WHAT IS THE WORD?

Chris McCurley: you Good evening everybody and happy Mother's Day again to all of the moms. Today was a special day for my household. We celebrated my wife as a mother, also my mother and then my mother's mother who is 96. And so we all got to see one another today and that was wonderful. We've got an opportunity tonight to answer a question. And the question is, what is the Word? When we say or reference this Word and use Word, like what's the Word? The Word of God. And when we use it, what do we mean? And what does the Bible show us when it talks about the word. Make sure I'm working. Oh, perfect. All right. So first off, we're going to look at Revelation chapter 19 verse 13. I want to give you time to get there. We're going to do a lot of flipping through our Bibles tonight. So please indulge in opening your Bibles and finding these verses so we can read them together and examine this topic. What is the word? In Revelation 19 13 we will begin The Bible says he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the Word of God. Is that W capitalized in your Bible? Yeah, it's capitalized in mine too. If we were to go back, I'm not going to go back and catch context because I'm covering a lot of verses where it's talking about Jesus. And so one of My favorite parts in answering this question, what is the Word? Well, the Word is a person in our Bibles. The Word is Jesus Christ. Jesus, we know, is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the living manifestation of God's Word. If you could imagine what God's words would look like as a living human being, well that's Jesus. And we see this in scripture. Look at John chapter one. Many of you know this so well, you could probably quote it to me without even turning there. John chapter one, beginning in verse one. I'll wait for you to get there. In the beginning was the Word, again capitalized in my Bible, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life that was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And you look at verse 14, and the Word, again capitalized, Became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as of the only son From the father full of grace and truth. Who does that sound like? Glory as of the only son from the father. This is talking about That's right Jesus So when we when we use the word word we might be talking about Jesus depending on how we're using that. Look at 1 John, so now toward the back, back toward Revelation. 1 John chapter 1 verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. The life was made manifest, and we have seen it and testified to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father, and which was made manifest to us. that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, that you may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete." It's interesting to me that John begins the gospel of Jesus Christ, the real first John, and then also the letter first John, he begins them very similarly, talking about Jesus. who has the words of eternal life, but who is the word of life. So sometimes when we're talking about the Word of God, sometimes we're talking about Jesus as a person, as the Son of God. But sometimes when we're talking about the Word of God, it is a decree. It's a personal address. or the Word of God may be spoken by or through people. And so we're going to look at all those and what are the differences between the Word of God as a decree, as a personal address, and then being spoken by or through someone else. Look at Genesis chapter 1 verse 3. Genesis chapter 1. Verse number 3, And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Simple enough, we find these statements all through Genesis chapter 1. But this is an example of a decree. God is not talking to a person. He's not talking to a man. ⁓ God is making a decree. He's making a statement. Let there be light. And then let there be an expanse. And then let the waters come forth. And then let the earth sprout vegetation. He's making a decree. He's making a statement. God's Word, not necessarily to a person or persons or a people, but God's spoken Word, but it causes something to happen. God's Word causes things to happen. Look at Psalm chapter 33 verse 6. Psalm chapter 33 verse number 6 This is an example of a decree. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and by the breath of His mouth all their hosts. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. And so by God speaking a decree, the heavens were made. That is an example of the Word of God. The Word of God not in written form. the Word of God in spoken form by God that caused something to happen. How about Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3? Hebrews 1 verse 3 says, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purifications for sins, He sat down at the right hand of majesty on high. Now in verse 3 what I want you to see here is that Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power Again, that is not ⁓ a written word. That is the powerful word spoken by God that created everything and holds everything into existence. The Word of God. How about a personal address? Look at Genesis chapter 2. a personal address concerning the Word of God, ⁓ more of a personal conversation. Genesis chapter 2 verses 16 through 17 And the Lord God commanded the man, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Now in this particular circumstance God is addressing not in written form. He is speaking. words to Adam and This is a personal address to Adam so he's talking and this is God's Word this is the Word of God X now look at Exodus chapter 20 Exodus chapter 20 1 through 3 And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. I'll stop there. What does that sound like? What is this? What are we reading now? Who is God talking to? He's talking to Israel. So God is making a personal address. God is making a personal address to people. This is God's Word. Now, He also does write these down. But He spoke them. And so there is God's spoken Word. So when we say the Word of God, that could include God's spoken word, not necessarily the written word only. Look at Matthew chapter 3 verse 17. Matthew chapter three verse 17. And behold a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. This was after Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and people heard God's spoken word. They heard God's word and it was spoken. Now Matthew records it for us but this was spoken. So God's Word, God speaking about Jesus, but in the presence of many witnesses. So you have so far, what is the word? Jesus. What is the word? God's decrees to man, or to the earth, or about heaven, it has nothing to with man, but just His creation. How about then God's personal address to man. And then we have God's word spoken by, or through, other people. Look at Deuteronomy chapter 18. This is a really important piece of scripture, especially for tonight with what we're talking about. Please turn there. Deuteronomy chapter 18. To understand this really helps us to understand the seriousness by which we are going to now ⁓ employ and entertain considering God speaking through other people. Deuteronomy chapter 18. I'll begin in verse number 18. I will raise up a prophet for them, a prophet like you, from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth. And he shall speak to them all that I commanded him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. And what I want you to see here is God setting the stage for understanding how He would also operate, how He would also communicate His Word through other people. He talks about through prophets. In the first sense, He says, a prophet designated by Me who speaks on My behalf, I will require what He says from you. But also, he says, if a prophet speaks not from Me, he will die. In other words, God wanted first us to take seriously God's Word spoken through someone else, but He also wanted people to take very seriously that that's not a game, that you don't play around with that. and you don't mislead people saying that you're speaking on behalf of God when you're really not. That sets the stage now for folks like, prophets like Jeremiah. If you want to turn to Jeremiah. Chapter 1 And there's so many we could talk about here. ⁓ Jeremiah chapter one, verse number nine. And the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. And what I wanted you to see in this particular passage is that is that God used Jeremiah. He gave Jeremiah the insight, the words to speak, and Jeremiah would speak as God's man, as God's prophet, to people on behalf of God. God gave Jeremiah that mission, that task, just as God gave the prophets that we read about in our Old Testament. God tasked them with messages. think of Isaiah, my favorite prophet, who prophesied to the southern kingdom ⁓ after the northern kingdom has been taken captive. He prophesied to the southern kingdom and trying to get them to repent. The ox knows its owner ⁓ and the donkey its master's crib, but my people do not know, they do not understand. And he's trying to get his people to repent and to get rid of idol worship and to worship God correctly with all their hearts. And they don't, and they end up being taken captive. after his work, but Isaiah spoke God's messages and God required people to follow that. And so when we say the Word of God, we are also talking about the words spoken by people that God ordained to speak them. For us in the New Testament, I think right away about Pentecost. about the preaching from Peter and then the apostles through the rest of the book of Acts and how different that sounded to those who were used to Judaism and how different that sounded to those who were following false gods or multiple gods, the Gentiles, and how they went out proclaiming God's message, proclaiming what it means to live for Jesus in a new covenant. that Jesus is the Passover Lamb. And so it was there and it is our responsibility, God requires it of us, to follow those who spoke on God's behalf. Why? And here answers this question, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 21. 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. God orchestrated His Word to also be spoken by people, to be written down by people, but to be spoken by people. And so when we consider what is the Word of God, we consider the Word of God as a decree spoken, as a personal address spoken, and then spoken by or through other people. How about the Word of God in written form? Look at Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31 beginning in verse 18 And this is really important. Really important. This affected Israel for the rest of their days. And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, the tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. It's Israel who moves forward from this day with a high priority placed on the written Word of God. And thus when you're reading in the New Testament, you're reading about the scribes and all these lawyers and the Pharisees and all of these people who they highly prioritize. The written Word of God so much that they wrote and wrote and wrote and made copies and made copies and made copies of the written Word of God so that people could read it so that they could read it to their children and they could pass it from one generation to the next. But I love this in verse 18 that tablets of stone written with the finger of God. What is the Word of God? It is also the written word, not just spoken, but the written word. Look at Deuteronomy 31-24. In Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 24, the Bible says, Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, Moses commanded the Levites who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Lord, take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you. And so there we see it. Moses is writing and he writes the words of the law. and he commissions them to preserve it, to respect the Word, the Word of God, the written Word of God. How about Isaiah chapter 30? Isaiah chapter 30 verse number 8 And now go write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever. Again, the emphasis on write it down so people can read it, so people can see it, so the written Word of God itself is a witness to those who read it. And then John chapter 14, 26. Jump over to the New Testament for a moment. The Bible says, but the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Now, I want to quickly flip over to John chapter 16 verses 12 through 13 and talk about why this piece, these two chapters, are really important. John 16, 12 through 13 says, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. In these two chapters, Jesus issues a promise that the Holy Spirit would sustain the apostles whom He's appointed to bring to their remembrance what they needed to know, to teach, and ultimately write down. what we know today. The written Word of God through the prophets, through, in this case, the apostles. In 1 Corinthians 14, 37, I appreciate your patience tonight in going through a lot of scriptures, but I found it necessary just to dive in tonight and remind ourselves and grab the Word together. 1 Corinthians 14, 37, If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, he should acknowledge the things that I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. Remember, it's the Holy Spirit who is guiding the writers of this book. And this particular writer is reminding us that these words, these are the written words of God. Today, we primarily focus on the written Word of God, and there's a reason why. We call this the Scriptures. We call this our Bible. And we know that God communicates to us through these incredible words that are so meaningful. And we could spend a lifetime studying them and still learn because they're so deep and really three or four dimensional. It's amazing how much we can study. We're reminded by the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 1, that long ago, many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets. But in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son. Sometimes we may overlook very important words within that those verses He has spoken. Those are past tense words. What does that mean for us today? It means that we're not looking for another prophet today. We're not looking for someone else to come and say, I'm speaking on behalf of God and I have a new message for you. We're not looking for that. Because God told us not to look for that. God told us what we are to understand that We are not looking at the prophets who spoke to our forefathers long ago. We are looking to Jesus who has already spoken. We are commissioned and tasked by, but the Word of God is Jesus. The Word of God is the spoken Word of God by Him and then through other prophets to us and to people throughout time. And it is absolutely the written Word of God, but God commissions us through His Word that says, we're not looking for a prophet. We're not looking for someone else. You look back to Jesus. You look back to what has already been written. That is where we are to this day. Why? The Bible says that all scripture is breathed out by God. Profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. I don't need anything else. That's what the Scripture is telling me. The Scripture is telling us that the written Word of God is all that we need. We're not looking for someone else to come tell us something different. I have a question that I've been pondering and I'd like to share it with you. Suppose that weren't the case. Suppose that someone was able to prove that they were speaking some new word or some message from God and maybe it wasn't anything that changed anything, but it was a message from God. And suppose they could prove that. Suppose God spoke to us from heaven right now. Just started speaking. Would you treat that the same as you treat the words in your Bible now? Why or why not? What would our response be? Allow me to leave you with this scripture. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is on the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and his leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Blessed are we who delight in the written Word of God. And the written Word of God tells us that by the name of Jesus Christ we can be saved. Our sins can be forgiven. Confess His sweet name, believe that He died for your sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and He will adjudge to His body, the church. You have an opportunity to come do that. The invitation's yours. God's waiting on you and so am I right up here. Come forward as we stand and as we sing.

Revelation 19:13 1 John 1:1 Genesis 1:3 Genesis 1 · chapter mention Genesis 1 · chapter mention Psalms 33:6 Psalms 33 · chapter mention Hebrews 1:3 Hebrews 1:3 Genesis 2 · chapter mention Genesis 2:16–17 Exodus 20 · chapter mention Exodus 20 · chapter mention Matthew 3:17 Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 18 · chapter mention Jeremiah 1 · chapter mention 2 Peter 1:21 2 Peter 1:21 Exodus 31 · chapter mention Exodus 31 · chapter mention Deuteronomy 31:24 Isaiah 30 · chapter mention Isaiah 30 · chapter mention John 14 · chapter mention John 16:12–13 Hebrews 1:1