Translating Christianese Terms: The Word of God on the Bottom Shelf

Christians have a language that they have developed over the past 2000 years: Christianese. It is an insider's language, a mystery to those outside the Christian faith, and a secret to be unraveled. The good stuff should always be available to everyone. The "cookies," the good stuff, should be placed on the bottom shelf for everyone to be able to get to. Over the course of this series, we hope to remove the cloud of Christianese, and expose what those terms really mean, and to put the cookies back on the bottom shelf.

Let's start with the term "Word of God." This is a Christianese term that can be extremely confusing, as any time it is used it can mean a number of different things. Context will have to be your guide in understanding it.

NOTE: You will notice that the term "Word of God" has a capital "W" and "G." This is important in understanding this Christianese term, as Christians revere all of the different forms of the Word of God as exceedingly important.

Word of God Christianese Definition 1: "speaking something into being"
The first definition that the Bible portrays of the Word of God involves the moment that the world was created. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, Moses wrote, "And God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." (Genesis 1:3). Genesis 1:24 shows him "speaking" the animals into existence. Toward the middle of the Bible, in the book of Psalms, the writer says that "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6).

This version of the Word of God is entirely focused on God's existence as a creator. He makes things by speaking them into being, and those things are, according to what the Bible says, "good."

Christianese on the bottom shelf: God said it, and that's what happened. Whatever he talks about becomes real. It would be like you saying "I have a piece of chocolate cake on the table in front of me," and magically a piece of yummy, delicious chocolate cake appears before your eyes. Only...you can't, because you're not an omnipotent being.

Places this Christianese term is found in the Bible: Genesis 1:3, Genesis 1:24, Psalm 33:6, Hebrews 1:3 (among others).

Word of God Christianese Definition 2: "speaking directly to people"
There are a few places in the Bible where the Lord speaks directly to people. At these times, the Word of God is actually coming to his intended audience without any person or writing in between.

A few examples: In Genesis 2:16-17, he speaks directly to Adam and tells Adam not to eat the fruit from a specific tree. In Genesis 3:16, he speaks to Adam, Eve, and a serpent who tricked Eve (the Bible later refers to that serpent as the devil) after they ate that fruit. Also, he speaks to the Jews when he gives them the Ten Commandments, and to those who are watching Jesus be baptized in Matthew 3:17, saying "this is my son, in whom I am well pleased." These communiqués from God were limited, and took place at specific points in history.

This version of the Word of God is entirely focused on God's communication with people.

Christianese on the bottom shelf: God likes people, so he interacted with them. It doesn't happen all the time, though, especially these days. Most of the time he uses other ways to talk to the people who believe in him (and some who don't...look up the story of Balaam). He likes to do this to make a big, and I mean BIG, impact in history.

Places this Christianese term is found in the Bible: Genesis 2:16-17, Genesis 3:16-19, Exodus 20:1-3, Matthew 3:17 (among others).

Word of God Christianese Definition 3: "speaking through a person"
According to the Bible, at various points in the history of mankind God used specific people, called prophets, as his "voice" in the world. These people would speak on behalf of God with his authority backing them. These prophets were said to receive special information and be divinely inspired when they spoke in the name of the Lord.

A couple of passages in particular back up this idea in the Bible. In Deuteronomy 18:18-20, God tells Moses that he would use these prophets, and that he would "put (his) words in (their) mouth." When speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, God tells Jeremiah directly that "I will put my words in your mouth".

This version of the Word of God is entirely focused on God's communication through people.

Christianese on the bottom shelf: God uses people as a message in a bottle sometimes. He just pops in the message, sends the person in the right direction, and sits back and smiles as the message gets delivered. By the way, the bottles are called prophets, and most of them weren't very liked all the time (kinda like the teacher's pet).

Places this Christianese term is found in the Bible: Deuteronomy 18:18-20; Jeremiah 1:7, 9; Exodus 4:12; Numbers 22:38, 1 Samuel 15:3, 18, 23; 1 Kings 20:26; 2 Chronicles 20:20; 25:15-16; Isaiah 30:12-14; Jeremiah 6:10-12; 36:29-31; and many references throughout the book of Ezekiel (among others).

Word of God Christianese Definition 4: "speaking through Jesus Christ"
One of the uses of this Christianese phrase that appears less frequently in the Bible refers to Jesus Christ being the "Word of God." Only one of the writers in the Bible ever refers to Jesus as the "Word of God": John. In the book of Revelation, John says of Jesus "the name by which he is called is the Word of God" (Revelation 19:13). In John 1:1, John says that "in the beginning there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He continues his diatribe about the Word until 1:14, when he reveals that as he has been talking about the Word of God, he has actually been talking about Jesus.

This version of the Word of God is focused on God's communication through the entire life of Jesus. Jesus represented the will and personality of God, and communicated aspects of the nature of God through the things he did in his life.

Christianese on the bottom shelf: Jesus = everything God has been trying to get across to people from the beginning. People didn't get the message earlier, so he decided to just be the message rather than send the message. If you want something done right, you do it yourself.

Places this Christianese term is found in the Bible: John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1; Revelation 19:13

Word of God Christianese Definition 5: "speaking through the Bible"
The definition of this Christianese term that is most often referred to among Christians is that the Word of God is equal to the sum of all Christian scripture: the Bible. Christians everywhere refer to the Bible as the "Word of God." These thoughts come from many places throughout the Bible. Among those are the stories of God giving the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exodus 32:16) and telling Jeremiah to write his words in a book (Jeremiah 30:2).

Also in 1 Corinthians, the writer Paul says that the things written there are the command of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37). Jesus himself told his disciples that after he was gone the Holy Spirit would remind them all of the things he has said so that they could pass them on (John 14:26, apparently referring to what eventually became the New Testament of Scripture).

This version of the Word of God is entirely focused on God's communication through the sum of all scripture.

Christianese on the bottom shelf: Most of the time, when Christians say "Word of God" they're talking about the Bible. It shows how important the Bible is, and that Christians view the Bible as God speaking to them. Think of it as a letter from your dad, only your dad can blow up stuff with his mind, has control over the weather, and has an IQ of 2 billion times infinity.

Places this Christianese term is found in the Bible: Exodus 31:18, 32:16, 34:1, 28; Deuteronomy 31:9-13, 24-26; Joshua 24:26; Isaiah 30:8; Jeremiah 30:2, 36:2-4, 27-31, 51:60; John 14:26, 16:12-13; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Peter 3:2 (among others).

Use these definitions to help you understand Christianese a bit better and become a little better at communicating the Christian language. Christianese doesn't have to be confusing, it just has to be translated. Keep the cookies on the bottom shelf, where they belong.