

GOD HATH SPOKEN
"God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers
portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us
in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made
the worlds..." (Hebrews 1:1-2).
William Barclay says "This the most sonorous piece of Greek in the whole New
Testament. It is a passage that any classical Greek orator would have been
proud to write." Theses verses affirm that God, the Creator, has communicated
with humanity. Some scoff at the idea that the Bible is a message from God.
They reason that such is incredible and unbelievable thing.
But if there is an intelligent, omnipotent God who created the world and
mankind; if He made man in his image, endowed him with volition and expects
him to obey Him, then:
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It is entirely reasonable to
conclude that He would give man instructions setting forth His will in
understandable terms. |
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It is to be expected that
such a document would be perfect in content, since it came from an
all-knowing, power powerful, perfect Mind. |
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He who designed the human
mind would be thoroughly capable of designing a book simple enough to be
understood by man; practical enough to be workable in every culture and
generation. |
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We would expect that He who
gave his only Son to die a tortuous death to purchase the church would not
leave her without adequate reliable, authoritative guidelines for her
faith, worship and practice. |
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It is entirely reasonable
that He would be fully capable of giving humanity such a record and
equally able to preserve it in tact for all generations to come. |
Note the several lessons these short verses teach us:
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God Hath Spoken. This
asserts the fact of a revelation from the Creator to his creation. It is
a divine message, unique from all others. In over 2300 cases Scripture
writers said, "Thus saith the Lord." |
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God Hath Spoken. These word
in the present-perfect tense, tell us that God's revelation is an
accomplished fact. "The faith was once for all (times) delivered unto the
saints" (Jude 3). The apostles were guided "into all the truth" (John
16:13). Notice that the writer does not say that God continues to speak
new information to man! The final chapter of our Bible was completed by
the close of the first Christian century. Not one word has since been
added. We are strictly warned to neither add to nor take from His Word
(Revelation 22:18-19). |
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God Hath Spoken. He has
communicated with us in language, with understandable words. Paul
explained that he and other inspired writers had the Spirit which is from
God, "that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
which the Spirit teacheth..." (I Corinthians 2:12-13). Peter said that
"men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:21).
Paul wrote "in a few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my
understanding in the mystery of Christ..."(Eph. 3:3). To Timothy, Paul
wrote, "'All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (II Tim. 3:16). The
word "inspiration" means "God-breathed," suggesting that Scripture first
came from God's mouth. God does not communicate with us with feelings and
impulses, only through His Word. |
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God Hath Spoken Unto Us. He
hath spoken to humanity, not to angels or demons. He speaks to all
mankind, not just to a few professional clerics. The Bible belongs to
every man. |
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God hath Spoken Through His
Son. Jesus is the divine Word of God (John 1:1; 14).
He came to declare the Father (John 1:18). The words Christ revealed were
from the Father (John 12:49). His words will judge us in the last day
(John 12:48-49). They are authoritative and must be obeyed if we wish to
please Him (Matthew 28:18,20). We must never presume to go beyond his
words (II John 9). All who be Christians are responsible to Christ alone,
not to Moses or any of the Prophets (Matthew 17:1-5). |
The responsibility of the church and every Christian is to hear and heed
the blessed Word of God (Revelation 2:29).
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February 2005
Issue
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