Anthony, You wrote: I agree with PSacramento that it is important for Christians to understand that the Word of God is not the Bible, it is Jesus. If one "believes in the Bible" surely they should believe the testimony it gives concerning him?
Surely one should believe the testimony that the Bible gives concerning Jesus. That goes without saying.
But surely we must also be informed in our use of biblical terms by the manner in which we see the God-inspired writers of scripture using those terms. One cannot have biblical warrant for ascribing rules for the use of biblical terms which are at odds with the way those very terms are used in scripture.
And, it is easy to show that the most frequent New Testament use of the term "word of God" in NOT in the first instance a reference to the person of Jesus (as the following quotes prove). So to suggest that the term must always refer only to the person of Jesus is just false.
Mar 7:13 (Jesus himself speaking) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition
Luk 3:2 the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias
Luk 4:4 (Jesus himself speaking) man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God
Luk 5:1 as the people pressed upon him (Jesus) to hear the word of God
Luk 8:11 (Jesus himself speaking) the parable is this: The seed is the word of God
Luk 8:21 (Jesus himself speaking) My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it
Luk 11:28 (Jesus himself speaking) blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it
Jhn 10:35 (Jesus himself speaking) If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came
Act 4:31 and they spake the word of God with boldness
Act 6:2 It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables
Act 6:7 And the word of God increased
Act 8:14 the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God
Act 11:1 heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God
Act 12:24 the word of God grew and multiplied
Act 13:5 they preached the word of God in the synagogues
Act 13:7 desired to hear the word of God
Act 13:44 came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God
Act 13:46 It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you
Act 17:13 the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea
Act 18:11 teaching the word of God among them
Act 19:20 mightily grew the word of God and prevailed
Rom 10:17 faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God
1Cr 14:36 came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
2Cr 2:17 we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ
2Cr 4:2 have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully
Eph 6:17 the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
Col 1:25 to fulfil the word of God
1Th 2:13 ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God
1Ti 4:5 sanctified by the word of God and prayer
Hbr 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword
Hbr 13:7 have spoken unto you the word of God
Rev 1:2 bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ
Rev 1:9 for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
Rev 20:4 for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God
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Of course, it is true that this term was also sometimes directly applied to Jesus, as in: "he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God" (Rev. 19:13, et al.). Moreover, there is also a direct link between the written/spoken word of God and Jesus because it that word spoke of him: "in the volume of the book it is written of me" (Hb. 10:7, et al.)
In any case, while people may want to impose their preferred structure on the use of this or other terms in scripture, using biblical terms in the manner that those terms were used by the God inspired writers of scripture would seem to be the best practice.
