Saturday, September 2, 2017

Only Christ's Words

Which words do you believe?

There is a growing tendency among liberal evangelicals to believe that only the words in red (i.e. direct quotes from Jesus) are the inspired Word of God. Various translations have faithfully attempted to aid the reader by changing the font color but, from this godly desire, has arisen an unholy viewpoint. While the recorded words of Christ during His earthly ministry are of eternal importance, those who hold to this view have lost sight of the fact that every single word in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, are the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Revelation 1:17, Jesus Himself says,

I AM the First and the Last
Notice that not only are His words in red, but He claims for Himself the All-Supreme title of the Eternal and Sovereign God! This brings us to the Old Testament book of Isaiah chapters forty through forty-eight. The prophet Isaiah spends these nine chapters quoting God regarding Israel’s sin of idolatry. What does this have to do with Jesus, you ask? Everything! The Sovereign God, Jehovah, emphatically declares this title for Himself and assures His people that He will give this title and His glory to no other (Isaiah 42:8).

In Isaiah 44:6 (along with 41:4 and 48:12), Jehovah God says,

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I AM the First and the Last; besides Me there is no god.
Did you notice the choice of font color? You will likely not find it colored red in your personal study Bible, but may I remind you that the publishing company does not determine our Lord’s words or even where they are found in Scripture. What this means then, is that the God who is audibly speaking to the prophet Isaiah is none other than Jesus Christ. Therefore, if one claims to believe and submit only to the words of Christ, then they are accountable to every quotation of Christ, not just in Isaiah, but in all of the Old Testament.

In Zechariah 12:10, Jesus Himself says,

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on ME, on HIM whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for HIM
In Hosea 13:4 (along with Isaiah 43:11), Jesus Himself says,

But I AM the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and besides Me there is no Savior.
We know this is Jesus speaking because we know that there is no other Savior apart from Him. He is the One. He alone willingly chose to die on the cross for our sins and rise again on our behalf because He alone has the power to do just that! And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Christ’s affirmation of the Old Testament Scriptures, His choosing and commissioning of His apostles with His New Testament message, His sovereignty over the protection and proper distribution of His Word throughout the ages, and even of His glorious appearing and bold declarations consumed in His Revelation.

The Apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:20-21,

Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Who’s Holy Spirit? Christ’s! Jesus Christ is the Eternal God and He is the One who spoke, inspired, and guided both the prophets and scribes to accurately record His faithful and true message. Not only should the quotations of God throughout the entire Old Testament be colored red, but this passage from Peter means that the entire Bible should be in red. This is Peter whom Jesus Christ spoke to and through in order to get His Word into the hands of His people.

Conclusion


To conclude, you will see that the idea that only Jesus’ words are inspired is actually a true statement—because every word in all of Scripture, Old and New Testament, are Christ’s words. And, not only are they His spoken words, but they are all together summed up in Him as the Apostle John has written in John 1:1,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.[1]




[1] ESV Bible, ESV Text Edition: 2011. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2001).

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