First and foremost, Scripture says of itself that it is not Man's doing ... no matter what its opponents claim.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)Those who oppose this position will try to tell you, "The Bible doesn't claim that" while looking at the text in black and white. Peter assures us that "no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21) (where "prophecy" refers to anything God has to say to Man). Doubt it, toss it, argue against it ... it's still there. Scripture is God's word. It doesn't merely contain God's word. So Jesus prays, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (Joh 17:17). God's word is truth. And related to Jesus's "Sanctify them in the truth," Paul commands husbands to sanctify their wives with "the washing of the water of the word (Eph 5:26). God's word washes ... sanctifies. Paul told Timothy that every gift of God is sanctified through His word (1 Tim 4:4-5). In fact, Peter says we are born again through God's word (1 Peter 1:23). Paul told the Ephesian believers to take up "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:17). The author of Hebrews said, "The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb 4:12).
Back, then, to "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you." As we get a clearer picture of God's perspective on God's word, it gets to be pretty big. Enormous. It's our weapon for spiritual warfare, our means of salvation, our best practice for being set apart for God ("sanctification"). It is truth, and is God-breathed, not man-made. The preference of so many self-identified Christians (real or not) to push aside God's word when it's inconvenient is not only dangerous. It could be fatal. I would heartily recommend we each "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you."
I'm amazed by how many people ignore the fact that Jesus regularly referred to/quoted the Hebrew scriptures in His ministry. It seems like there is a better case to be made that the OT is scripture (to those who make these kinds of arguments) than the NT. Given the cross pollination between the synoptic, and what Paul says it seems ridiculous to argue that the writers of the NT were unaware of what they were writing and why they were writing it.
ReplyDeletePaul tells us we should not be ashamed of the Gospel, but those Christians that try to deny it as God's Word are clearly ashamed.
ReplyDeleteI noticed in Col. 3:16 (which you quote to begin) the use of the phrase, “the word of Christ,” rather than the more common term, “the word of God.” That draws my attention especially to the message of Jesus and to Paul’s understanding that Christ’s life, teachings, and words--His truth--fulfilled and confirmed all Paul had known about God’s Word to that point. This illumination would indeed lead to joyous hearts and that very high view of Scripture that Paul detailed in 2 Tim. 3:16-17. Since I never met Jesus in the flesh, Scripture is my sole means of knowing God and entering the Christian life. Missing out on the truth of the Word of God would have been “fatal” for me, as you say.
ReplyDelete