See in the Bible, John 1:1 and read it carefully; then put "Bible" in place of "Word", and test the former and the later as Truth -- and always in and with He the Spirit of Truth Jesus here with us. What does He tell you on this?
See also John 20:28-31 and then 21:25. Also in the Bible, what did Jesus do and say at his ages 12-30 when He was Incarnate God-Man here ? Bible states nothing.
Is our One True Living Word of God the Bible ? or He -- our Master Jesus Christ -- here now fully in Spirit ?
God is Spirit ! or God is Book ? Do we worship God in Spirit and in Truth ! or in Book and in Church ?
Our Living Savior Jesus here unifies all sincere Christians; and the 37,000 plus different Christian church intellectual doctrines and creeds about the Bible divide us terribly !
Did God Reveal about 975 pages or so of Bible text, and then cease Revealing ? If yes or no, WHY do you so believe or so Know ?
WHO or WHAT is your WORD of our Living GOD ?
Ask Him !
2007-09-16 01:50:20 · 21 answers · asked by ? 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No Bible or Sacred Scripture in the beginning? See Daniel 10:21; "But I (our Lord God) will show you THAT WHICH IS noted in THE SCRIPTURE OF TRUTH ..." Who, what or where is this Scripture Truth ? In Paradise ? In God ? How big is it? Living or dead? Pray to He the Spirit of All Truth ....
2007-09-16 02:19:45 · update #1
Dear Sister home school Mom hsmomlovinit . Home Family Fellowships of personal religionists are increasing too :)) You wrote:
"Yes, God revealed about 975 pages or so of Bible text, and then stopped revealing - because all that we need to know has been revealed."
I ask you all then, why did Jesus tell us John 16:7-16 ? and John 21:25, et al ?Who, what, when, where, any why? e.g., HE will lead us? or HE is Leading us now into all Truth? Personally ? or in finite text of Scripture? Why pray then for more wisdom? No more prophets today? No more Revelation? Sounds bleak to many hungry Truth-seekers. Our Living God-Man Jesus will not abandon our need for more Truth continually !
2007-09-16 02:50:28 · update #2
The Word in John chapter 1 is Jesus Christ, not the Bible.
We worship God, the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We study the inspired Word of God, the Bible, but we do not worship it.
We are people of the Word, not people of the book.
With love in Christ.
2007-09-16 16:56:23 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm surprised. I almost follow that, but what a workout. If I tried to say that, knowing I leave gaps, I would fill in all the gaps and no one could get it then. I lose either way so how do you get away with it?
I would say that the Bible is an outline and we will eternally be understanding it. even with the spirit, just as science will never be done discovering. As to how far religions have gone off, too much. Too much to enumerate, too much to follow, too much to comment on. The bible is used to check the inspired utterances, but without the spirit, you might say we haven't got a ghost of a chance.
I might add that we have two eyes and see two views. We have two hemisphere of the brain and we see two views. Each one is correct depending on the side of the coin you look at. Both are necessary, but to some people other words are necessary to say the same thing. Ever notice that? I swear life is made of apparent contradictions, paradoxes that are not really contradictory. Without two eyes you don't get a third dimension. The scriptures are at least three dimensional, wouldn't you guess? Isn't that the spirit that brings life while the literal understanding bring death? I thought everyone knew that scripture and about not arguing over words. I don't think contentious people can ever understand other people. I know it's controversial to say it, but I believe you have to listen to someone very hard. I would say that a lot of women are four or five levels in, for instance. I don't think the Bible is that shallow either. It takes love and listening to the spirit to get it right.
Can I never give a short answer. "But the question seems so important", he protested loudly. The Bible is like physics. If you understand it, you can really fly. If you don't, you had better stay on the ground. Unfortunately mankind will never get off the ground that way.
2007-09-16 12:06:05 · answer #2 · answered by hb12 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Historically speaking, the Word = Logos... it would do you well to look up where that originally came from and how it was used. It was in fairly common usage during the New Test timeframe (before, during and after that time) among Greek philosophers, as well as Greek/Roman Pagans. It merely meant the spoken word of a Creator used to Create.
But you do have a good point... too often we see Christians claim the Bible itself IS the Word of God, therefore making the Bible their God - Bibliolatry is rampant among many of the Christian sects.
Pagan
2007-09-16 09:28:51 · answer #3 · answered by River 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you read the passage in Greek...you see that "the Word" - ho Logos - doesn't mean the Bible. It means Jesus. It ties into an Old Testament prophecy, and is a name for Jesus. It has nothing to do with the Bible.
We call the Bible "the Word of God", but that wasn't something that was familiar to first century Jews or Gentiles. They understood John 1:1 and the other scriptures listed as speaking about Jesus.
Culturally, it can be understood as "the essence", "the utterance", "the manifestation" of God. It doesn't really have an English equivalent (hence the literal translation), but as both Greek and Hebrew are extremely pictoral languages, that was the cultural understanding.
It was not vague to them, and they are the people it was first written to. When we read and study the Bible - what we now see as God's Word - we need to understand in light of the culture and understanding in which it was first written.
Yes, God revealed about 975 pages or so of Bible text, and then stopped revealing - because all that we need to know has been revealed. We know the beginning, we know the middle, and we know the end - we don't know a whole lot in between, but that's where living daily by faith comes.
He does, however, illuminate truth to us daily - even though the Bible is complete and whole, God allows us to understand it in new ways as situations in our life change and we grow in maturity. I personally know people who have read through the Bible annually for over 60 years - in English, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin - and they see new things every single time.
I understand this because in reading through it annually myself, teaching it to my son, other kids, and other adults, I see the flow of events - the OT beginnings, the later OT and NT middle, and the end stated in Daniel, Revelation, parts of the Gospels and Epistles, and so forth. Through careful study both in English and in other modern and ancient languages, I see new things every time I crack open the cover.
Who or what is my word? Depends which understanding you want. To my American mind, "the Word" is the Bible, which God gave us so that we may know and understand Him better; when I get beyond my American mindset and understand it as John wrote it, Jesus is the manifested utterance of God, through whom all was created, all was redeemed, and all (who choose) will be united with God Almighty.
Hope that helps!
Edit: Personal religionist? Golly, thanks...I think. Whatever.
I never said that God doesn't still speak to us today (He does) or enlighten us as to Scripture (He does), or work in our lives. Thanks for putting words in my mouth, though.
He did cease to reveal Scripture, i.e., give us more and more Scripture. He doesn't only speak to us through Scripture - that would be a truly bleak world indeed. He speaks to us in many, many ways, both corporately and individually.
And what does being a homeschooler have to do with anything? I took a double major in theology and Biblical languages with an emphasis on Bible translation, long before I became a mom or a homeschooler. I have taught Hebrew, and I currently teach Latin, Greek, and Biblical history. My knowledge and study of scripture, in several languages and translations, started in high school. I choose to believe what the Scripture says, and filter my experiences through that. Sorry if it doesn't fit your worldview, though.
2007-09-16 09:11:20 · answer #4 · answered by hsmomlovinit 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The 'Word' in John 1:1 does not refer to the Bible; the Bible didn't exist in its current form yet at that point, and wouldn't for another two hundred years. The Word is actually another name for Jesus.
Some people do seem to worship the Bible rather than God Himself. They get caught up in Godly things (Church activities, mission trips) and ignore a personal faith in Jesus. At Judgement Day, God won't be asking how many hymns we sang, or how many hours we volunteered to go work in the local homeless shelter. He'll be asking, "Do you know Me? and have you been keeping My words?
2007-09-16 09:07:04 · answer #5 · answered by The Electro Ferret 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Jesus is the 'word' of God.
Through Jesus, god spoke to us.
Look at john 1;2
(John 1:2) This one was in [the] beginning with God.
Jesus was with his father Jehovah God.
Because Jehovah God CREATED Jesus as the FIRSTBORN of creation. Colossians 1;15
Jehovah God had no beginning. Jesus DID. Long before he was born to Mary.
Proverbs 8; 22-31
2007-09-16 09:12:18 · answer #6 · answered by pugjw9896 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ecclesiastes 1:13-18
I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge."
Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.
For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;
the more knowledge, the more grief.
*******************************************************
I live by the creed "study to show thyself approved". There is much one can learn outside the books of the Bible, which enlightens the soul.
In studying many different trains of thought, I find that the Spirit of Truth leads me into the light of what is right.
2007-09-17 10:50:04 · answer #7 · answered by Soul Shaper 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every true living Word of God is the bible. God revealed everything, even to the end. However, the second beginning, which is the end, is shrouded in clouds, and made virtually impossible to fully comprehend. He is here both in spirit, and in flesh. Worship God in spirit, and truth, in his house, in your homes, on the street, at work, and in your hearts.
2007-09-16 08:59:29 · answer #8 · answered by Son of David 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bible is not always referred to as the "Word", Jesus was the word, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. In that sense, Jesus IS the word. Don't get "Word" mixed up with the Bible. The Bible is "God's Word", which is Jesus's Word, but the Bible is not Jesus. Get it?
2007-09-16 08:59:34 · answer #9 · answered by Mickey M 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The name (or, perhaps, title) “the Word” (Joh 1:1) apparently identifies the function that God’s firstborn Son performed after other intelligent creatures were formed. A similar expression is found at Exodus 4:16, where Jehovah says to Moses concerning his brother Aaron: “And he must speak for you to the people; and it must occur that he will serve as a mouth to you, and you will serve as God to him.” As spokesman for God’s chief representative on earth, Aaron served as “a mouth” for Moses. Likewise with the Word, or Logos, who became Jesus Christ. Jehovah evidently used his Son to convey information and instructions to others of his family of spirit sons, even as he used that Son to deliver his message to humans on earth. Showing that he was God’s Word, or Spokesman, Jesus said to his Jewish listeners: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me. If anyone desires to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching whether it is from God or I speak of my own originality.”—Joh 7:16, 17; compare Joh 12:50; 18:37.
2007-09-16 08:59:15 · answer #10 · answered by papa G 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋