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Who Is the WORD?

   Written by on March 3, 2017 at 1:07 pm

logo-hevenerThe Biblical meaning of “Word” is expansive! However, in everyday speech, “word” refers to a verbal or written unit of a language used  in communication.  Communication may be defined as the process of sending and receiving messages. The speaker or writer is the sender; the listener or reader is the receiver. To express ideas, we, the senders, put together the best words in their best order; these word combinations then transmit the ideas that we wish to send to the receivers.

Although we may think of John as a “blue-collar” fisherman, it was he who called Jesus “the Word.”  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

 Many names and titles are associated with Jesus Christ (“anointed Savior”) in the Bible.  In the first chapter of John’s gospel, in verse 9, He is called “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” He is “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” in verse 14, and “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” in verse 18. John the Baptist called Him “the Lord” in verse 23, “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” in verse 29, and “the Son of God” in verse 34.  Clearly, John 1:1 demonstrates John’s absolute belief that Jesus was one within the Godhead.

 It is noteworthy that the very first designation given to Jesus by John, as he introduced his gospel, was simply “the Word” (v. 1).  The New Testament meaning of “word” can be: reason, communication, speech, and doctrine, among others. No doubt John calls Jesus the Word because it is He who always and faithfully communicates the truths to mankind (the receivers) of messages initiated by the Father (the Sender).  It is Christ, the Son, who speaks to mankind for the Father.

The word can also refer to the written text, the Bible, which is a record of God’s message to mankind; God spoke through his servants in both the Old and New Testaments. Here are a few examples of what God-chosen writers say about the written word:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

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.

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?By living according to your word. Psalm 119:9.

Therefore, we see that “word” in Biblical usage may refer to Christ, the Word, as well as to the written word of God.

One of the most dramatic examples of the Bible’s divine ability to transform men and women involved the famous mutiny on the “Bounty.” Following their rebellion against the notorious Captain Bligh, nine mutineers, along with the Tahatian men and women who accompanied them, found their way to Pitcairn Island, a tiny dot in the South Pacific only two miles long and a mile wide. Ten years later, drink and fighting had left only one man alive–John Adams. Eleven women and 23 children made up the rest of the Island’s population. So far this is the familiar story made famous in the book and motion picture. But the rest of the story is even more remarkable. About this time, Adams came across the “Bounty’s” Bible in the bottom of an old chest. He began to read it, and the divine power of God’s Word reached into the heart of that hardened murderer on a tiny volcanic speck in the vast Pacific Ocean–and changed his life forever. The peace and love that Adams found in the Bible entirely replaced the old life of quarreling, brawling, and liquor. He began to teach the children from the Bible until every person on the island had experienced the same amazing change that he had found. Today, with a population of slightly less than 100, nearly every person on Pitcairn Island is a Christian. From Signs of the Times, August, 1988, p. 5.

Friend, do you know Jesus Christ, the “Word”?  If not, study His written word where you will find Him, peace, and eternal salvation.

Until next week, may God richly bless you and yours!

Contact: fhevene@oilart.com; (434) 39206255; www.guthriememorial.org.

©2017 by Fillmer Hevener

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