THE WORD OF CHRIST
by Ivan Maddox
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
What is the word of Christ? Is this term synonymous with "the word of
God"? If so, why is this phrase
used at all?
God is the author of the entire Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation; thus the entire Bible can properly be called "the word of
God". But what relationship does
Christ have with the Bible?
First, Jesus Christ is the subject of the whole Bible, from
Genesis to Revelation. We might then
refer to the Bible as the word of Christ in the sense of being the word
CONCERNING Christ; but this would not be consistent with other scripture on the
subject.
Mark 13:31.
Heaven and earth shall pass away:
but my words shall not pass away.
John 6:63.
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they [are] spirit, and [they] are
life.
John 8:51.
Verily, verily I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
John 12:48.
He that rejecteth
me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day.
John 14:24.
He that loveth me not keepeth not my
sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent
me.
I Timothy 6:3-4.
If any man teach otherwise, and
consent not to wholesome words, [even] the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing,
but doting about questions and strifes of words,
whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings...
With the exception of the last passage, these verses are
taken from the gospels, and can be understood as refering
to the words that Jesus spoke during his personal ministry on earth. The last passage, though, seems to refer to
what was taught to and during the grace administration; yet it refers to this
as "the words of our Lord Jesus Christ". Why is this?
The reason for this is explained in Galatians.
Galatians 1:11-12
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
For I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught [it], but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Paul said that he received the gospel that he preached
"by the revelation of Jesus Christ". Why does he say this? Doesn't revelation come from God, the Father
of Jesus Christ?
John 16:13-15.
Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you.
All that the Father hath are mine:
therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and
shall shew [it] unto you.
Before the birth of the Church at Pentecost, revelation was
given by God directly to man. Now, God
gives the revelation to Christ, who gives it to man.
Revelation 1:1.
The revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants
things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel
unto his servant John.
If this is the case, then Jesus Christ had a direct role in
the writing of every book of the Bible written since the day of Pentecost. That includes all of what we refer to as
"the New Testament". God is
still the one and only author of His word. Just as Jesus didn't speak of himself during
his ministry on earth, but spoke God's word, so now he speaks God's word. But the books of the Bible written after the
Day of Pentecost in Acts have come to us "by the revelation of Jesus
Christ"; as such, they are, in a very unique and special sense, the word
of Christ.
Thus we see that the terms "the word of God" and "the word of Christ" are not synonymous. All of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the word of God, while the word of Christ refers to that portion of the word of God which was received after the day of Pentecost, that is, the "New Testament."