The Bible doesn't refer to itself as the 'Word of God' as many Evangelicals are wont to do. Except of course in referring to the Penateuch and when they mean the Bible as the Word of God they don't just mean the first five books!
The New Testament does refer to Jesus as the 'Word of God' and so He is. What we are seeing is a difference between two Greek words: Rhema and Logos. Where rhema refers to the spoken word of God and logos to the written word of God. The wikipedia reference for rhema explains the difference well.
However, seeing a difference doesn't seem to underline enough the dangers of rhema without logos of logos without rhema. Rhema without logos can produce totally off the rails interpretations of what God is saying. The word-faith movement is an example of this. The father of the word-faith movement is usually considered to be Kenneth Hagin, but in reality he plagarized another guy called Kenyon. They have a doctrine which they call 'positive confession' and which they mean that because God spoke and the universe was created it is the power of words that makes things happen.
Of course this is just one aspect of the word-faith movement, but does focus on spoken word, rhema, as if it of itself is powerful rather than the outworking of an all powerful God.
People who are upside down on this, ie focus on the logos not the rhema, see rhema as coming out of logos and where logos is silent then make your own mind up because 'God predestined it anyhow'. Which is Calvinist. And Muslim.
When I look around if I take a phenomenological approach to looking then frequently the church doesn't look much different to a mix of west end musical, political meeting of the 1930s and Islamic theology.
Yet I cannot get over the fact that Jesus came to change all this. He came to announce good news for the poor, freedom for the captive and tell people that the unrelenting power of God to change you was here and available because He himself was going to die for us.
How did he do this? He spoke - rhema. He referred to the Old Testament - logos. He told stories. He shared Himself. He broke the accepted rules of the day. He would probably have been as bored in a church service as I am with pontificating preachers who neither proclaim rhema and turn logos into monotonos utterances.
Hmmm... why if Jesus is so interesting is the church so boring?
