My burden in this chapter is that we would see what the constituents of the Word are. We may know that the contents of the Bible are the sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation, but we need to see the very constituents of the Word of God. The Bible is constituted with three major items: Christ, who is the living Lord as our life, His death, and His resurrection. These items are the constituents of the Word of God; they are what is contained in the Word of God.
When I was a young person, I studied some ethical writings of Confucius. Later, I heard some Christian missionaries say that what is taught in the writings of Confucius concerning man’s character is also taught in the Bible. Therefore, at that time I saw no difference between the writings of Confucius and the Bible. I knew only that both contained ethical teachings. Now I know that the writings of Confucius only correct, regulate, and try to improve man. They do not contain the thought or the element of death and resurrection. However, the Bible, the Word of God, contains both a killing word and a resurrecting word.
First Corinthians 1:18 mentions “the word of the cross.” The word of the cross is the crucifying, killing word. The whole book of the 1 Corinthians is the word of the cross, because at the time it was written, the church in Corinth needed such a killing word. In the church there were confusion, division, fornication, lawsuits, and many dissenting opinions. Because the church in Corinth was full of problems, the saints there needed the crucifying word to kill them. However, in the Bible there is also the word of life. Philippians 2:15-16a says, “That you may be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life.” As Christians, we are lampstands shining out the word of life. The word of the cross is the killing word. The word of life is the resurrecting word. First Corinthians is a book of the word of the cross, and 2 Corinthians is a book of the word of life. In 1 Corinthians there are mainly crossing out, killing, and crucifying, but in 2 Corinthians there is resurrecting. Second Corinthians 12:9a says, “He has said to me, My grace is sufficient for you.” This is a word in resurrection. The main ingredient of the Bible is Christ. Besides this main ingredient, the Bible also contains Christ’s death and His resurrection.
When I was studying at an American Presbyterian college in China, one day the dean of another school spoke to our school. He read to us Philippians 4:8, which says, “Finally, brothers, what things are true, what things are dignified, what things are righteous, what things are pure, what things are lovely, what things are well spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” All the students loved this verse. Eventually, I discovered that even many unbelievers appreciated this verse. However, in order to have a life that is true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, well spoken of, virtuous, and praiseworthy, we must undergo the killing of the word of the cross and the resurrecting of the word of life. Romans 3:4a says, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” All men are false; only God is true. Therefore, in order to be true, our false being must be killed, and we need to be resurrected into God. Romans 3:23a says, “All have sinned.” Only God is righteous; all men are unrighteous. It is impossible for sinful man to be righteous. However, Philippians 4:8 indicates that we need to be righteous. We can never be righteous in ourselves. The only way to become righteous is by being crucified and resurrected through the word of the cross and the word of life. Likewise, it is impossible to be pure in ourselves. We are dirty, defiled, and filthy. We can be pure only by receiving the killing of the word of the cross and the resurrecting of the word of life.
The entire Bible is full of the killing word and the resurrecting word. In our daily reading of the Bible there is no need for us to read a verse about purity to experience the word of the cross. Genesis 1 does not speak of purity, but if we read Genesis 1, we will sense that we are impure. Then we will pray, “Lord, I sense that I am dirty. Cleanse me.” Although we may not realize it, this is an experience of the killing of the word of the cross. Moreover, when we are praying in this way, resurrection life is working in us. Thus, by reading any portion of the Bible, we can be purified by the killing and resurrecting word.
The word in the Bible does not mainly correct us; rather, it kills us and resurrects us. When a brother who is reading Revelation 1 encounters the word lampstands (vv. 12-13, 20), he may begin to sense within that he is in darkness, especially in dealing with his wife. He may confess, “Lord, I am not in the light when I deal with my wife. Forgive me.” In this kind of confession there is the killing of the word of the cross. When we pray and confess after reading any portion of the Word, we experience both the killing of the word of the cross and the resurrecting of the word of life. This killing and resurrecting will transform us, not merely correct us. The ethical teachings of Confucius result in correction, but the killing and resurrecting of the word of the cross and the word of life in the Bible issue in transformation.