scripture – Sons of Issachar

Mike Parsons

The Bible, the Word of God?

I couldn’t move beyond, as long as I was restricted by my mindset and belief system, which was deeply rooted in evangelicalism. For years, I held the absurd notion that certain Bible verses referred to the Bible itself as the “Word of God.” But none of those verses mean the Bible, even though my deceptive sola scriptura programming led me to believe they did. I read the text and interpreted it in the way I had always been taught.

The Bible is a collection of writings, compiled over centuries, that wasn’t formally assembled until around AD 385. It couldn’t possibly refer to itself as the “Word of God” because it didn’t exist in its current form. Those who wrote its books had no idea they would one day be gathered into a single volume called The Holy Bible. That title was given by man—not by the Bible itself, and certainly not by God.

Misunderstood verses

Here are some examples of verses I misunderstood because of my conditioning:

Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” I immediately assumed ‘word’ referred to the Bible.

Ephesians 5:26: “That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” Again, I thought ‘word’ meant the Bible—it doesn’t.

Ephesians 6:17: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” I thought of the Bible as the ‘sword of the Spirit.’ But in reality, Jesus is the Word of God, and the words He speaks are the Word of God. This verse doesn’t refer to the Bible. My children even played a computer game where you would ‘draw your sword,’ which was portrayed as the Bible. You’d take it out from under your arm and use it as the ‘Sword of the Spirit.’ That just reinforced the idea that the Bible itself was the weapon, which was completely inaccurate.

1 Timothy 4:5: “For it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” To an evangelical, as soon as ‘word of God’ and ‘prayer’ are mentioned in the same sentence, it automatically means the Bible and prayer—because that’s what we were taught.

2 Timothy 2:15: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Again, I was conditioned to interpret ‘word of truth’ as the Bible. In the King James Version, it even says ‘study to show thyself approved,’ which led to the belief that studying the Bible was what made you acceptable to God. But that’s not what it means at all.

We need to embrace a deeper understanding. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me.” He didn’t say, “By reading the words in the Bible.” It’s about hearing His voice and following Him. Of course, some of the words Jesus spoke might speak to us today, but not all of them were meant for us. Many were directed to the people He was speaking to at the time.

Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit.” I thought this meant I had to use the Bible to separate my soul and spirit. When I heard teachings about soul and spirit separation, I believed this was something I had to do. Thankfully, God had a completely different way. Jesus, as the living and active Word of God, was able to separate my soul and spirit and reintegrate me into wholeness.

2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled faces, look as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” When I read this, I had no idea it meant I could look into God’s face and see Him directly—face to face—and be transformed by the image reflected back to me. I thought it meant looking into the Bible and trying to identify the image of God in it so I could imitate it. I was so caught up in this evangelical belief system.

Hebrews 6:5: “And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.” Again, I interpreted ‘word of God’ as the Bible. But I don’t see it that way now.

1 Peter 1:23: “You have been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” Once more, I could only see this as referring to the Bible, rather than to Jesus—the living and enduring Word of God in me, bringing life.

1 John 2:14 says, “I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

When preaching on this, I would have said something like, “You need the Word of God! You need to feed on the Bible! You need to read it daily so that it’s in you, and then you’ll overcome the evil one and grow strong.” But the reality is that the ‘Word of God’ in this verse refers to Jesus, who is in us. He has already overcome the evil one, and we overcome through Him. At the time, I would have thought John’s letters—now included in the Bible—were the key to their strength. However, their strength came not from intellectual knowledge, but from their personal, experiential knowledge of Him.

Titus 2:5, which instructs women “to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, and subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonoured,” was another verse I misunderstood. I was taught this meant wives needed to submit to their husbands to avoid bringing dishonour to the Bible. But let’s set the record straight. This isn’t about women submitting to their husbands in some rigid hierarchy. Instead, it’s about being in a mutually respectful and loving relationship. It’s about mutual submission in the context of Christ’s example. The focus is on living in a way that honours God, not enforcing roles for the sake of protecting a book. Jesus is the Living Word of God, and He calls us into relationship with Him.

When we talk about the ‘Word of God,’ it’s essential to recognise that this primarily refers to Jesus, not the Bible. God’s words, whether spoken directly to us today or recorded in Scripture, can be meaningful. But the emphasis must remain on Jesus, the Living Word, who is still speaking and guiding us. He wants us to hear His voice and follow Him.

All God-breathed writings

Now, let’s address 2 Timothy 3:16, a verse often quoted in evangelical circles: “All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness.” This verse is frequently used to argue that the entire Bible is inspired, infallible, and inerrant. However, there are several issues with how this verse is traditionally interpreted.

First, the word ‘all’ doesn’t mean everything indiscriminately. Second, the term ‘scripture’ is often mistranslated with a capital ‘S,’ implying it refers to the entire Bible. The original text doesn’t imply this. In fact, when this was written, the Bible as we know it didn’t even exist—it wouldn’t be compiled for another 300 years.

Let me read this verse from Young’s Literal Translation, which translates it as: “Every writing God-breathed is profitable for teaching, for conviction, for setting aright, for instruction that is in righteousness.” Notice the difference? It says every God-breathed writing is useful—not that every part of the Bible is God-breathed, nor that it refers specifically to the Bible at all.

This means that writings inspired by God—whether ancient or modern—are profitable and beneficial. God is still breathing inspiration into people today, and those writings can be just as useful for teaching, guidance and correction as any ancient text. This isn’t about elevating the Bible to an infallible status but recognising the broader scope of God’s inspiration.

God is still breathing inspiration into people today, and those writings can be just as useful for teaching, guidance and correction as any ancient text.

Unfortunately, I was conditioned to believe that this verse proved the Bible was infallible, inerrant and the ultimate authority. The evangelical mantra reinforced this: “The Bible is inerrant, infallible, and inspired.” But when you take a closer look, 2 Timothy 3:16 doesn’t say anything about the Bible being inerrant or infallible. It simply states that inspired writings—those breathed by God—are beneficial.

We must break free from the deception of assuming these verses mean something they don’t. God is still speaking today, and the Living Word—Jesus—continues to guide and transform us through His voice and presence.

This video blog is an excerpt from Mike's current teaching series, Restoring First Love. Get the full length videos every month, only at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love

Activation

So let’s take a few minutes to engage with God, with unconditional love.

Close your eyes,
begin to still your heart,
and still your mind.

Start to slow down your breathing.

Focus your thinking on God.
Focus your thinking on engaging unconditional love.

Breathe in deeply.
And as you breathe in,
you are breathing in
the unconditional love of the Father for you
as his child.

Wait in that place.
Be still.
Let the love of God,
that unconditional love,
rest on you.

Let Him reveal Himself
as pure, unconditional love.

Perhaps now,
you want to ask Jesus, as the Truth,
to speak something specific to you?

“You have heard it said,
But I say unto you.”
Maybe some belief system,
maybe the way you’ve looked at God,
maybe the way you have been programmed
with religious thinking,
some mindset or belief system.

Open up your heart.
Ask Jesus, as the Truth,
the Living, Active Word of God,
to show you something
where is He saying,
“You’ve heard it said, you believe this
but I am saying unto you… this.”

Listen to His voice,
revealing something at this moment
that will bring truth to you.
Just let that frequency of his voice engage you.