ABIDE || September 26
The Word of God — “logos”
The world will spend all week telling you who you need to become. Every Saturday morning, we’ll remember who you already are in Christ. Friends, welcome back to Abide.
We all spend a good chunk of our time trying to make ourselves understood. We explain, clarify, repeat ourselves, add context, and occasionally send that follow-up text that is significantly longer than the original conversation… We carefully select punctuation so that someone knows we are being friendly, serious, or only mildly irritated. An unexpected period at the end of a sentence can apparently undo years of relational security. I personally have had to convince myself that my dad does not hate me every time he responds “K.” Beneath all that effort is a very human desire — we want someone to understand what we mean, know our heart, and receive what we are trying to communicate.
Our words reveal something about us. They give expression to thoughts another person cannot see. Of course, our words can also be incomplete, careless, or moderately more impressive than our willingness to follow through. We have all said something sincerely and then discovered that living it would require more of us than saying it did. But when God speaks, his words carry the faithfulness, authority, and power of the one speaking. He makes himself known, and we can trust what he reveals.
One of the Greek words translated as word is logos—λόγος. It comes from legō, meaning to say or speak, and its range of meaning includes a word, message, statement, account or reason. Strong’s includes the thought being expressed as well as what is said. Depending on its context, logos can describe ordinary speech, an explanation, or a message. In John’s Gospel, it becomes a title for Jesus himself. Of course, the context tells us whom John means; every appearance of logos in Scripture does not automatically refer to Christ (Strong’s Greek 3056).
The book of John begins with an extraordinary declaration:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NIV).
Before anything was created, the Word already existed. He is eternally with God, and he is himself God. John then tells us that everything created came into existence through him. Jesus did not begin to exist in Bethlehem. The one who entered our world as a baby is the eternal Son through whom that world was made (John 1:2-3, NIV).
The word logos already had a rich history outside of Scripture. Some Greek philosophers, especially the Stoics, used it to describe the rational principle ordering the universe. (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy). John identifies the Word as someone we can know, someone who enters human history. His opening also brings us back to Genesis, where God speaks and creation responds. God’s speech accomplishes his purposes.
And then John brings us to this: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NIV).
God has made himself known in person. The eternal Son became truly human without ceasing to be God. He entered the ordinary realities of human life: hunger, weariness, friendship, grief, and suffering. Jesus is God’s self-revelation in a human life we can encounter in the Gospel. His compassion, holiness, teaching, and actions reveal the Father. John says that the Son has made the unseen God known. We do not have to construct a picture of God from our fears, preferences, or someone else’s worst representation of him — we look to Jesus (John 1:18, NIV).
That should shape how we understand the phrase the Word of God. We use it to speak of Jesus—the eternal Son—and we use it to speak of Scripture—God’s written revelation. Jesus is the Person we worship. Scripture is the inspired testimony through which we learn who he is, what he has done, and how to follow him. Through human authors, God has given us a trustworthy, authoritative Word.
Paul tells Timothy that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV).
We come to the Word ready to have our understanding corrected, including the parts we have become quite attached to, which can be inconvenient. We would likely prefer that God’s Word confirm our intentions, approve our plans, and supply a verse explaining why the other person should apologize. The we read carefully and discover that God is addressing our pride, our speech, or the forgiveness we have been postponing. Hebrews describes his Word as “living and active",” able to expose the thoughts and intentions within us (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). God sees beneath the explanation we have prepared. His Word reaches the motive we have been reluctant to examine.
Yet that exposure takes place before the God who invites us to come to him for mercy. Immediately after describing how we are completely seen, Hebrews points us to Jesus — our great high priest — and encourages us to approach God confidently for grace and help (Hebrews 4:13-16, NIV). We can receive correction without pretending that we have already mastered what we are reading. The Lord knows where we need to change, and he gives us reason to keep coming near.
That is why prayer belongs with our reading. The Psalmist asks God to incline his heart toward his testimonies and to open his eyes to see the wonders in his law (Psalm 119:36, NIV; Psalm 119:18, NIV). He asks for both the desire to receive God’s Word and the ability to understand its goodness. We can pray that honestly, too. Some mornings, our attention is scattered, our motivation unimpressive, and we have read the same paragraph three times while mentally running through something from yesterday or making a grocery list. We can ask the Spirit to help us attend to what God has said, understand it faithfully, and respond with obedience.
God works through the Word in those who believe. Paul thanks God that the Thessalonians received the message as God’s own Word and describes it as “at work” within them (1 Thessalonians 2:13-14, NIV). The truth we receive begins shaping what we think, what we trust, and how we respond. The Spirit brings God’s promises to bear on our fears, exposes the lies beneath temptation, and strengthens us to obey. This growth remains rooted in Christ, in whom God’s promises find their fulfillment (2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV). Our confidence rests in the Savior who died and rose for us.
As we continue learning to abide, we are learning to listen to the God who has made himself known. We make room for his Word to interrupt our assumptions, comfort our sorrow, correct our direction, and deepen our love for him. We can bring him the passage we do not understand AND the command we understand perfectly but would prefer to discuss further before acting. We can ask for help, receive his grace, and act on what he has shown us. The God who speaks is faithful—we can trust him enough to listen—and to let what we hear change how we live.
This Week’s Reflection
Read John 1:1–18, 2 Timothy 3:14–17, Hebrews 4:12–16, and Psalm 119:18, 36–40 in the NIV or ESV. Begin with what these passages reveal about God: his eternal Son, his willingness to make himself known, the authority of his Word, and the mercy he offers through Jesus.
Then consider how you have been receiving what he says. Where are you looking for reassurance while resisting correction? What truth have you understood but delayed putting into practice?
Ask the Spirit to give you a willing heart and attentive understanding. Choose one passage to return to throughout the week, read it in context, pray in response, and take the step of obedience it calls for.
Keep walking with Jesus, friends.
bytaylormcgee
