This series of posts was originally developed as a Sunday School lesson that I taught on August 28, 2011.
What does Bible say about itself?
In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul writes to Timothy that “All Scripture is inspired by God…” The Greek word that is translated “inspired” is the word theopneustos – literally, God-breathed. What does this mean? This means that all Scripture (at this time, the Old Testament as the New was still being written – although Peter would later equate Paul’s writings with Scripture [2 Peter 3:15-16]) was breathed out, or spoken, by God. The writers of the various books were not merely “inspired” to write the books, nor were the words merely inspiring to read. Rather the Scriptures were the product of God’s creative breath; that is, it is the very Word of God. As such, God is the author of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.
But the books of the Bible were written by men, right? Yes. How can it be that both God and man wrote the Bible?
There are several theories of inspiration that one can hold to and still be considered “orthodox,” that is, in right belief. The five are listed as follows:[4]
1) Dictation theory – This view holds that God literally dictated each word of the Bible to the individual writer. The human author in this view was merely God’s pen, having no conscious thought or will what was being written.
2) Plenary concept – This view mainly emphasizes that all of Scripture is fully-inspired.
3) Verbal view – This view holds that not just the ideas or truths are inspired, but that every word was inspired by God.
4) Verbal-plenary view – This view is a combination of two and three. It combats a false view that divine inspiration was limited to certain parts of the Bible by emphasizing the divine inspiration of the whole Bible. This is the view held by most evangelicals.
5) Dynamic view – This view has that the Holy Spirit controlled the process of the writing of the Scriptures, but each writer’s own style, vocabulary, etc., remained intact. This view takes into consideration both divine and human authorship, with an emphasis on the human.
And since we believe that God is the ultimate author of the Bible, we also hold that the Bible is authoritative and true. In John 17:17, Jesus is praying to God the Father, and says this: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” Jesus himself points out that God’s word is true. In Psalm 119:140, 160, the writer says “Your word is very pure” and “The sum of Your word is truth.” Because God’s word is true and pure, we believe that the Scriptures are “inerrant.”By this we mean that we can trust the Scriptures absolutely, and not be led astray theologically, historically, geographically, or scientifically. Inerrancy does not demand dictation, or that the writers be sinless or have absolute knowledge in every field. It does not require that the New Testament quote the Old Testament word for word. It does not mean that the writers cannot use figures of speech, metaphors, or even that they all follow the same writing style and grammar. It does not mean that genealogies and chronologies have to be precise (Jewish tendency was for symmetry as opposed to accuracy). It does not require that parallel telling of the same events be exactly the same. Nor does it demand that translations or copies be inerrant. [5]
Because the Bible is true and is God’s very own word, it is useful to the believer. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that it is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” By teaching, we mean that Scripture shows right instruction and doctrine; those things which are true. By reproof, we mean that Scripture will provide evidence, proof, or conviction of sin in our lives, of wrong living, and of wrong teaching. By correction, we mean that Scripture points out how to get right; it shows us how set straight our lives so that they might be pleasing to God. By training in righteousness, we mean that the Bible provides us with teaching on how to become more spiritually mature, to become more Christ-like, as we strive to “be imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1).
How is the Bible able to be so useful to the believer? Hebrews 4:12 states that “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The words recorded in the Bible are not just words. They are the very voice of God. They are living words. As Wiersbe says in his commentary:
“The Word exposes our hearts; and then, if we trust God, the Word enables our hearts to obey God and claim His promises. This is why each believer should be diligent to apply himself to hear and heed God’s Word. In the Word we see God, and we also see how God sees us. We see ourselves as we really are. This experience enables us to be honest with God, to trust His will, and to obey Him." [6]
Another characteristic of the Bible according to itself is that it is eternal. Isaiah 40:8 says that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Psalm 119:160 says that “every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” Jesus, as recorded in Luke 21:33, said ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” God’s word is eternal. It is not bound by time or place. It was relevant in the Old Testament when it says “Thus saith the Lord.” It was relevant in the New Testament when Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recorded Jesus saying, “I say to you.” It was relevant 500 years ago. It is relevant today. It will be relevant tomorrow, and on into the future.
Next: we'll continue to see what the Bible says about itself, more specifically, the purpose of Scripture. And we'll have some concluding thoughts.
NOTES:
[4] Much of this was developed from notes from my hermeneutics class, with reference to Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard's An Introduction to Biblical Interpretation.
[5] http://www.swbts.edu/index.cfm?pageid=1723
[6] Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, V. 2, p. 289
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