: John W. Kleinig
: God's Word A Guide to Holy Scripture
: Lexham Press
: 9781683596448
: Christian Essentials
: 1
: CHF 8.10
:
: Christentum
: English
: 192
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
You read it. But do you understand it? While the Bible is the most famous book in history, it can be intimidating. Yet God's word is for us and all people. It is living and active and has the power to save, give life, and heal. Do we read the Bible attuned to the power of God's word? John W. Kleinig opens up the riches found in the Bible. He likens God's word to a lavish meal that nourishes and satisfies our souls. He shows us the centrality of Scripture to Christian faith-the word through which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit speak with one voice to believers on Earth.

John W. Kleinig is a retired lecturer at Australian Lutheran College and an ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church of Australia. He is the author of numerous books, including Wonderfully Made, Grace upon Grace: Spirituality for Today,and commentaries on Hebrews and Leviticus.

II

THE GOD WHO SPEAKS

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Luke 21:33 ESV

We have a God who speaks. God the Father speaks, God the Son speaks, and God the Holy Spirit speaks. God did not just speak long ago and then become silent. As he spoke then, so he still speaks now. Thus the author of Hebrews surprises us by quoting passages from the Old Testament in which the congregation that he addresses hears the Father speaking (Heb 1:5–13; 5:6; 12:26), the Son speaking (2:12–13; 10:5–7), and the Holy Spirit speaking (3:7–11; 10:15–17). Even though they each speak with their own voices, they do not speak separately but together with each other in a coherent, eternal conversation. They all have the same message because they all speak about Jesus. Both the Father and theSpirit bear witness to Jesus, just as he bears witness to himself (John 5:36–38; 8:18; 15:26). Both the prophetic authors of the Old Testament and the apostolic authors of the New Testament also bear witness to Jesus (John 5:39; 15:27; Luke 24:28). All this makes up a single conversation of the Triune God with his people and them with him and each other. Since we have a record of that conversation in the Bible, we can listen in on it and join in with it. There is room in it for usall―both as hearers and speakers.

In a written sermon for his congregation, the author of Hebrews sums up the main features of God’s spoken word simply and yet profoundly: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (1:1–3NIV84). What surprises me about this eloquent summary is its assertion that the same God who spoke to our spiritual ancestors first through the prophets and then by his Son also now speaks to us as members of the same community when we gather in worship. There the God who spoke to his people at Mt. Sinai speaks to us now (Heb 12:22–25).

It is obvious to any reader that the Bible contains many words about God. Some of these are marked as words that God speaks; others are the words of the people who report them. So it comes as a surprise to discover that all the many words of God are regarded as a single word, a single speech with a single message by Jesus and the apostles. Take, for example, the book of Acts. There Luke refers summarily to all that the prophets and apostles taught as “the word” (twelve times in all), or “God’s word” (ten times in all), or “the word of the Lord” (nine times in all). Taken together, both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak a single word: the word of salvation (Acts 13:26), the word of grace (Acts 14:3), the word of the gospel (Acts 15:7). So, somewhat audaciously, the Bible is held to report the speech of the one and only God. Just as he is one, so his word