Our Approach to Scripture

While many Christian communities refer to the Bible as “the Word of God,” we reserve that title for Jesus. In John’s gospel, his amazing prologue says, “the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, and we beheld his glory.” John wasn’t talking about the Bible; he was talking about Jesus – the Word of God made flesh.

So Jesus himself is our Word of God. Scripture certainly bears testimony to Jesus – The Word, but we don’t view the Bible itself as God’s Word. Instead, we consider the Bible to be a rich, eclectic, an inspired library, offering us several kinds of literature from a variety of perspectives, and from many different centuries. The Bible is a broad conversation, not a single pronouncement.

Another distinguishing feature of how we approach scripture here is by looking at the trajectory or movement of the entire Bible, rather than focusing on individual verses or sections along the way. The major movements we see in the Biblical narrative are from judgment to forgiveness, from violence to non-violence, from retributive justice to restorative justice, from law to grace, and from God electing a few to God loving all. When individual verses or sections of scripture are interpreted without considering these larger trajectories, a lot of un-Christlike and damaging conclusions are drawn.

The other unique thing about our interaction with scripture here at 1st Congregational is that we don’t see it as a closed, finished story. What excites and motivates our community is viewing God’s story as still unfolding. We look at every story in the Bible as a kind of doorway or portal that we are invited to jump into. For example, when Jesus fed the 5000 who were hungry, that story invites us to jump in by feeding the hungry in our community and world. When Jesus stood by the outcasts of his day like the woman caught in adultery or Zaccheaus the corrupt tax collector, we see ourselves as invited to jump into the story by standing up for the outcasts of our time, such as persecuted immigrants or members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

So, to us, scripture is alive and still unfolding. It’s not an old, finished story simply to read and be inspired by. It’s an unfinished tale we are invited into as full participants. It’s the story of Jesus and his love, and we get to be a part of it. Scripture’s trajectories excite us and constantly invite us to jump into the story of Jesus and his ever-broadening love.