We have seen that being a minister of God’s word is not a simple matter. Not everyone can speak God’s word. The basic question concerning a minister of God’s word relates to his person. Now we want to turn our attention to another matter—God’s Word itself. When we talk about the ministry of God’s word, we are not saying that God has other words unrelated to the Bible. We are not saying that a person can add a book to the sixty-six books of the Bible. Nor are we saying that a man can receive a revelation or introduce a ministry that is not found in the Bible. We believe that God’s word is complete in the Old and the New Testaments. We do not need to add any words to what already has been recorded in the Bible. Yet at the same time we have to realize that a knowledge of the Bible alone does not qualify one to preach God’s word. Everyone who desires to be a minister of God’s word must realize what God’s Word is. If he does not know what God’s Word is, he cannot be a minister of His word.
The sixty-six books of the Bible were written by approximately forty people. They all used their own individual, idiomatic expressions; each one adopted his own style. Each writer used his own special terminology, and his writing contained his own feelings, thoughts, and human elements. When God’s word came to these writers, their personal elements were taken up by God. Some were used to a greater extent while others were used to a lesser extent, but everyone was used by God, everyone received revelation from Him, and everyone was a minister of His word. God’s Word is like a piece of music, and these many people were like many instruments. An orchestra contains many instruments, and every instrument has its own distinctive sound. When the whole orchestra plays, however, all the sounds blend together in a harmonious way. When the sounds reach our ears, we can distinguish between the sound of the piano, violin, trumpet, clarinet, and flute, but we do not hear a jumble of chaotic sounds. Instead, we hear one harmonious piece of music. Every instrument has its own characteristic and personality, yet all are playing the same music. If there are two pieces of music, there will be clashes and confusion. The same can be said of the ministers of the word. Every minister has his own personal characteristics. Yet each one is speaking God’s word.
The Bible is not a chaotic collection of writings. From its first page to its last, it is an organic whole. Although one minister may say one thing and another minister may say something else, their ministries, when combined together, form an organic whole. There are approximately forty writers of the Bible. Although this number is quite large, their message is unified; there is no confusion or fragmentation. The Bible may reflect a few dozen instruments, but it is only one piece of music. Anyone who tries to add another tune becomes obviously conspicuous. As soon as the tune reaches our ear, we know that it has the wrong kind of sound. God’s Word is one unified whole. The sounds may be different, but there must not be any dissonance. We should not presume that as long as there is sound, it is good enough. We should not think that anyone can stand up, say a few words, and claim to be speaking God’s word. God’s Word is a unified whole from beginning to end. The ministries of the word in the past belong to this undivided entity, and the present ministries of the word also belong to this undivided whole. No foreign element can be added to it or form part of this whole. God’s word is the Lord Jesus Himself; it is one, and it is living. If we try to add anything to it, we will not have God’s word, but confusion, apostasy, and discord. What we have will not be God’s word.
The Old Testament contains thirty-nine books. Historically speaking, the book of Job was probably written first. But Moses’ Pentateuch is placed at the beginning of the Bible. It is a wonderful thing that all of the writers of the Bible who came after Moses did not write independently; they built upon the writings that were before them. Moses wrote the Pentateuch without reference to the writings of others. But Joshua’s writings were based on Moses’ Pentateuch. In other words, Joshua’s ministry of God’s word was not an independent one; his service as a minister was based on his knowledge of the Pentateuch. Following Joshua, other writers, such as the authors of the books of Samuel, also based their writings on Moses’ books. This means that other than Moses, who was divinely called in the beginning to write his five books, all subsequent ministers of God’s word functioned upon the basis of the preceding words of God. The remaining books of the Old Testament were written with earlier writings as their basis. Although subsequent writers wrote differently, they all based their word on preceding words. All of the ministers of God’s word after Moses speak on the basis of the divine word that precedes them. God’s Word is one whole entity, and no writer can take his own course. Those who come later always speak on the basis of the word of those who preceded them.
When we come to the New Testament, the only new revelation that we find is the mystery of the Body of Christ. Ephesians tells us that the Body is composed of the Jews and the Gentiles. Other than this, nothing is new; everything is based on Old Testament teachings, and everything that is in the New Testament can be found in the Old Testament as well. The Old Testament contains almost all of the doctrinal revelations. Even the new heaven and new earth are found in the Old Testament. One version of the Bible capitalizes all of the New Testament quotations of Old Testament passages. If one reads through it, he will find that many things in the New Testament were actually spoken first in the Old Testament. Some passages in the New Testament are clear, direct quotations of the Old Testament. Other passages are not direct quotations, yet the writers clearly make references to passages in the Old Testament. This is like our preaching; sometimes we quote the Scripture by merely making reference to the chapters and the verses. At other times we recite the entire verse, and those who are familiar with the Bible will know its reference. There are over fifteen hundred references to the Old Testament in the New Testament. We have to remember that the ministry of the word in the New Testament is based on the divine utterance in the Old Testament. There is no independent speaking.
If a person stands up today and declares that he has received an independent revelation, we immediately can condemn this revelation as being untrustworthy. Today no one can receive God’s word apart from the Bible. Even the New Testament cannot exist independently by itself. Paul’s word cannot exist independently by itself. One cannot cut off the Old Testament and keep only the New Testament. Neither can one cut off the four Gospels and keep only Paul’s Epistles. We must realize that all subsequent words are based on preceding words; they are light derived from preceding words, not independent, separate words. Independent, separate words can only be words of heresy; they cannot be God’s word. We must understand what the ministry of the word is. All ministries in the Bible relate to one another. No one can receive a revelation that is completely independent of and unrelated to other revelations. No revelation can be completely isolated from other revelations or without reference to other revelations. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament are based on the Old Testament. Subsequent ministers always receive supply from preceding ministers.