Likely most of us think immediately of the Bible when we hear the phrase, “The Word of God.” That is a good and accurate connection to make. However, the idea of God speaking to human hearts is broader than the written Word, although the Bible is the culmination of God speaking to people across the ages. For several weeks Theology 101 proposes to think about the Word of God in its broadest sense.
The name Ferdinand Q. Blanchard is hardly a household name. He was a pastor and poet whose life spanned nearly a century. One of his poems appears in many hymnals under its title, “The Word of God, Across the Ages.” This hymn title gives us an apt title for these studies about God’s Word. Being eternal in nature, the Word of God is from everlasting to everlasting. So we begin with the opening chapter of the Bible, which takes us back to eternity past.
Effectual, powerful
The Bible opens with God speaking a creating word. “And God said” is the repeated phrase in that opening chapter of Genesis. He spoke the word and in sequence light, sky, earth, seas, vegetation, sun, moon, stars, animals and humans came into existence. We immediately conclude that God’s creating word is indeed effectual and powerful.
God’s creating word was a prominent aspect of Israel’s faith. For example Psalm 33:6 attests, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” This same faith finds expression in the New Testament, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb. 11:3).
God’s creating word became a revealing word. God’s creation speaks to those who have ears to hear. Psalm 19:1–3 puts it like this: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”
With reference to God’s creation, Romans 1:20 declares, “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” God’s creating word that brought the worlds into existence has an ongoing, nonverbal message to declare.
Just as the opening bookend of God’s creating word was its effectual power to bring into existence the physical universe, so the concluding bookend will be a similarly powerful but condemning word. Second Peter 3:5–7 puts it like this: “The heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”
In the meantime God has a word that is re-creating. Being once dead in trespasses and sins, we needed to be brought to life. In the gospel, God has given us a word that brings life where death has been. God’s re-creating word is put like this in 1 Peter 1:23: “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”
Share with others: