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12                                                                        Colossians 1:15-20




                     “Lack of a definite article with “God” in Greek signifies predication rather than identificat-
                     ion.”


                     According to Webster’s Dictionary, predication means, “to affirm as a quality or attribute.”
              Even the Roman Catholic Bible tells us that it does not signify identification. We can also cross-ref-
              erence other Scriptures to prove that the Word (His thoughts, will) is YEHOVAH. Look at these ex-
              amples:


                     Jonah 1: 1—3 — “The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, ‘Go to the great
                     city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’ But
                     Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish.”


                     It says the word (revealed will of YEHOVAH) of the LORD [YEHOVAH] came to Jonah,
              then it says that Jonah ran away from the LORD [YEHOVAH]. YEHOVAH came to Jonah and told
              him His will or plan (which was to go to Nineveh), and Jonah ran away from YEHOVAH. The
              Word (YEHOVAH’s will) is YEHOVAH:

                     Isaiah 55: 11 — “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return
                     to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”


                     In this verse, when YEHOVAH speaks, His thoughts and power (His word) go out from
              Him to do His will. YEHOVAH’s will is YEHOVAH. The Word is YEHOVAH.

                     The gospel, the good news of the kingdom of God which is based on love, is YEHOVAH’s
              plan of salvation for us. This is His will. It reflects the mind of YEHOVAH. My mind is reflective
              of me. It reflects who I am as a person. The gospel is referred to many times in the New Testament
              as “the word of God,” or just “the word.” The gospel (His word) is the expression of YEHOVAH’s
              mind. In other words, the gospel is the mind of YEHOVAH. The mind of YEHOVAH is
              YEHOVAH. Another way of saying it is, “the gospel is God,” or:  “The Word was God.”

                                                       John 1:3


              Through him all things were made

                     John is describing how YEHOVAH made the world and the universe through his word (his
              wisdom, Proverbs 3:19). In other words, because of his love for us, YEHOVAH created the world
              and the universe. Furthermore, although in Greek “logos” is a masculine noun, this is no proof of
              personality. This comes into play in this verse. The Greek word that has been translated as “him”
              can be translated as “it,” “he,” or “she” depending on the noun it is describing. In this case, since
              theologians were claiming that “Word” is a reference to Yeshua, they obviously chose “him” in-
              stead of “it.” This unfortunately reflects more theology than it does strict accuracy. This is evident
              in 1 John 1:1-3, which is a parallel to John 1:1-3 in which “the Word of life,” which is the same as
              “the word,” is translated as “it”.


                     “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what
                     we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of Life, for the life was




                                                              The Berean Voice November-December 2002
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