The Bible is the Word of God, and Christ is the Word of God. The Bible perfectly reveals Christ; Christ perfectly fulfills the Bible. The Bible is the written Word of God; Christ is the personal Word of God. Before His incarnation Christ was the eternal Word with the Father. In His incarnation Christ is the Word made flesh. The same Holy Spirit that reveals God through His written Word also reveals God in the Word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth. All the sermons in Acts were about a Man Jesus Christ.

Christ is the Word of God

The Apostles preached Jesus Christ. They preached His death, burial, and resurrection and especially emphasized His resurrection as proof that He was God in the flesh. Throughout its pages the Bible declares itself to be the “Word of God.” On the other hand, in a number of passages the same title –“the Word” or “the Word of God”—is given to Jesus Christ Himself For example:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God (John 1:1) And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacle (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory ( His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.” (John 1:14 AMP)

He (Christ) is dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood, and the title by which He is called is The Word of God. (Revelation 9:13)

Jesus’ life is a testimony to His belief in the divine authority of the Scriptures. At the age of 12 He confounded the spiritual leaders of Israel with His knowledge of God’s Word (Luke 2:41-51)

Jesus said “You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me!” (John 5:39 AMP) Most importantly, Jesus affirmed the Scriptures as the inspired Word of God. On one occasion as Jesus was teaching, a certain woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him:

Blessed (happy and to be envied) is the womb that bore You and the breasts that You sucked! But He said, Blessed (happy and to be envied) rather are those who hear the Word and obey and practice it!” (Luke 11:27-28 AMP).

Jesus used Scripture to teach the fundamentals of kingdom living (Matthew 5-7) He used Scripture to confront and confound Satan (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). He used Scripture to teach His disciples after His resurrection and to open their minds to understand the Scriptures “Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the Prophets, He went on explaining and interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning and referring to Himself. (Luke 24:27, 44-45)

Jesus quoted Moses, the Psalms, and the prophets. The disciples of Jesus evidenced the same respect for the Scriptures. The Gospel of Matthew quotes Old Testament passages repeatedly from beginning to end, attempting to prove to Jewish readers that Jesus fulfilled messianic prophecy.

Paul said: Every Scripture is God breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP).

In His Sermon on the Mount, delivered early in His ministry, Jesus affirmed that He had come to fulfill the Scriptures. He said that heaven and earth would pass away before one jot would pass away—thereby affirming the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures.

At the end of His ministry, in the last prayer He prayed with His disciples, Jesus referred to the Scriptures as the Word of God and then added, “Thy word is truth.” (John 17: 14-17) At one point Nicodemus confronted the Pharisees with their failure to keep their own laws. The temple guards came back impressed by Jesus, and one of the Pharisees–Nicodemus was defending Him.

When the temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded,”Why didn’t you bring Him in?” “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded……Then Nicodemus, who came to Jesus before at night and was one of them, asked, Does our Law convict a man without giving him a hearing and finding out what he has done? They answered him, Are you too from Galilee? Search the Scriptures yourself, and you will see that no prophet comes (will rise to prominence) from Galilee” (John 7: 45-52).

Yet God had fulfilled this through Isaiah when he clearly predicted in Scripture: Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. In the land of Zebulum and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined”(Isaiah 9:1-3 NLT).

Divinely inspired Word of God

 The Bible itself claims to be divinely inspired. More than 3,000 times the biblical writers claim to be speaking the words of God. Over and over, the writers say, “Thus says the Lord,” or “The Lord said.” These are the common phrases in the Bible. The writers also repeatedly refer to the Scriptures as “the Word of God” (1 Sam. 9:27 and Acts 6:2), and they affirm that it is inspired by God (see 2 Timothy 3:16).

Peter writes: Yet first you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of any personal or private or special interpretation (loosening, solving). For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it to do so it never came by human impulse, but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 2:20-21). The apostle John asserted that the one who loves the Lord is the one who “keeps His Word” (1 John 2:5)

The Holy Spirit Teaches Word.

The Scriptures are not hard to understand if we rely on the Holy Spirit who is the teacher and revealer of His Word. The Word of God alone is our standard of judgment in spiritual things. This Word can only be explained by the Holy Spirit and that today as well in former times, He is the teacher of His people.

The Scriptures were not written for intellectuals and one doesn’t have to have a PhD to understand what the Holy Spirit is saying through the apostles and prophets. The Scriptures were written for the common person.

The Scriptures were written to convict people of sin and draw them to salvation in Jesus. It is God’s Word alone-as we hear and do it, as we study and apply it—that is able to build up within us a strong, secure edifice of faith, laid upon the foundation of Christ Himself.

Library of many Books

The reason why we use the Bible to interpret the Bible is because it is not one Book.  It is a collection of 66 books written by more than 40 authors over a period of 1,600 years. The Bible is a whole library of many kinds of books. God arranged the Bible so that we could read one book at a time. David Pawson a widely respected Bible teacher tells us:

God gave us His Word in books, but not in chapters and verses. That was the work of two bishops, French and Irish, centuries later. It became easier to find a text and ignore context.

The authors of these 66 books came from every walk of life, kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, poets, statesmen, scholars, tax collectors, farmers, and medical doctors. They wrote in every conceivable place—palaces, dungeons, on islands, in the wilderness, in cities, and in the midst of wars. They wrote in different moods, ranging from heights of ecstasy to the depths of despair and sorrow.

They spoke on hundreds of controversial subjects. They wrote in three different languages. They utilized every conceivable literary style—history, law, poetry, biography, memoirs, letters, sermons, drama, parables, prophecy—you name it! Yet, despite all their diversity, their writings interlock with a harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation that can only be explained by pointing to Divine inspiration.

 Conclusion

The Bible is God’s truth about Himself. God uses this Word to draw us into a deep, personal relationship with Him. The Bible tells us how we should relate to Him and it was originally given to Israelites so that they would know the Lord their God from personal experience. The Bible tells us we are all infected with a virus called sin but God provided a Lamb to rescue us from eternal destruction. Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).

The Bible is the authoritative Word of God, and its message has changed millions of lives throughout history. It has survived despite the numerous efforts of so many to destroy it. The permanence of God’s Word was attested by Isaiah when he wrote, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

The existence of numerous specific sites that are referenced in the Gospels have been confirmed by archaeologists. Based on the very methods that literary and historical scholars use today, the only reasonable and logical conclusion that we can draw is that the Bible is the most reliable book of antiquity.

Charles H. Spurgeon, the preacher from London, was invited to come and give a series of 10 lectures in defence of the Bible. He wired back, “I will not come, the Bible needs no defense.” Turn it loose, and like a lion, it will defend itself.” I believe that, and I believe the Word of God needs no defense. We only need to preach it. 

Today the most preaching and personal prophetic words focus mainly on achieving personal success so that we can enjoy comfort and security. God wants you happy and blessed; there is a successful lifestyle waiting for you! There is nothing wrong with that. But if you conduct a study for yourself of the prophecies found in New Testament and the epistles, you will find only a few that prophesy a good life. Most dealt with chains, tribulations, and death that awaited those who would bring glory to God which is quite different from the prophecies of today.

It is been an easy thing to walk in the West as the follower of Jesus. But if persecution breaks out in the Western Church, I don’t think we are prepared or equipped for that day that might come upon us. Many prophets have been warning that where we walk we walk in peace and freedom of speech, there is yet coming a time, when even to speak the name of Jesus will bring such persecution that many of the saints and leaders of the church will count the cost and will not endure.

The question is: have pastors or other church leaders prepared the saints for persecution? The answer is only a small remnant has taught their congregations to suffer hardship for the sake of Christ. Most people have a lot of faith but no endurance or perseverance. They’ve been taught to prosper and build the finest buildings but this will not sustain us in the coming days.  Christians should expect some kind of trouble.

Jesus Christ was honest in telling His followers what to expect. Likewise when Paul and Barnabas had preached the good news (Gospel) to that town and made disciples of many of the people, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, establishing and strengthening the souls and the hearts of the disciples, urging and warning and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith, and telling them that it is through many hardships and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14:20-22)

Therefore preachers and evangelists should be honest in promising people who come to follow Jesus that there might suffer some kind of tribulation. But they can cheer up because Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us. We should acknowledge that persecution might happen. For instance, if a pastor has been removed from the pulpit, this can easily stop the functioning of a church. In fact a tactic of the communists when taking over a country has been to identify the pastor and all full-time workers and remove them from the areas.

If one’s pastor is suddenly thrown into jail, his spouse imprisoned for taking a stand against evil, or children removed from the home because God’s Word is taught, it is likely to shake the most grounded person. However, the mental shock will be much less to the individual who has acknowledged that this is likely to happen.

Examples were People were not Prepared

Pastors and religious leaders were oblivious to the Russian revolution that was about to take place. On the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, conferences were being held in two hotels on the Moscow Street. At the consultation sponsored by the Orthodox Church, clergy vestments, garments, and articles were the principle agenda.

In other meeting, Vladimir Lenin and his colleagues were finalizing plans to overthrow the existing regime. Could the churches in Western nations be in a similar situation? You bet! They are going about with their business as usual ignoring the impeding distress that is now settling in.

Richard Wumbrand (1909-2001) was a Romanian Jewish Christian minister. He was severely persecuted, tortured and imprisoned after publicly declaring that Communism and Christianity were incompatible.  He wrote that:

Some regimes come to power without having real power….The initial situation does not last long. During that time they infiltrate the churches, putting in their men in leadership. They find out the weaknesses of pastors….They explain that they would make those weaknesses known. Then, at a certain moment the great persecution begins. In Romania such a clamp-down happened in one day. All the Catholic bishops went to prison, along with innumerable priests, monks, and nuns. Then many Protestant pastors of all denominations were arrested. Many died in prison.

Some Bible teachers believe that the Christians will be able to escape every kind of persecution. The problem is that most people have little knowledge of the persecution that is already going on across the world. In China the Christians were told, “Don’t worry, before the tribulation comes, you will be “raptured.”Then came a terrible persecution and millions of Christians were tortured to death. Corrie Ten Boon heard a Bishop from China saying:

We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first.”Turning to me, he said, “You still have time. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when persecution comes—to stand and not faint.

Jan Pit in her book Persecution: It Will Never Happen Here says:

During the appalling Vietnam War, church leaders from a certain Christian group held their annual conference. The southern Vietnamese city resembled a fortress. There were soldiers everywhere, barricades, and a terrifying collection of weaponry. Daily attacks were being made on the city by the communist Viet Cong, yet the pastors continued to discuss the various activities which they would embark upon in the ensuing years. They even adopted a ten-year plan. Despite all the evidence, no one there thought it possible for South Vietnam to be overthrown. All were convinced the country would remain open to mission work. The church remained—unprepared.

The Possibility of Underground Churches in the West

 Richard Wumbrand said:

It is not possible to give a course on the church underground, in a short time. I would urge you to put this question before your synod, before your denomination, and to ask absolutely that courses on the underground church be introduced.” …..We have to make the preparations now, before we are imprisoned. In prison you lose everything…..Nobody resists who has not renounced the pleasures of life beforehand.

There are four ways churches or Christian businesses are likely to respond as pressure comes from government or other sources:

1. The church or business closes;

2. They attempt to co-exist with government regulations;

3. They resist and become a protest business or if it is a church;

4. They go underground.

In situations like that the Church faces two alternatives social-political compromise with anti-Christian forces or incur the wrath of a controlled political religious hierarchy if it refuses to compromise. But since most of these two alternatives have already been posed in many parts of the world, there is no reason to believe that it will not happen in the West. What then should we do? We need as Christians top prepare ourselves and be sure that our children have a clear example before them if their turn comes.

The Holy Spirit may lead different people and churches to respond differently. There are examples from Scripture of people who reacted in diverse ways. The House Church movement has been the means of great growth of the Body of Christ in China. When all churches were officially closed as a result of the Cultural Revolution in 1996, people began meeting in homes.

The number has varied through the years with only five or six people in some, hundreds in others, and thousands in a few. Denominational lines are gone so that the only question asked is “Do you belong to Jesus?” Sometimes believers came together at the same time with no prior announcement. They reported, “The Lord Himself told us to come.

When Idi Amin banned Christian sects and denominations in Uganda, people had to decide whether to join official churches or form house fellowships. It is reported In Persecution: It Will Never Happen Here?, that “within days of the ban, thousands of secret house fellowships had sprung up across the land.”

The type of church leadership which is widely accepted in Western society, with one man the centre of all activity, cannot continue in a repressive society. It is easy for the authorities to remove the key man and stop that church’s impact. Believers may have to worship alone, in their homes, or corporately but secretly.

I also agree with Chuck Missler who believes in Koinonia. He believes that real believers will increasingly meet in homes. The day may come that they don’t arrive all at the same time, but drift in singly, so as not to call to attention to themselves. We are locked in a very serious struggle in the West.