Words about "The WORD"
At the risk of alienating half of the Christians who post on the internet, I feel the need to raise an obvious point. John Chapter One, that amazing chapter on incarnation says this:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
Now, we hear lots of talk about the "Word of God." A lot of the time, people use this phrase in conjunction with the Bible. But I don't think John is referring to a Bible here. Seems to me he's talking about Jesus Christ, the true Word. So when I use the phrase "Word of God," I'm talking about Jesus. And with many other people of the Reformed faith, I refer to the Bible as a testament to Christ, the True Word Incarnate.
So for me, scripture consists of inspired words that attest to the true Word--words about the Word. I suppose, in a very convoluted and obtuse way, I could be seen as being in agreement with all of the religious folks who insist that people believe in the inerrancy of the Word, since I absolutely affirm the inerrancy of Christ the Word. The scriptures say he was tempted in every way but did not sin. I think that qualifies as inerrant.
As to the inerrancy of scripture, well, I respect these words as the best and most reliable account of God's workings in the world and the best witness to Jesus' inerrant life and ministry.
I believe these inspired words to point us to the perfection of God's use of incarnation to save us fallen humans who cannot help but err. But if you don't mind, I'm going to lift up Jesus as the Word of God--rather than scripture.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
Now, we hear lots of talk about the "Word of God." A lot of the time, people use this phrase in conjunction with the Bible. But I don't think John is referring to a Bible here. Seems to me he's talking about Jesus Christ, the true Word. So when I use the phrase "Word of God," I'm talking about Jesus. And with many other people of the Reformed faith, I refer to the Bible as a testament to Christ, the True Word Incarnate.
So for me, scripture consists of inspired words that attest to the true Word--words about the Word. I suppose, in a very convoluted and obtuse way, I could be seen as being in agreement with all of the religious folks who insist that people believe in the inerrancy of the Word, since I absolutely affirm the inerrancy of Christ the Word. The scriptures say he was tempted in every way but did not sin. I think that qualifies as inerrant.
As to the inerrancy of scripture, well, I respect these words as the best and most reliable account of God's workings in the world and the best witness to Jesus' inerrant life and ministry.
I believe these inspired words to point us to the perfection of God's use of incarnation to save us fallen humans who cannot help but err. But if you don't mind, I'm going to lift up Jesus as the Word of God--rather than scripture.
posted by Frank at 6:12 PM
3 Comments:
Thank you for clearly stating the difference between scripture and Jesus as the Word of God. It seems that certain traditions, such as the call and response of "The Word of the Lord"-"Thanks be to God" which is often used after the scripture readings in Presbyterian worship services, perpetuate this confusion and lead people to think that the Bible is equatable with the Word Who is Christ. If we are remaining faithful to this element of the Reformed understanding of the Word, shouldn't we rather say "The testimony to Jesus Christ"-"Thanks be to God"? Do you see any other elements in the liturgy that create similar confusion?
Thanks,
Chris Brown
PTS Student and Northmont Attendee
Frank-
So I come visit your blog and the first thing I read is a Barthian post on Scripture! What have I gotten into here?! Just kidding. Thanks for checking out my blog, I enjoy your posts...interesting stuff.
Luke
Chris, thanks for checking out the site. I agree that the whole liturgy around the reading of scriputre is clumsy. I haven't figured out what I consider the best possible way to phrase it.
Luke, Thanks. I enjoyed your blog as well. Barth, Calvin, Luther--I take all comers. The more the merrier!
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