Jesus is declared to be the Word of God (John 1:1-2) but so is the Bible, so why is Jesus also called the Word of God?

The Word of God

To explain the distinction between the “Word of God” as it is used in relation to the Bible and to call Jesus the Word of God is to necessarily tie in the two as mutually inclusive. Jesus is not only the Word of God but the Word of God is Jesus (John 1:1-2), in His Person and in His words, but whatever He spoke because the Word of God or ended up as being in the Bible. The Word was both with God and was God at the same time. Just as I am 100% Kansan and 100% American, I am both at the same time. What I say, I say as an American, but also as a Kansan. This is a poor analogy of course when relating to God Who is infinitely higher and above all things and no human can ever wrap their minds around God. It is impossible for my finite mind to comprehend the infinite God. We know that Jesus always spoke the truth and all truth spoken by Jesus must be necessarily true, and so too is the fact that Jesus is the Word and what He spoke was recorded as the Word of God.

Abiding in Christ

When Jesus said “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7), it should be understood that when Jesus’ words abide in us, He abides in us. When we abide in Him, His words abide in us. And that shows up in our daily walk in this world, so Jesus actually abides in us when His words abide in us. Since He is the Word, we need to abide by His Word. When I am in the Word and take those words to heart, the Word is somehow in me. I’ve hidden His Words in my heart (Psalm 119:11). I know that when we are abiding in His Word we are obeying His word, and if the branch does not abide in the Vine then the branch is not really abiding in or attached to the Vine. That means it can be easily broken off. A branch that is not abiding in the vine is not being fed by the Author of life. If we’re not abiding in Him, it’s a dead branch, even though our eyes may not be able to tell by looking at it. In time, it will tell.

Wax Fruit

God knows every single thought and intent of our hearts. I live by a vineyard and by the naked eye or from a distance, you can’t always tell where the branch and vine intersect, or if the branch is really alive or not. But, you can easily tell up close by seeing the fruit, or the lack thereof. The dresser or keeper of the local vineyard knows from experience exactly where the branch and vine meet, and what branches are useless and which are not. One why that he could tell is to put pressure on the branch, and if it breaks off, it was not really attached to the vine. And after the owner breaks off the dead branch, he puts it in the burn pit (John 15:6). This is what Jesus was saying in John 15. Fruit is the test as to whether the branch is attached and abiding in the vine (John 15:5), but until you get up close, you can’t tell if it’s wax fruit or the real thing. Again, time will tell. Wax melts under pressure or heat.

All About Him

Whatever Jesus spoke was the Word of God and whatever the Word of God says about Jesus, either directly or indirectly, is also part and parcel of His Person…part of the written Word. As the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee said, “The Bible is a Him book…it’s all about Him!” Just as God is One in essence but Three in Persons, so Jesus is the Word and the Word is Jesus, the Son of God. They are both one and the same. Whatever Jesus ever spoke instantly became Scripture. In other words, everything that Jesus ever said that was recorded by the Apostles ended up as being part of the Word of God, the Bible. I am not saying that everything Jesus spoke was written down because the Apostle John says at the end of his gospel that not all of the books in world could contain all that Jesus said and did (John 21:25), but this is like a chain that cannot be broken.

Jesus Spoke Scripture

The implications are that when Jesus spoke and those words were recorded in the Bible, He is in those words and those Words are in Scripture! These two are inseparable. Jesus often quoted the Old Testament, and by doing so, He established that the Law and the Prophets are also part of the Word of God, teaching us that we are to live by every word of God (Matt 4:4) and not pick and choose to what we live by. Jesus reiterated the fact that the Scriptures were the Word of God, frequently saying, “Have you not read…?” Clearly, He meant that every Word of God meant the Old Testament Scriptures but didn’t exclude the New Testament, as yet being unwritten.

Every Word of God

By Jesus saying in Matthew 4:4 and elsewhere that we are to live “by every word of God,” He established the fact that the Old Testament is the Word of God. Jesus said in John 6:63b, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” The Words themselves have life in them because Jesus’ own words have effectual power and there is eternal life in them and to ignore them causes eternal death (John 3:17-18). Jesus’ words were enough to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). These words of Jesus are “speech-act” words which is the effectual power of Jesus Who is God Himself. Because He is the Word of God, that Word enters into the world with causative power or effectually causing change (Isaiah 55:11, John 3:16). Only God is the evangelist in the truest sense because God alone is the Author of our salvation (Heb 5:9; John 6:44). These are the implications of Jesus being the Word and the Word being Jesus in action and if His words abide in us then we are abiding in Him. No wonder we can pray and receive answers to our prayers (causative) because “If [we] abide in [Him] and [His] words abide in” [us] whatever we pray for in His will, will be done for us (John 15:7). That is so awesome as to be indescribable.

Conclusion

If you have never trusted in Christ, you are in mortal danger right now. If Jesus were to return today (and He can; Matt 24:43; 1 Thess 5:2; Rev 1:7, 16:15) or you were to die before trusting in Him, you face an eternal judgment from which there is no escape (Heb 9:27; Rev 20:12-15). Get this settled my friend…right now, before you pillow your head. Today is the best of days to trust in Him (2 Cor 6:2), otherwise you risk having a hardened heart that may carry you further and further away from Christ and close and closer to hell (Heb 3:8).

Here is some related reading for you: Who is Jesus?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: bible, Jesus, Jesus is Word, Scripture, Word of God