What is the Bible

I was given the question about the word of God, the holy Bible.  I expanded the question here: Is the Bible only a text book?  Is it a history book? Is it a collection of unrelated letters and documents that are FORCED together to become the basis of two major faith systems: Judaism and Christianity?

A friend was reading Hebrews 4:12-13 which reads, 

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.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

He also referenced John 1 which refers to Jesus as the Word of God who became flesh.    My friend also referenced Genesis 1 which of course speaks of God's creation of mankind and the heavens and the earth - God started creation simply with His WORD, saying, "Let there be light..."

My friend's question of course should make all of us consider: maybe the Bible is more than a reference book, a text book, a book of religious rules and laws from ancient days.  Is it more than the antecedent for our faith, pointing to the beliefs and theological truth that make up the body and system of faith we call Christianity?  Is the Bible beyond "sola scriptura" as the reformers so boldly proclaimed?

Beyond the printed pages of what we call the Bible is indeed the faith that we hold in our heart.  The foundation of this faith is found in the humility we should have that says, "I am a sinful person" and what should be the eternal gratitude that says, "Wow!  I am saved from God's wrath through the cross".  Do we take this faith for granted by taking the written word for granted?

My friend considered the following question:  When holding the Bible, are we holding what actually brought everything into existence and what gives life to all things? Are we treating this book and its contents like some kind of text book?  If the Bible is indeed the Word of God and it is "living and active"; if "the Word became flesh"; If God's very Word spoken in the beginning actually created "light..." and everything else; If this is so, what really is this Book we call the Bible and what does it really mean?

There is a lot of theology and deep spiritual ideas in all of this.   Here are some of my thoughts regarding what this means.


I am convinced that it is not the Bible but the meaning of the scriptures and the essence of the faith that are indeed living and active and exceedingly powerful. More specifically, the object of that faith - that is God himself.  I see a number of problems if you take the words themselves as holding the power; if we do this we will miss the point.  The "pages" become sacred in and of themselves.  It is not that we shouldn't take care and respect the physical book, much like an ancient Jews kissing the scroll.  However, it is WHO the scriptures point toward and the reality of the metaphysical and unseen universe referred to that is the real power.  Otherwise, we treat the Words or the "word of God" like magic - as if chanting a spell to drive out a demon.  The demon is driven out, not because of magical words, but because of the authority of God - real authority.  In addition, when the apostles or prophets of old welded this power, it was not them, but again it was God Himself. All of the miracles in the Gospels and Acts and even in the Old Testament attest to this reality.

The Bible is full of analogies, metaphors, and anthropomorphic descriptions.  Does God - before the incarnation - have arms  eyes, a nervous system, or a stomach?  Does God have a mouth with a tongue that he speaks like we do?  No, God does not.  Human language is totally limited when even trying to describe God - even the words written in the Bible cannot do justice to a full explanation of God and we couldn't handle it anyway.  But God, or the Word, became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14) God is so much beyond being a human being but, for His own reasons, he limited his awesome power and stepped into his creation in the form of a creature.  As it is written, "...and being in found in appearance as a man..." (Phil 2:8)

The language of the Bible - the Word of God - and the reality of Jesus - the Word made flesh - help us accept and trust God, who is really extremely different than we are.  God is Holy - he is utterly different. So, the analogies, metaphors and Jesus himself calm down the sheer terror and dread we would unfortunately feel if we fully came into the presence of the living and active God.

Indeed, we cannot really understand the power of "the Word of God", i.e. the raw power of God.  Think about it - with what God calls "words" (and he calls this power "words" for our sake), He created the entire universe - stars, galaxy's, and life itself. The entire universe is at God's disposal and his very will!  We have no idea who or what God really is aside from the little bits and pieces he has revealed to us throughout human history in the Bible and especially through Jesus Christ.

The scriptures are alive and indeed powerful and I am convinced that the power that created everything is enclosed in this Book.  But this power is not in the ink and the paper.  There is an entire religious movement that misunderstands such power and they refer to themselves as the "word of faith". The power of the Word of God, that is,  the Power of God, is not not vibrations in the air that hit our ear drum, nor is this power found in concepts and ideas from a printed page that enter our mind using limited human language and frail human cognition.  For indeed, our human language is so limited that "...the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26) and this is just how God lowers himself in order to interact and communicate with us in a way we can accept!

No, the truth is - the power of "The Word of God" is actually within what the words actually refer to - the power is in the object of our faith.  The words reference an entity, a being, and a reality that is so utterly foreign to you and I that there is no way we could stand being in God's presence.  However, this God loves us enough to "create" a way for us to relate and embrace some aspect of who or what God really is, and this God even allows us to exists and be a part of eternity.   In fact, He created us and He created a realm using his Word, in such a way that we will be able to stand in the presence of the Throne of God, much like Isaiah caught a glimpse of in Isaiah 6:1-4.  Remember his response at only catching a glimpse - terror, fear, and dread.

The Bible - which we probably do take too lightly - when coupled with humility and authentic faith on our part, is the foundation and existential reference to God himself.  The words of scripture have many antecedents including the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The words of scripture also impact reality in this three dimensional world, limited by sequential time and space.  It does so by teaching our hearts and minds to accept our "creatureliness".  However, it also opens the door to the metaphysical world which God has occasionally allowed some people to also experience.  Yet, because of the Word of God, the Bible, and the Word of God with us - Jesus Christ, we get just enough so that we can aspire to live for God but not be overwhelmed to the point of terror.

What is the Bible?  It is a collection of narratives, songs, poems, letters, historical accounts, and apocalyptic literature delivered in the context of the ancient near east as well as a small Roman empirical region known as Palestine.  What is the Bible?  It is God taking on extreme limitations by holding back huge, absolutely enormous aspects of who and what He really is, in order to allow a part of his creation (mankind) to be in a relationship with Him.  What is the Bible?  It is the power of God, the gospel, the message of the Cross.