In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void. God said and the earth was given light, form and life. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,” and man was formed from the dust of the earth. God saw His creation and it was good. Humanity saw the creation and with the slightest of hints from a fallen angel took what God was giving to them and said we will rule ourselves and know for ourselves what is right and wrong. The Word came to live among humanity as a man in the form of Jesus. The Word came to bring humanity back to the gift that God was giving.
There are those among us that hold up in the air a book made of paper, ink and leather and say, “This is the Word of God.” But what does the book itself say about the Word, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.” Was the book with God in the beginning? The Word of God is the Word of God and is living; the Bible is the book of His story and is not alive. The Holy Spirit brings the teachings and ideas we read in the Bible to life in us, but the book is not alive. The book is not God and of itself is not holy. The book is not the Son of God, Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of God is the Word of God.
The Bible is a book of history and some of the teachings of the Word of God, but itself is not the Word. The book is an instruction book, not a rulebook. The book is a tool for teaching. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the Word of God and that the Holy Spirit, a gift from God, brings with It understanding. The life of humanity is in the Word of God and not in a book. We read of God in a book, but learn of God from the living Word. A portion of writing to Timothy is used by some to prove the authority of the Bible. “All Scripture given by the inspiration of God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction (training) in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” If we move up the page one verse we read, “the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is Jesus Christ.” The passages do not give the Bible or earlier scripts the authority of Jesus Christ. The Bible does not have authority over humanity, but humanity over the Bible. If man is lord of the Sabbath that was created by God, how much more does man have authority over a book inspired by God but created by the hand of man.
The Bible prepares one for the salvation that is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is, in part, the theory of the coming of God’s Son and proof through prophecy that Jesus is that Son. The Old Testament Holy Days are themselves prophesies and timetables. Most professing Bible teachers do not understand the sequence of events surrounding the death of Jesus Christ because they are not looking at the Bible to teach them, but want to use it as a tool to give them authority over others. In the same writing to Timothy that was quoted above, it is written (summarized), men will become lovers of themselves having a form of godliness but denying the power, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Bible is a tool and one should never use a hammer to drill a hole or a drill to drive a nail. Life is school, the Bible is our reader, the Holy Spirit is our tutor and Jesus Christ, the Word, is life.
The Bible is a great book and an adventure in learning like no other, but Jesus is the Word of God. It is written, “our help is in the name of the Lord that made heaven and earth.” It is written, “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made.” Our faith is in Jesus Christ. The name of the Lord is our strength and our help is in His name. Jesus spoke the words of God in heaven and is God among us. Some say we should read our prayers from the Bible to be sure that we are praying in God’s will. It is even said we should read it over children and loved ones to protect them. There have been books written about a small prayer in the Old Testament found in the midst of a genealogy and the power contained in the prayer. The Bible is not a book of spells. The power is in the name of the Lord that made heaven and earth and He is our help. Jesus is the Son of God, the Word of God, our strength, our savior and so much more. Jesus is the Word of God that came to earth as man and died for our salvation. Jesus was with God always. Jesus was quoting the Bible when He said, “It is written,” but the Bible quotes Jesus. Jesus is, was and will always be the Word of God.