English PDF - The Bible Advocate Online

[Year of the Bible]
Of Flame
and Flesh
The beautiful bridge between revelation
and incarnation. by Jason Overman
www.retakingamerica.com
There is a book about a thing;
then there is the thing itself.
There is a book that bears
witness to a becoming, and there
is the transformation. The Bible is
such a book.
As beautiful and significant as
Holy Scripture is to the church, it
is not an end in itself. Rather, it is
a bridge that points both before
and beyond to realities greater
than itself — before to divine
revelation that is its source and
strength, and beyond to the human
embodiment that is its aim
and aspiration.
Before the written Word, the
story put to paper, or our myriad
translations — before all this was
the flame, the fiery breath of
God, the event and experience
of revelation itself.
And beyond the inscribed
Word, the report put to page, or
our myriad doctrinal debates —
after all this is the flesh, the event
and experience of incarnation
itself.
The Bible tethers us to this
reality. Never content with our
possessing the paper and ink
of it alone, the Bible is always
concerned to convey the story,
transmitting like a conduit these
two critical truths. God’s Word
reveals Himself to His people so
that He might accomplish His
ultimate goal, that His people
would embody and become that
very Word in history.
Moses: flame and flesh
The Israelites experienced
this very process at Mount Sinai.
Delivered from captivity so they
might worship their Creator and
Redeemer in the wilderness, they
would now learn what it means
to be servants of God rather than
of Pharaoh. Here at the foot of
4 • Bible Advocate® - www.BAonline.org