GOD, HIS VOICE AND HIS WORD ARE ONE
The Jewish religion focuses on the written laws found in the Bible. It is not an understatement to say that God’s spoken word is the most important concept in his written word.  This fact is confirmed in the written word where we see that God’s spoken word and God’s voice are clearly mentioned many times. What is not well understood, however, is the fact that his spoken word is mentioned many more times in symbolic language.

The reason that these symbolic references to God’s spoken word/voice are not well understood is that Bible readers do not have eyes to see and ears to hear his voice. They do have eyes to read the literal words of the Bible but do not have ears to hear the symbolic meanings of the words they read. They do not understand that God’s written word and God’s spoken word are not the same.

STUDY TIP: See LISTEN FOR GOD’S VOICE WHILE READING for tips on how to understand  the symbolic meanings of the literal words of the Bible.

Bible readers who do not listen to hear God’s voice while reading do not understand that God and his spoken word are the same thing. This is a very difficult truth for man to understand.

Natural people think of themselves as being separate and distinct from their words. Natural people have a physical body, and they have a voice that speaks words. It is impossible for natural people to think that their body and their words are the same thing.

But God, being spirit, does not have a natural body. The only evidence that can be found of God is his words. We find this truth in John 1:1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NAS)

The original Greek text from which the New American Standard (NAS) version was translated included only these words:

beginning word word God, word God. (NAS)

COMMENTARY: Here is what this verse means:

• • God’s word is God.
  • God and his word are the same thing.
  • God’s word is not something that comes from God, God’s word is God.
  • God’s word is the only evidence there is that God exists.
  • God and his word are inseparable.
  • We know God when we hear his spoken word.

Religious people look for evidence of God in many places (e.g. religion, bible, nature, universe/sky, natural events, miracles, coincidences, music, people, etc.) Many religious people like to boast that they have seen God at work when they see good things, and sometimes bad things, happen. They like to think that their special relationship with God enables them to see God and the things he does. And they boast about what they see to convince coreligionists that they have special spiritual powers that enable them to these things. They think that these reports somehow give glory to God, but in God’s eyes all they are doing is making names for themselves.

What religious people think they see as evidence of God is not God. What they see is the fruit of an active imagination that find meaning in coincidences and natural events.

STUDY TIP: See this link for scriptures about religion and imagination.

Because God is spirit, it is impossible to find evidence of him in natural objects. Teaching that says God is present in everything (e.g. nature, people, music, church buildings, etc.) is wrong thinking based on pagan religious beliefs.

Evidence of God that people see in the natural world is not God. The belief that, when good things happen spontaneously, God is at work showing his favor to his people, is nothing more than religious superstition. This belief presumes that when religious people faithfully perform religious works, God shows that he is pleased with a reward of some kind in the natural world. The belief that God works an a quid pro quo basis is evidence that people do not understand that God does not work through signs, wonders and miracles.

Similarly, the belief that when bad things happen, God is showing the world that he is angry about some sort of injustice. Again, the belief is based on a quid pro quo relationship. When people act correctly, God rewards them with something good that they can see, value and enjoy. Or, when people do bad things, or don’t do enough of a good thing such as pray, or help the poor, God judges them, finds them deficient in their behaviors, and punishes them with with natural disasters that he causes to happen. This is all wrong thinking borrowed from ancient pagan religions. Such beliefs show a lack of understanding that all evidence of God’s work is found in the heart — not in the natural world.

What people see as natural events — both good and bad — is not evidence of God at work in miracles or judgement. God does only one kind of miracle and that happens in the heart. Similarly, judgement happens in the heart when God’s words convict the heart.

STUDY TIP: See this link for scriptures about God judging the heart.

Superstitious, religious people see things/events with their natural eyes and then use their imaginations to connect the things/events to God. None of this is evidence of God. The only evidence there is of God is his voice and his presence in clean, pure hearts. God is invisible and the only kind of miracle he does change hearts. 

Religious people think that it is their faith that allows to them see God and his works. It is not faith because faith involves things not seen.

The ability to see God and his work is reserved for  people who seek God with all of their heart. Those who ask, seek and knock to know God in their heart will know God in their heart when God writes his laws on their heart. There is no other way to see and know God.

STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding about knowing God.

In the natural world, God is invisible. But, in the Bible, God is not shy about promoting himself, mentioning himself, or doing miracles. We find him mentioned mainly as Lord, God, and Jehovah, but we also find numerous symbolic references to himself as his word.

Here is a short list of words in the Bible that symbolically refer to God’s spoken word/voice. Whenever we read these words in the Bible we should interpret them as references to God’s spoken word.

We should not be surprised to learn that God uses so many symbolic words/terms to represent his word/voice. Because God’s character (i.e. his name), his ways, and his power is beyond human understanding, it is impossible to begin to represent him with human words. And yet, because God has chosen to use human words written in the Bible as our introduction to him, we do well to learn how to recognize God in all ways that represent his word which is the same as recognizing God.

Recognizing these words while reading the Bible is the beginning of learning how to identify God. When reading these words we should always interpret them as God, God’s word and God’s voice. Since God makes himself known through his word/voice, we should also interpret the words in the table above as symbolic representations of God himself.

When we learn how to identify God in these symbolic terms, our Bible study becomes much more exciting and enlightening. More to the point, our understanding of God’s character and how he uses his power in our lives becomes much clearer.