…The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)
…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, (Eph. 5:25-26)
The Word of God is alive and powerful. The Scriptures are not only a source of accurate and reliable information – they themselves have the power to transform lives! When we are in the Word and the Word is in us, our lives are changed.
Books that are written about the Word of God are certainly useful (cf. Acts 8:26-35) – especially as they point us to the Word and help us understand it. But they do not have the same direct power as the Word of God; in fact, they have considerably less power.
Books that are written about books that are written about the Word have even less power. In a very subtle way, all in the name of scholarship, we get further and further away from life. The further away from the Word we get, the less the transformational power. We can still see bits and pieces of the Word – some vague reflections of Scripture – but we end up with our minds so cluttered with other things, and we lose the simple connection with the Word of life.1 Then we wonder: Where is the power of God? Where is the presence of God? Where is the life-transforming truth? We knew it once but now it has been lost in the muddle of human tradition, in man’s debates about man’s debates. Read more…
What else is the goal of theological education than to bring us closer to the Lord our God so that we may be more faithful to the great commandment to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37)? Seminaries and divinity schools must lead theology students into an ever-growing communion with God, with each other, and with their fellow human beings. Theological education is meant to form our whole person toward an increasing conformity with the mind of Christ so that our way of praying and our way of believing will be one.
But is this what takes place? Often it seems that we who study or teach theology find ourselves entangled in such a complex network of discussions, debates, and arguments about God and “God-issues” that a simple conversation with God or a simple presence to God has become practically impossible. Our heightened verbal ability, which enables us to make many distinctions, has sometimes become a poor substitute for a single-minded commitment to the Word who is life. If there is a crisis in theological education, it is first and foremost a crisis of the word. This is not to say that critical intellectual work and the subtle distinctions it requires have no place in theological training. But when our words are no longer a reflection of the divine Word in and through whom the world has been created and redeemed, they lose their grounding and become as seductive and misleading as the words used to sell Geritol.
Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart
He is… the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15)
the firstborn over all creation. A description of Jesus’ lordship over the universe. He is exalted above all. This statement does not make Him a part of the creation (since He created all things – v. 16 – and is Himself, therefore, uncreated), but the One who has sovereign dominion over it all (Heb. 1:2; Ps. 89:27).
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He is the image of the invisible God… (Colossians 1:15)
He is. Essentially and permanently (John 1:1-3; 1 John 1:1). He was so before creation, He was so in His incarnation, and He will be so for eternity. He eternally “is” the image of the invisible God.
the image of the invisible God. He is the visible manifestation of that in God which is invisible and incommunicable (Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:3; John 1:18; 14:9; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:16). Read more…
Christianity is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. He is alive! He loves you and He wants you to know Him as your “Lord.” Recognizing that Jesus is Lord is central to the Christian faith, and it is the most important decision of your life.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)
What does Lord mean? When referring to Jesus, it is much more than a title of respect and honor.
In the Gospels, Jesus was identified by the angels announcing His birth as “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Those who came to Him for help frequently referred to Him as “Lord” (Matt. 8:2, 6, 25; 9:6; 14:28-30; 15:22-28; 17:15; 20:30-34; Luke 23:39-43). Peter, when overwhelmed with a sense of his own sinfulness, called Jesus “Lord” (Luke 5:8). A blind man who had been healed by Jesus worshipped Him as “Lord” (John 9:35-38). In acknowledging Jesus to be the Source of life, Martha of Bethany called Jesus “Lord” as He was about to raise her brother Lazarus from death (John 11:21-27). The adoring crowds called Jesus “Lord” as they welcomed Him as their Messiah (Matt. 21:9). After His resurrection, He was worshipped as “Lord” (John 20:28). Jesus also identified Himself as Lord (Matt. 12:8; 22:41-45; John 13:12-15).
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