The Word of God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2)

Have you ever wondered what it means when it says that Jesus "was the Word"? In what sense is He "the Word"?

Some will tell you that the Bible isn't the "Word of God"; Jesus is. Others say that it's just that He spoke what God said to speak. Most won't argue that He couldn't be both "the Word of God" and "God" because, well, it specifies that He was both, but more than a few try to conflate "Jesus" into "the Word of God" to move "the Bible" out of that category.

Do we have any reason to think that the Bible is the word of God? Well, yes. The Bible refers to itself as the word of God. Solomon said, "Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him." (Prov 30:5). Jesus referred to the Old Testament as "the word of God" (Matt 15:6). Paul said that the Scriptures are "God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16-17). (And Peter referred to Paul's writings as "Scripture" (2 Peter 3:14-16).) The word of God is called "the sword of the Spirit" (Eph 6:17). Breathed by God, recognized by Christ and the Apostles, tested in every way, the Bible is surely the word of God.

So ... how is Jesus "the Word"? The answer to this question is also the reason why I am so concerned about words and their meanings. John said that Jesus was the λόγος, the logos. The Greek word refers to anything said and, by implication, reasoning and communication. But you must understand the basic concept of a "word". Words, you see, are not real. Words are expressions of something. They are symbols by which we transmit our thoughts. They are expressions of ideas. And that is the concept in view when it says that Jesus was "the Word". Jesus was the expression of God. That's why He said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Jesus said, "I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." (John 12:49-50). Jesus was the living expression of God: "The Word".

When we cannot agree on a definition of a word, we cannot transmit the idea that word expresses. When we fail to comprehend the difference in definitions in what would seem to be common terms like "love", "marriage", even "truth", we lose the ability to interact with each other on the ideas they express. So words are important. And when we fail to get Jesus right, we fail to get an accurate expression of God. A Jesus who condones sin compared with a God who does not isn't an accurate expression of God. A Jesus who sets aside what God did in the past is not an accurate expression of God. But Jesus was the Word, a completely accurate expression of God. That's where we need to go.