What comes to your mind when I say the “Word of God”? Most of us just think of the Bible. But what if there is more to it than just the old book that grandma had on her coffee table? What if it’s more than the book we feel guilty for not reading? What if there is a deeper meaning and understanding to what “The Word of God” is, that we should grasp as believers. Today we will investigate what the Bible actually says about “The Word”. It may surprise you. Let's pray that God will open our ears and give us an understanding as we begin. As we begin our study on the Word of God there are some key verses that give us some insight into how God has presented this concept to us. The Word of God is God.
John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word of God is a Person, not a book. John 1:2 “He was in the beginning with God.” The Word of God created everything. John 1:3 “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” The Word of God walked on earth. John 1:19 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word of God is revealed in the book of Revelation. Revelation 19:13 “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” His name is the Word of God but His title is “King of kings and Lord of lords”. Revelation 19:16 “16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Perhaps after looking at these passages you have realized that the “He” who the bible calls “The Word of God” is Jesus. When God, The Word of God, left heaven and was born into this world He became flesh...and His earthly name was Jesus. But His eternal name is The Word of God.
Now, in order to understand what is meant by “The Word of God, we need to look into what the word “word” means in the Greek. There are two different Greek words that are translated into “word”. They are Logos and Rhema. The one that is used in the above passages from the book of John is Logos. Logos means the “entire thought or concept”. So what John was helping us to understand is that Jesus on earth was the entire thought or concept that God wanted to present to us. The other Greek word is Rhema, and it means a specific word or thought that is within the overall concept. The entire Bible is the logos Word of God, but a specific verse that you speak over a situation can be a rhema Word of God for you. Here is how the Logos and Rehma words of God are supposed to practically operate in your life. Let’s say you have a neighbor who doesn’t like you because you’re a Christian goody 2 shoes. At one point, you declined their invitation to one of their famous “parties” and that made them angry. So they started gossiping about you to the rest of the neighborhood. Well, they’ve done it again and this time they spread a lie to try and ruin your relationship with your other neighbors. What should your response be when your friend tells you what they are saying? If you have been studying the Logos or entire word of God, God can bring to your mind a Rehma or specific verse from Proverbs to help you know how to respond.
Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” The word will always remind us to respond in love. Remember the test we talked about last week? It’s how we’ll know if we are allowed to stop loving someone. The Logos Word of God was called Jesus the “Son of God” while on earth. I believe that was to help us comprehend His status, but that title carries a different meaning from what we understand an earthly son to be. An earthly son does not fully embody everything that his father is. Nor does he accomplish everything his father desires him to do. I can tell you for sure that even though we are alike in many ways...I’m not the full embodiment of what my dad is. My dad likes to cook and I also like to cook. My dad has always been a leader, both at work and church. I’ve owned several business and now pastor a church. Dad passed the skill of leadership along to me. But you see, my dad likes to hunt...and I have no desire to hunt. Dad only likes to eat meat and potatoes. Now, I do love meat and potatoes, but I also enjoy sushi, Vietnamese and Thai food. Dad would never consider trying those things. So like I said, I am not the full embodiment of my dad. Meaning...I am not the logos of my dad. I’m not the entire concept of my dad...I’m simply a rhema of my dad. I’m a specific part of the entire concept of my dad. You see he’s also a brother, an uncle and grandfather.
That is how Jesus was different than we are. He was completely God while also being flesh and bone fully a man. Even His disciples had a hard time understanding how this was possible. But it was true none the less. The Son of God and God the Father were inseparable: John 14:6-11 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Jesus said if you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” He could say this because He “the Word” and God were one in thought and action and voice. Jesus (The Word) and God The Father were inseparable in every way possible. If you have a thought or concept and then you speak that idea out loud, is it possible to separate you from your thought or your words? Both the thought and the words are made of the same source material (You) and are always in support of each other even though they have separate functions. The easiest way to think about it is to compare it to water. There is water, ice and steam. All with the same chemical composition
of H2O. There are of the same substance, even though they serve different functions. In the same way God the Father, The Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God cannot be separated or considered apart from each other, even though each one has a separate role or function. In the light of Jesus being the Logos Word of God, what does Isaiah 55:11 mean? Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Jesus is the Word of God...and was sent out from God the Father...and did not return without accomplishing what The Father wanted. When we are saved, we say that Jesus lives in our heart. But the more accurate description of what has happened is that The Word of God now lives in our heart. So if Jesus, the Logos Word of God, is living in you...are you not a Rhema word of God with a specific thing you have been sent to accomplish for Him? You are certainly not the entire concept of the Father. But you were created in His image according to His likeness and you have His Spirit alive in you, so you are a specific part of His plan. Should that not change our thoughts about how we speak to and treat others? The word has been sown into our heart according to the parable of The Sower that Jesus told in the books of Matthew and Luke.
Jesus told the story of someone sowing seed along the road and He describes the different kinds of soil that the seed fell on. Afterwards when His disciples asked Him what it meant, He explained it to them. The WORD in our heart Luke 8:11-12 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” Luke 8:15 “But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Jesus tells us that the seed is the Word of God and the soil is our heart. As a believer, our heart is the good soil and is supposed to produce a crop many times what was sown. But the seed needs the soil in order to reach the full potential that lives inside of it. A seed by itself laying on concrete will not produce a harvest. But a seed planted in good soil will begin growing. The only way we can stay in alignment with God’s plan for our life is by cultivating the Word that He has sown in our heart. Even when a seed takes root in good soil it still takes work to get a full harvest. You have to keep the weeds pulled out, you have to keep watering the seed, you have to keep fertilizing the soil.
You have to work the soil of your heart to keep from having issues. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” The soil doesn’t care what is sown into it. It will nourish and push to the surface whatever you allow to be planted. Your heart will not distinguish the difference between love and bitterness... or truth and gossip. What is growing in your heart will come out in your words. Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” If you want to know what’s inside someone just talk to them for a few minutes. If you hear bitterness, you can bet that it’s been growing in their heart for a while. If you hear pain, you can bet it’s been growing in their heart for a while. If you hear love, you can bet it’s been growing in their heart for a while. What was in God’s heart was revealed by His Word. ...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. When God’s Word came out of His heart and was sent to earth as the man Jesus, God showed us what His heart is full of...love.
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