The Words of Jesus – The Purpose and Premise of this Website
Purpose: The purpose of this website is to focus attention on the words of God in the Bible that proceeded directly “out of the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4, and that were heard and could be confirmed by two or three witnesses.* Matthew 18:16, Hebrews 2:3
Premise: The words of God in the Bible that came directly “out of the mouth of God” inform all the other words and doctrines in the Bible; i.e. they are the light and lens through which the entire Bible is to be read, studied and understood.
It is from this perspective that the topics in this website have been written.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures in this website are from the NASB95 and NKJV Bibles.
The only words in the Bible that were spoken directly “out of the mouth of God”, and that were heard and could be confirmed by two or three witnesses*, are the words spoken by Jesus in his Incarnation and the words spoken by the Father from Heaven. It is these words that are displayed in the color red in this website.
The other words in the Bible were given to persons and prophets individually, e.g., Moses, Isaiah, Peter and Paul. According to Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” And Peter stated in 2 Peter 3:15 that Paul’s letters were given, “according to the wisdom given him.” And again in 2 Peter 1:21 Peter stated, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Therefore, all the words in the Bible are true and indispensable for sanctification John 17:17, and they are profitable for reproof, correction, and training, and are wisdom for living our temporal life. Proverbs 4:3-6; 4:20-22 And one meaning of sanctification or being sanctified is to be strengthened in the ability to endure temptation.
However, only the words of Jesus “are spirit and are life”. As Jesus said about his own words* in John 6:63, “…; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life”. And in John 6:68, “Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ ” That is, the words of Jesus are to be distinguished from the truth and wisdom of the writings of Moses, Paul and others, in that his words “are spirit and are life.” In addition to being wisdom for living life in this temporal world, his words are essential for enlivening and strengthening our eternal inner spirit person day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16, Ephesians 3:16
It is hoped that by focusing attention on the words of God “out of the mouth of God” that we will be encouraged, even more than we already are to read, study, memorize, contemplate, meditate upon, and discuss the meaning and importance of his words.
Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 when he said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” Here, and in similar instances, Jesus is confirming the truth and wisdom of Old Testament Scripture, but these are not ‘his words’ out of his mouth.
His words are those that the Father gave him directly. In Deuteronomy 18:18 the Father, speaking of Jesus*, told Moses, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” It is these words that are referred to in this website as ‘his words.’
Referring to his own words Jesus said in John 12:49-50, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
And referring to his own actions Jesus said in John 5:19-20, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”
From these and similar verses it appears that Jesus could hear the Father’s voice internally, in his mind, which he then spoke out to the Disciples and others. And the Father gave Jesus images and visions internally, in his mind, of the works he was to perform. John 5:36
That is, when Jesus spoke he was speaking the exact words he was hearing from the Father and not filtering them, or qualifying them, or giving us his opinion of them. And when he was performing works it was according to what was being shown to him by the Father.
The Father, by speaking and acting through Jesus in this precise manner, was able to present Jesus to the world in the most clear and unmistakable way so that people would have no excuse for not hearing, seeing, knowing and believing in him.
Jesus said in John 15:22,24, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. … If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.”
Although Moses in his interactions with the Father wrote down exactly what the Father was speaking to him, and made the things for the Tabernacle “after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain” Exodus 25:40, the Father did not speak to him or show him these things internally, in his mind, but rather spoke to him and showed him things in a way external to Moses. As in Exodus 33:11, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
We know that Jesus was more than a friend to the Father, and so it seems reasonable to consider his words to be the most important words when it comes to understanding the character, nature, purposes, and other important matters concerning God. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Matthew 13:17, Hebrews 1:3
As human beings we are to a great extent transformed by what we look at and listen to. Therefore, as we focus our attention on the words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is able to progressively transform our inner man into the likeness of Christ.
And in 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul writes, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As Jesus said in Mark 4:26-27, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows -how, he himself does not know.”
And as we are transformed into his likeness and press on to maturity in Christ, we can expect to grow in love for ourselves and others with the same love that the Father has for Jesus the Son of Man*.
This is one way to help fulfill Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, … .”
It has been said the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. It might be said we enjoy him most when we are experiencing the Father’s love for Jesus the Son of Man, and we glorify him most when we are loving ourselves and others just as Father loves Jesus.
To download a PDF of a contextual chronology of The Words of Jesus from the Four Gospels click here.
This is a PDF of a book of The Words of Jesus, which are the words of God the Father, out of the mouth of God the Son, in context and chronological order, from the Four Gospels in the New American Standard Bible.
* A Word Confirmed by Two or Three Witnesses:
“What is this thing He is telling us” John 16:17, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said” John 16:19, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, Hebrews 2:3
| Also see |
|---|
| How to Understand the Bible |
| * What Jesus Said About His Own Words |
| * The Father Speaking to Moses About Jesus |
| * Jesus the Son of Man |
| Other Websites Relevant to this Topic |
|---|
| Where People of all Backgrounds Learn about Jesus |
| Jesus Central – On the Words of Jesus Christ |
| What Will You do with the Words of Jesus? |
