Page 52 - Bible Writers Theology Original

36 ♦ B3)le Writers'Theohgy Chapter Four
truth in a uniquefashion, speaking ofHis wordand of His Spirit. In the Old Testament, God's word "dahbar" in Hebrew, was not a distinct person but was the essence of God as it related to His acting or creative power. We fre quently read in the Bible expressions like:
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"And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; Ye heard the voice of the words..." (Deuteronomy 4:12).
"In the beginning was the Word..." (John 1:1), and God was the W ord. We cannot separate the Word of God from God Himself.
"...The worlds were framed by the word of God..." (Hebrews 11:3).
"...The voice of the LORD God walking in the garden..." (Genesis 3:8).
"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made..." (Psalm 33:6).
• "The word of the LORD came unto me..." (Ezekiel 6:1).
• "...Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?" (Micah
2:7; Jeremiah 15:16)
Invarious contexts, weseeGod suggesting his creative power, prophetic
utterances, and admonitions. But that does not imply that God and His Word are separate entities. For Jewish thinkers and scholars, God's Word is a part of Him and can never be separated from Him, having independent existence and personification. This is in line with the doctrine of the
Oneness ofGod, which is present throughout the Old Testament.
In the Greek Bible, John 1:1-3 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and theWordwaswith God...," and "God was the Word". God, who is the Word Himself, from the very beginning, had a creative Word or force with
inHim. Johncontinuessaying,"ThesamewasinthebeginningwithGod. All things were made by Him."
The correct interpretation of this passage is that from God, who is Word by essence, proceeds Word without altering or changing His essence. God is the eternal, infinite source of creative word and life giving spirit. Without making two or three different subsistences within God, God's Spirit and
God's word isanaspect ofHim. The Word ofGod or the logos, is more than the "reasoning" ofGod as some scholars suggest. The Word is the mysteri ous creative power of God. In the prologue of the gospel of John "Word",
does not refer to a literal personification.
"The Symposium on Oneness Pentecostalism", 1988 and 1990, states the following:
"If is highly instructive to refer at this juncture to Old Testament passages in