The word is Christ as the word of God for man to receive as his life (Deut. 30:14; John 1:1; Rom. 10:8-9). In Deuteronomy 30:11 Moses says that the commandment "is not too difficult for you, nor is it distant." The Hebrew word translated "difficult" can also be rendered "extraordinary" or "wonderful." In verses 12 and 13 Moses goes on to say, "It is not in heaven that you should say, Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it? Nor is it across the sea that you should say, Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?" Then in verse 14 Moses says, "The word is very near to you, even in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." This word is quoted and interpreted by Paul in Romans 10. In verses 6 and 7 Paul says, "The righteousness which is out of faith speaks in this way, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down. Or, Who will descend into the abyss? That is, to bring Christ up from among the dead." Here in his interpretation Paul applies the word in Deuteronomy 30:11-13 to Christ, and he interprets the sea as the abyss. Then in verse 8 Paul continues, "But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of the faith which we preach." In verses 6 and 7 Paul speaks about Christ, but in verse 8 Christ becomes the word. The object of Paul's speaking here is Christ, and he eventually indicates that Christ is the word.
Paul's writing in Romans 10:6-8 further indicates that every word spoken in Deuteronomy is Christ, for Paul applies the breathing of God to Christ. Christ is the Word who has come out from God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us" (John 1:1, 14). This Word who was in the beginning, who was with God, who was God, and who became flesh is Christ. As the Word, Christ Himself is the word rehearsed in the book of Deuteronomy.
In Paul's interpretation of Deuteronomy 30, we see that the word is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected Christ. Because the incarnation of Christ has already taken place, there is no need for anyone to ascend into heaven to bring Christ down, and because the resurrection of Christ has already occurred, there is no need for anyone to descend into the abyss to bring Christ up from among the dead. Today Christ is the incarnated, crucified, and resurrected One, but where is He? According to Romans 10:8, Christ is in our mouth and in our heart.
The word in Romans 10:8 is a word for unbelievers, for those who are candidates to hear the gospel. Do you believe that Christ is in the heart and mouth of the unbelievers? This is what Paul is saying in his quotation and interpretation of Deuteronomy. Paul's word here is a deuteronomy, and in this deuteronomy Paul tells us that the living Christ as the word is in the heart and mouth of the one to whom we are preaching the gospel. At least at the time we are preaching the word of Christ to unbelievers, Christ is in their heart and mouth.
The revelation of the entire Bible is contained in the book of Deuteronomy. This means that everything of both the Old Testament and the New Testament is found in Deuteronomy. This is proved by the Lord's quotation of Deuteronomy in Matthew 4:4 and Paul's quotation of Deuteronomy in Romans 10.
The book of Deuteronomy is filled with the speaking of Moses to the second generation, the generation which was ready to enter into the good land and possess it. Concerned that they would repeat the failures of their fathers, Moses charged them concerning many matters, repeating certain things again and again. He especially spoke repeatedly concerning those matters which would preserve the people and qualify them to enter into the good land and to possess, inherit, and enjoy the land. Moses was like an elderly father speaking out of concern for his children. This is the reason that Moses' word in this book is repetitious and detailed. If we study the book of Deuteronomy carefully, especially the words of warning, we will see that Moses spoke in detail about both blessing and cursing. All the main points of the divine revelation are respoken in this book.
Moses was a figure, a representative, of the real Father of the children of Israel—God the Father in the heavens, who was very concerned about His people. Whatever proceeded out of the mouth of Moses was actually something that proceeded out of the heavenly Father. Through Moses the real Father was speaking to the people. For us today, the entire Bible is the Father's word spoken to us.