[The Church Blog] The Bible is not the word or voice of God

by Ayomipo Edinger

The Bible is not the word of God. It is not the voice of God either.

No, this is not meant to be click-bait. I now believe that the Bible is not the word of God and it is not the voice of God.

I know I have lost 80% of my readers now. This post was not meant for them. For the remaining 20% readers, this is my defense.

Recently, in the last few months, I have been learning some things while in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. At first, I resisted for obvious reasons, but with time I became persuaded. As the truth dawned on me I eagerly picked up my phone to blog about this new revelation but the spirit constrained me. He said not yet. What I am teaching you is not yet for public knowledge. So reluctantly I saved my title-only draft and waited for the spirits approval.

You see, I have also been learning that God chooses when and who to reveal certain truths because some are not yet able to bear it. Remember when John wrote about the time Jesus said, I have many things to say unto you but you are not able to bear it? Exactly. I still find it a bit scary blogging these thoughts, but in the midst of my fear, I sense that the spirit is permitting. So here goes.

It is not that I have stopped believing the stories in the Bible. I still believe them, but now I understand that they are just that – stories. Not the word of God, and not the voice of God. Religion has blinded many Christian’s in today’s world, and the Church has failed many. It is partly because of the narrative among Christians that the Bible is the word and voice of God. That is why it is so easy for pastors to deceive people by quoting scriptures. That is why it is so easy for people to deceive themselves by quoting scriptures.

For those who follow my blog and my Facebook postings, you will know that I am bluntly honest, and I tell it all; my successes and my failure. I put it all out in public space for a purpose. When I first started to blog, I thought I was doing it out of passion. But over the years, as I have walked with God I have come to realize that passion is the least reason I blog.

I blog because it is written of me. I blog because God has called me to be a witness to the ends of the earth. And that is why I am under no pressure to keep to a blogging schedule. I tried to schedule blog posts when I thought it was about me, but as I realized the purpose of my blogging, I let go and now blog as the Spirit leads. I have learned that there are things the Spirit wants me to tell, and when, and there are things he doesn’t want me to tell. Ever wondered why we know nothing about the teenage years of Jesus, and yet know how the world was formed?

And that’s part of what the Spirit was teaching me. My blog is a reflection of my walk with God. As I describe my life in words on the internet, I am adding to the pages of the bible. I am adding to the stories of the Bible. I am joining Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Matthew, John, Ruth, Esther and the other men and women of faith to tell our tales of how God interacts with his people.

The thing is we are all story-tellers of God’s workings in our lives, and in our times. It is not a doctrine, it is not a standard, it is not a one size fits all. Because our God cannot be put in a box. My pastor should not be able to make me pay tithes by quoting that Abraham paid his tithes, a denomination should not be able to declare that women should not wear trousers by quoting that Paul said so, a pastor should not be able to sexually abuse his congregation and avoid reproach by quoting “touch, not my anointed”. You see, it is because people believe that the Bible is the word and voice of God, and take it literally, that many pastors get away with deception and many Christians remain deluded. That is why the Church is divided on present day dilemmas like gays and transgenders, female pastors and prosperity gospel, about divorce and marriage.

The Bible is just a book, it will not save you if you sleep with it under your pillow; it will not save you if you keep it in your car; heaven will not fall if you throw it on the floor, step on it, tear out pages for akara, or burn it in fire. It is just a book, it is not the word and voice of God.

Recently, my wife told me that Ese Walter Ark had renounced her faith and Christ. My heart skipped because I had carried Ese in my spirit for a moment. Reading through her posts, I understand where she has found herself. The church has failed many true seekers but God is not dead. That is why I am not afraid for Ese, in fact, I am following her story with expectation because I know how my Father works. I believe Ese is a perfect canvas for God’s story. Many Christians have railed at her choice to denounce Christ because, of course, the bible warns against denouncing Christ. But me?  I watch Ese closely with inward delight, because I know it is the Ese’s of this world that are the perfect witness of grace and the gospel. I know Ese does not believe in Christ anymore, I don’t know if she will come back to the faith. But I also know that, as she boldly describes her life on the internet, just like the book of Esther, the book of Ese will, in time, make one of the finest stories of God’s character.

God said to me: the very bible that many claim is my word and my voice, clearly defends itself in its pages. In the second book of Corinthians, the very Paul that many claim speaks for God says it plainly:

Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it, not with ink, but with God’s living spirit, not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives…the [letter] wasn’t written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes killing your spirit, it is written with spirit on spirit, his life on our lives. (Message Translation)

God went on to say to me: the Bible is not my word or my voice. It is simply a witness of my works. John said it in his writing: the word of God is Jesus – not ink on pages; the voice of God is the Holy Spirit – not ink on pages.

The ink on the pages of what we all call the bible are simply stories passed down from generations of men who heard the voice of God in their spirit. Generations of women who received instructions from God in their spirit. And many of them contextual.

The Bible does not stop in the book of Revelation. The books of the Bible are still being written today. We are all telling our stories, of our walk with God, the good, the bad and the ugly.  Because every true worshiper will have a tale of grace, grit and glory.

Take a look at the Bible – it is a mix of the faith and flaws of those called by God, their triumphs and their troubles, their gain and their loss, their faith and their doubt. Those stories were written to witness to us, to show us the character of God. To inspire us to find our walk with God.

Even though God has some absolutes, there are no hard and fast rules, there is no one size fits all. God is a very present God, he is a God of the past but he does not live in the past. He deals with every one of his kids individually. Our faith is singular. God will do for others what he does for one. And yet God will do for one what he has never done for others.

The father seeks those who will worship him in truth and in spirit. Not in church. Not by memorizing and quoting scriptures. Not by following religious doctrines and busying ourselves with religious activities. Faith is a walk with God, not an idol of other people’s experiences with God.

So no, the Bible is not the word of God. It is not the voice of God. It is a book of the stories of men and women of faith and it is still being written today. That is why I have renamed the tagline of this blog to “the gospel according to Ayomipo”. My blog disgodkidd.wordpress.com is the 2016 version of the books of the bible. It is a witness of how one man, Ayomipo, walks with God. It is a story to inspire you to find your own walk with God. Ese is finding her walk; the church would do well to find their walk.

This blog post was conceived several weeks ago. But it is only being written and published now. Because the Holy Spirit permitted me to tell it now. You may not find that kind of contextual present instruction in the Bible, but God will use the stories of the books of the Bible to show you his character, including the book of disgodkidd.wordpress.com.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to discover God’s word (Jesus) and recognize God’s voice (the Holy Spirit) by studying the stories about God’s character (from the bible, from faith blogs, from movies, from office gossip, from visiting strip clubs, from everything around you).

God is always talking to his kids. We just need to learn to recognize his voice.

Selah.


Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

Comments (2)

  1. Before God created Heaven and Earth, where was Him?

  2. Don’t forget a spirit also spoke to king Ahab through the prophet that he will return from battle, but the prophet Micaiah said something opposite. I advice you to be aware that many lying spirit are around us. Don’t forget this verse MARK 3:29. Try read 2nd PETER 1:16-20, 2:1-3. See that we are running a Finnish race in GOD sight, and you are path of what you make yourself to be. If you read your bible with a clear spirit you will realize that some prophetic word carries the STAMP of GOD. Ok be careful for our GOD is fearful.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail