The Bible and "God's Word"

A student recently sent me a fascinating video of a debate between an Evangelical pastor and a Mormon.  One thing which struck me was the way the pastor referred to the Bible as "God's Word ".  

For Evangelicals, the term "God's Word " is synonymous with "the Bible ".  But that terminology can sound odd for someone who has always been immersed in Catholic culture.  We just don't talk like that.

It is a weird quirk of how Catholic and Evangelical language has evolved separately, but reflects deeply held assumptions.  So today I want to explore this phenomenon and ask:

"What does the Bible say "God's Word" is?"   

An Exegetical Assumption:

When discussing the nature of Scripture with non-Catholic friends, it isn't uncommon for them to cite a few passages pertaining to the power and role of "God's Word" or "the Word of God".  Here are some examples:

"Take the helmet of salvation - and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Ephesians 6:17

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12 

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." - 1 Peter 1:23

As I mentioned above, typically your non-Catholic friend will conceptualize those passages as referring directly and exclusively to the Bible.  That is to say, they imagine the phrase "God's Word" is simply synonymous with the written Scriptures.

Why is that?  Well, I believe this is a reflection of a culture incorporating the doctrine of Sola Scriptura into its language.

That doctrine (for the sake of review) purports that the Scriptures are the sole source of  authoritative public revelation from God.  Thus, over time the language has grown to reflect that belief.  The phrase "God's Word" became equivalent with "Scripture".




What Did the Authors Really Mean?

But something odd happens when you open up the Bible itself and see what the inspired authors meant with the phrase "Word of God" and "God's Word".

Let's start with the book of Acts.

The book of Acts is a recounting of a time before any of the New Testament documents were written.  And yet you will find the people in that book using the phrase "Word of God" and "God's Word" all over the place.

What did that phrase mean to them?

Let's look at a couple examples:

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." - Acts 4:31

"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: 'We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.'" - Acts 13:44-46

"But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up." - Acts 17:13

[other examples]

Notice how each time they were speaking and preaching the "Word of God" rather than reading it?

That's because in the mind of the Biblical authors, the "Word of God" wasn't referring to the Bible at all.  It was rather the entire revelation of Christ which was entrusted to the Apostles for them to preach.

This is made more explicit when we see the phrase used in the pastoral epistles:

"I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has served to advance the gospel.  Most of the brethren have been made confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment, and are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear." - Philippians 1:12-14

"And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers." - 1 Thessalonians 2:13

"Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith." - Hebrews 13:7

So What?

Now... as people like to say in my corner of the world, "What's the 'so what' of this?"  What's the significance?


Diffusing Assertions:

First, this has implications in apologetics discussions.

I've experienced people trying to support Sola Scriptura by referencing the passages at the top of this post.  They'll say:

"Look at these promises of what God's Word will do.  We have no such promises for Tradition or statements from Popes.  That's we stick with Scripture alone."

At that point it helps to show how Scripture itself has a broader understanding of "the word of God" which actually does  include those things.

Of course, none of this is to say Scripture isn't the "Word of God".  But it is "God's Word" in the way a square is a type of rectangle.  A square is a special form of a rectangle, but it isn't the only  type of rectangle.

Your Words Too:

The other important take-away is the way you look at your own words.

Take a look back at the Bible passages which describe the capabilities of the "word of God".  Now understand that whenever you speak the truth of the Christian faith, you speaking the "word of God" to people.

Thus, the words coming out of your mouth are living and active, penetrating the spirit, and so on.  It means God Himself - in that moment - is utilizing the power of your words.

And that is pretty cool.