Why is Jesus Called “The Word?”

It is one of the most oft-stated truths of the Christian faith: “The Bible is the Word of God.”

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And to this, Christians should acknowledge that yes, it surely is (Mt 15.6; Heb 4.12)!

But in addition, there is another context for “the Word” arises, especially around Christmastime. We speak and sing about Jesus, and His nativity and incarnation, and the term “the Word” shows up, not about the written Scripture, but about Christ Himself:

“Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!”

“Hail, hail, the Word made flesh,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!”

“The Word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighbourhood.”
(Jn 1.14)

That last one is from the Message translation of the apostle John’s opening section of his Gospel. “The Word” is used as a name for Jesus, and it’s a great Christmas verse, for at Christmastime, we of course celebrate Jesus becoming flesh and living amongst us.

Here’s the whole passage from John, from the NIV. Let the richness of this wash over you today:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…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.” (Jn 1.1-5; v.14)

How beautiful is this?

Here we see Jesus, called “the Word” in this passage, both distinct from God the Father and yet fully God all the same. One with God in the beginning, the Creator of all things. Full of life and light that cannot be beaten. God becoming flesh, that is, flesh and blood, like us, and coming down to be with us, showing us the glory of God. Jesus, the perfect picture of both amazing grace and liberating truth.

But as it relates to today’s column, the question is, “Why?”

Why is Jesus called “the Word” here? “The Word” is a term usually used for the Bible – so why does Jesus take on that name for Himself here?

While extensive volumes have been and will be written on the topic, we can only engage with it but briefly here, as we continue through our Advent season, as we celebrate the Word made flesh.

And in the obnoxious yet occasionally effective tradition of alliterative preaching, today’s column is brought to you by the letter “R.”

First, Jesus is the Word of God revealed.

The Bible is the Word of God written down for us; it tells us the story of our God, who He is, His ways, His nature, His commandments, etc. The Bible shows us who God is in written form.

And while the Bible is the Word of God written down, Jesus is the Word of God lived out. If you were to picture the text and revelations of the Bible being lived out perfectly in human form, Jesus is what you get:

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word.” (Heb 1.1-3)

The Bible shows us through text who God is and what He calls us to; Jesus, being Himself God, shows us through a human life who God is and what He calls us to. The Bible is the revelation of God in words; Jesus is the revelation of God embodied.

In this way, Jesus is the Word of God revealed.

Second, Jesus is the Word of God released.

You might know this famous passage from Isaiah:

“As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my Word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isa 55.10-11)

When God speaks, things happen.

All the way back to Genesis chapter 1, when God created everything, all He had to do was speak – “Let there be…” – and there was.

He doesn’t need to stand up or step up or wave His hands or do anything else at all. He just needs to speak. His Word alone gets released, and His Word is the agent that makes His will happen.

Likewise, Jesus is the agent of God’s will, released to earth from Heaven, to accomplish what God desires and achieve God’s purposes. Like God’s spoken Word from the above Isaiah passage, Jesus is sent out from the throne of God to the earth, and like God’s spoken Word, Jesus accomplishes everything that God wants done on earth, before returning to Heaven again.

In this way, Jesus is the Word of God released.

Third and lastly, Jesus is the Word of God realized.

God’s Word is full of promises, revelations, pictures of who God is. There are thousands of verses, all teaching us something different, showing us another view or disclosure or characteristic of who God is, what He desires, and how He acts and interacts with His Creation.

In Jesus, all of those thousands of verses come together. All of God’s nature, and all of His great plan to redeem Creation, are fully realized in Christ: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2Co 1.20)

Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that God is and everything that He has promised. In Christ, all of the text of God’s biblical verses are completed and come to fruition and fullness.

In this way, Jesus is the Word of God realized.

So why is Jesus called the Word of God?

Because He is the Word of God revealed.

Because He is the Word of God released.

Because He is the Word of God realized.

So as we celebrate this Christmas season, remembering when “The Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us,” (Jn 1.14), may the richness of this Word flow deep within our souls, and the revelation of who He is open our eyes to His glory!

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