1. The phrase “word of God” appears often in the Bible. Usually the phrase refers to the Bible. Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."
2. When our Lord was tempted by the devil, He said, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4).
3. Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." There are many similar Scriptures.
4. Sometimes the term "Word of God" refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
5. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
6. First John 5:7 describes the Triune God -- "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
7. Revelation 19 describes the second coming of Christ. Verse 13 says, "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
8. There is a close resemblance between Christ, the incarnate Word and the Bible, the written Word. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, "A careful consideration of this will help in our understanding of the Bible as the embodiment of God's revelation for human life" (Outline Studies in Matthew).
9. Herbert Lockyer said, “As the spoken word reveals our invisible thought, so Christ, as the Living Word, reveals the invisible God."
10. John Stott said, "As in the incarnate Word (Jesus Christ), so in the written Word (the Bible), the divine and human elements combine and do not contradict one another...We must never affirm the deity of Jesus in such a way as to deny his humanity, nor affirm his humanity in such a way as to deny his deity. So with the Bible. On the one hand, the Bible is the Word of God. God spoke, deciding himself what he intended to say, yet not in such a way as to distort the personality of the human authors. On the other hand, the Bible is the word of men. Men spoke, using their faculties freely, yet not in such a way as to distort the truth of the divine message" (You Can Trust the Bible).
11. It has been noted that our Lord and the Scriptures are alike in the following ways: their nature, their infallibility, their authority, their purpose, and their power (W.H. Griffith Thomas).

I. THEIR NATURE -- CHRIST AND THE BIBLE

1. Both the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible are human and divine.
2. Theologians use the term "hypostatic union" to describe how God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, took on a human nature -- how He is both fully God and fully man.
3. Jesus always has been God. He said in John 10:30, "I and my Father are one."
4. Isaiah 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God..."
5. Jesus always has been God, and at the incarnation Jesus became a human being. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."
6. Our Lord was perfect in His human nature, and in His divine nature; and they were inseparable. Skeptics have tried to separate Jesus the man from Jesus the God-man but that is impossible.
7. The apostle Paul said in I Timothy 3:16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh."
8. Referring to this great mystery, Griffith Thomas said, "How two natures, one divine and one human, can co-exist in unity of one personality is (the) great psychological enigma of all ages."
9. Now let us also consider the Bible as the Word of God. It too is at once divine and human. Among all the books ever written, the Bible is absolutely unique.
10. Strictly speaking, the Bible is not just a book—it is a collection of 66 books. And these books were written over a period of 2,000 years by 40 different authors, who wrote in three different languages -- Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
11. And yet there is a remarkable unity of the overall message despite having so many different authors writing over many centuries on hundreds of different subjects. Natural explanations fail to account for the supernatural character and origin of Scripture.
12. The personalities of the various writers (Moses, David, Jeremiah, Luke, Paul, et al) is evidence of the Bible's humanity, "yet it bears on its face marks of Divinity, and no other book even approaches it in this respect" (W.H. Griffith Thomas).
13. Recall the famous story of Sir Walter Scott on his deathbed crying out, "Get me the book...get me the book." His son-in-law asked him, "Which book? You have thousands of books!"
14. Sir Walter Scott replied, "There is only one book! Get me my Bible!"
15. In the Bible, the divine elements and the human elements are inseparable. Scholars can splice it and dissect it but it is impossible to say with accuracy and certainty where the divine element in Scripture ends and where the human begins.
16. You do not have to be a great scholar to accept by faith the words of II Peter 1:21 -- "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Here we see both the human and the divine.
17. Second Timothy 3:16 and 17 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."
18. Interestingly, both the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ are referred to as "the Word of Life." Referring to the Bible, Philippians 2:16 says, "Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
19. Referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, I John 1:1 says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life."

II. THEIR AUTHORITY -- CHRIST AND THE BIBLE

1. Our Lord's authority as a teacher was absolute and final. Mark 1:22 says the people in the synagogue in Capernaum "were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."
2. Luke 4:32 says that when our Lord came down to Capernaum, the people "were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power."
3. And then in the synagogue there in Capernaum, there was a man with an unclean spirit, and our Lord cast out the devil. The people "were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out" (Luke 4:36).
4. Just as Christ is the authoritative Word of God, the Bible is also the authoritative Word of God. The Bible is our supreme authority, and the Bible is our only authority.
5. The Mormons have their Book of Mormon, and the Jehovah's Witnesses have their books and publications. The Seventh-Day Adventists lift up the writings of Ellen G. White and consider them inspired. Roman Catholics consider their pope to be infallible.
6. But for the Christian, our only authority is the Bible. It is our infallible guide in all matters of morality and spiritual truth. God reveals Himself to us in His written Word, the Bible.
7. Everything must be measured by the Bible. First Thessalonians 5:21 says, "Prove all things." This means we are to test all things, and to examine all things, and we must scrutinize all things, to see whether these things are right or wrong.
8. And we prove them by the Bible, the inerrant, infallible Word of God.
9. Therefore, we reject idolatry, evolution, pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex (fornication and adultery and homosexuality), abortion, pornography, drunkenness, gambling, tattoos and body piercing, and many of the other popular sins of this wicked generation because the Bible condemns them.
10. Many years ago, the great statesman Daniel Webster said, "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures. If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect the instructions and authority; no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."

III. THEIR PURPOSE -- CHRIST AND THE BIBLE

1. We know the purpose for our Lord coming to earth. He said in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
2. The apostle Paul said "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (I Timothy 1:15).
3. This is the true story of Christmas, though it is often buried under all of the shopping and decorating and commercialism and partying, etc.
4. The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world. John 4:4 says, "And he must needs go through Samaria."
5. Why? As we read the rest of the chapter we see why. The Samaritans said, "We have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42).
6. Not just the Saviour of the Jews, but "the Saviour of the world."
7. When we consider the Bible, the written Word of God, we note that it has been translated into many different languages and dialects, far more than any other book in the world -- 2,883 languages have at least some portion of the Bible.
8. Year after the Bible is the #1 best-selling book, and the King James Version is the #1 translation.
9. One of the wonderful things about the Bible is its inexhaustible treasures. New beauties are always being discovered.
10. In 1607, the separatist Pilgrims left England and migrated to Holland, but after a number of years there they decided to move again, this time to America.
11. 1620 the Pilgrims left England and sailed for America aboard the ship Mayflower. Their pastor John Robinson stayed behind in Holland. Before the Pilgrims left Holland, John Robinson preached a memorable sermon, which included these words, "For I am verily persuaded the Lord hath more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word."
12. More truth, more light, more wisdom, more guidance, more blessing, more reproof and correction, etc. This is the purpose of the written Word.
13. The great preacher C.H. Spurgeon said, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”
14. "Wherever the Bible has been consistently applied, it has dramatically changed the civilization and culture of those who have accepted its teaching" (John Walvoord, Why I Believe the Bible).
15. Before missionary John G Paton arrived in the New Hebrides Islands, the natives were idolaters and cannibals. They practiced infanticide.
16. After working among them and preaching the Gospel to them, more than half the population threw away their idols, professed faith in Christ, and renounced their heathen customs.
17. Another pioneer missionary to the New Hebrides was John Geddie. This is what it says on a tablet placed behind the pulpit of his church: "In memory of John Geddie. When he landed in 1848, there were no Christians here, and when he left in 1872 there were no heathen."
18. The main purpose of Scripture is to bear witness to Christ. Our Lord said in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
19. I heard a story about a little boy who was sitting by the road reading the Bible. A haughty priest walked by, and surprised to see a youngster reading Scripture, said, "Why do you read the Bible? You shouldn't be reading the Bible!"
20. The little boy said, "Sure, I can read the Bible. I have a search warrant."
21. The priest said, "A search warrant? What do you mean by that?"
22. The little boy said, "Jesus said, 'Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.' That's my search warrant!"
23. Spurgeon said no matter what book of the Bible he was preaching from, "I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross."

IV. THEIR POWER -- CHRIST AND THE BIBLE

1. The Lord Jesus Christ is God. Therefore, as God He is omnipotent -- all powerful. Revelation 19:6 says, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth."
2. That very same chapter, verse 16, says the Lord Jesus Christ is "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
3. Ecclesiastes 8:4 says, "Where the word of a king is, there is power."
4. Anyone who reads the Bible knows of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He gave eyesight to the blind. He cast out devils. He rebuked the wind and He calmed the storm. He walked on the water.
5. He fed five thousand with five barley loaves, and two small fishes.
6. Yes, as Christians we all understand the power of Christ, the incarnate Word. But what about the power of the Bible, the written Word?
7. A few weeks ago, our children sang, "God's Word changes lives. Its power cannot be denied."
8. The Word of God has power to convict us, to pardon us, to transform us, to cleanse us, to sanctify us, to enlighten us, to strengthen us, to feed us and satisfy us, and to guide us.
9. The Word of God has power to transform a drunkard and a drug addict and a harlot and any sinner in bondage to the devil.
10. First Peter 1:23 says we are "born again...by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

CONCLUSION:

1. We often sing that great hymn, "Trust and obey, For there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey."
2. We cannot be saved apart from Scripture. First Peter 1:23 says, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
3. In order to be saved, we must put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. And we must have complete trust and confidence in the Bible, the written Word of God to go forward in our Christian life.
4. Furthermore, we must obey Jesus, the incarnate Word of God. He said in John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
5. And we must obey the Bible, the written Word of God. I have little patience with people who tell me they love Jesus, but they disregard the Bible. You cannot separate the incarnate Word of God from the written Word of God.
6. John Walvoord rightly said, "Those who attack the written Word of God also attack the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. If the Bible is in error, then Christ is in error, too. The two stand or fall together. It is for this reason that evangelical Christians are so insistent that the Bible is indeed the inspired Word of God and that the authors were guided by the Spirit so that they wrote the Truth without any error" (Why I Believe the Bible).