As an added thought, the great speed of the Word also explains why the phrase, “standing on the word” is not found in the Bible. Apparently, there were very few who were able to catch the Word so that they could stand on it. What would be the point in standing on it anyway? It couldn’t get a person very high. If Zacchaeus, the short tax collector, had stood on the Word instead of climbing a tree, he probably would have never seen Jesus at all!

“His Word runneth very swiftly.”

One of the truly puzzling mysteries concerning the run-away Word of God, however, is its remarkable escape from heaven itself! The Psalmist was so confident that the Word would never be able to make a getaway from heaven that he proclaimed, “Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89). Little did he know! Many times, the rambling Word made an appearance here on earth. I suppose, when all the available information is weighed, it would be imprudent to condemn the kings of Israel for being unable to catch their speedy Word if it even avoided capture in the celestial realm! After all, if the Bible was not content to abide in heaven, how could one expect it to sit still in an earthly palace in Israel?

Now, concerning the scarcity of the Word which Amos foretold, it is possible that the reason the Word was so scarce at times was because the Word is not bound (2Tim. 2:9), and if the Word of God is an unbound book, it would be very difficult to keep it together! This “loose-leaf” manner of the Word made it very noticeable and may explain why the poor among God’s people could easily recognize it (Zech. 11:11). However, it does not explain why the rich could not recognize it.

This could also help explain Peter’s remark that many people stumbled at the Word. If the Word was running swiftly and was falling apart at the same time because it was not bound, it would leave a paper trail that many would have to walk through! Actually, the Israelites may have intentionally allowed their Words to run free, especially in wintry weather, because we are told that the Word of God melts ice (Ps. 147:18).

“He casts forth His ice
like morsels. . . .
He sends forth His Word,
and melts them.”

We long for the day when the Lord returns and sets up his printing press in Jerusalem and puts an end to these seemingly endless droughts of the Word. We know he will do this because we are told that in the last days “the Word will go out from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:3; Mic. 4:2). And we know he will employ many people in his printing company, for the Psalmist wrote, “The Lord gave the word. Great was the company of those that published it” (Ps. 68:11). We long to learn how to make copies of the Word, unbound, yet staying together - and increasing! It is difficult to understand, but something about a Bible made like this makes it very tough. Jeremiah (23:29) even described the Word as a hammer that smashes things.

Perhaps this is why Ezekiel was commanded a couple of times to “drop his word” on various places (Ezek. 20:46; 21:2). This certainly explains why Ezekiel was not told to drop his Word on those dry bones! The pages of the Word were probably scattered as a result of the unbound Word being dropped, but that is just my theory. I really don’t know how the scarcity of the Word happened; I only know that it is necessary that the Word be dropped and scattered.

This must be what Paul meant when he said the Word must be rightly divided (2Tim. 2:15). How the pages of the Word could be wrongly divided when dropped isn’t clear yet. It may have something to do with what it is dropped on. Actually, dropping the Word may be a mysterious part of the divine plan to increase the Word, as happened in the book of Acts (6:7). It may be that when the Word is dropped, rightly divided, and gathered back together, more pages are miraculously added. By all indications, this happened often in the days of the earliest saints.

So quickly did the Bible grow that we are told that the Word of God actually multiplied (Acts 12:24; 19:20). We should note that all this increase in the Word in the early days of the New Testament occurred in spite of Moses’ stern warning not to add anything to the Word he gave to Israel. How Peter, Paul, and the other writers of the Old and New Testaments will fare in the judgment for their transgression is a matter of some controversy.

As an added note, those who have poor eyesight will be relieved to learn that God has “magnified His Word” (Ps. 138:2).

“For you have magnified your Word.”