Not What But Who Is The Word of God

Over the past several weeks we've been pondering the statements of the Apostle Paul  in Ephesians 6:10-20 about spiritual warfare. He writes both about wrestling and about the armor of a Roman foot soldier. After teaching about the protective value of the armor he points us to the offensive weapon of the soldier, the word of God, what he calls the "sword of the Spirit."  What is that word of God?

As I suggested earlier one could simply say that the Bible as we know it is the word of God. I could spend a lot of time defending that statement. I could point you to the writings of many scholars who have defended the Scriptures from attacks by the higher critics, the Copenhagen school and others. But that would miss the point those very Scriptures make, a point emphasized by Jesus in a debate with the Jews of His day that the Apostle John records in John 5.

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life (John 5:27-40).

Jesus point: we can argue all day and all night about the authority of the Scriptures, the lack of evidence for or against biblical stories in archeology, the value of the many ancient copies of the Scriptures and so forth. We can do that, but if we do we've asked the wrong question. The essential  question is not WHAT is the word of God, but rather WHO is the word of God. Jesus and His apostles claim that He, Jesus, is that word of God. The writings of the prophets, poets, wise men and finally the apostles and their students are all about Jesus. He is the Creator of all things, the One through whom all things were made at the very beginning. And this Creator has taken on human flesh and blood in order that He might bring to all mankind the undeserved grace and mercy of God (John 1:1-18).

Paul knew that. He had been an avid protector of the Jewish faith, a member of the Pharisee party, a leader of armed men commissioned to ferret out followers of that rebel rabbi from Nazareth, those folks that blasphemed God and the Scriptures. And then Jesus confronted Paul on the road outside of Damascus (Acts 8:1-18). Jesus forced him to ask, "Who are you Lord?"

This is the question you—and I—must wrestle with again and again. The Scriptures will not allow us to argue about their authority, their historicity, their reliability, etc. until we have first confronted the question about Jesus. Who is He? Is He the Messiah? Is He the Creator of all things, the One by whom all things were made (Colossians 2:1-15)? Did Isaiah point to Jesus when he wrote about the Servant who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows and through whose stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:1-12)?

We must all wrestle with Jesus and finally be defeated by Him (Genesis 32:22-32). Only then will we know and have in our hand the sword of the Spirit. Jesus is that word of God who drives out Satan and the forces of darkness. In essence everything that Paul writes about in Ephesians 6 is about Jesus. He provides the whole armor. He brings salvation, peace, righteousness, hope, faith and forgiveness. Protected by these the soldier of God attacks all his enemies with Jesus, the sword of the Spirit, the true Word of God.