A Transubstantiation of the Written Word?
Where the Bible becomes some sort of physical representation of God and Jesus:
What the above statement means is based on what I hear from other pastors, teachers, and participants in various assemblies. For example: One pastor said that the Bible is not an idol to him, that the Bible is a cleansing book, a healing book, a saving book, that he loves the Bible not as an idol but as God’s word. In his own words he reveals that the Bible is an item of worship, and idol, something that is more important than anything else written. For me, the Bible cannot replace the in-dwelt Holy Spirit who guides and teaches us God’s truth, nor can it become a substitute for Jesus, and what I have heard reveals to me that for this pastor, and for many others the Bible has become more important than God and Jesus. The reason is due to the Bible’s physical presence, where touch, sight, and sometimes hearing the Bible becomes more intimate; and then the Bible becomes an idol, an object of worship, and an object of reverence. We cannot love an object or revere it; we can only love the one who inspired the writing of the Scriptures and love Him alone.
Bible is just a book:
Where the Bible is just a book that cannot be taken literally but should be taken subjectively.
I agree that the Bible is just a book, albeit a holy book where reading it can convict a person of their sin (separation) from God, while also revealing God’s love and purpose for His creation. Some pastors that I have listened to often say before beginning reading from the Bible that the following passages are controversial, or some of what I’m about to say appears to be a contradiction. For me the Bible is inspiration, food for the soul where the Holy Spirit reveals to me an understanding of what I’m reading, and that reading the Bible alone (without the Holy Spirit) has extraordinarily little value. It is when the Holy Spirit brings alive the words within the pages of the Bible there is great profit, and no subjection, and no contradiction.
The Bible means something different to every reader:
I have heard the above statement repeatedly; that the Bible has multiple meanings depending on who reads it, and how it is understood. Well, that may be true if the ones reading it are not saved! What I mean by this is that there is only ONE GOD and only ONE JESUS CHRIST not multiples, so the God of self-understanding can fit everyone’s ideology, mindset, and\or comprehension. You see, if you are saved, the Bible is open to you through the Holy Spirit, there is no self-understanding, no self-anything, there is only revelation, and an epiphany of sorts understood by your spirit through the Holy Spirit. Do you think Peter, or the other Apostles at Pentecost studied the scriptures and came to an understanding, so they were able to preach as they did after they were filled with the Holy Spirit? Do you think Peter was able to speak in multiple languages because he self-understood how to communicate simultaneously to a mixed language crowd? What needs to be understood is that there are not multiple understandings to what God has given humankind in writing. One of the reasons there are so many differing points of view about what the Bible says and who God or Jesus is, mirrors what Paul argued with the Corinthian assembly in 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 (NIV), and today there are multiple representations of God depending on who that assembly follows along with the assembly doctrine that is obeyed more than the ordnances of God. Thus, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit become entities defined by each assembly, not by how God defines them himself.
Here is a link to a site that I feel is important for all followers of Christ Jesus to read. The title of the article is “Finding Fourth Soil” people written in 2018. The site is titled Mission Frontiers, and you can read their article by clicking here.
Everyone should be familiar with the five Solas, and it is fitting to add their titles here because these are the heart of this musing:
1. Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”
2. Sola fide: “faith alone”
3. Sola gratia: “grace alone”
4. Solo Christo: “Christ alone”
5. Soli Deo gloria: “to the glory of God alone”
One of the biggest reasons beliefs in God among America’s has declined is partly due to preachers not representing Christ, but self or the organization, and preaching a gospel that is different than the one we first received. Today what is heard is a mixed conundrum of scriptural understanding with interwoven cultural ideals and social trends; and like history past, when a person’s faith or the leader faith is not rooted in God’s kingdom there tends to be a turn toward idolatry, misrepresentation of the gospel, and an acceptance of pagan norms or strange fire with the assemblies. What needs to happen is not a revival or a renewal, but obedience to what Jesus commanded us to obey, and it is not about busy work, but good works encouraged, and influenced by the Holy Spirit for each individual and assembly to undertake. It’s perfectly fine to help others because that is what God’s love in us would have us do. However, each assembly needs to take care of God’s family before helping the general community where the assembly is planted.
Here is another link with a discussion video between Jay Dyer and Maria Zeee concerning “The Bible, End Times, Antichrist, Babylon and Mark of the Beast.” The link takes you to Red Voice Media.
I pray that the Holy Spirit reveals to every believer’s heart and mind that God alone is to be worshipped and loved and that the Scriptures, God has given us is a tool for us to use daily, and to learn from the mistakes of the past, and what to look forward to.
My God bless every believer until Jesus appears in a cloud of glory for His bride.
Shalom, Shalom
Mike
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