2022-Q4-L1

2022-Q4-L1: Rebellion in a Perfect Universe

Read for This Week’s Study: 1 John 4:8, 16; 1 John 4:7-16; Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-15; Revelation 12.

Memory Text: “How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who defeated the nations!” (Isa. 14:12, NASB).

1 John 4:8 (ESV): 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 (ESV): 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:7-16 [quoted on Monday]

Ezekiel 28:12–19 [Lamentation over the king of Tyre].

Isaiah 14:12–15 [quoted on Wednesday]

Revelation 12.

Universe (or Cosmos) vs Third Heaven

Universe (definition). The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy.

Cosmos (definition). The cosmos is another name for the Universe. Using the word cosmos implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.

Difference between universe and cosmos. The words “cosmos” and “universe” are used synonymously as they refer to the same concept which is the world or nature. “Universe” seems to have a narrower or smaller scope than “cosmos,” though, and “cosmos” signifies a larger and more complex system.

Ibid. The word “cosmos” comes from the Greek word “kosmos” which means “order or orderly arrangement” while the word “universe” comes from the Latin word “universus” which means “whole or entire,” also from the Greek “holos” which also means “whole.”

Ibid. “Universe” may connote a much smaller scope while “cosmos” implies a larger scope.

Third Heaven. 2 Corinthians 12:2: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

Ibid. For, “in the language of the Jews, the first heaven is the region of the air, where the birds fly, which therefore are called the fowls of heaven. The second heaven is that part of space in which the stars are. This was called, by the Jews, the heaven of heavens. See 1 Kings 8:27. The third heaven is the seat of God, and of the holy angels, into which Christ ascended after his resurrection, but which is not the object of men’s senses, as the other heavens are.”

Seven heavens. The Jews sometimes speak of seven heavens, and Muhammed has borrowed this idea from the Jews. But the Bible speaks of but three heavens, and among the Jews in the apostolic ages also the heavens were divided into three. In chap. viii. of this work [Book of the Secrets of Enoch] we find that Paradise is explicitly located in the “third heaven,” which is the view recognised here by St. Paul

Rebellion (vs Disobedience)

Rebellion (definition).Open opposition to authority. An act of violent or open resistance to an established government or ruler.

Disobedience (definition). Refusal to obey. It is an act of disobedience versus a spirit of rebellion. A rebel is ready to disobey.

Difference between rebellion and disobedience. Rebellion is "armed" resistance to an established government or ruler while disobedience is refusal to obey.

Examples: Peter and John, Daniel and his three friends. Rebellion is an attitude. Disobedience is an act. Many acts of disobedience result from a spirit of rebellion, however it is very possible to disobey someone without rejecting that person’s authority. Peter and John blatantly disobeyed the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:18-20). They even had no hesitation in voicing their dissatisfaction to others (vs. 23). Daniel and the three Hebrew boys disobeyed yet were considered heroes not rebels. All these men recognized a higher authority than man and whenever man’s laws contradicted God’s laws, they were not liable to obey. It would have been rebellion if they had attempted to usurp authority. Instead they subjected themselves to whatever consequences followed their disobedience.

Example: Pastor. So what if a pastor preaches something contrary to God’s Word, what are we to do? We reject the teaching in favor of the higher authority without rejecting the person. If we can no longer respect someone’s authority, we always have the option to leave. It is rebellion if we try to displace the person or turn others against him.

Example: Miriam and Aaron. Rebellion is any attempt to usurp authority. Miriam and Aaron were entitled to their opinions about Moses’ wife. But they crossed the line when they spoke against Moses and challenged his call to be God’s representative (Num. 12:1, 2). It is also noteworthy how a true man of God responds when his authority is being undermined – he prays for the guilty ones and leaves it up to God (12:13).

Example: King Saul. There were two incidents where King Saul disobeyed God. In 1 Sam. 13, Saul impatiently offered burnt offerings when he should have waited for Samuel to do so. This could be considered an abuse of power. In 1 Sam. 15 he failed to kill every living thing as was commanded, choosing to save some good animals for sacrifice. He stated that he listened to the people rather than God (vs. 24).

Evil (vs Sin)

Evil (definition). In a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. The dualistic antagonistic binary opposite to good. Profound immorality and wickedness, especially when regarded as a supernatural force.

No universal definition. A fundamental question is whether there is a universal, transcendent definition of evil, or whether one's definition of evil is determined by one's social or cultural background.

Profound immorality. Evil is often used to denote profound immorality. Evil has also been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives. However, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect.

Broad and narrow concept of evil. The broad concept defines evil simply as any and all pain and suffering. Yet, not all pain is bad, because some pain is necessary for survival. The narrow concept of evil involves moral condemnation, therefore it is ascribed only to moral agents and their actions. This eliminates natural disasters and animal suffering from consideration as evil: according to Claudia Card, "When not guided by moral agents, forces of nature are neither "goods" nor "evils". They just are. Their "agency" routinely produces consequences vital to some forms of life and lethal to others". The implication is that there is a qualitative, and not merely quantitative, difference between evil acts and other wrongful ones; evil acts are not just very bad or wrongful acts, but rather ones possessing some specially horrific quality

Examples: The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and the waters that destroyed the antidiluvians.

Biblical definition of sin: Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), God’s law.

“Evil,” on the other hand, has a broader definition, in the Bible and in dictionaries. It can and does include sin, but it means much more. It covers calamities, diseases, death, disasters, and the like. Evil can be a result of sin; thus, sexually transmitted diseases are always evil, but they are not always a result of sin, if caught innocently. On the other hand, death is a result of the fall and of man’s sin, but death itself is not a sin, although it is called an “enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26). Sickness is an evil, but not necessarily a sin, although on occasion it can be a result of sin.

Atonement. The distinction between sin and evil is a very important one. The atonement thus covers sin, not evil. We are freed from guilt, not from the (evil) consequences of sin.

An act of the will. Sin is not an entity: it is an act of man’s will, whereby he transgresses God’s law because man prefers his own will and way to God’s requirements. Its origins are in Genesis 3:5, man’s will to be his own god.

Personal (sin) vs impersonal (evil). Sin is not an entity: it is an act of man’s will, whereby he transgresses God’s law because man prefers his own will and way to God’s requirements. Its origins are in Genesis 3:5, man’s will to be his own god.

Politically correct. Today, because fallen men run nations, the talk is about evils, not sins. These evils are outside of us. They are things like poverty, hunger, war, sickness, and more. The “solution” to social evils is then declared to be the appropriation of more money; more power to the state; more money for education, research, and study; more social engineers and planners; and so on and on.

Taxation and loss of freedom. In order to combat "evils", governments will solve these evils by throwing more money at it and limit our freedoms further.

No God, no sin, no guilt. Proverbs 8:36: but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.

Mark 7:21-23: For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

Ezekiel 28:15: You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.

The Hebrew term is avelah, meaning "injustice" or "unrighteousness". Lucifer was accusing God of being unjust.

Hope (i.e. certain hope)

Hope (definition). A desire for a certain thing to happen; a feeling of expectation. Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish a desire with anticipation."

Worldly hope. The word "hope" in ordinary English vocabulary is generally distinguished from certainty. We would say, "I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope it happens."

Christian hope. (General definition) A future secured and satisfied by God.

John Piper: If our future is not secured and satisfied by God then we are going to be excessively anxious. This results either in paralyzing fear or in self-managed, greedy control. We end up thinking about ourselves, our future, our problems and our potential, and that keeps us from loving.

Ibid. If we don't have the hope that Christ is for us then we will be engaged in self-preservation and self-enhancement. But if we let ourselves be taken care of by God for the future—whether five minutes or five centuries from now—then we can be free to love others. When God satisfies us so deeply that we're free to love other people then He (God) becomes more manifest.

However, Christian hope is when God has promised that something is going to happen and you put your trust in that promise. Christian hope is a confidence that something will come to pass because God has promised it will come to pass.

Faith and hope. Faith and hope are linked. If you have faith, you have hope. And, the more the faith, the more the hope.

Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Notes

Lucifer and his angels were rebellious while Adam and Eve were disobedient.

Sin came before evil; the act of the will before the effects of transgression. Therefore, the "origin of sin" came before the "origin of evil."

Sin creates (or leads to) evil. Sin is a choice between right and wrong. What Adam and Eve originally committed was sin.

When you choose to sin, you become evil by the actions we perform.

Little information on the origin of sin and evil. We don't need to know much, because we need to know more that God has taken care of everything. The focus is on trusting (having faith in) God, not on the origin and nature of sin, but on the solution to sin.

God is love

God is love.

1 John 4:8: Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16: So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

God is spirit. John 4:24: God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

God's nature. It's His nature. God is love; God is loving. God's love is made evident by His actions. Freedom, choice and risk.

To know good, must you also know evil? To understand love, must you also need to understand hate? The angels before the rebellion in heaven, did not know there was a law. The law defined love by contrasting it with evil.

Attribute. Love is an attribute of God. Everything God does is loving. We have the ability to love as He does, through the power of His Spirit.

Four kinds of love. Eros, philos, storge (love of a sweater or slippers), agape (divine love).

Love of complacency. "I love pizza." I am pleased by the qualities of pizza--namely, its taste. "I love America."

Love of benevolence. Not based on the loveliness of something but on your good will. You am is to *do* good, to bring about something beautiful, not respond to beauty.

The magnitude of benevolence:

1, The degree to which the person loved does not deserve to be loved.

2. The greatness of the price paid to love a person.

3. The greatness of the good that is done for the person when he is loved.

4. The level of desire that God has for the good of the one loved.

1. Completely undeserving enemies. In Romans 5:6–8, God loves the least deserving and therefore his love is greater. “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one might dare even to die — but God” — different from all that — “shows his love” — this is what love is— “in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” So the first measure of the magnitude of God’s love is we don’t deserve it. That is why it is great.

2. Pays the highest price. Consider the price he is willing to pay: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This love is measured not just by the fact that I don’t deserve it. It is measured by the price he is willing to pay; namely, his own Son’s life.

3. The longest and greatest happiness. The third measure is the good that I get through this love. In John 3:16 that is called “eternal life.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” And then he defines eternal life in John 17:3 by saying it is to know God and to know Christ. So the greatest possible love gives the greatest possible gift, which is God himself.

4. Heart full of joy. Did God show this love begrudgingly or does with all his heart? Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” We read the same response in the parable of the prodigal son where the father sees his son coming home, and he hugs him, and he puts a ring on his hand and robes and shoes and throws a party (Luke 15:20–24). In other words, God is totally into saving us. Nobody is twisting God’s arm.

Summary. The most beautiful love in the world is this divine love that pays the highest price, the life of the Son of God, for completely undeserving enemies, to give us the longest and greatest happiness in his presence. And he loves doing it.

Humanity. We are by virtue of our innate sinfulness self-centered and not God-centered. We run in a thousand directions to get away from this truth that we find our full and lasting satisfaction in God, and that God is benevolent toward us precisely in order to bring us into that relationship.

Romantic love is not the highest goal in marriage. Biblical love, the love of God in our hearts, can only be experienced and expressed by a true follower of Christ.

What would prove God’s love to you?

The Death of Lazarus. Do you see the word so, or therefore, at the beginning of verse 6? Do you see what it’s preceded by and followed by? It’s preceded by the fact that Jesus loved Martha; Jesus loved Mary; Jesus loved the dying man, Lazarus. Therefore, he did not go heal him but stayed two days longer where he was and saw to it that he died.

(John Piper) So here’s my definition of the love of God based on this text: God’s love is his doing whatever needs to be done, at whatever cost, so that you will see and be satisfied with the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Let me say it again: the love of God is his doing whatever needs to be done, at whatever cost to himself or to you, so that you will see and be satisfied by the love of God in Christ forever and ever.

To know Him. Why do you want to be loved by God? Yes, not to perish. Yes, not to go to hell. Yes, not to have a guilty conscience anymore. Yes, to have the marriage put back together. But if that’s all you want, you don’t know him. You don’t know him. It’s for life. And what is life? It is to know him and his Son. It’s to fellowship with him. It’s to behold him. It’s to be satisfied with him. It’s to enjoy him. Until Christ becomes our treasure, we don’t know what it is to be loved by God.

Love is not. 1 Corinthians 13 defines what love is not as well as what it is. Four warnings. 1. Not our gifts and giftings. 2. Not our knowledge. Knowledge can enflame our sense of pride and empty our hearts of love. One is to use knowledge to comfort, to encourage, to teach, to heal, to correct, to restore, to love. 3. Giving is not love. "If I deliver my body to be burned. . ." 4. Faith is not love. “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).

SUNDAY. Creation, an Expression of Love. 1 John 4:8, 16. [See my notes above on "God is love"]

From the lesson: The fact that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16, NKJV) conveys at least three basic implications. First, love by its very nature cannot exist closed in itself but must be expressed. (What kind of love is not expressed?) . . . Second, all that God does is an expression of His unconditional and unchangeable love. This includes His creative works, His redemptive actions, and even the manifestations of His punitive judgments. Actually, “God’s love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762. And third, since God is love and all He does expresses His love, He cannot be the originator of sin, which is in direct opposition to His own character.

Notes:

Is love unconditional? God unconditionally hates evil. God unconditionally hates pride.

"Punitive" judgments. Are God's judgments punitive? When God destroyed the antidiluvians, was it punitive? When God destroyed the Assyrian army of 120,000 soldiers, was it punitive? What is punitive and what is therapeutic? "Punitive" is a legal term.

Not originator of sin. But is God an originator of evil, of bad things?

Not a mystery. Lesson: "Likewise, God created the universe perfect, but an enemy defiled it with the mysterious seeds of sin." Question: What are the "seeds of sin"? How did Satan defile the universe? Answer: Through the temptation to doubt God's nature. There is no mystery to Satan's methods. His methods are to lie about God and to tempt mankind to disobey and become their own "gods".

Origin of sin. Why should Lucifer choose his own will and purpose when God's will and purpose was good and perfect? This is the mystery.

The purpose of our Creation. Lesson: "But from the perspective of His loving nature, He wanted a universe as a means of expressing His love." Question: Was love the basis of our Creation? Could God have had a different motive? Was the creation of Man unique in some way or ways? Was just love the motive?

Proverbs 3:19: The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;

Jeremiah 10:12: It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

MONDAY. Free Will, the Basis for Love. 1 John 4:7-16.

1 John 4:7–16 (ESV): 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

From the lesson: Even recognizing the importance of free will, some people still wonder, If God knew that Lucifer would rebel, why did God create him? Does the creation of Lucifer not make God ultimately responsible for the origin of sin? That can be a very difficult question to speculate about, because it depends upon many factors, including what exactly is meant by the word “responsible.” The origin and nature of sin are mysteries that no one can fully explain.

Notes:

God's kingdom. Is based on love, truth and freedom.

Grace and responsibility. Who is responsible and when is someone ultimately responsible? Answer: God cannot be made responsible for man's choice. The final judgment gives evidence to that. If God is ultimately responsible then God is at fault and He cannot judge the wicked. However, God does not judge the wicked. He has left ultimately judgment to Christ and the redeemed. Why? Because the redeemed understand the grace of God and man's rejection of that grace. Mankind has been given a second chance to choose.

God is not ultimately responsible and God is not the ultimate judge. God has left all judgment to His Son. John 5:22, "For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son."

Ultimately, man will judge man. We will be judged by our peers. We are ultimately responsible because we were created that way.

Power to choose. Christ gave us the power to choose. That power comes by Christ's indwelling spirit. We no longer live in the flesh but in the spirit, if the spirit of God dwells in us.

Free will. Is not free, if we choose to remain enslaved to sin. We are not free, if we're enslaved. The choice to be freed from sin, is not without a struggle.

TUESDAY. Mysterious Ingratitude. Ezekiel 28:12-19. [Lamentation over the king of Tyre]

From the lesson: Then, in Ezekiel 28:12-19, this historical reality becomes an analogy to describe the original fall of Lucifer in the heavenly courts. So, the king of Tyre, who was a human being living “in the midst of the seas” (Ezek. 28:2, 8, NKJV), now represents “the anointed cherub who covers,” (Ezek. 28:14, NKJV) living “in Eden, the garden of God,” (Ezek. 28:13, NKJV) and “on the holy mountain of God” (Ezek. 28:14, NKJV).

EGW. “Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it, and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a thing that was shown to be inexcusable.” — Ellen G. White, The Truth About Angels, p. 30.

Notes:

Ezekiel 28:2: ". . . prince of Type . . ."

Ezekiel 28:12: ". . . king of Type . . ."

The difference between prince and king is notable in the Book of Ezekiel. See ReadTheHardParts.com

In Ezekiel 19, Ezekiel refers to the last four kings of Israel as “princes” of Israel. Why? Because God wants to emphasize that He is the true King of Israel. (Some translations may use the word ruler instead of prince, but the idea is the same.) Ezekiel uses this literary construct (referring to kings as princes) several times in the book. In Ezekiel 28, Ezekiel first mentions the prince of Tyre (who is actually the King) and then mentions the King of Tyre who is the power behind the prince of Tyre. This analogy of prince/king relationships is what really made it click for me that the King of Tyre is referring to Satan. This is something you don’t notice if you read Ezekiel 28 without reading the rest of Ezekiel.

WEDNESDAY. The Price of Pride. Isaiah 14:12-15.

Isaiah 14:12–15 (ESV): 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

From the lesson: Isaiah 14:3-11 describes the fall of the haughty and oppressive king of Babylon. Then, Isaiah 14:12-15 moves from the historical realm to the heavenly courts and highlights that a similar proud and arrogant spirit generated the original fall of Lucifer. The text explains that Lucifer planned to exalt his throne above all heavenly hosts and make himself “like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14).

Notes:

Isaiah 14:4: you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

Although it is a "taunt" against the king of Babylon, the passage suggests that it is really talking about Satan and his pride.

What follows sin is pride. The pride not to recognize my sin and confess and move on, but to cover up and blame if caught. It is the unwillingness to take responsibility.

THURSDAY. The Spread of Unbelief. Revelation 12.

From the lesson: Reflecting on the beginning of this controversy, Ellen G. White explains that “God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 495, 496.

FRIDAY. Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Why Was Sin Permitted?” pp. 33-43, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Origin of Evil,” pp. 492-504, in The Great Controversy.

“There was no possible hope for the redemption of those [Satan and his angels] who had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of heaven, and had seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all this glory, had rebelled against Him. There were no new and wonderful exhibitions of God’s exalted power that could impress them so deeply as those they had already experienced. If they could rebel in the very presence of glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in a more favorable condition to be proved. There was no reserve force of power, nor were there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to overpower their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring. Their guilt and their punishment must be in proportion to their exalted privileges in the heavenly courts.” — Ellen G. White, Confrontation, p. 21.

“From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ’that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.

APPENDIX

GC 498.3: Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question.

Romans 10:17 (ESV): So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17 (KJV): So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Commentary on Romans 10:17. You are right when you say this particular verse (Rom 10:17) refers to faith's origin, but the words that Paul is using come from the Septuagint version of Isa. 53:1 where κυριε refers to YHWH; hence "word of God" is appropriate here. This phrase - λογοv θεου - appears more than 30x throughout the NT Rom. 10:17 is the only instance of ρηματοζ Χριστου in the NT. I think the only other use of "word of Christ" is Col 3:16 - λογοσ τοθ Χριστου - obviously reading what it says.