Comments on: Knowing God’s Word => Knowing God http://blog.wakefi.org/thoughts/knowing-gods-word-knowing-god/ It's a blog... what more shall I say? Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:42:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Joe P. http://blog.wakefi.org/thoughts/knowing-gods-word-knowing-god/comment-page-1/#comment-361 Joe P. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:21:14 +0000 http://blog.wakefi.org/?p=42#comment-361 <q>The main question we want to answer is “What are the keys to having God’s blessing?”</q> If I might add something to this, what if we expanded this a little to something like, "In what ways have we been blessed to <em>be</em> a blessing, and how does that change how we live?" (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2012:1-3;&version=47;" rel="nofollow">Gen. 12:1-3)</a> Backing up though, I have something of a different emphasis when it comes to the idea that "Knowing God's Word => Knowing God". I don't necessarily dispute this, but think we've often equated God's Word only with the Scriptures, which can rob God's Word of it's most powerful manifestation: Jesus in the flesh. I'm definitely not claiming that you don't understand this, but I think it should be highlighted to make a distinction between placing the burden on people to make them study the scriptures and placing the burden on people to make them study the person of Jesus, so to speak. (Actually, I think we should be careful what burdens we place on people; check this out in Acts 15:10.) You might say, everything that God wanted to express he did perfectly in Jesus. (There's a quote from someone to this effect that i couldn't find.) I'm not saying the Scriptures aren't the words of God, or that we shouldn't study them. And yes, I agree that by studying them we will better understand who God is and what he's all about. But it's definitely human tendency to miss God for the Scriptures (John 5:39). What I've heard people espouse in relation to all this, in terms of our relationship to the Bible, is that once the process of canonization was over, God had basically completed his work of inspiration, and can sit back and let the Bible speak for itself so that the Holy Spirit only speaks through the Scriptures. (I may be getting this position a little off, but I think you've heard this argument before. Whatever the exact argument is, I think it's worthy of pointing out the irony that it's an extra-biblical argument used to enforce the Bible-only doctrine.) Whether you buy into this argument or not, I think it's worth taking a look at how it's influenced the way we look at the Bible and the way we expect to hear from God. Let me state something positively, rather than just rambling on. I do see much value in studying the scriptures as the words of God. I see an even greater value in coming to know Jesus as the Word of God - giving his claim over our lives and this world as Lord and King its full room to work. As his church, we represent that Kingdom as ambassadors. As his body in which the Holy Spirit dwells and by which his body is led, we speak the words of God, at times no less inspired than the words of the body in the period in which the books of the Bible were written. Certainly, these words need to be in concert with the scriptures, but if the spirit of Jesus speaks to us today, and we speak and live it out in faith and obedience to show the world what the Kingdom of God is like, how is that any different than when the people of God did the same thousands of years ago? Nothing's changed, especially if God is consistent. My apologies if any of this came off as picking a fight or just picking in general - not my intent. ;) And let me know if anything needs to be clarified or perfected - I'm not claiming authoritative inspiration here, only the weight that the holy spirit gives it according to how much I said was by Him. The main question we want to answer is “What are the keys to having God’s blessing?”
If I might add something to this, what if we expanded this a little to something like, “In what ways have we been blessed to be a blessing, and how does that change how we live?” (Gen. 12:1-3)

Backing up though, I have something of a different emphasis when it comes to the idea that “Knowing God’s Word => Knowing God”. I don’t necessarily dispute this, but think we’ve often equated God’s Word only with the Scriptures, which can rob God’s Word of it’s most powerful manifestation: Jesus in the flesh. I’m definitely not claiming that you don’t understand this, but I think it should be highlighted to make a distinction between placing the burden on people to make them study the scriptures and placing the burden on people to make them study the person of Jesus, so to speak. (Actually, I think we should be careful what burdens we place on people; check this out in Acts 15:10.) You might say, everything that God wanted to express he did perfectly in Jesus. (There’s a quote from someone to this effect that i couldn’t find.)

I’m not saying the Scriptures aren’t the words of God, or that we shouldn’t study them. And yes, I agree that by studying them we will better understand who God is and what he’s all about. But it’s definitely human tendency to miss God for the Scriptures (John 5:39). What I’ve heard people espouse in relation to all this, in terms of our relationship to the Bible, is that once the process of canonization was over, God had basically completed his work of inspiration, and can sit back and let the Bible speak for itself so that the Holy Spirit only speaks through the Scriptures. (I may be getting this position a little off, but I think you’ve heard this argument before. Whatever the exact argument is, I think it’s worthy of pointing out the irony that it’s an extra-biblical argument used to enforce the Bible-only doctrine.) Whether you buy into this argument or not, I think it’s worth taking a look at how it’s influenced the way we look at the Bible and the way we expect to hear from God.

Let me state something positively, rather than just rambling on. I do see much value in studying the scriptures as the words of God. I see an even greater value in coming to know Jesus as the Word of God – giving his claim over our lives and this world as Lord and King its full room to work. As his church, we represent that Kingdom as ambassadors. As his body in which the Holy Spirit dwells and by which his body is led, we speak the words of God, at times no less inspired than the words of the body in the period in which the books of the Bible were written. Certainly, these words need to be in concert with the scriptures, but if the spirit of Jesus speaks to us today, and we speak and live it out in faith and obedience to show the world what the Kingdom of God is like, how is that any different than when the people of God did the same thousands of years ago? Nothing’s changed, especially if God is consistent.

My apologies if any of this came off as picking a fight or just picking in general – not my intent. ;) And let me know if anything needs to be clarified or perfected – I’m not claiming authoritative inspiration here, only the weight that the holy spirit gives it according to how much I said was by Him.

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