What is the Word?
The Word is God’s communication to us.
In language spoken. In language written. In language embedded in creation. The Word is God’s communication to us.
That’s it. If someone asks you, “What is God’s Word?” Or, “Why do we call Jesus the Word of God?” The answer is this: God is too big to understand, but God communicates to us and we call that the Word of God.
You might be saying, “That’s it? Bryce, that was a whole lot of build up for something so simple.”
Just you wait. There’s more.
I said it this way… In language spoken. In language written. In language embedded in creation.
The first two parts we understand - language spoken and language written. But that third part is where it gets a little fuzzy so I’d like to spend a few minutes there.
Expanded: Language Embedded in Creation
In language embedded in creation.
The idea is this… there are logical, intelligible patterns in the created order which can be observed and understood.
It comes from the Greek word λόγος (logos) which was a philosophical concept long before John used it in this gospel.
There is a design to the created world. Rules that all of creation lives by. The way the world is put together isn't just random. It is orderly and intelligible.
The Word is the logic of creation. It’s how stuff works.
Examples of the Logic of Creation
Weather (the art of knowing what weather is coming and preparing for it. This is tracking the seasons, the smell in the air before it rains, joint pain (like knees and hips) before the weather changes. Also beginning attempts were the Farmers Almanac, now we have radar and satellites and more…)
Navigation (the art of finding one's way from place to place using context clues, stars, and cardinal directions. We use these less now because of GPS)
Human behavior (the art of navigating conflicts between people and nations, business acumen, family management, even incorporating atypical behaviors and understanding them to a limited degree)
Biology (human and animal anatomy, organ function, medicines, interventions that lead to life)
Engineering (weight loads and angles, and material strengths and structures, math and physics)
THREE IMPLICATIONS
1.There IS a Logic to the Universe
To understand the world in this way is to stand in contrast with some who insist the world is incomplete, broken, and chaotic. They say…
“See! There's no God. There's no one running this thing.”
“If there was a God, then stuff like this wouldn't happen.”
“See, the world is just too big to conceive of something that is consistent and constant throughout the entire creation.”
But the evidence is strong in the opposite direction.
The presence of patterns and governing laws in every arena of life points to the fact that things that are out of order are simply not yet in line with the order that is there.
The existence of chaos speaks to our desire for order.
The existence of undiscovered areas of knowledge points to how big God truly is.
2.Study and Give Praise to God
There is truth everywhere to be learned and celebrated. In a sense, when we study “the way things work” we are encountering that Word of God that is present in the creative order.
