The Word of God is the Word of God
For now in this
age, God’s revelation to us is complete. It is contained in the Bible. Nobody today can claim to speak the
Words of God. Only canonized Scripture contains such. The ability to speak the
Word of God is not to do with any dispensation or time period, for there exists
writings recorded by God-fearing people during OT/NT times that are not
considered to be the Words of God. Several books that are not part of our Bible
are mentioned in the Bible. Jude 14 mentions
the book of Enoch (“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied
about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His
saints,”) in 1 Corinthians Paul
refers to other correspondence between him and the church of Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:9 & 1 Corinthians 7:1).
The ability to
speak the Word of God came through an indwelling and empowering of the Holy
Spirit upon the author providing direct and clear instruction from God himself.
(E.G Jerehmiah 30:2 “Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel: write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”)
The OT prophets:
The OT prophets
were empowered to speak the Words of God by the Holy Spirit.
The last OT
prophet in the OT is Malachi, however the true last OT prophet actually appears
in the NT. It is John the Baptist. For he was the last God-inspired man whom
lived under the Old Covenant, before Christ had come to die for us. The Lord
Jesus said concerning John the Baptist, “But what did you go out to see? A
prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.” (Matthew 11:8); and furthermore, “Assuredly I say to you, among
those born of women there has no risen one greater than John the Baptist; but
he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him.” (Matthew 11:11).
The True Dark Age:
After the last
OT prophet Malachi, the 450 odd years long inter-testament period, between the
Old Testament and the New Testament was the real ‘dark-age’, for in that period
God’s revelation was given to no man on the earth. No man was inspired to speak
God’s Word until John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord Jesus.
Even the historic
texts that we have that were written during these ‘dark-ages’ recognized that
there were no people around who had been inspired by God to speak His Words to
the people. In the Apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees 4:45-46, which was written
around 100BC, it states: “so they tore down the altar and stored the stones in
a convenient place on the temple hill until there should come a prophet to tell
them what to do.” It was understood that there was nobody with the authority to
speak God’s Word or know how God would want the people to deal with the stones
from the Lord’s altar, so the people instead stored them in a convenient place
until such a man could come.”
End of the Dark-ages:
As already
stated, the dark-age ended when God inspired John the Baptist to speak His
Words to the people and prepare the way for the Lord, as it was prophesized. (Isaiah 40:3-5 “The voice of one crying
in the wilderness; prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill
brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places
smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”).
The Lord:
The gospels
record the Words of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God and God Himself. Revelation 22:13 states “I am the Alpha
and the Omega; the Beginning and the End; the first and the last.” The Lord
Jesus was God himself, revealed to us as a man who is in our likeness. This was
done so that we are able to relate to Him. Hebrews
2:16-18 states “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give
aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His
brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that
He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are
tempted.”
Hebrews 2 is telling us here that Christ came to earth not
as some mighty angel or as anything that is higher than us, he came as a lowly
man, who suffered temptations just as we do. Yet, he was able to remain perfect
throughout. It is because of this that we can relate to Him. Hebrews 4:15 continues, “For we do not have a High Priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are,
yet without sin.”
Matthew 7:28-29 speaks of His authority of Scripture.
“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these saying, that the people who were
astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not
as the scribes.”
The NT Apostles:
The OT prophets can be grouped together
with the NT apostles in the way that both groups were inspired to speak God’s
Word to us. In 1 Corinthians 14:37 Paul states, “If any one thinks
that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that what I am
writing to you is a command of the Lord.”
The NT apostles
we are told are empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak God’s Words in John 16:13-15 (“However, when He,
the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will
not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He
will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is
Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore
I said that He will take of mine and declare it to you.”).
God’s full
revelation has been given to us in His Word. What a blessing. Seek it and
search the Scriptures.
Proverbs 2:1-12
“My
son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you, 2 So
that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to
understanding; 3 Yes,
if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for
understanding, 4 If
you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then
you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God. 6 For
the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; 7 He
stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk
uprightly; 8 He
guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints. 9 Then
you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good
path. 10 When
wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, 11 Discretion
will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you, 12 To
deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things.”
-BACChristian
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