The Word

For by the Word of the Lord
the heavens were made,
And all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
(Psalm 33:6, 9)

The Word of God is powerful. Through it He created the universe. It is stated eight times in Genesis 1 that God spoke, and each time something amazing happened.

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (v. 3).

Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters" (v. 6).

Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so (v. 9).

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so (v. 11).

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so (vv. 14-15).

Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens" (v. 20).

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so (v. 24).

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (v. 26).

In the verses cited above, God spoke something into being (including man). He also spoke three commandments: 1) He blessed those animals which lived in the sea and flew in the air and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply (v. 22); 2) He also commanded man to be fruitful and multiply, but also to fill the earth and subdue it, and to have dominion over all the animals He had created (v. 28); 3) He authorized both man and the animals that dwelt upon the land to eat of the vegetation and the fruit of the land (vv. 29-30).

The Identification of the Word

This point is belabored for one reason—to be certain that no one can overlook or underestimate the power of the Word of God. The next point of consideration is one of identification.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made (John 1:1-3).

That Word became flesh, and His name was called Jesus (John 1:14). God created all things through His Word; Jesus is that Word. He is "the image of the invisible God": all things "were created through Him and for Him" (Col. 1:15-16). Jesus is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power" (Heb. 1:3).

Attacks on the Word

Has the Word of God lost its power? Or is it as effective now as it was in creation? The writer of Hebrews affirms that "the word of God is living and powerful" (4:12). How is it, then, that the power of the Word is attacked by so many? First, some in recent decades have argued that the Bible is nothing more than a dead letter. How could anyone even make such a claim when the Word itself says the exact opposite? One would think that those who contradict the Scriptures (like Satan in Genesis 3:4) would occasionally show embarrassment, but they seldom do.

Second, some deny the power of the Word by saying that we need the Holy Spirit dwelling in us to reveal to us what the Scriptures mean. Or they may say that we need the Holy Spirit to illuminate the meaning of a text. They may not realize it, but in so doing they are denigrating the power of the Word of God. Did Adam and Eve need the Holy Spirit in them to explain what God meant when He told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

"Oh, but that was before the Fall," some would argue. "Now that man is depraved, he needs the Holy Spirit to help him understand the Word." Oh, so when Adam and Eve first sinned, they lost the ability to comprehend language? They could no longer understand such complex commandments as: "Be fruitful and multiply," no doubt. According to these people's theology, Cain was depraved, yet God told him, "If you do well, will you not be accepted?" He also advised him that he should rule over sin (Gen. 4:7). God did not tell him that he was so depraved that the Holy Spirit had to help him overcome sin or interpret God's Word for him.

People assign all sorts of purposes for the indwelling Spirit today—that the Bible does not teach. For some reason they think that we cannot understand the new covenant without "special help" from the Holy Spirit, but the words inspired by the Holy Spirit in any covenant have been intelligible, although there are always a few things that are hard to be understood (2 Peter 3:16). In the covenant God gave to Israel at Sinai, what is there about not committing adultery that is hard to understand? Must the Holy Spirit "interpret" those words? What about not making idols? Do people not know what stealing is without special help? If God's children were able to understand His words under the old covenant, what dulled our senses under the new so that we now need the Holy Spirit to explain it to each one of us individually and personally? The fact is that we do not. Such has not ever been the function of the Holy Spirit. To argue that He is necessary in order to provide us such information is to say that the Word of God has become diminished in its capability. It is either as powerful as it has always been, or it is not.

The Sufficiency of the Word

God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (Heb. 1:1-2).

Some have failed to consider what these opening verses of Hebrews teach. They are neither ambiguous nor vague. In times past God spoke to His people through various means, but He no longer does so. He speaks to us today through His Son. What are some ways God used in times past?

1. He spoke directly, as He did to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and others. God no longer speaks directly to men; He communicates through Christ. On one of these occasions, God spoke through a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12).

2. He spoke through prophets, one of which was Enoch, according to Jude (14). There have not been any prophets since the first century, as prophesied by Zachariah (13:1) and taught by Paul (1 Cor. 13:8-10).

3. He spoke through dreams and visions, as to Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis (cf. Num. 12:6). God has not spoken in this manner to anyone since the first century. Those who claim to have this power today have deceived themselves and are denying Jesus.

4. He spoke through a burning bush (Ex. 3).

5. He spoke through Moses, who was a mediator between God and Israel. There is but one mediator today—the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).

6. He spoke through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest (Ex. 28:30). Today Jesus is our high priest (Heb. 3:1).

7. He spoke through a donkey (Num. 22).

8. He spoke through a requested sign (Judges 6:36-40).

9. He spoke through the casting of lots (Acts 1).

God used all of these methods in times past to communicate His will, but in these last days He has spoken to us through His Son. Jesus also says that we shall be judged by His Word (John 12:48). He has all authority (Matt. 28:18). We will not be judged by our "dreams," by Moses, by casting lots, or by the voice we thought we heard from a burning bush! We will be judged by His Words—and those of His apostles. Jesus did not reveal everything before He returned to heaven. He promised His apostles that the Holy Spirit would reveal to them all truth (John 16:13), which He did, as both Peter (2 Peter 1:3) and Jude (3) affirm.

Hebrews 2:1 begins with a warning that we should not drift away from our salvation because we will not escape judgment if we neglect what "first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will" (Heb. 2:3-4). This passage shows that what Jesus began the apostles finished. No wonder we read in Acts 2:42 that, after 3,000 repented of their sins and were baptized to have forgiveness of them on the Day of Pentecost, these new Christians "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." What Jesus began to teach, the apostles completed.

One of those apostles affirms that God had granted to them "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). The use of the word all means nothing was omitted that we need to be spiritually perfect. God did not save further revelations to reveal through dreams or any other means. Jude, the Lord's earthly brother, agreed when he exhorted brethren "to earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (3). God did not decide to reveal part of His will for making man spiritually perfect in the first century and then give him more in the twenty-first century. He did not reveal some aspects regarding the Christian faith immediately and then give out more piecemeal, as time progressed.

In the first place, if He had chosen to do things this way (which He did not), those in the first century would not have had what it took to become spiritually perfect. They would have lived and died in spiritual imperfection—even though Jesus had died for their sins! In the second place, they would not have known all of the truth that makes men free. If God chose to reveal only a little of the faith in every age, then people would still be seeing through a glass darkly, and theology would be constantly evolving. What a spiritual quagmire would have resulted if God had chosen to use such a method! But He did not! He revealed everything necessary to understand all truth and everything essential to please Him.

The Advantage

Some may wonder what the advantage is of the new system over the old. The problem under the old covenant was that men were always claiming to be prophets of God—even when God had not commanded them to speak. They might not have more "law" but they professed to be providing God's view of things. God was well aware of this possibility; He built safeguards into the Law of Moses that He gave to Israel:

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die (Deut. 18:20).

Despite severe warnings, men made bogus claims:

…because they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I know, and am a witness, says the Lord (Jer. 29:23).

Israel was plagued with men who would tell them "smooth things" (Isa. 30:10) and would assure them that they could continue in their sins (all the while questioning whether they were really sins) and that God would not punish them. Could Israel have known these men were liars? Probably, they could have, had they had the inclination to compare their messages with previous Scriptures. But the work of the false prophet was made easier by the fact that revelation was not yet closed.

Now it is! It has been completed since the first century. Those who would act otherwise must deny what the Scriptures clearly teach. They must reject Christ Who plainly said that the apostles would be given all truth (John 16:13). They must reject the power of the Word that makes this declaration.

Application

Those who believe that God is speaking to them or to certain men whom they follow are not only wrong; they contradict the very Word of God. Last week (August 26, 2012) we quoted from one such person who stated: "God does not hate divorce"; then he added, "He invented it." This is the place that those who trust in their feelings, their so-called "revelations," or those "voices" they hear in their heads wind up—contradicting the complete Word which God has given to us. They can claim they have new revelations until the cows come home, but it will not change the truth that is recorded in the Bible.

People have these "revelations" either to build their own following or to do something that the Bible teaches against. If they were willing to walk humbly before God, they would obey the teachings of the New Testament rather than disagree with it. Alleging that God spoke to them is a way of soothing their own consciences when they choose what they know is wrong or condemned in the Scriptures. Their actions are typical of those who rebel against God and the written Word. They seek to justify themselves on the basis of their subjective experiences, which God never gave as a source of authority.

How sad that so many deceive themselves, pitting their own will against God's! They claim to be warding off Satan's spiritual attacks, but they have already lost to Satan by rejecting the way that God actually does work, which is through His Word. If they knew and believed the Word, they would stand in the faith. Their deeds show that their hearts are not with God. The Word produces good fruit. The Word of God works effectively in those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13)—not those who stubbornly desire to walk in their own ways. Anyone who is serious about salvation must respect the Word that was so powerful that it created the universe; this Word is Jesus, the Word by which we shall be judged.