Jeremiah 23:29 "is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?"

God's Word is a living Word. It accomplishes things simply by being spoken. It is the voice of the Fiat of Creation. Everything God says IS. He speaks and what He says becomes reality. That is why it is so important to look to Scripture as our primary source of His Will.

Scripture is God's Word, the Bible is living truth. It is good and necessary to have learned people interpret it for us, but we should always be aware of the source material they are interpreting. Even saints, like St. Thomas Aquinas, admit they know nothing in the face of God's infinity. Many, like St Thomas, are given tremendous gifts of wisdom for our benefit. They have given us invaluable insights into theology and other matters. But they are not God, and their words are not Scripture. We must have Scripture as our base in all things. It, and the teaching of the Church, are the primary revelations of God's Word to us.

In this passage from Jeremiah, God is upbraiding false prophets "who use their tongues and say 'Says the Lord.'" (Jeremiah 23:31) We will not recognize these false prophets unless we first know what God has actually said. He does not try to hide Himself or His ways. He reveals to us what we need to know when we are ready to know it. We can begin to gain that knowledge by inviting in the Holy Spirit and turning to Scripture as our first source.