The Word of God is unique, because it is an expression of God. God is Spirit (John 4:24), and so is His Word (John 6:63). More plainly, the Word is God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1.
Expressing and revealing God by using a human language is very difficult. English, as other languages, is designed to transmit the natural thoughts, ideas, and expressions of man. God is on a much higher realm. The natural realm of man and the spiritual realm of God are two different worlds.
Hebrews 1:1-3 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the Word of His power.
God spoke in time past by His prophets, through circumstances, by angels, by type and shadows, dreams and visions, etc. Every medium used to express Him came up short. Instead of the people seeing the Word as a door of access to God’s realm where they could know Him and walk with Him, they perceived it to be laws and regulations whereby they could continue to live on the natural realm apart from the life of God.
Thus it became necessary for the Word to become flesh. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14. So Jesus became the pure expression and revealer of God. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. John 1:18.
The Word, then, is more than a language that speaks of God. The Word is an emanation of God. It is our access to live in the presence of God. God (the Word) has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6. Also in Peter’s epistle: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises (the Word): that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. II Peter 1:4.
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
The Son of man was in heaven and on earth at the same time. Jesus was God in a fleshly body standing on earth, and at the same time He was in heaven. How can that be? We must understand that the word “heaven” in the Scriptures is usually speaking of the spiritual realm. It is not speaking of the sky or some distant place in the natural heavens.
Heaven and earth meet in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the connecting link between the spiritual realm and the natural realm (John 1:51). While there is a great gulf between the natural realm and the spirit realm, it is not distance as we know it. The spirit realm is right here with us. Paul attested to this fact at Mars Hill in Athens. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us. Acts 17:27.
So the spirit realm and the natural realm come together in Christ. He was experiencing both realms at once. Thus He could say that He only did what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Jesus opened the door for us. He is our forerunner. He rent the veil that separated us from the Holy of Holies, giving us access to the spirit realm in God (Hebrews 6:19-20).
It is possible to be very religious and still not know the Word. The Pharisees had that problem. They studied the Scriptures diligently, but did not know the Word. Jesus told them: (You) search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. John 5:39-40.
The Pharisees, in spite of all their prayers and study of the Scriptures, did not receive the Word. They only saw rules and regulations for governing their lives on a natural plane. They never tapped into the life of God. The Scriptures can be dead letter, or they can be the living Word of God. It depends on us. The Pharisees were not open to the Word, so they only saw a dead letter, commandments that could not change the heart. They didn’t see the Word in the Scriptures, and they didn’t see the Word in flesh that stood before them. They thought eternal life was in the Scriptures, but the Scriptures only testified of the Word.
Jesus was divine life in a fleshly body. He was in both realms – the natural and the spiritual. The Pharisees could only see the natural side of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so it was with the Scriptures. When they studied them they only received what they interpreted from the natural language of the Scriptures. They could not discern the expression of God. Divine life was hidden in the Scriptures just as it was hidden in Jesus Christ.
If we are only receiving from the natural side of the Scriptures, they will only speak to us of history, future events on a natural plane, and disciplines for a religious life apart from the presence of God. When we feed upon the Spirit-Word of the Scriptures, we experience change and a present reality of the presence of the Lord. It is then that we begin to also walk in the spirit realm. This brings new meaning to the return of the Lord. In a very real way we are experiencing it, because He is coming forth within us (II Thessalonians 1:10). After all, this is the hope of glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27.
We then begin to realize that the Lord and the Word of God is one and the same. There is a new love for the Bible. It is not just a book of scriptures containing commandments and promises. It is not just a book that teaches us about God, Israel, Jesus the Nazarene, the apostles and the early church. It is a present expression of the risen Lord.
Those who argue over doctrines have not tuned-in to the Word of God. Those who retain the right to interpret the Scriptures have not tuned-in to the Word of God. When we open our hearts to the Word, He becomes the Lord and Teacher. He interprets the Scriptures and reveals them to us.
We soon learn that the Word is not limited to the Bible. The Lord Himself is the Word. Because the Bible reveals Him, it is the Word. Everything He has spoken, is speaking, and will continue to speak is the Word. His presence in our midst is the Word. His actions are the Word. Moses said, Man doth not live by bread only, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. (Deuteronomy 8:3). The Word is an emanation from God. The Word is God expressed.
Copyright © 1998 by Henry DuBose