The Word of God An excerpt taken from "Biblical Dyslexia" by Charles Wilhelm.
The Bible - We believe that the Bible is the infallible, inspired, and only true Word of the Living God.
- Hickory Hammock Baptist Church Doctrine Statement, Milton, FL.
The Bible is God's word isn't it? If it is, the scriptures themselves should declare as much. Let us try an experiment which allows the Bible to difine it's own terms. Substitute the word Bible for "Word of God or "the Word" wherever it occurs in scripture. Based on only a few examples below, it quickly becomes clear that the terms are not interchangeable.
by the Bible the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water....(II Peter 3:5)
By the same Bible the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire....(II Peter 3:7)
But if they are prophets, and have the Bible, let them plead with the Lord... (Jer. 27:18)
Then came the Bible to Jeremiah, saying.... (Jer. 29:30)
In the beginning was the Bible and the Bible was with God and the Bible was God. (John 1:1)
And the Bible kept on spreading... (Acts 6:7)
The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the Bible. (Acts 11:1)
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Holy Bible. (Rev. 19: 13)
Those who maintain that the Bible is the "only true word of God" should consider what is written there:
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets (Heb.1:1)
But in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son... (Heb.1:2)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. (Ps. 19 and Rom. 10:18)
For God does speak- now one way, now another- though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night... He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings... (Job 33:14)
Moreover, if the Bible is the "Word of God", why did the Holy Spirit send His disciples out to preach the gospel? They could have mailed copies of "God's Word" instead. That should have been sufficient, because
...faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Bible. (Romans 10:17)
With these examples in mind, it is perfectly logical that Paul, in his letter to Timothy, would write: "But the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Where are the scriptures which spoke so explicitly about these things? Apparently, the Spirit of God was once able to communicate clearly without resorting to a written canon.
There can be no doubt God's ways and words are recorded in the Bible, but is the Word of God perhaps something more than scripture?
The Bible - We believe that the Bible is the infallible, inspired, and only true Word of the Living God.
- Hickory Hammock Baptist Church Doctrine Statement, Milton, FL.
The Bible is God's word isn't it? If it is, the scriptures themselves should declare as much. Let us try an experiment which allows the Bible to difine it's own terms. Substitute the word Bible for "Word of God or "the Word" wherever it occurs in scripture. Based on only a few examples below, it quickly becomes clear that the terms are not interchangeable.
by the Bible the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water....(II Peter 3:5)
By the same Bible the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire....(II Peter 3:7)
But if they are prophets, and have the Bible, let them plead with the Lord... (Jer. 27:18)
Then came the Bible to Jeremiah, saying.... (Jer. 29:30)
In the beginning was the Bible and the Bible was with God and the Bible was God. (John 1:1)
And the Bible kept on spreading... (Acts 6:7)
The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the Bible. (Acts 11:1)
He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Holy Bible. (Rev. 19: 13)
Those who maintain that the Bible is the "only true word of God" should consider what is written there:
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets (Heb.1:1)
But in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son... (Heb.1:2)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. (Ps. 19 and Rom. 10:18)
For God does speak- now one way, now another- though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night... He may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings... (Job 33:14)
Moreover, if the Bible is the "Word of God", why did the Holy Spirit send His disciples out to preach the gospel? They could have mailed copies of "God's Word" instead. That should have been sufficient, because
...faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Bible. (Romans 10:17)
With these examples in mind, it is perfectly logical that Paul, in his letter to Timothy, would write: "But the Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Where are the scriptures which spoke so explicitly about these things? Apparently, the Spirit of God was once able to communicate clearly without resorting to a written canon.
There can be no doubt God's ways and words are recorded in the Bible, but is the Word of God perhaps something more than scripture?
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