The WORD, the Word, and the word

The three words - The Word, the Word, and the word (with due acknowledgement to Standard Sacred Text blog by the Peter Van Kleecks)

The archetypal Word, the revealed living Word, Jesus Christ.[i]

John 1:3, 14a - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…

1 John 1:1 - That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

Revelation 19:13 - And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

The typical Word, the revealed written word, the Scriptures.[ii]

Jeremiah 30:2 - Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book

Luke 4:4 - And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

2 Peter 1:19-21 - We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The atypical word, the preaching of the Word.[iii]

Galatians 1:8 - But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Philippians 1:15-16 - Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely…

2 Timothy 4:2 - preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

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[i] Archetypal, adjective: having the nature of an archetype, or original model; relating to or denoting an original that has been imitated. Here used in the sense of Jesus as the first or original Word.
[ii] Typical, adjective: having the characteristics or distinctive qualities of a particular type of person or thing; conforming to a particular type. Here used in the sense of the revealed written word conforming in type and character to the living Word, Jesus Christ. The written word is also living, “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

[iii] Atypical, adjective: having an uneven nature; not typical; irregular. Here used to describe the “uneven nature” of the preached word – in that it is the word only to the extent or degree that it conforms to the living Word and the written word.

The central miracle

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this. Just as every natural event is the manifestation at a particular place and moment of Nature’s total character, so every particular Christian miracle manifests at a particular place and moment the character and significance of the Incarnation. There is no question in Christianity of arbitrary interferences just scattered about. It relates not a series of disconnected raids on Nature but the various steps of a strategically coherent invasion—an invasion which intends complete conquest and ‘occupation.’ The fitness, and therefore credibility, of the particular miracles depends on their relation to the Grand Miracle; all discussion of them in isolation from it is futile.”

C. S. Lewis, Miracles

Rejoicing in the Incarnation

Rejoicing in the Incarnation of Christ, Matt. 2:10

1- My God, my Creator, the heavens did bow,
To ransom offenders, and stooped very low;
The body prepared by the Father assumes,
And on the kind errand most joyfully comes.

2- O wonder of wonders! Astonished I gaze,
To see in the manger the Ancient of Days;
And angels proclaiming the stranger forlorn,
And telling the Shepherds that Jesus is born.

3-For thousands of sinners the Lord bowed his head;
For thousands of sinners he groaned and He bled,
My spirit rejoices—the work it is done!
My soul is redeemed----and salvation is won!

4-Dear Jesus, my Savior, thy truth I embrace
Thy name and thy natures, thy Spirit and grace;
And trace the pure footsteps of Jesus, my Lord
And glory in Him whom proud sinners abhorred!

5- My God is returned to His glory on high;
When death makes a passage, to HIM then I’ll rise
To join in the song of all praise through His blood,
To the Three who are One inconceivable God.

11s. E. L. Schlict, Gadsby's Hymn Book, No. 41

The Image of the Invisible God

"It has become very common of late days to have images or pictures of the human form of Christ incorporated in our Bibles as though human artist could give the image or likeness of the invisible God. It is nothing short of a desecration of most holy sacred things for any man to attempt to palm off such pictures and paintings as the picture or likeness of Christ Jesus--who is the 'brightness of his Father’s glory and the express image of his person' Heb. 1:3." -- From "The Image of the Invisible God", by W. M. Mitchell in The Gospel Messenger --January 1881