Explaining Jesus to Muslims
Download PDF version

16. Jesus, the Word of God

Kalimatu'llah
The Quran testifies to the fact that Jesus is the Word of God:

"The angels said: O Mary! Allah gives you good news of a Word from him: His name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the hereafter and of the company of those nearest to Allah." (Sura 3:45)

The "Word of God" has a very close relationship with God
"Word" indicates speech or communication and the "Word of God" usually came in the form of a prophecy, a command or an encouragement. It is a verbal manifestation of God's message to us. When Jesus Christ is called the Word of God, it means that he, in a unique way, is God's message to us, he is the ultimate manifestation of God's will. Jesus said: "These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." (John 14:24) It is true that any prophet could say these words when speaking under inspiration, but Jesus also said:

"The words I say to you are not just my own.
Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 14:10-11)

Jesus tells us that the miracles he did were a sign to us that he had a very close relationship with God the Father, a relationship which enabled him to speak God's words and to do God's work. This relationship is made clear in the first chapter of John's gospel.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.
          Through him all things were made;
          without him nothing was made that has been made.
          In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
          The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it."        (John 1:1-5)

It is the very nature of God to reveal himself. A man communicates his thoughts by speaking a word. God also communicates his thoughts through his Word, and his Word is Jesus Christ.

The "Word of God" is eternal
The first thing we learn is that this Word has existed from the beginning, in fact all of creation was made through the Word. Put another way, the Word of God, Jesus Christ is the Creator who has existed from eternity.

The second thing we learn is his relationship with God. We are told that from the beginning Jesus Christ was with God and also that he is God. This teaching from holy Scripture can only be explained by the doctrine of the Trinity - not that there are three gods, but that God has a complex nature in which there are three distinctions - God, His Word and His Spirit.

The Word came into the world
This Word of God is not just an attribute or activity of God, the Word of God is a person. John goes on to say:

          "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

          We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:10,14,17)

The identity of the Word is made clear. He is Jesus Christ, who stepped out of eternity into time. He left his position with God in heaven and was born as a human baby in Bethlehem. From this point on Jesus is not called the Word of God, but the Son, and God is called the Father. This Father-Son relationship is an appropriate relationship for God and man, but we must never loose sight of the fact that the man Jesus Christ is also the eternal Word of God.

"The Word became flesh" so that we could see God and know him. Jesus said: "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." Jesus was born a human being, he came into the world to reveal God to us, so that we can really know God. "In him was life, and that life was the light of men." Jesus only can give us eternal life, the life of God himself. And Jesus alone is the light of the world - he proclaims the truth as nobody else could. The darkness he dispels is error, sin and death and the spiritual world of evil - Satan and his demons.

Jesus is the source of grace as well as truth. Grace is God's unmerited favour to us, his kindness to us who don't deserve it. It is made possible, because of what Jesus did on the cross. He died in our place, he suffered the penalty for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. His dying on the cross in our place reveals the love that God has in his heart for mankind.

Fellowship with the Word of God
The apostle John, who was the disciple closest to Jesus, wrote a letter to Christians in which he described the Word of God like this:

          "That which was from the beginning,
          which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes,
          which we have looked at and our hands have touched -
          this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
          The life appeared, we have seen it and testify to it,
          and we proclaim to you the eternal life,
          which was with the Father, and has appeared to us.
          We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,
          so that you also may have fellowship with us.
          And our fellowship is with the Father
          and with his Son, Jesus Christ."          (1 John 1:1-3)

John was privileged to walk this earth with the Word of God. He heard him, he saw him, he touched him. He shares his testimony with others and desires that they share in this fellowship with Jesus. Jesus died and was buried. He rose from death on the third day and ascended to heaven. Just as John heard Jesus' voice and saw him and touched him, he wants us to join in the same experience, because he was still enjoying that fellowship with God the Father and God the Son in heaven. Yes, we can know God, and we can experience fellowship with him. He is not an unknown Being high in the sky somewhere. God is great, but his greatness does not stop him from having fellowship with men and women who submit to his will. For this reason he puts his Spirit in us.

The Return of the Word of God
The apostle John wrote five of the 27 books which form the Injil. The final book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a vision John received from God about the return of Jesus Christ and the end of the world. In chapter 19 he speaks of the Word of God:

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron sceptre. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: “King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:11-16)

We have seen that the Word of God was with God before creation. We have seen that he came into the world as a baby and revealed God to us. And now we see him returning to the world in majesty and splendour on a victor's horse to rule the nations as King of kings and Lord of lords. His robe is dipped in blood, because of the blood he shed on the cross to atone for our sin. The sharp sword coming out of his mouth is his word of command, which no one can withstand.

Whose side will you be on when Jesus comes again to judge the nations and judge and punish the evildoers? Jesus said: "Yes, I am coming soon."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.