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NASB | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ. |
Bible Question:
Can we say that the word of Christ enables us to hear and hearing enables our faith? (The word of Christ demands a response? 1 Peter 4:5,6; Romans 14:12) What then is the "word of Christ"? Might it be that Jesus is God? (John 1:1-2;14) I'm also considering these references: Mt 4:4; Heb 1:2; Mt 7:24; and Col 3:16. Any input would be appreciated. |
Bible Answer: “What is the word of Christ?”? This forum is really a blessing because, as people share, one is forced to think of things that one would probably not have thought of otherwise. The phrase “word of Christ” appears only one time in Scripture, that I am aware of, and it is in Colossians 3:16. There: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom”. I would have assumed that “the word of Christ” refers to all that Jesus said, just as “the word of God” refers to all that God has said, that is, to all of the Bible. Is there some other meaning? And I suppose we should keep it simple (2 Corinthians 11:3). “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity …”; that is the way that Paul and Timothy had spoken to them (2 Corinthians 1:12). “Can we say that the word of Christ enables us to hear?” Enables. Does it give us the ability? Does it wake us up? Does it force its way into our consciousness? I suppose the word of Christ does have that power. For God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and he has shined in our hearts (1 Corinthians 4). When Jesus spoke, dead Lazarus heard. He speaks with a voice that wakes the dead, and makes the people hear. The word of Christ is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4). It is a hammer breaking rocks (Jeremiah 23). It is a fire that gets into the bones (Jeremiah 20). It is a sword that pricks (Acts 2) and pierces Hebrews 4). To hear. Certainly we can say it enables us to hear the Gospel, for in the word of Christ is the message of the Gospel. Faith comes by hearing. But surely it does no refer to hearing without specifying the stimulus. It does not refer to hearing birds sing or to hearing the thunder roar. The hearing that is required requires that the word of God be preached (Romans 10). Hearing comes by the word of God. Does the word of Christ cause us to hear? To really hear? To hear at a deep level? With the heart and not just the ear? To hear and understand? For that we need not only the word of Christ but also the agency of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2). Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. It suggests a certain predisposition, as in John 7:17. We must be wanting to know the truth, to respond to it in obedience (1 Peter 4). “What is the word of Christ?” What is the summary of it? What is the gist of the message? This is the message we have heard from him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. |