The Lord Jesus was the Word becoming flesh on earth. He is God’s Word. He put on the flesh and became a man of flesh. Everything He did and said formed part of God’s word. The service of the Lord Jesus was the service of God’s word. In Him, God’s word was released in an entirely different way than it was released through the Old Testament prophets. In the Old Testament God merely used man’s voice to deliver His word. Even John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, was merely a voice in the wilderness. God’s word was merely conveyed through his voice. But the Lord Jesus was the word itself becoming flesh on earth. In other words, He was the word embodied in the flesh; He was the word becoming a man. We could say that here was a man, and we could also say that here was God’s word. When God’s word came upon man in the Old Testament, the word was the word and man was man. The word was merely being conveyed through man’s voice. Although there is a slight variance in the cases of Moses and David, in principle, man’s voice was merely a carrier during the Old Testament age. But when the Lord Jesus came, the word no longer came upon a man, with the word remaining the word and the man remaining man. God’s word put on human flesh; the word became a man. No longer was God’s word released through man’s voice as a carrier, but the word put on a man. The word had human feelings, thoughts, and opinions, yet it remained God’s word.
When man’s opinion was added to God’s word in the Old Testament, the word ceased to be God’s word. As soon as human feelings, thoughts, and opinions were added to God’s word, it was no longer God’s perfect, pure, and unadulterated word. God’s word was damaged. The purity of God’s word could only be maintained when it was not contaminated with any human feelings, thoughts, or opinions. When God’s word was released through Balaam’s voice alone, it was a prophecy. But when Balaam put in his own feelings and opinions, the word was no longer just God’s word; God’s word was altered. This was the Old Testament. In the case of the Lord Jesus, however, God’s word was conveyed not only through a man’s voice but through his thoughts, feelings, and opinions as well. Man’s thought became God’s thought, man’s feeling became God’s feeling, and man’s opinion became God’s opinion. This was the ministry of the word which God secured in the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus served as a minister of the word under an entirely different principle from the Old Testament ministers. The Old Testament ministers of God’s word were principally serving God with their voice. With some people God used more than just their voice; they acted more in the principle of the New Testament. Yet, in reality, they were still standing on Old Testament ground. But in the case of the Lord Jesus, He was the very Word of God. God’s Word became flesh. Hence, we can say that the feeling of the Lord Jesus was the feeling of God’s word, His thoughts were the thoughts of God’s word, and His opinions were the opinions of God’s word. The Lord Jesus was God’s very word becoming flesh. God does not want His word to remain the word alone; He wants His word to take on human resemblance. He is not satisfied with just the word alone; He wants His word to become flesh. This is the greatest mystery in the New Testament. God is not satisfied with the word alone; He wants His word to be a personified word that carries human feelings, thoughts, and opinions. The Lord Jesus was such a minister of the word.
In the person of the Lord Jesus, God’s word was no longer something objective; it became something subjective. In such a word we find human feelings, thoughts, and opinions. Yet the word remains God’s word. Here we discover a great scriptural principle: It is possible for God’s word to not be influenced by man’s feeling. Even with the presence of human feeling, God’s word is not necessarily contaminated. The question is whether or not such human feeling is up to the standard. This does not mean that every time human feeling is present, God’s word is damaged. There is no such thing. This is a very profound subject! Here we discover a tremendous principle: The human element does not have to obstruct God’s word. In the Lord Jesus we find that when the Word became flesh, the thought of that flesh became the thought of God. Originally, we could only say that the thought of the flesh was the thought of man. But in the New Testament age, the word has became flesh. In other words, the word became a man; the thought of this man was the thought of God’s word. In the Lord Jesus, we find human thought that is up to the standard. There is one kind of human thought which, when added to God’s word, does not contaminate it but instead completes it. God’s word was not hindered by the human element of the Lord Jesus. On the contrary, it was fulfilled through the thoughts of the Lord Jesus. In the Lord Jesus we find God’s word reaching a higher level than that which is found in the Old Testament. Matthew 5:21 says, “You have heard that it was said to the ancients...” This was Jehovah’s word to Moses. It was Moses’ direct inspiration from God. But the Lord Jesus continued in verse 22, “But I say to you...” Here we see the Lord speaking from Himself; He was saying things according to His own thought and opinion. But this speaking did not overturn God’s sovereignty; it complemented His sovereignty. It did not overturn God’s word; it attained a height that was unreachable in the Old Testament.
Here we see the very characteristic of the Lord Jesus as the minister of God’s word. In Him God’s word was made full. In this sinless man, there was not only a voice but feeling and thought as well. In the Lord Jesus, God’s word was no longer merely a revelation; it became the very Lord Jesus Himself. God’s word was no longer conveyed through human voice alone; it became a man. It was personified. God’s word has been joined to man’s word, and man’s speaking has become God’s speaking. The meaning of God’s word being joined to man is that His word has been joined to man’s word. This is a most glorious fact! When Jesus of Nazareth spoke, God spoke! Here was a man whose words were unmatched both before and after His time. No one ever spoke like Jesus of Nazareth. He was absolutely without sin. He was God’s holy One, and He was completely of God. God’s word was in Him, and He was the human embodiment of God’s word. God’s word was Him, and He was God’s word. When He spoke, God was speaking. Here was a minister of the word, in whom God’s word was altogether subjective. God’s word was a very subjective entity in Him. It was so subjective that He Himself was the very word of God.
In the Old Testament we find prophets who spoke for God. In the Gospels we find the Lord Jesus whose very person was God’s word. At the time of the prophets in the Old Testament, we could only point to the prophets when they opened their mouths and say, “Here is God’s word.” But with the Lord Jesus, we could point to His very person and say, “This man is God’s word.” His feeling was the feeling of God’s word, and His thought was the thought of God’s word. When He opened His mouth, there was God’s word, and there was still God’s word when He did not open His mouth. His very person was God’s word. The minister of God’s word has advanced from revelation to personification. With the Old Testament prophets, God’s word was a matter of revelation. But in the Lord Jesus, God’s word is a matter of personification. In the Old Testament the word and the person were two different things. The word was the word, and the person was the person. The word was channeled through man, yet the man remained just a man. But in the Lord Jesus, God’s word became flesh. A man became God’s word. When this man spoke, God was speaking. He did not need any revelation, because He was God’s word. He did not need God’s word to come to Him externally before He spoke the divine word, because His very speaking was God’s speaking. He did not need more of God’s word, because He Himself was God’s word. When He spoke, God spoke. When He felt something, the feeling was the feeling of God’s word. His opinion was God’s opinion. In this man, God’s word was not affected or limited by human factors. When this man opened His mouth, the pure word of God came out. Although He was a man, God’s word did not suffer any loss in passing through Him. In fact, God’s word was fully expressed through Him. This was the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.