Word of God Speak #3: What is God's Word?

WOGS: intro
WOGS: #1
WOGS: #2

I guess I am taking the wimps way out by defining God's word with the follwing definition, so general as it is, but I think it is accurate - I mean is at least an approximation. God's word is:

Any communication from God in any form from any time.

There, that wasn't so bad, was it? That was pretty safe and pretty much covers it all, doesn't it?

Well, let's pick this thing apart some and see what we have here.

Any communication from God in any form from any time

Basically, God will say whatever. Anything God wants to communicate to people (or other parts of creation) is not to be determined by people. It makes no sense whatsoever to limit God on what God can or cannot communicate. Only God has the power to be self-limiting. For example, God will not communicate to people who love Him that they should hate Him.

Also, God has never said that His word was ever limited to the Bible. So, saying that God's word is limited to the Bible is not not God's word. So, if God never said that His words are limited tot he Bible, then we can assume that it is possible, likely, probably - hey it's a sure thing - that God is not limited tot he Bible.

Furthermore, people of my tribe are certain that Satan communicates outside the Bible. Satan can tempt, lie, decieve, tinker with emotions, perceptions, and relationships. He can create situations meant to leave us broken and wounded. Satan can do anything short of force us to sin while God apparently wrote a book for us to use to defend ourselves.

Oh Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! I grew up in a church that far more believed int he power and the presence of Satan than they did the power and presence of God. Certainly God can at least do what Satan does. If He can't then I'm toast. I refuse to believe God has left a book for me to read and my own sense of free will as my only defense against a wicked angelic being with a 10 jillion IQ, who never sleeps and hates my guts.

Any communication from God in any form from any time

God's track record for creativity in communicating is stellar. Even if you only include the recordings of the Bible, you have got to admit, God's got it going on. God is not limited to communicating his word by merely the written word.

Written word - 10 commandments

People - Prophets. THis can be the words God "gave" the prophets to say, or it can be what they did in their lives. Hosea was a prohpet in both ways. His life was a message of God, not just the words he said.

Natural / supernatural - Creation, floods (if it really happened), miracles, fire, tsunami, etc.

Verbal - God spoke directly to people like Moses.

Incarnation - Jesus

Personal Revelation - I am going to define this as something revealed to a person internally. I know this is not a good definition, but this is my blog and I will define it this way if I want to. This is different than verbal. It is in the heart, the mind or something like that.

Beauty - Beauty can be natural or supernatural, but it can also be human generated.

I'd love for you all to add to the list.

Any communication from God in any form from any time

God's word is progressive. By this I don't mean progressive as in "not conservative," but rather I mean it is going somewhere. It is a plot like a story. From the creation story, to the Fall story, to the flood story to the story of Abraham to the Exodus. From the promised land to captivity, from Jesus to the Holy Spirit, from Paul to Augustine, from Augusatine to Luther, from Luther to Warren, from Warren to Mclaren, from McLaren to who knows what? From God to you. That is the story in which we are placed.

His communications throughout history are not merely cumulative, they are progressive.