THE WORD OF GOD
Ephesians 6:10 - 17
When studying the heresies of some of the most important religions calling themselves Christian today (the Roman-Catholics, the Russellites, the Adventists, the Charismatics, the Mormons and the Spiritists), we notice their main characteristics:
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A “new Gospel”, that is, one or more new features added to the Bible: papal dogmas and bulls, teachings of the “fathers of the church”, human philosophies, new “revelations” in dreams and visions, “prophecies”, a second “baptism of the Holy Spirit”, the “translation” of text written in “gold tablets” disclosed by an “angel”. (Mark 7:9 - 13, John 12:48, Galatians 1:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Revelation 22:18 - 19.)
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Distortion of the sacred text, modifying the real meaning of the original, to support their strange theories. (Proverbs 30:5 - 6, Deuteronomy 4:2, Matthews 4:6, 22:23 - 29, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 4:2, Galatians 1:7, 2, 2 Timothy 4:3 - 4, 2 Peter 3:15 - 17).
Having placed the Word of God aside, or transformed its message, the most ridiculous, absurd and blasphemous heresies were concocted, with the satanic objective of interposing a barrier between people and their communion with God through faith in Christ alone, and of promoting the financial interests of those who proclaim them.
However the Bible is the Word of God, the Word of Truth, the Oracles of God, the Prophetic Scriptures, the Holy Scriptures, and the Sword of the Spirit, as it proclaims itself to be (Romans 1:2, 3:2, 16:26, Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:18).
It has all the authority, it is inspired by God, it operates efficiently in the believers, it is the truth, it is perfect, it is living and powerful, it is sharp, it is piercing, it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart and it is pure. (Psalm 19:7, 119:160, Proverbs 30:5, Jeremiah 23:29, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 3:16, Hebrews 4:12; 1Peter 4:11).
When we read that it is inspired by God in 2 Timothy 3:16, the word used in the Greek original is theopneustos, which means breathed by God: each word in the original is of divine origin. We never read that the authors were inspired, which could lead us to think, as those that teach heresies want us to, that the authors would have been inspired to write their own ideas. As we read in 2 Peter 1:21, “prophecy never came by the Testament of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Here “prophecy” does not mean only revelation of future events, but a message that includes the transmission of all that proceeds from God, that is, the entire Bible.
Many texts of the Bible start with the words “thus says the Lord”, “hear the word of the Lord” and similar ones. Ezekiel says about sixty times that what he is writing are the “words of God”. In the four brief chapters of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, “says the Lord of hosts” appears twenty four times. The apostle Paul declares, after stating that only the Spirit of God knows things of God, that he spoke “not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches” (1 Corinthians 2:13, John 16:13).
The content of the Bible is confirmed by the fulfilment of its prophecies (John 5:39, 45-47, Hebrews 2:1 - 4) and its infallibility (John 10:35). It is intriguing that all the Bible in its original languages can be converted into numbers, and they form a complex but well organised network of the number seven and its multiples, that binds its phrases, its paragraphs and its books in the language in which they were written: it is the only book in the world where this happens and no human mind is capable doing something like it! The name Jesus Christ, for example, has the numerical value of 749: seven and then seven times seven.
The character of “breathed by God” belongs solely to books of the Bible. No matter what is said by men after the book of Revelation was written - the last book to be written - nothing more was given by revelation, nor are there any further words said to man by the Holy Spirit. The authenticity and authority of what is said is in the measure in which it conforms to the Bible itself. No person or church has any right to demand for itself the authority that only exists in the Word of God.
The Bible is the divine message for humanity, and is not the privilege only of scholars, clergymen or intellectuals to read its message: it was written for all. It is understood by means of the instruction of the Holy Spirit, that inhabits all believers, through detailed examination of its content, and the use of reason, comparing the various texts that deal with the same subject, listening to the teaching of the more experienced, but always checking the Holy Scriptures to see if the teaching is correct (John 5:39, Acts 17:2, 10-12, 1 Corinthians 2:10 - 14, 2 Peter 1:20 - 21).
The reading, understanding and application of the Word of God result in evidence that the Christ is Jesus, Who is the salvation, the regeneration for a new life, the purifying of our character, the lighting of our way, the spiritual growth and the defeat of the devil (Psalm 119:9,11,105, 130, John 17:17, 20:31, Acts 18:28, 20:32, Ephesians 6:16,17, 2 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 4:12, 1 Peter 1:23).
The Word of God teaches us that it should be read on a daily basis, be loved and kept with joy in the heart, received with humility, obeyed, and taught even to the children (Deuteronomy 11:19, 17:19, Psalm 1:2, 119:11, 97,113,167, John 15:7, Acts 17:11, Colossians 3:16, James 1:21 - 22.).
R David Jones
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