The Bible says in John Chapter 1 that in the Beginning was the Word. For those that have grown up in the church and who have heard the Bible referred to as the “Word of God,” I fear that people can take that to mean that in the beginning was a book. When John writes this passage, He is specifically referring to Jesus as the Word of God (notice the capital “W”). The Greek useage of “Word” is “Logos” or the Wisdom of God. In the beginning was God’s wisdom, His creative capacity, bringing all things into being out of nothing through the Logos of God’s Word, His Son Jesus Christ. However, the Word was not only present at creation, Genesis 1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” In the beginning was the Word and the Spirit. God’s Wisdom and creative capacity working in unity with God’s Spirit bringing fulfillment to the Father’s purpose for creation.
Throughout history, God’s Word and Spirit have been at work creating and recreating, inspiring and redeeming, drawing all things into unity and alignment with the Father’s desires. This work was accomplished through specific historical events, for example, the calling of Abraham (Genesis), the liberation of slaves from Egypt (Exodus), the conquering of a Promisedland (Joshua), the crowning of a King named David (1 Samuel), through the life and times of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and the early movement of his followers called the Church (Acts).
These events, inspired by the Spirit, were orally passed down from generation to generation. It is important to remember that in Ancient times, most weren’t literate. History, sacred or otherwise, was passed down through the verbal telling of stories, using devices like repetition, dialogue, poems, metaphors, etc., to make the oral transmission of those stories easier and accurate. As God’s Word and Spirit were at work in this world accomplishing the Father’s design through specific people and communities, these stories would be shared from generation to generation.
However, at some point to protect the integrity of those stories (especially in times of duress or threat) it becomes important to turn those oral stories into collections of written literature. We believe that just as the Spirit of God and the Word of God were at work in the events and the oral transmission of those events, they are present in the writing of those stories. The Spirit inspires the writing of these stories through the unique and specific voices of their human authors, often employing their personality, different styles, and with specific contexts in mind when writing these stories. The Spirit then begins to inspire communities of faith to gather around and consider authoritative certain groups of written stories (what we call Scripture).
The Spirit of God leads the people of God to ensure the words of God communicate the purposes of God faithfully.
These collections come to be known as the word of God (notice the lower case “w”). The Word of God (the divine wisdom and creative power – embodied in His Son Jesus Christ) is collected and transmitted in the word of God (the written text of Scripture) through the Spirt of God.
This means that at every point, God was and is at work. God is at work in the events. God is at work in the generational sharing of those events orally. God is at work in the collecting of those events and stories. God is at work in the writing of those stories and events. God is at work in helping faith communities determine which stories are faithful to God’s desires and purposes. But it doesn’t stop there. The same God that makes possible these “God-breathed” Scriptures (divinely inspired) is also at work in those of us that gather around these texts for reading, interpretation, and application. That means when we read the Bible today, we are stepping into the same flow of God’s Spirit at work throughout all of history. Through this word of God we come to discover the power and glory of the Word of God that has been unceasingly at work fulfilling the Father’s purposes.
Why does this matter? It matters because the Scriptures bear the Divine Fingerprint throughout the entire process from conception to application. God is at work. It matters because the authority of the Scriptures isn’t found in that it is a written “word” of God but because the Spirit of God uses the “word” of God to bring us under the authority of the “Word” of God (Jesus) who is at work in the people of God to unite us with the Father’s purposes. It matters because the same God that inspired the text is still at work inspiring those of us that read the text. It matters because the fruit our lives bear has everything to do with how seriously we take the word of God and how we are called to live in this world through this word. It matters because from beginning to end, from the alpha to the omega, and everything in between, God is at work.
Faith demands we embrace the trustworthiness of God’s steadfast work through His word.
What kind of soil is your heart?
Today I want you to read Luke 8:1-15, yep that’s it for the day. Today you will be introduced to a parable. I will discuss parables at greater length in the coming days, but is a common device used by Jesus to communicate layers of wisdom. Parable literally means “tossed alongside,” these are stories tossed alongside of life that carry deeper spiritual meaning. Today’s parable has everything to do with seed and soil.
Remember our mode of reading Scripture from yesterday. Apply it (see day 7 for more info). Then ask the questions?
- Do I trust the seed?
- What kind of soil is my heart?
- Does my life bear the fruit of faithfulness and the embrace of God’s word?
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