In the simplest sense, God’s Word reflects the mind and will of God. There is no other reference available to us but God’s Word to understand the nature of God. Many have sought to conjecture who God is and how He operates, but there is no other source for this information other than God’s Word. God empowered human authors by His Holy Spirit to record His Word in one volume, unchanged over the centuries: “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20). And as yet, it continues to impact human lives. The Word of God is the conduit between God and people; what’s more, it establishes a relationship between Jesus Christ and those who repent of their sins and put their faith and trust in Him. It is the lifeline to create and sustain a healthy life. In particular, it conveys God’s love to all that would receive Him. It is the source of both quality of life and eternal life.
God’s nature, as passed down to us, goes beyond His loving, nurturing character. It identifies God’s righteousness and His abhorrence of sin. We can begin to “live a life of great faith, trust, humility, and surrender.”[1] However, we must be willing to respond and accept God’s Word as truth. In other words, God’s Word does not have any meaning until we first recognize the divine nature of God’s Word on the one hand, and our sinful state on the other. When we recognize this dichotomy then we enter a realm where God can begin to work in and through our lives. His Word then has meaning.
To those who are willing, God’s Word infiltrates their lives to sustain not only them, but also those around them including future generations. It is the very sustenance, the spiritual food, which allows a Christian to conduct themselves according to divine principles as outlined in God’s Word. This is evident by evaluating the Christian lives around us to see if there is a pattern of moral and ethical conduct exhibiting God’s divine principles. Remember, God loves us and wishes the best for our lives. That means the lives of every human being. Leland Ryken used these words to explain this further: “Stories have an author who stands outside the story and controls it. Stories bear the imprint of their author and express that author’s values. The Christian’s life is a story told by God.”[2] The great mystery of Christian life is that God controls us while at the same time, he allows freedom of will to make our own choices. It is the junction of human fallibility with God’s infallibility. Even though we might be befuddled as to how this works, we can rest assured that God created this process and therefore it is perfectly normal. The apostle Paul, inspired by God, wrote these words to his co-worker Timothy: “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). Paul encouraged Timothy regarding God’s inspired Word. The term “God-breathed” refers to the process whereby God’s Spirit inspired human writers to pen His words. It points to the divinity or perfection of God’s Words. It reminds us of the divine authority that God has, requiring not only Timothy’s attention, but ours as well. The phrase, “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” refers to the inspiration of God’s Word upon a reader – people like you and I. In other words, God’s Word is affecting His plan when we teach others, when we rebuke or stand up against violators or violations of His Word, and when we correct others. Finally, we train others in virtuous or righteous living – a byproduct when a reader subscribes wholeheartedly to God’s Word. This direction results in what Paul calls, “the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That is, one who believes in God’s Word is now able to act and perform righteously, based on God’s Word, and according to His plan.
[1] Amy Swanson, “What are the Most Important Things to Understand About the Nature of God?” Christianity.com, last modified October 2, 2020, accessed February 10, 2021, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/god/important-things-to-understand-about-the-nature-of-god.html.
[2] Leland Ryken, “And It Came to Pass: The Bible as God’s Storybook,” Bibliotheca Sacra (Apr-Jun 1990), 141.