The Word of the Lord

What is “the word of the Lord”?

The phrase is used more than 200 times in the Old Testament. For example,

• After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” (Gen 15:1 NIV)

• Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” (1 Sam 15:10-11)

• Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” (1 Ki 17:2-4)

• Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. (Is 38:4-6)

• The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer 1:4-5)

• Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” (Jon 3:1)

As you can see, “the word of the Lord” in the Old Testament conveyed a variety of messages. This stands in stark contrast with its New Testament usage. In the New Testament the phrase only appears ten times and it is focused on one message.

• After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages. (Acts 8:25)

• On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. (Acts 13:44)

• When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. (Acts 13:48-49)

• But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord. Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” (Acts 15:35-36)

• Then they [Paul and Silas] spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. (Acts 16:32)

• This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. (Acts 19:10)

• In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:10)

• For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Pet 1:23-25)

What is the word of the Lord in the New Testament? In all ten cases, the context reveals the word of the Lord is the gospel. It is the message preached by the apostles and that message was Christ. As Paul said, “He is the one we proclaim” (Col 1:28).

Those who are turning to so-called prophets to receive the word of the Lord are heading in the wrong direction. We don’t have to run around looking for the word of the Lord because it’s right in front of us—the Scriptures, pointing us to Christ, the final and complete Word of God. 

Les Bridgeman

I have served as a high school Bible teacher and counselor in Asia and the U.S. I am passionate about understanding and teaching the Bible. Here’s a link to my book page.