The Authority of
Scripture
by Jay
Rogers
[*Author's note: I have made use
of the writings of Josh McDowell whose material has been
edited and paraphrased in the sections following:
"Principles for Discovering
Canonicity."]
The Book That
Changed History
It is
subversive literature. It has led to the overthrow of
governments, sparked mass migrations across oceans, and
more than once changed the course of
history.
Governments -- from the
16th-century English monarchy to the communist Soviet
Union -- have gone to great lengths to restrict or even
prevent its printing and distribution. Yet it has
outlasted its enemies. It is the most popular book ever
printed. No other has been translated into so many
languages and few have had such impact on the
development of those
languages.
It is,
of course, the Bible, portions of which have been
translated into over 2,000 of the 5,000 languages of the
world. This includes 318 languages into which the entire
Bible has been translated. No other book even comes
close to these numbers.
The
Bible, like no other book in history, has withstood
vicious attacks from its enemies. Many have tried to ban
it, burn it and outlaw it ... from the days of the Roman
emperors to the present-day tyrant-dominated
nations.
In 303
A.D., the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to
destroy Christians and their sacred book. An imperial
letter was sent everywhere, ordering the razing of the
churches to the ground and the destruction by fire of
the Scriptures, and proclaiming that those who held high
positions would lose all civil rights, while those in
households, if they persisted in their profession of
Christianity, would be deprived of their liberty. The
historic irony of this edict to destroy the Bible is
that Constantine, the emperor following Diocletian, 25
years later commissioned Eusebius to prepare 50 copies
of the Scriptures at the expense of the
government.
Voltaire, the noted French
infidel who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years
from his time Christianity would be swept from existence
and passed into history. But what has happened? Voltaire
has passed into history, while the circulation of the
Bible continues to increase in almost all parts of the
world, carrying blessing wherever it goes. We might as
well try to stop the sun on its burning course, as to
attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible. Concerning
the boast of Voltaire on the extinction of Christianity
and the Bible in 100 years, only 50 years after his
death the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house
to produce stacks of Bibles -- another irony of
history!
Suppression of the Word of God
has been an ongoing battle waged by the vain
philosophies of the world and the devil. It was once
illegal to own a Bible in the former Soviet Union and
communist China. Suppression by the Bible was even
advocated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible was on
the Vatican's "list of forbidden books" until the 20th
century.
This
only testifies to the indestructibility of this greatest
book. If every Bible in the world was destroyed, the
entire book could be restored by piecing together
quotations from books on the shelves of public
libraries. This example is given to show how often the
Bible has been cited in the works of the world's
literature.
Historian Philip Schaff describes
the uniqueness of the Bible and its influence: "This
Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered
more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and
Napoleon: without science and learning. He shed more
light on things human and divine than all scholars and
philosophers combined: without the eloquence of schools.
He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before
or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the
reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line.
He set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for
more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes,
works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of
great men of ancient and modern
times."
Bernard
Ramm, a Christian apologist, elaborates: "There are
complexities of bibliographical studies [on the Bible]
that are unparalleled in any other science or department
of human knowledge. From the Apostolic Fathers dating
from 95 A.D. to the modern times is one great literary
river inspired by the Bible -- Bible dictionaries, Bible
encyclopedias, Bible lexicons, Bible atlases, and Bible
geographies. These may be taken as a starter. Then at
random, we may mention the vast bibliographies around
theology, religious education, hymnology, missions, the
biblical languages, church history, religious biography,
devotional works, commentaries, philosophies of
religion, evidences, apologetics, and on and on. There
seems to be an endless
number."
Kenneth
Scott Latourette, in his History of Christianity,
concludes: "It is evidence of His importance, of the
effect that He has had upon history and presumably, of
the baffling mystery of His being that no other life
ever lived on this planet has evoked so huge a volume of
literature among so many people and languages, and that,
far from ebbing, the flood continues to
mount."
The Book That Has
Survived Its
Enemies
The
Bible is unique in its survival. This does not prove
that the Bible is true, but it does prove that it stands
alone among books. A student seeking truth ought to
consider a book that has these
qualifications.
The
interest of individuals in the Bible has often changed
the course of history. Cultural historian David Hall of
Harvard University argues that "the history of
spirituality in Europe and America coincides closely
with the printing of the Bible and its
dissemination."
The
translation of the Bible by a 14th century monk, John
Wycliffe, did much to reform the political structure of
England. He laid the foundation of reform of not only
the Church, but also the State. Wycliffe resolved to
introduce the common people to the New Testament by
translating it into the vernacular of the Saxon
peasants.
Before
the 15th century, every Englishman who could read was
able to question the teachings of the Catholic Church
with regard to both civil and ecclesiastical government.
Because of the perceived threat of Wycliffe's followers,
the Lollards, who distributed and taught from English
New Testaments, the Roman Catholic Church banned
translation of the Bible in 1408. The only copies that
continued to exist in English were hand copies of the
Wycliffe originals.
In the
1440s, Johannes Gutenburg began experimenting with new,
mysterious ways of approaching printing. Skilled in
engraving and metal working, Gutenburg invented movable
typeset and printed 200 copies of the Latin Bible. By
the time Martin Luther was born in 1483, Germany had
several large printing presses capable of printing
hundreds of books at a time. The Protestant Reformation
was fueled by the translation of the entire Bible in the
German language by Martin Luther. Within a hundred years
after the invention of printing press, the Bible began
to be translated and printed in every major language of
the world.
In 1521,
William Tyndale, an Oxford scholar, began to translate
the Bible into English. He did so because he was shocked
to find that the people of England were so scripturally
illiterate. Tyndale translated the entire Bible into
English, printed copies of his version at Antwerp, and
illegally smuggled the Bibles into England. In 1535, he
was betrayed by a fellow Englishman and was burnt at the
stake. His last words, reportedly, were "Lord, open the
King of England's eyes!" Our freedom to own a Bible was
won by the blood of the
martyrs.
The
basis of the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther's
teaching on the universal priesthood of the believer:
Every Christian is a priest before God and is capable of
interpreting the Bible for himself with the aid of the
Holy Spirit. In turn, every Christian wanted to own a
Bible and felt responsible to learn to read in order to
more effectively commune with God. The result of this
teaching brought what some scholars believe to be the
highest literacy rate in the history of the world.
Consider that in 1525 in northern Germany, only five
percent of the population was literate. Yet 150 years
later in New England, 95 percent was literate. This
great advance was the result of the Protestant
Reformation which began to dominate the religious life
of northern Europe.
The
Puritans, although never a large group, have done more
to influence the shape of civil government in the world
than any other group of people in modern history. The
Puritans were the architects of a new form of government
-- Christian self-government with union -- which later
became the basis for America's constitutional form of
government. This was the end result of the Puritan's
belief that the Bible holds principles that are
applicable to every area of human
life.
Today,
there is a resurgence of interest in the Bible and
reading the Scriptures in America. A 1990 Gallup poll
found that 42 percent of Americans view the Bible as
God's Word, up from 38 percent in 1978. Asked if they
read the Bible daily, 17 percent of the people in the
same survey said they did, versus 12 percent in 1978. In
1990, 21 percent of those polled said they belonged to a
Bible study group, compared with 19 percent in 1978.
Although not gigantic shifts, these results indicate
that interest in the Bible in America is on the
upswing.
The
collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union has led to an unprecedented hunger for the Bible.
In China, the lifting of restrictions by the government
have led to the printing of millions of Bibles in
Chinese. Bible publishers expect that Cuba will be one
of the next strong fields of interest as that nation
redefines its freedoms.
The Authority of the
Word of God
"In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and
the Word was God ... And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us" (John
1:1,14).
The name
given to Jesus is the Word. The authority of the Word of
God comes from the fact that it is the testimony Jesus
Christ has given of himself: "If I bear witness of
Myself, My witness is true ... I am one who bears
witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me." (John
6:14,18).
The
authority of the Word of God does not come from the
study of the historical accuracy of the Bible; the study
of archaeology to prove the validity of the Bible; nor
the study of science to prove the account of creation.
Instead we believe the authority of the Word because it
was given by Jesus Christ. This is called
"presuppositionalism."
Presuppositionalism, a
definition: The authority of the Word of God is
presupposed (believed ahead of time). If you have been
born-again, you are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ
and the authority of the Word. The Bible is the supreme
source of authority for your life. The authority of the
Word of God does not come from us being able to prove
that it is true. The authority of the Word of God comes
from the fact that it is God's Word. God spoke it; it is
truth.
Presuppositionalism is the
opposite of evidentialism, the idea that we must seek to
prove that the Bible is true by offering evidence.
Evidentialism is not wrong, for it is important to
defend what we believe. However, it is impossible to
"prove" Scripture using evidence from philosophy,
history, archaeology, science, and other rational
proofs. To do so would be to claim that these proofs had
the infallible authority of
Scripture.
The Word
of God preached is all the evidence of the truth man
needs in order to be saved. We do not need to "prove"
the Gospel in order for it to be effective. The Word of
God preached is a living and powerful sword which
pierces the heart of man. In fact, the Word preached is
the only weapon of our
warfare.
Presuppositionalism does not deny
evidentialism completely. Paul preached a
presuppositional sermon in Athens (Acts 17:23-31), but
also appealed to evidences that God exists from Greek
philosophy. The Gospel message for all time is this: "In
the past you were ignorant, now you are hearing the
Gospel and are responsible to repent and
believe!"
There is
already much evidence of the truth in natural revelation
(Rom. 1:20). But the truth preached, not the evidence
that the truth is true, is the only effective message of
salvation. "Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Rom.
3:4).
Two Question
Test
The
following is a two question self-test for deciding
whether you are a presuppositionalist or an
evidentialist.
1. Where
is your starting point for deciding what is true?
A. The
evidence that supports the truth of the Word of God.
B. The Word of
God alone.
2. What
does man need in order to be saved?
A. Man needs
more evidence so that he can decide what is true -- Man
can only accept salvation once he understands the
truth.
B. Man needs
to repent and believe the gospel -- God sets man free by
giving him knowledge of the
truth.
Truth is
revealed not by evidence, but by the Word preached.
Man's problem is not that he lacks understanding and
needs more information. His problem is that he is a
sinner and needs repentance.
The Authority of the
Word of God
Authority of the Bible is implied
by the fact that we call it: "God's Word." Inspiration
is the means by which the Bible received its authority.
Canonization is the process by which the books of the
Bible received their final
acceptance.
The
people of God have played a crucial role in the process
of canonization through the centuries. In order to
fulfill this role they had to look for certain earmarks
of divine authority. How would one recognize an inspired
book if he saw it? What are the characteristics which
distinguish a divine declaration from a purely human
one? Several criteria were involved in this recognition
process.
The Principles for
Discovering
Canonicity*
False
books and false writings were not scarce. Their
ever-present threat made it necessary for the people of
God to carefully review their sacred collection. Even
books accepted by other believers or in earlier days
were subsequently brought into question by the church.
Operating in the whole process
were some five basic criteria:
1. Is
the book authoritative?
Does it
claim to be of God?
2. Is
the book prophetic?
Was it
written by a prophet of
God?
3. Is
the book authentic?
Does it
tell the truth about God, man, etc.?
4. Is
the book dynamic?
Does it
possess life transforming power?
5. Is
the book accepted as being inspired of
God?
Is this
book received or accepted by the people for whom it was
originally written?
The Authority of a
Book
"All
Scripture is God-breathed 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 Timothy
3:16).
"For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but
men spoke from God as they were carried along by the
Holy Spirit" (2 Peter
1:20,21).
"Do your
best to present yourself to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the Word of God" (2 Timothy
2:15).
Each
book in the Bible bears the claim of divine authority.
Often the explicit "thus says the Lord" is present.
Sometimes the tone and exhortations reveal its divine
origin. Always there is a divine mandate. In didactic
(teaching) literature, there are commandments for
believers to obey the "Word of the
Lord."
In the
historical books, the exhortations are implied. The
authoritative "Word of the Lord" is about what God has
done in the history of His people. If a book lacked the
authority of God, it was not considered canonical and
was rejected from the
canon.
The
books of the prophets were easily recognized by this
principle of authority. The repeated, "And the Lord said
unto me," or "The word of the Lord came to me," is
abundant evidence of their claim to divine authority.
Some
books lacked the claim to be divine and were thereby
rejected as noncanonical. Perhaps this was the case with
the book of Jasher and the Book of the Wars of the Lord.
Other books, such as Esther, were questioned and
challenged as to their divine authority but finally
accepted into the canon.
Not
until it was obvious to all that the protection and
therefore the pronouncements of God on His people were
unquestionably present in Esther was this book accorded
a permanent place in the Jewish canon. Indeed, the very
fact some canonical books were called into question
provides assurance that the believers were
discriminating. Unless they were convinced of the divine
authority of the book it was
rejected.
The Prophetic
Authorship of a
Book
Inspired
books come only through men moved by the Holy Spirit and
known as prophets (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Word of God is
given to His people only through His prophets. Every
biblical author had a prophetic gift or function, even
if he was not a prophet by occupation (Hebrews
1:1).
Paul
argued in Galatians that his book should be accepted
because he was an apostle, "not from men nor through
man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father"
(Galatians 1:1). His book was to be accepted because it
was apostolic -- it was from a God-appointed spokesman
or prophet. Books were to be rejected if they did not
come from prophets of God, as is evident from Paul's
warnings not to accept a book from someone falsely
claiming to be an apostle (2 Thessalonians 2:2) and from
the warning in 2 Corinthians about false prophets
(11:13).
John's
warnings about false messiahs and trying the spirits
would fall into the same category (1 John 2:18-19; and
4:1-3). It was because of this prophetic principle that
2 Peter was disputed by some in the early church. Until
the Church Fathers were convinced that it was not a
forgery, but that it really came from the Apostle Peter
as it claimed (1:1), it was not accorded a permanent
place in the Christian
canon.
The Authenticity of
a Book
Another
hallmark of inspiration is authenticity. Any book with
factual or doctrinal errors (judged by previous
revelations) could not be inspired of God. God cannot
lie; His word must be true and
consistent.
In view
of this principle, the Bereans accepted Paul's teachings
and searched the Scriptures to see whether or not what
Paul taught them was really in accord with God's
revelation in the Old Testament (Acts 17:11). Simple
agreement with previous revelation would not therefore
make a teaching inspired. But contradiction of a
previous revelation would clearly indicate that a
teaching was not
inspired.
Much of
the Apocrypha was rejected because of the principle of
authenticity. Their historical errors and theological
heresies made it impossible to accept them as from God
despite their authoritative format. They could not be
from God and contain error at the same
time.
Some
canonical books were questioned on the basis of this
same principle. Could the letter of James be inspired if
it contradicted Paul's teaching on justification by
faith and not by works? Until their essential
compatibility was seen, James was questioned by some.
Others questioned Jude because of its citation of
inauthentic books, the Pseudepigrapha (Jude 9, 14). Once
it was understood that Jude's quotations granted no more
authority to those books than Paul's quotes from the
non-Christian poets (see also Acts 17: 28 and Titus
1:12), then there remained no reason to reject Jude.
The Dynamic Nature
of a Book
A fourth
test for canonicity, at times less explicit than some of
the others, was the life-transforming ability of the
book. "The word of God is living and active" (Hebrews
4:12). As a result it can be used "for teaching, for
correction, and for training in righteousness" (2
Timothy 3:16-17).
The
Bible has the ability to convert the unbeliever and to
build up the believer in the faith. Untold thousands
have experienced this power. Drug addicts have been
cured by it; derelicts have been transformed; hate has
been turned to love by reading it. Believers grow by
studying it (1 Peter 2:2). The sorrowing are comforted,
the sinners are rebuked, and the negligent are exhorted
by the Scriptures. God's Word possesses the dynamic,
transforming power of God. God vindicates the Bible's
authority by its evangelistic and edifying
powers.
The
apostle Paul revealed that the dynamic ability of
inspired writings was involved in the acceptance of all
Scripture as 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 indicates. Paul said to
Timothy: "The holy scriptures ... are able to make you
wise unto salvation" (v. 15).
The
Bible indicates that indicates that the Word of God
preached is the means of grace God has provided to draw
sinners to salvation (Romans 10:14). The Word of God is
also powerful in the life of the
believer.
1.
Nourishment -- Craving the milk of the word is a sign
that you have been born-again.
"For you
have been born-again, not of perishable seed, but of
imperishable, through the living and enduring word of
God. For all men are like grass, and all their glory is
like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the
flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.
And this is the word that was preached to you.
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like new
born babes, crave pure spiritual milk, so that you may
grow up in you salvation, now that you have tasted that
the Lord is good" (1 Peter 1:
23-2:3).
"It is
written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that comes from the mouth of God ... It is written
again: You shall not tempt the Lord your God ... Get
away from me, Satan! For it is written: You shall
worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve"
(Matthew 4:4,7,10).
"I have
not departed from the commands of His lips; I have
treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily
bread" (Job 23:12).
"When
your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my
heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God
Almighty" (Jeremiah
15:16).
"We have
much to say about this, but it is hard to explain
because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by now
you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you
the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You
need milk, not meat! Anyone who lives on milk, being
still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching
about righteousness. But meat is for the mature, who by
constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good
from evil" (Hebrews
5:11-13).
2.
Cleansing -- Reading the Word of God is one of the means
of grace God has given us for our sanctification -- the
cleansing of the heart and mind from
sin.
"Christ
loved the church and gave himself for her to make her
holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through
the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant
church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,
but holy and blameless" (Ephesians
5:26,27).
"Do not
merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do
what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does
not do what it says is like a man who looks at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like"
(James 1:22-25).
"Let us
draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from
a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with
pure water" (Hebrews
10:22).
3.
Devotions -- There is a distinction to be made between
devotions and devotion. Devotions are a time set aside
for the reading of the Word. Devotion is to God, and is
the highest reason for reading Scripture in our daily
walk with God.
"Blessed
is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat
of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night" (Psalm
1:1-3).
"My eyes
stay open through the watches of the night, that I may
meditate on your promises" (Psalm
119:148).
"I have
posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will
never be silent day or night" (Isaiah
62:6).
"I will
bring him near and he will come close to me, for who is
he who will devote himself to be close to me?" (Jeremiah
30:21).
"Could
you men not watch with me for one hour?" (Matthew
26:40).
4.
Spiritual Warfare -- The Christian life is likened to a
spiritual warfare. The power of the Word is likened to a
living blade by which we may win the
battle.
"For the
word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul
and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts
and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews
4:12,13).
"The
weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world
... He has made us competent as ministers of a new
covenant -- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the
letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians
10:4-6, 3:6).
"Take
the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God"
(Ephesians 6:10-17).
The Acceptance of a
Book
The
final trademark of an authoritative writing is its
recognition by the people of God to whom it was
initially given. God's Word given through His prophet
and with His truth must be recognized by His people.
Later generations of believers sought to verify this
fact. For if the book was received, collected, and used
as God's work by those to whom it was originally given,
then its canonicity was established.
Communication and transportation
was difficult in ancient times. It sometimes took much
time and effort on the part of the Church Fathers to
determine acceptance of a book. For this reason the full
and final recognition by the whole Church of the 66
books of the canon took many, many
years.
The
books of Moses were immediately accepted by the people
of God. They were collected, quoted, preserved, and
transferred to future generations. Paul's epistles were
immediately received by the churches to whom they were
addressed (1 Thess. 2:13) and by other apostles (2 Peter
3:16). Some writings were immediately rejected by the
people of God as lacking divine authority (2 Thess.
2:2). False prophets (Matt. 7:21-23) and lying spirits
were to be tested and rejected (1 John 4:1-3), as
indicated in many instances within the Bible itself
(Jer. 5:2; 14:14).
Other
messages and books were rejected because they held out
false hope (1 Kings 22:6-8) or rang a false alarm (2
Thess 2:2). Thus, they were not conducive to building up
the believer in the truth of Christ. Jesus said, "You
will know the truth, and the truth will make you free"
(John 8:32). False teaching never liberates; only the
truth has emancipating
power.
Some
biblical books, such as Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes,
were questioned because they were thought by some to
lack this dynamic edifying power. Once they were
convinced that the Song was not sensual but deeply
spiritual and that Ecclesiastes was not skeptical and
pessimistic but positive and edifying (e.g., 12:9-10),
then there remained little doubt as to their canonicity.
This
principle of acceptance led some to question for a time
certain biblical books such as 2 and 3 John. Their
private nature and limited circulation being what it
was, it is understandable that there would be some
reluctance to accept them until they were assured that
the books were received by the first-century people of
God as from the apostle
John.
It is
almost needless to add that not everyone gave even
initial recognition to a prophet's message. God
vindicated His prophets against those who rejected them
(e.g., 1 Kings 22:1-38) and, when challenged, He
designated who His people were. When the authority of
Moses was challenged by Korah and others, the earth
opened and swallowed them alive (Numbers 16). The role
of the people of God was decisive in the recognition of
the Word of God. God determined the authority of the
books of the canon, but the people of God were called
upon to discover which books were authoritative and
which were not. To assist them in this discovery were
these five tests of
canonicity.
The Procedure for
Discovering
Canonicity
We
should not imagine a committee of Church Fathers with a
large pile of books and these five guiding principles
before them when we speak of the process of
canonization. The process was far more natural and
dynamic. Some principles are only implicit in the
process.
Although
all five characteristics are present in each inspired
writing, not all of the rules of recognition are
apparent in the decision on each canonical book. It was
not always immediately obvious to the early people of
God that some historical books were "dynamic" or
"authoritative." More obvious to them was the fact
certain books were "prophetic" and "accepted."
One can
easily see how the implied "thus says the Lord" played a
most significant role in the discovery of the canonical
books which reveal God's overall redemptive plan.
Nevertheless, the reverse is sometimes true; namely, the
power and authority of the book are more apparent than
its authorship (e.g., Hebrews). In any event, all five
characteristics were involved in discovering each
canonical book, although some were used only
implicitly.
Some
principles operate negatively in the process. Some of
the rules for recognition operate more negatively than
others. For instance, the principles of authenticity
would more readily eliminate noncanonical books than
indicate which books are canonical. There are no false
teachings which are canonical, but there are many true
writings which are not inspired. Likewise, many books
which edify or have a dynamic are not canonic, even
though no canonical book is without significance in the
saving plan of God.
Similarly, a book may claim to be
authoritative without being inspired, as may of the
apocryphal writings indicate, but no book can be
canonical unless it is really authoritative. In other
words, if the book lacks authority it cannot be from
God. But the simple fact that a book claims authority
does not make it inspired. The principle acceptance has
a primarily negative function. Even the fact that a book
is received by some of the people of God is not a proof
of inspiration.
In later
generations some Christians, not thoroughly informed
about the acceptance or rejection by the people of God
to whom it was originally addressed, gave local and
temporal recognition to books which are not canonical
(e.g., some apocryphal books).
Simply
because a book was received somewhere by some believers
is far from proof of its inspiration. The initial
reception by the people of God who were in the best
position to test the prophetic authority of the book is
crucial. It took some time for all segments of
subsequent generation to be fully informed about the
original circumstances. Thus, their acceptance is
important but supportive in
nature.
The most
essential principle supersedes all others. Beneath the
whole process of recognition lay one fundamental
principle -- the prophetic nature of the book. If a book
were written by an accredited prophet of God, claiming
to give an authoritative pronouncement from God, then
there was no need to ask the other questions. Of course
the people of God recognized the book as powerful and
true when it was given to them by a prophet of
God.
When
there were no directly available confirmations of the
prophet's call (as there often were, cf. Exodus 4:1-9),
then the authenticity, dynamic ability, and reception of
a book by the original believing community would be
essential to its later recognition. On the other hand,
simply establishing the book as prophetic was sufficient
in itself to confirm the canonicity of the
book.
The
question as to whether inauthenticity would disconfirm a
prophetic book is purely hypothetical. No book given by
God can by false. If a book claiming to be prophetic
seems to have indisputable falsehood, then the prophetic
credentials must be re-examined. God cannot lie. In this
way the other four principles serve as a check on the
prophetic character of the books of the
canon.
The Bible Is
Inspired of God
Through
the centuries Christians have been called upon to give a
reason or defense for their faith (1 Peter 3:15). Since
the Scriptures lay at the very foundation of their faith
in Christ, it has been necessary for Christian
apologists to provide evidence for the inspiration of
the Bible.
It is
one thing to claim divine inspiration for the Bible and
quite another to provide evidence to confirm that claim.
Before examining the supporting evidence for the
inspiration of Scripture, let us summarize precisely
what it is that inspiration
claims.
The
inspiration of the Bible is not to be confused with a
poetic inspiration. Inspiration as applied to the Bible
refers to the God-given authority of its teachings for
the thought and life of the
believer.
Biblical Description
of Inspiration
The word
inspiration means God-breathed, and it refers to the
process by which the Scriptures or writings were
invested with divine authority for doctrine and practice
(2 Timothy 3:16,17). It is the writings which are said
to be inspired. The writers, however, were moved by the
Holy Spirit to record their messages. Hence, when viewed
as a total process, inspiration is what occurs when
writers moved by the Holy Spirit record God-breathed
writings. Three elements are contained in this total
process of inspiration: the divine causality, the
prophetic agency, and the resultant written
authority.
The Three Elements
in Inspiration
The
first element in inspiration is God's causality. God is
the Prime Mover by whose promptings the prophets were
led to write. The ultimate origin of inspired writings
is the desire of God to communicate with man. The second
factor is the prophetic agency. The Word of God comes
through men of God. God uses the instrument of human
personality to convey His message. Finally, the written
prophetic utterance is invested with divine authority.
The prophet's words are God's
Word.
The Characteristics
of an Inspired
Writing
The
first characteristic of inspiration is implied in the
fact that it is an inspired writing; that is, it is
verbal. The very words of the prophets were God-given,
not by dictation but by the Spirit-directed employment
of the prophet's own vocabulary and style. Inspiration
also claims to be plenary (full). No part of Scripture
is without divine inspiration. Paul wrote, "All
scripture is inspired by God."
In
addition, inspiration implies the inerrancy of the
teaching of the original documents (called autographs).
Whatever God utters is true and without error, and the
Bible is said to be an utterance of God. Finally,
inspiration results in the divine authority of the
Scriptures. The teaching of Scripture is binding on the
believer for faith and
practice.
Inspiration is not something
merely attributed to the Bible by Christians; it is
something the Bible claims for itself. There are
literally hundreds of references within the Bible about
its divine origin.
The Inspiration of
the Old
Testament
The Old
Testament claims to be a prophetic writing. The familiar
"thus says the Lord" fills its pages. False prophets and
their works were excluded from the house of the Lord.
Those prophecies which proved to be from God were
preserved in a sacred place. This growing collection of
sacred writings was recognized and even quoted by later
prophets as the Word of
God.
Jesus
and the New Testament writers held these writings in the
same high esteem; they claimed them to be the
unbreakable, authoritative, and inspired Word of God. By
numerous references to the Old Testament as a whole, to
its basic sections, and to almost every Old Testament
book, the New Testament writers overwhelmingly attested
to the claim of divine inspiration for the Old
Testament.
The Inspiration of
the New
Testament
Matthew
16:13-19 establishes the authority invested in His
apostles who were the authors of the Gospels and the
rest of the New Testament. We have the testimony of
Christ himself that the Apostles were given the "keys to
the kingdom." These were men who had the authority to
compile the Scripture of the New
Covenant.
The New
Testament was written by the eyewitnesses of Jesus'
ministry -- by His disciples, Peter, John and Matthew --
and by apostles that later arose in the first century
Church -- Paul, Luke, Mark, James and Jude.
Eusebius, the 4th century
historian, drawing information from Papias, who was the
Apostle John's student, tells us that the Gospel of Mark
was actually Peter's Gospel of Jesus Christ as told to
his student Mark: "The Elder (John) used to say this
also: 'Mark, having been the interpreter of Peter, wrote
down everything that he mentioned, whether sayings or
doings of Christ, not, however, in order. For he was
neither a hearer nor a companion of the Lord; but
afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who adapted
his teachings as necessity required ... So then Mark
made no mistake, writing down in this way some things as
he (Peter) mentioned them; for he paid attention to this
one thing, not to omit anything that he had heard, not
to include any false statement among
them."
The
apostolic writings were boldly described in the same
authoritative terms which denoted the Old Testament as
the Word of God. They were called "scripture,"
"prophecy," etc. Every book in the New Testament
contains some claim to divine authority. The New
Testament church read, circulated, collected, and quoted
the New Testament books right along with the inspired
Scriptures of the Old
Testament.
The
contemporaries and immediate successors of the apostolic
age recognized the divine origin of the New Testament
writings along with the Old. With only heretical
exceptions, all of the great Fathers of the Christian
church from the earliest times held to the divine
inspiration of the New Testament. In brief, there is
continuous claim for the inspiration of both Old and New
Testaments from the time of their composition to the
present. In modern times this claim has been seriously
challenged by many from inside and outside Christendom.
This challenge calls for substantiation of the claim for
inspiration of the
Bible.
Sola Scriptura: The
Authority of Scripture
"Alone"
It is
the authority of Scripture alone, known as the doctrine
of sola scriptura, that tells us who God is, and what is
the true path to salvation. In addition, the Bible is
central to all other knowledge. The Word of God gives
all other disciplines their truth and credibility, not
vice versa.
"When
Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, 'Who do men say that the
Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the
Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah,
or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do
you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus said to
him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and
blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is
in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of
Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth
shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth shall have been loosed in heaven'" (Matthew
16:13-19).
In this
passage, Peter confesses plainly and clearly that Jesus
was the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the
living God. Jesus declares Peter to be blessed. He adds
that he had named him Peter (in the Greek: Petros). The
word translated "rock" (petra) in this passage is
similar. By this Jesus Christ indicates that someone who
truly believes that He is the Messiah and God is solid
and cannot be swayed in his obedience to the Lord's
commandments or doctrines.
The
Roman Catholic Church has interpreted this verse to mean
that Peter is the Rock, and have derived their doctrine
of infallibility of the pope from this scripture. Yet it
is clear from the Greek grammatical structure of the
passage that this in "this rock" refers to the prior
sentence: "flesh and blood did not reveal this to you."
Although it is clear that Jesus was using a play on
words to drive home His point, it is also clear that
"this rock," petra, is not Peter per se, but namely the
revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus
declares the authority He would invest in Peter and all
His disciples who make up the Church. His disciples were
liable to mistakes and sins in their own conduct, but
they were kept from error in stating the nature of God,
the way of salvation, the rule of obedience, the
believer's character and experience, and the final doom
of unbelievers and hypocrites. In such matters, their
decision would be correct, and would be confirmed in
heaven. No one can forgive sins, but God only. But the
Church is given the mandate to declare God's judgment on
sin ahead of time. The "binding and loosing" signified
"forbidding and allowing," or to teach what is lawful or
unlawful according to the Word of
God.
The
Scriptures declare the authority of Jesus Christ over
all things and the authority He has given the Church to
declare the Truth:
"Then I
will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
when he opens no one will shut, when he shuts no one
will open" (Isaiah
22:22).
"I am
the First and the Last, and the living One; and I was
dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the
keys of death and of Hades" (Revelation
1:17,18).
"And to
the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is
holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens
and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens,
says this" (Revelation
3:7).
There is
no doubt that the 20th century evangelical Church has
cut itself off from the roots of the Christian faith by
throwing out the past 2000 years of Church history. What
we will find when we begin to rediscover Church history
may surprise us. For instance, we need to understand
that the Gospel advanced for close to 200 years (33 A.D.
to 200 A.D.), with no assembled New Testament canon in
the hands of any local church. There was a consensus as
to what writings were apostolic and thus scriptural in
origin, but the idea of having a "New Testament" came
later.
What the
Church Fathers had in common was something called the
"Rule of Faith" which was essentially the Apostles Creed
and a catechism (a body of apostolic teachings) which
was memorized and passed on orally by the bishops
(pastoral overseers) ordained by the Apostles. The
stewards of Truth during this period were known as the
Church Fathers. They were those who had had some contact
with one of the Apostles, or some men (such as Papias
and Polycarp) who were close to one of the Apostles. We
look to the Church Fathers in determining the succession
of the true faith between the time of the Apostles and
the time when the canon of the New Testament was finally
determined.
The
canon was determined after a controversy arose around
150 A.D. (during the time of the Montanist movement)
over whether there were any "new" revelations which were
to be considered equal to Scripture. Some enterprising
scribes (perhaps encouraged by their elders and
overseers) began to collect and copy all of the
apostolic writings which the Church Fathers had agreed
were Scripture. The New Testament canon was still in
dispute by some, but we must have faith in the authority
in the Church Council which determined that the canon
was closed. A later Council decreed with finality which
books belonged in the
Bible.
Protestants believe that final
authority comes from Scripture alone. Yet we cannot
ignore the role of the Church in deciding what was
Scripture. Christ gave His disciples this authority, "I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"
(Matthew 16:19), so this authority is derived from the
Word made flesh. But somewhere during the time of the
early Church, Scripture had to be written, judged, and
included in what we now know as the New Testament canon.
This is why we need to recognize that strong authority
was invested in the Church from the beginning in
deciding what was correct
doctrine.
If we
believe sola scriptura, then who decided what books
belong in the Bible? Jesus did not write the Bible, and
since the Bible could not have written itself, this
obviously implies an authority separate from Scripture.
The fact is, the Church preceded the Bible; the Bible
did not precede the Church. The Church defined the Word
of Truth and the Church decided which books were
canonical and which books were
not.
Sola
scriptura does not mean that every believer with a Bible
is a pope unto himself. Sola scriptura does not mean the
Bible alone is true without reference to the authority
of the creeds and councils of the Church.
Sola
scriptura means that only the Bible is infallible, and
that Scripture alone tells us all the Truth we need to
know about saving faith. It does not mean (in fact, it
cannot mean) that there is no infallible authority
outside of Scripture. Men may make mistakes and they may
sin; but Jesus' Apostles, those they ordained, and the
Church councils who were invested with the authority of
the Holy Spirit, were infallible in maintaining
orthodoxy during the interim when the Canon was being
determined. They were infallible in their teaching on
the way of salvation and the basic doctrines summarized
in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. They were also
infallible in determining which books were Scripture.
Jesus
gave His Apostles infallibility through the Holy Spirit
in being able to determine and expound on Truth. He also
gave the Church infallibility in being able to determine
what writings off the early Church were genuinely
apostolic, divinely inspired, and
infallible.
The
individualistic "Christianity" of the 20th century would
never have stood the test of time throughout the early
Church period. Today's Christians are inclined to
believe that one cannot read any of the Church Fathers
uncritically -- since they believe that Scripture alone
is infallible. Evangelical Christianity has taught that
the "Rule of Faith" taught by the Church Fathers must
first have a biblical reference to validate it and to
filter out the imperfections in their thinking. But this
is a contradiction, since the "Rule of Faith" is what
was used to measure what was
perfect.
God's
Word alone is perfect, but we need to include in our
idea of Scriptural infallibility that God used imperfect
men to write Scripture and later determine which books
belonged in the Canon.
We must
have faith that what the historic Church said about
Scripture is true. We must assign the Church Fathers
this authority because we must have faith that all the
right books wound up in the New Testament canon. By
accepting this point, we can also believe that what the
Church Fathers said about Scripture is also true.
Rather
than seek to conform the doctrines of the Church Fathers
to our own understanding of Scripture, we must look at
my understanding of Scripture and ask: "Does our
understanding of Scripture conform to the understanding
of the historic
Church?"
