Chapter 7.7

Table of Topics

A) The Writing of Scripture

B) The Authority of Scripture Stated in Scripture

B.1) OT Testimony

B.2) The King’s Testimony

B.3) NT Testimony

C) The Divinity of Scripture

Extras & Endnotes

The Divinity of Scripture

God’s Revelation in Writing

A) The Writing of Scripture

Primary Points

Scripture is our most trustworthy communication link to God.

Simply put, Scripture is direct revelation from God that has been recorded in writing. It is a creation of God’s breath like the Universe (cf. 2 Tim 3:16).

The first Scripture that we know of was written by God Himself.

Scripture repeatedly attests to its divine authority.

Christ subjected Himself to the authority of Scripture as well.

The ultimate apologetic for Scripture’s authority is Jesus’ attitude toward it.

Our King confirmed many things about the authority of the OT that have been consistently questioned by liberal critics of the Bible.

Christ exclusively promised the Apostles supernatural abilities to produce Scripture when He said: “the Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

There is no communication in all of human existence that possesses as much authority as Scripture.

The equating of Scripture with the person of God Himself is the essence of the authority of Scripture.

To disobey, distort, dilute, degrade, alter, or misuse Scripture is nothing less than an arrogant insult to the Author of those words, and apart from His forgiveness, is worthy of a sentence to the eternal torments of Hell.

Trusting God is nothing less than trusting Scripture. More than that, loving God is nothing less than loving Scripture.

The fact that all divine authority is limited to Scripture has been too much for Montanists, Romanists, liberals, charismatics, and mega mystics to accept.

What would we know of the King and His life, deeds, and teaching without the NT?” Very, very little.

Against the accusation that “bibliolators” worship a book instead of a Person, that Person Himself said there is no difference between the authority of what the OT said about Him, from that which He could say in person.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (c. 424- c. 347 B.C.) wrote: “It is an impossible task both to discover the creator and father of this whole universe and to publish the discovery of him in words for all to understand.” ^[1] Impossible for mere men indeed, but not men who have received divine revelation. ^[2] It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of Scripture as a source of such revelation for God’s people. Along with our New Nature by virtue of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, Scripture is our most trustworthy communication link to God, by virtue of the Holy Spirit’s revelation.

Before discussing Scripture further, it is important to define what it is. Simply put, Scripture is direct revelation from God that has been recorded in writing. This is why we properly call it the written word of God. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul makes perhaps the clearest statement regarding the Scripture when he writes Timothy:

[F]rom infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed [theopneustos] and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:15-16)

Several things stand out here. First, Scripture is ultimately a divine creation of God (“God-breathed”) not of humans. The Greek word translated here in the NIV as “God-breathed” is used only here in the NT, indicating that it is describing a rather unique phenomenon. Theopneustos literally means something that is “exhaled” or “breathed out” by God. More specifically then, Paul is saying that Scripture is a product of divine expiration, instead of divine inspiration. It is interesting to note the other remarkable things that are said to be created by the “breath” of God, including the creation of the Universe (Ps 33:6) and humanity itself (Gen 2:7). Scripture is another creation of God through the creative breath of God. This is why it is properly referred to as “God’s word” not just the writing of men. ^[3]

Secondly, while there was nothing special about the word “Scripture” (graphē) at the time the NT was written, the NT writers coined it for their own use to refer to a special kind of writing. NT scholar G. W. Knight notes that graphē, “was used in the Greek of the day for any piece of writing,” but, “in the NT it is used only of holy scripture.” ^[4] Still, in essence, “Scripture” means writing, and so in Paul’s simple statement that, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim 3:16) we have the essence of what Scripture is: written divine revelation.

Thirdly, we note that the Apostle believed that the revelation contained in the Scriptures was the only one needed to not only begin a relationship with the King, but to further that relationship as well. Accordingly, he repeatedly commands Church leaders in the Pastoral Epistles to “preach the word” (2 Tim 4:2), with barely a mention of any other source of divine revelation.

Finally, the Apostle’s reference to “Scripture” in 2 Timothy should not be automatically assumed to refer to only the OT. Paul wrote this letter around 67 A. D., several years after several NT documents had been written. He had, in fact, about two years before writing 2 Timothy, already quoted something from the Gospel of Luke as “Scripture” (1 Tim 5:18; cf. Luke 10:7).

As we have discussed elsewhere, it was not God’s plan to provide direct revelation to all of His people. ^[5] Therefore, God instructed His messengers to record the divine revelation they received so that it could be preserved, copied, and distributed. As St. Augustine (354–430) commented, “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.” ^[6]

The first Scripture that we know of was written by God Himself. Moses was told: “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.” (Exod 24:12). Accordingly, we read later: “Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.” (Exod 32:15-16). Wouldn’t you like to have those two pieces of rock for your fireplace mantle?!

Unfortunately, Moses broke them in anger over the Israelites’ idolatry with the golden calf (cf. Exod 32:19). Subsequently, God demonstrated His great patience and commissioned the second example of Scripture when He told Moses: “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.” (Exod 34:1).

We know that others were told to record divine revelation as well, therefore producing Scripture (cf. Deut 31:19; 1 Sam 10:25; Isa 30:8; Jer 30:2; Ezek 43:11). Likewise, Paul describes the process by which Scripture is produced when he writes the Ephesians

Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written [in Scripture] briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy Apostles and Prophet. (Eph 3:2-5)

Here we see in a nutshell how Scripture is produced. A divinely appointed messenger receives a revelation from God and then records it for the instruction of others.

Even among all the different means of revelation recorded in the Bible, revelation through an authenticated messenger is the most common means. While there were miracles of various kinds, and God spoke through various means, His primary method was the Prophet (e.g. Moses, Isaiah) and the Apostle (e.g. John, Paul), with Jesus Christ being both (Deut 18:18; Heb 3:1). We notice as well the repeated command to such men to record their revelations so that the word of God could be made available to His people. ^[7] Simply the superior frequency of divine revelation through a messenger in the biblical record is an indication of the primacy of its written form among the methods God uses to communicate to His people. And the consistent command to record such revelations suggests that it was to be God’s primary method of communicating with His people.

B) The Authority of Scripture Stated in Scripture ^[8]

B.1) OT Testimony

The authority of Scripture is abundantly described in Scripture itself. There is considerable testimony by writers of the OT to their belief that they were writing by divine revelation and as God’s representatives (cf. 2 Sam 23:2–3; Ps 107:11; 119:11; Prov 30:5; Isa 59:21; Jer 1:9, etc.). For example, Moses spoke regarding the first books of Scripture which he had written:

Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you–they are your life (Deut 32:46-7).

The divine authority that is vested in the Scriptures is immense. The words contained in it are not “idle words,” nor are they merely human words, but rather they are the words of God, our Creator and Judge. They are indeed our “life,” as the Bible answers the most important questions humanity needs to answer. How did I get here? What is my purpose? How am I to live? What comes after I die?

The OT Prophets after Moses certainly attested to the divine authority of their words and writing when they consistently prefaced them with “This is what the Lord says” (1 Sam 2:27). Again, apart from Scripture, no one can, or should, speak like this today. ^[9] Accordingly, Moses recorded God as saying, “If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account” (Deut 18:19). And because we have the words of such Prophets recorded in Scripture, we have the words of God that are to be believed and obeyed.

B.2) The King’s Testimony

Jesus, of course, claimed that He was a God-sent messengers whose words were to be accepted as God’s own words. He describes this very thing when He said: “I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it” (John 12:49). In other words, Jesus claimed that His words were exactly God the Father’s words. Can anyone today legitimately claim the same apart from quoting Scripture? Likewise, He said, “These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.” (John 14:24; cf. John 8:28; 14:10; 17:8). No one today, apart from speaking Scripture, can speak with authority equal to Christ. This is because no one today can speak with equal assurance that they speak for God apart from speaking Scripture.

Accordingly, all of humanity will be judged in regard for their attitude toward the words of the King while He was on Earth. He said: “There is a Judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:48).

Jesus not only made such claims about His words, but claimed the same for the OT Scriptures. Perhaps the ultimate apologetic for the authority of Scripture is the attitude of the King toward it. He personally authenticated the OT when He authoritatively quoted it over 40 times and referred or alluded to it over an additional 70 times in His own recorded teachings.

One of His first and most memorable statements regarding the authority of Scripture was recorded from His Sermon on the Mount. The King warned humanity:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the [OT] Law until everything is accomplished.

Anyone who breaks one of the least of these [written] commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these [written] commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matt 5:17-19)

 

The eternal status and experience of every Christian “in the Kingdom of Heaven” will be directly dependent upon their attitude toward Scripture now. This could be said of no other words except those in Scripture. This is similar to what the King meant when He said that the authority of “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). As someone has said, we do not “break” the word of God, but rather, it “breaks” us. God’s word is immovable and our lives must revolve around it and conform to it or we suffer the grave consequences, both now and forever.

The King’s statement in the Sermon on the Mount that He came to “fulfill” “the Law [and] the Prophets” (Matt 5:17) demonstrates the authority of Scripture over the King Himself. He did not use Scripture simply because it was respected by the Jews He spoke to. Nor did the King merely instruct others to obey Scripture. Rather, He subjected Himself to the authority of Scripture as well.

For example, when He was arrested by the Roman soldiers prior to His crucifixion the King said:

Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? (Matt 26:53-4; cf. Acts 3:17-18, 21).

 

The King did not even put Himself above the authority of Scripture. He yielded to what had been written in them even to the point of dying on a cross, and repeatedly reminded people that the events in His life must conform to Scripture.

Accordingly, Luke records that He told the Twelve after His resurrection:

‘Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-5).

At His arrest, Mark quotes the King as simply saying “The Scriptures must be fulfilled” (14:49), a concept He repeated many times (cf. Matt 13:14; Luke 4:21; 18:31; 22:37; 24:25-27; John 15:25). Even Judas’ betrayal had to happen in order to fulfill Scripture (cf. John 13:18; 17:12). The need for even the King and the events surrounding Him to conform to Scripture certainly attest to its divine authority.

Reformed theologian John Frame explains succinctly:

The role of Scripture in the life of Jesus is really remarkable: although Jesus was and is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, during his earthly ministry he subjected himself completely to the Old Testament Scripture. Over and over again, he performed various actions “so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” The whole point of his life-his sacrificial death and resurrection was determined beforehand by Scripture. ^[10]

That our King believed that Scripture was written revelation from God is demonstrated in His rebuke of the Pharisees’ use of mere man-made tradition. He asked them:

Why do you break the command of God [written in Scripture] for the sake of your tradition? For God said [through the writings of Moses in Scripture], ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ (Matt 15:3-4).

The writings of Moses took precedence over the thoughts of men because they were Scripture, written divine revelation from God through a supernaturally authenticated messenger.

Likewise, when the Pharisees demanded an authoritative answer to the question of divorce, our King said:

Haven’t you read [what is written in Scripture] . . . that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? (Matt 19:4-5).

Likewise, the King reflects His belief in Scripture as a reliable and essential guide to truth when He warned the Pharisees: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures” (Matt 22:29). Indeed, let us not subject ourselves to the same rebuke that the He gave His disciples when He said, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25).

Our King confirmed many things about the authority of the OT that have been consistently questioned by liberal critics of the Bible. He validated the divine revelation of Moses when He said: “But about the resurrection of the dead–have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?” (Matt 22:31-2). He was equating something recorded by Moses in Scripture with something “God said” (cf. Exod 3:6; Mark 12:26).

The King authenticated David’s divine revelation of Psalm 110 when He said that David was, “speaking by the Spirit” when he wrote the psalm (Matt 22:43; cf. Mark 12:26, Ps 110:1).

Likewise, several events in the OT have been labeled by Bible critics as myths that are too miraculous to seriously believe. And yet the King spoke of them as fact. For example, He confirmed the accuracy of the Creation account when He authoritatively answers a question about marriage by saying, “Haven’t you read . . . that at the beginning [not over a period of millions of years] the Creator [not evolutionary processes] ‘made them male and female,’” (Matt 19:4).

Likewise He King supported the historicity of the Flood when He said:

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matt 24:37-9)

The authenticity of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is obvious when the King told His disciples: “I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town” (Matt 10:15; cf. Luke 10:10-12).

Finally, Christ confirmed the truth of what many have claimed to be the most embarrassing account in the Scriptures because it exposes the OT as a collection of myths. We are of course speaking of Jonah being swallowed by a large sea creature and living in its belly for three days. Miraculous? Yes. A myth? No, and the King proves this when He says: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, ^[11] so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the Earth” (Matt 12:40; cf. Jonah 1:17). Liberal Christian scholars who deny the authenticity of such OT events should be more fearful of disagreeing with the One they supposedly call Lord.

For example, the influential liberal Bible scholar James Barr wrote:

[A]musingly, fundamentalist faith, though concentrated on the Bible, would not have been possible during the biblical period itself. The biblical writers were only persons then. The objective written and external fixed authority that fundamentalists now revere did not then exist. The attempt of fundamentalist apologists to represent the situation during the life of Jesus, as if the Old Testament then had for Jesus and the Apostles the total, final and objective place that the Bible has for fundamentalists today, can only be considered ludicrous. ^[12]

What is “ludicrous” is a man as knowledgeable as Dr. Barr claiming that the King had a lower view of the authority of the OT then “fundamentalist” conservative Evangelical Christians.

Others have written more accurately on the Lord’s attitude to the OT Scriptures. The early twentieth century NT scholar G. A. Smith wrote:

For us, its [Scripture’s] supreme sanction is that which it received from Christ Himself. It was the Bible of His education and the Bible of His ministry. He took for granted its fundamental doctrines about creation, about man and about righteousness; about God’s Providence of the world and His purposes of grace through Israel. He accepted its history as the preparation for Himself, and taught His disciples to find Him in it. He used it to justify His mission and to illuminate the mystery of His Cross. He drew from it many of the examples and most of the categories of His Gospel. He reinforced the essence of its law and restored many of its ideals.

But, above all, He fed His own soul with its contents, and in the great crises of His life sustained Himself upon it as upon the living and sovereign Word of God. These are the highest external proofs if indeed we can call them external-for the abiding validity of the Old Testament in the life and doctrine of Christ’s Church. What was indispensable to the Redeemer must always be indispensable to the redeemed. ^[13]

In the same vein, R. A. Finlayson, former Professor of Theology at Free Church College, no doubt summed up the attitude that all Christians should have toward Scripture when he wrote:

The Bible is for us the only sure and accessible repository of divine revelation and so of the knowledge of God that makes us wise unto salvation. Without it we would be in the position of the pagan world, left to grope after God if haply we might find him. . . .

And so we recognize and reverence the Bible as the Word of God written, and we bow before its authority as before the authority of its Lord. In so doing we think we are following the example of our Lord and Saviour who interpreted his mission, waged his conflicts, comforted his heart, and guided his steps, in dependence upon the written Word . . .

Bishop H. C. G. Moule, who was both a distinguished exegete and a humble saint, put in noble words the ground for our reliance upon the utter truthfulness of Scripture when he said: “Christ absolutely trusted the Bible, and, though there are in it things inexplicable and intricate that have puzzled me so much, I am going, not in a blind sense, but reverently to trust the Book because of Him.” ^[14]

As the NT scholar Frank Gaebelein (1899-1983) wrote: “the Christian who in his view of the Bible stands on any lower ground than that on which his Lord stood does so at his spiritual peril.” ^[15]

Pastoral Practices

• Jesus obviously knew the Scriptures very well. Even, “when He was twelve years old . . . everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers” including “the Teachers” “in the temple courts” (Luke 2:42-47). There is no hint that He supernaturally learned the Scriptures, other than being like any other born-again, Spirit-filled young man. If such study and knowledge were an endeavor of our Lord at such a young age, our children and especially those in the ministry should strive for the same.

B.3) NT Testimony

The Apostles, of course, experienced the same unique level of revelation as the Lord. Christ exclusively promised such men the supernatural abilities to produce Scripture when He told them: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26; cf. John 15:26-7; 16:12-15). This promise is best understood as being given only to the Apostles. ^[16] It is the revelation that such men received that makes all of Scripture “The revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1), not just the last book.

Paul describes the difference between the source of Scripture, and that of all other human communication when he describes his own ability to write Scripture: “I want you to know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:11-12). Likewise, he wrote the Thessalonians: “you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus . . . Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God” (1 Thess 4:2).

Paul describes the unique revelatory experience and authority of the Apostles when he writes the Corinthians:

We [Apostles ^[17]] . . . speak a message of [divine] wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we [Apostles] speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. [A]s it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— ¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us [Apostles] by His Spirit.

¹² We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit Who is from God, that we [Apostles] may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we [Apostles] speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. . . . ¹⁶ “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we [Apostles] have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:6-16)

The Apostle John likewise said: “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood” (1 John 4:6)

Only an arrogant, self-deluded, or intentionally deceitful person would make such claims today unless they were virtually repeating Scripture. And it is this very quality of Scripture that sets the word of God apart from the word of humans.

Like their Master, the Apostolic Church recognized the authority of the OT Scriptures as well. Early in the life of the Church, the Apostle Peter is recorded as saying:

Brothers, the [OT] Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. (Acts 1:16; cf. Acts 4:25; 13:47; 28:25-6).

Like the King, the need for Scripture to be fulfilled was a repeated statement for the Apostles (cf. Matt 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17; 3:3; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14, 35; 21:4; 24:15; 26:53-56; 27:9; John 10:34-5).

The early Church leader James used OT Scripture to convince the Jerusalem Council that Gentile believers belonged in the Church (cf. Acts 16:12-21), and the writer of Hebrews refers to the OT as “God’s word” as well (Heb 5:12).

The Apostle Paul also claimed that Scripture had divine authority. He called the OT Scriptures “the very word of God” (Rom 3:2), and referred to specific parts of it as, “holy, righteous, and good” and “spiritual” (Rom 7:12, 14). He tells the Corinthians, who were tempted to follow popular people (cf. 1:10-13; 3:1-4), worldly wisdom (cf. 1 Cor 1:18-24), and unauthenticated revelations (cf. 14:29), “learn from us the meaning of the saying, ‘Do not go beyond what is written’” (1 Cor 4:6). Remarkably, this was not simply something the Apostle wrote, but was a “saying,” a well-known tradition in the early Church, clearly illustrating the authority of Scripture to the first generation of Christians. ^[18]

Like the King, the Apostle authenticated the historical events in the OT when he wrote: “These things [recorded in the OT] happened to them [the Jews] as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10:11). The Apostle has no doubts that the events in Scripture occurred and that God intended their recording in Scripture to be a revelation to us.

Paul demonstrates his own belief that he is writing Scripture when he tells the Corinthians, “what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1 Cor 14:37). Likewise, Paul tells the Thessalonians, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thess 2:15; cf. 1 Cor 5:9; 2 Cor 2:9; Eph 3:2-6, 31). The knowledge that they were recording divine revelation from God is evident in the writings of the Apostles Peter and John as well (cf. 1 Pet 5:12; 1 John 1:4-5; Rev 1:11). ^[19]

C) The Divinity of Scripture

Obviously when we claim that Scripture is the word of God to humanity, we have come upon holy ground. There is no communication in all of human existence that possesses as much authority as Scripture. This is because Scripture represents God Himself. It is the divine, supernatural origin of Scripture that sets it apart from merely the writings of men, no matter how spiritual, enlightening, or encouraging they may be. No other words can be claimed to be the word of God, and if anything is mixed with Scripture it can no longer be called the word of God. For example, while a sermon may contain Scripture, and include helpful illustrations and explanations, it is no longer the word of God. Likewise, while we may add all kinds of things to H₂O, after doing so, it is no longer water, but something else. Such is the case with Scripture—only it is direct revelation from God.

Notice how the Apostle Paul describes the direct relationship between the Person of God and the Scripture written by the Apostle when he tells the Corinthians, “what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command” (1 Cor 14:37). While Scripture does not exercise its authority in a direct way as the King did when He lived on the Earth, Scripture is the most direct and authoritative source of His communication to us today.

Along these lines, the Apostle wrote the Thessalonians: “[Y]ou know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. . . . Therefore, he who rejects this instruction [that he had written in vs. 3-7] does not reject man but God” (1 Thess 4:1-2, 8). This equating of Scripture with the person of God Himself is the essence of the authority of Scripture.

Accordingly, the following thoughts from Reformed theologian J. I. Packer concerning divine revelation in general, certainly apply to Scripture:

God’s revelation comes to man, not as information without obligation, but as a mandatory rule of faith and conduct. Man’s life must be governed, not by private whims and fancies, nor by guesses as to divine things unrevealed, but by reverent belief of as much as God has told him, leading to conscientious compliance with as many imperatives as the revelation proves to contain (Dt. 29:29). . . .

When God sends men his word he also confronts them with himself. The Bible does not think of revelation as a mere broadcasting of information, divinely guaranteed, but as God’s persona coming to individuals to make himself known to them (cf. Gn. 35:7; Ex. 6:3; Nu. 12:6-8; Gal. 1: 1 5f. ) . . . When a man meets God’s word, however casual and accidental the meeting may seem to be, God meets that man, addressing the word to him personally and calling for a personal response to himself as its Author. ^[20]

As God’s word, Scripture represents God as no other word can. This is why if one misinterprets, ignores, or disobeys Scripture, they automatically misinterpret, ignore, and disobey God. Accordingly, while it is not necessarily always sin to disbelieve or disobey any other words in existence, whether written or verbal, it is always sin against the Creator to disobey Scripture properly interpreted and applied. ^[21]

To disobey, distort, dilute, degrade, alter, or misuse the words contained there is nothing less than an arrogant insult to the Author of those words, and apart from His forgiveness, is worthy of a sentence to the eternal torments of Hell. That is no doubt how God sees it, whether we do or not. Anything less than the highest honor and most perfect obedience to Scripture is simply sin against God. Accordingly, the King said, “There is a Judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke [and is recorded in Scripture] will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:48).

Trusting God is nothing less than trusting Scripture. More than that, loving God is nothing less than loving Scripture. Obviously, Scripture is not God, but is His representative. In other words, if God were the sun then Scripture would be the sunshine. Accordingly, Martin Luther (1483–1546) wrote: “His word is so much like himself, that the godhead is wholly in it, and he who has the word has the whole godhead.” ^[22] The third century Christian theologian Hippolytus (c. 160–236) reflected the conviction of the early Church when he wrote: “There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures, and from no other source.” ^[23]

Along the same lines, the influential Evangelical theologian Carl Henry (1913-2003) wrote:

W. C. G. Proctor does not put the matter too strongly when he writes, “It is through the Bible that Jesus Christ now exercises his divine authority, imparting authoritative truth, issuing authoritative commands, and imposing an authoritative norm by which all the arrangements or statements made by the church must be shaped and corrected.” ^[24]

While both the Bible and the Church have fully equated the authority of God with the authority of Scripture, such a perspective has been too strong for some. In the second century, the Montanists claimed that their extra-biblical prophecies were from God and therefore accused the Church of squelching the Spirit when it denied their claim. The early Christians universally excommunicated the Montanists as heretics. ^[25]

During the Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholics, in an effort to make their extra-biblical traditions equal in authority with Scripture, described the Reformers as worshipping a “paper pope.” ^[26] In the nineteenth century, Neoorthodox theologians, in their desire to claim the King as their sole and ultimate authority, accused proponents of Scripture’s ultimate authority of “bibliolatry.” More recently, even the highly regarded Baptist NT scholar James Dunn has claimed that when Evangelicals attribute to Scripture the authority which belongs only to God they are guilty of “bibliolatry.” ^[27]

Since the early twentieth century, charismaticism,^[28] like their Montanists predecessors, claim extra-biblical revelations from God, and accuse those who would doubt this as rejecting the “freshly spoken” words of God in favor of the old, supposedly inadequate written word of God. Even many Evangelicals outside of charismaticism have latched on to mega mysticism, ^[29] claiming we need more specific divine direction than what Scripture gives, and God is continually granting it through extra-biblical mental impressions.

All of these disparagements of the authority of Scripture will be addressed throughout Volume 2: The Revelation of God. Our point here is to simply affirm, against all of these positions that are currently or have been very popular in the Church, that Scripture is the direct and exclusively authoritative word of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Accordingly, Martin Luther wrote:

Outside His Word and without His Word we know of no Christ, much less of Christ’s teaching. For the Christ who pretends to bring His teaching without His [written] Word is the abominable devil out of hell, who uses Christ’s holy name and under it is peddling his infernal venom. ^[30]

The objection that only the living, risen, personal Jesus Christ can exercise such authority over our lives, and not a book made up of documents ranging from 2000 to 3500 years old, is understandable, but misplaced. The first question that could be asked is, “What would we know of the King and His life, deeds, and teaching without the NT?” Very, very little. Accordingly, NT scholar William Barclay (1907–1978) wrote:

Only in the New Testament have we any picture of Jesus, any account of his life and any record of his teaching. . . . It is perfectly true–as we have so often said–that Christianity is not founded on a printed book but on a living person. The fact remains that the only place in all the world where we get a first-hand account of that person and of his teaching is in the New Testament. ^[31]

Along these same lines, D. M. Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) addressed this issue when he wrote:

Another form which the modern attitude sometimes takes is the suggestion that those of us who are Conservative Evangelicals are “Bibliolators,” that is, we put the Scriptures in the place of the Lord. Their own authority, these critics tell us, is not the Scriptures, but the Lord Himself.

Now this sounds very impressive and very imposing at first, as if they were but stating that for which we ourselves are contending. It sounds as if it were a highly spiritual position until, again, you begin to examine it carefully.

The obvious questions to put to those who make such statements are these: “How do you know the Lord? What do you know about the Lord, apart from the Scriptures? Where do you find Him? How do you know that what you seem to have experienced concerning Him is not a figment of your own imagination, or not the product of some abnormal psychological state, or not the work perchance of some occult power or evil spirit?”

It sounds all very impressive and imposing when they say “I go directly to the Lord Himself.” But we must face the vital question concerning the basis of our knowledge of the Lord, our certainty with respect even to His authority, and how we are to come into practical possession of it. ^[32]

Do the Scriptures speak for our Lord? First of all, it can be noticed that the King Himself claimed that He was revealed in and through the Scriptures. After His resurrection, He gave two disciples what must have been the best expository sermon ever which Luke describes as follows: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). Likewise, He told the Pharisees: “If you believed Moses [the OT], you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But since you do not believe what he wrote [about Me in Scripture], how are you going to believe what I say [in person]?” (John 5:46-7). The King clearly implies here that there is no difference between the authority of what the OT said about Him, from that which He could say in person.

Accordingly, Dr. Packer answers the accusation of “bibliolatry” when he writes:

But it is objected, does not the Christian stand directly under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ . . . And if so, how can the Christian be said to be bound to the authority of the Bible? The answer is very simple. The antithesis is a false one.

Jesus Christ is Lord of the Scriptures in the same sense in which any absolute monarch is Lord of the laws and proclamations which he sees fit to issue for the government of his subjects. The ruler’s laws carry his personal authority, and the measure of one’s loyalty to him is the consistency of one’s observance of them. . . . So the way to bow to the authority of Jesus Christ is precisely by bowing to the authority of the inspired Scriptures. ^[33]

Pastoral Practices

• Obviously, the best way to promote, communicate, and experience the divine authority of Scripture is to study, believe, obey, and teach it to others. Such a commitment is exemplified in Ezra who, “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). When we do the same, the authority and divinity of Scripture will be manifested in the way it protects us from error, sets us free from the spiritual bondage of doctrinal deception, transforms our life perspective, enhances our morals, blesses our life, and changes and blesses the lives of others as well. There simply is nothing in life more important to do than what Ezra did.

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, what a great gift you have given us in the Scriptures. We are reminded of Psalm 32:2 which states, “Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.” We are indeed thankful for the gift of our forgiveness, but the psalmist equally recognizes the gift of truth, the most important of which are only found in Scripture. We need only imagine running a church, interpreting this world, and simply living our life to please you, without Scripture, to realize its tremendous value. Thank you for Your word contained in it, which fully represent You now, until we can meet and speak with you personally in Heaven.

Gauging Your Grasp

1) What conclusions about Scripture can we obtain from 2 Timothy 3:16.

2) What are biblical references that attest to the divine authority of Scripture?

3) In what ways did Christ subject Himself to the authority of Scripture?

4) What are the historical events from the OT that liberal critics doubt but Jesus affirmed?

5) Where did the Lord promise His Apostles supernatural abilities to produce Scripture?

6) In what ways is Scripture equated with the person of God Himself?

7) Why do we claim: “Trusting God is nothing less than trusting Scripture. More than that, loving God is nothing less than loving Scripture”? Do you agree or disagree?

8) What are the examples of those who have claimed divine authority outside of Scripture?

9) What is meant by the charge of “bibliolatry”? How do we answer it?

Publications & Particulars

1. Plato, Timaeus, 28, online at http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html. ↑

2. We have defined divine revelation elsewhere as, God’s self-initiated and divinely authenticated disclosure of His ways, works, or will to His Creation for His glory. For further discussion see sections 2.1.A. ↑

3. Regarding the theory of “inspiration” see chapter 8.3 ↑

4. George W. Knight III, The Pastoral Epistles (NIGTC) (Eerdmans, 1992), 445. ↑

5. Against the charismatic and mega mystical expectations of personalized, individual revelations, we argue that God desires to speak through Scripture to communities rather than through individuals to individuals. See section 7.3.C-D ↑

6. Augustine, quoted by Woodrow Kroll, Back to the Bible: Turning Your Life Around with God’s Word (Multnomah, 2000), 13. ↑

7. Regarding the importance of recording revelation see section 7.3.C. ↑

8. Some may balk at our assumption here that we know for certain what the characters in Scripture said, including Christ, and that our argument is circular because we are defending the authenticity of Scripture with Scripture. This is a valid point, but our answer will be taken up in later chapters where we address the issue of canonicity. There it will become clear, that for at least the majority of NT and OT documents, it is very reasonable to conclude their authenticity and very unreasonable to question it. For further discussion see Volume 3. ↑

9. For further discussion on the unbiblical nature of modern day “Prophets” and the gift of prophecy see applicable chapters of Book 9: God’s Prophets ↑

10. John Frame, “Scripture Speaks for Itself” in God’s Inerrant Word, John Warwick Montgomery ed. (Bethany Fellowship, 1974), 188. ↑

11. The Greek here is kētos of which the literal rendering is as in the NIV: “huge fish.” The Hebrew word used in Jonah 1:17 (dāg) is just as general, simply meaning a fish. It is probably unwise to assume it was specifically a whale, an idea that has no doubt been encouraged by the KJV’s translation of kētos in Matt 12:40. ↑

12. James Barr, Fundamentalism, (Westminster Press, 1978), 313 ↑

13. G. A. Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament (London, 1901), 11. ↑

14. R. A. Finlayson, “Contemporary Ideas Of Inspiration” in Henry, Revelation and the Bible, 232. ↑

15. Frank E. Gaebelein, “The Unity of the Bible,” in Revelation and the Bible, ed. Carl F. H. Henry (Baker, 1967), p. 398. ↑

16. For arguments that these promises were exclusively given to the Apostles see chapter 14.13. ↑

17. For further discussion of our claim that Paul is making unique claims regarding the revelatory experiences and authority of Apostles of Jesus Christ in 1 Cor 2:6-16 see section 14.13.E. ↑

18. There would seem to be more debate regarding the meaning of this phrase “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Cor 4:6) than is necessary. For example, the respected NT scholar James Moffatt wrote that the meaning of the Greek text here, “lies beyond recovery” and simply omitted them from his translation (Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians [Eerdmans, 1987], 167). Likewise, Gordon Fee comments regarding its correct interpretation, “[On] this matter we must finally plead ignorance. Here is a case where the Apostle and his readers were on a wavelength that will probably be forever beyond our ability to pick up.” (169)

    Leon Morris, however, would seem to clear things up when he notes that the Apostle’s phrase “What is written employs the formula Paul generally uses when quoting holy Scripture.” (1 Corinthians [Eerdmans, 1985], 75). Likewise, Dr. Fee writes: “Taking their clue from the verb gegraptai, which refers throughout Paul’s letters to the citing of scripture, most interpreters think that the saying means something like “’live according to scripture’ (RSV)” (168). Anthony Thiselton notes that this is the general interpretation of the Church Fathers and such NT scholars as Calvin, Bengel, Schlatter, Bruce, and Barrett, although these differ slightly on what Scripture is being referred to (i.e. OT or 1 Corinthians itself) (The First Epistle to the Corinthians [Eerdmans, 2000], 352-56). ↑

19. For further discussion on the writing of Scripture see Volume 3. ↑

20. J. I. Packer, “Revelation,” New Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition, J. I. Packer, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, D. J. Wiseman, eds., (Inter-Varsity, 1996), 1014. ↑

21. We must, of course, take into consideration the fact that not all Scripture is equally applicable to the Christian, including many OT commands (cf. section 7.10.E). ↑

22. Martin Luther in Luther’s Works, Theodore E. Bachman, ed. (Concordia, 1960), 52:46. ↑

23. Hippolytus, Against Noetus, 9, online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

24. Carl F. H. Henry, “The Authority and Inspiration of the Bible,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 1, (Zondervan, 1979), 10-11. ↑

25. For further discussion of the Montanists, and specifically how they relate to modern charismaticism see section 9.13.D; 10.14.A.; 10.16.G. ↑

26. For further discussion regarding traditionalism in Roman Catholicism see chapters 13.6-8. ↑

27. Documented by Iain Murray, Evangelicalism Divided, (Banner of Truth Trust, 2000, 2001), 182. Dr. Dunn is probably best known as the author of the WBC on Romans ↑

28. For a description of charismaticism see endnotes in chapter 7.1. ↑

29. Mega mysticism is the claim of frequent, extra-biblical, and confidently recognized divine revelation from God for personal guidance. It is believed that God desires to directly lead and guide us in amoral, extrabiblical matters on a rather continual basis through divinely inspired impressions, impulses, and desires derived apart from any other means such as Scripture, our New Nature, or reason. For further discussion see Book 14. ↑

30. Quoted by Francis Pieper in Christian Dogmatics, vol. 1 (Concordia, 1950), 211. ↑

31. William Barclay, Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM (Liguori Publications, 1996), 2 Tim 3:15-17. ↑

32. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Authority, (InterVarsity, 1958), 36. ↑

33. J. I. Packer, God Speaks to Man: Revelation and the Bible (Westminster Press, 1965), 72-3. ↑