A person’s words are inseparable from the person speaking them. Think about your own words. They come from you and are uniquely yours. Your words communicate your heart. They come from your inner self—your soul—and express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, and character. Your words are spoken with your voice. They are sounded with your own unique mix of accent, pitch, tone, and inflection. They’re made with your breath, your lungs—from deep within you.
And your words have a certain creative power. They can enter my mind and heart and make me laugh, cry, question an old belief or believe something new.
I cannot speak your words as I cannot know your deepest thoughts. I cannot swallow a lungful of your breath and speak with your exact voice and accent. I am not inside you. I am not you. Your words are uniquely yours.
Now, think about the apostle John’s description of Jesus as the “Word” of God:
The revelation of God. “He has revealed God to us,” John says (John 1:18). “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father,” says Jesus Himself (John 14:9).
The very voice and “breath” of God. “The words I speak are not My own, but my Father who lives in Me does His work through Me” (John 14:10).
The One who is Creator God. “God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him” (John 1:3). No wonder John tells us that this Word wasn’t just “with” God at the beginning of time, but “was” God (John 1:1). God’s Word is inseparable from Him. His Word is uniquely His.
Jesus is indeed the heart, soul, voice, breath, and creative power of God.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Exodus 4:1-17
More:
Reflect on these words in light of the above: “The very words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life” (John 6:63).
Next:
How have you struggled in believing Jesus’ deity? What does Jesus being God’s “Word” mean for your speaking and living?
shalomiom on February 3, 2012 at 4:57 am
May the spiritual blindness in other believers that still do not recognize and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour be unveiled that all may become one in following the only Name given to save mankind. .
sheridan voysey on February 3, 2012 at 12:51 pm
I’m wondering who these believers are that you speak of, shalomiom.
seeking777always on February 3, 2012 at 9:52 am
Great devotional on a morning like this one, The word of God truly is the life and breath that we need to be connected with each day. Keep them coming 🙂
sheridan voysey on February 3, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Glad you got something from it!
winn collier on February 3, 2012 at 3:52 pm
I love the image of Jesus as the creative power of God, the one whose very existence creates a new way of being human, one that before was unimaginable. Beautiful.
daisymarygoldr on February 7, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Very well said, Sheridan Voysey; indeed the Word of God is beautiful!
Jesus lived on this earth, and many saw Him with their own eyes, heard Him with their ears, talked with Him, hugged Him, kissed Him, and touched Him with their own hands. Today, Jesus Christ is not physically present, for us to see and touch. So how can we know and believe in Him?
“A person’s words are inseparable from the person speaking them”. The thoughts of the person are given “voice” and expressed as his words. The Son expresses the very image of God the Father. Jesus personifies his word (John 12:48) and prays for all who would believe in Him through the word. The Holy Spirit reveals Him to us through the written Word of God.
People without God’s Spirit read Scripture with an academic interest and merely have head knowledge of the letter. Actually I met some who make distinctions between “the Word behind the word”. And mostly these are the ones who see it as showing off Bible knowledge, when someone speaks God’s Word.
However, to those of us who believe, scripture is not just another piece of literature— rather it is God-breathed with a creative power that is beyond all human comprehension. The Word is not a passage on a page but a person. He is life.
Personally, I did not hear God’s audible voice or see any heavenly vision. It was through the Bible I knew God as revealed through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Word of God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, permeates scripture and abides in all believers to be always present with us in Spirit.
In Revelation 19: 11-13 we have a picture of the One coming— and His name is called the Word of God. The breath of God takes my breath away.
sheridan voysey on February 8, 2012 at 3:22 am
You put such thought into your responses daisymarygoldr! Love that last line too. Bless you.