CHAPTER 1: THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE (BIBLIOLOGY)
1. INTRODUCTION
The study of what the Bible teaches about itself is called Bibliology. The Bible claims to be a revelation from God about Himself. The true church has believed all through its history that the Bible is the embodiment of a divine revelation and that the records which contains that revelation are genuine, credible, canonical, and supernaturally inspired. Bibliology examines the Scriptures to see if these beliefs concerning the Bible are true. So what are the proofs for this belief:
2. THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE BIBLE
Some efforts have been put forth to suppress or exterminate the Bible, or, when that did not succeed, to rob it of its divine authority.
The Roman emperors soon discovered that the Christians grounded their beliefs on the Scriptures. Consequently, they sought to exterminate them. Diocletian, by a royal edict in 303 AD, demanded that every copy of the Bible be destroyed by fire. But it was only a few years later that Constantine came to the throne and made Christianity the state religion.
During the Middle Ages, schoolmen put the creed above the Bible. Church tradition became increasingly important. The state church assumed the authority of interpreting Scripture, and the study of Scripture by laymen was restricted and regarded with suspicion.
During the time of the Reformation, when the Bible was translated into the tongue of the common people, the established church put severe restrictions on the reading of the Bible on the ground that laymen were incapable of interpreting it. Laws were even made to prohibit the publishing of the Bible.
Neither imperial edict nor ecclesiastical restraints have succeeded in exterminating the Bible because the Bible is protected by the supernatural power of the God. The fact of the indestructibility of the Bible strongly suggests that it is the embodiment of a divine revelation.
3. THE CHARACTER OF THE BIBLE
The contents of the Bible recognizes the holiness and love of God; it pictures sin as inexcusable and under the judgment of eternal punishment; it teaches the sovereign rule of God in the universe; it sets forth in great details God's provision of salvation; it delineates the purposes of God concerning Israel and the church; it forecasts the developments of the world, socially, economically, politically, and religiously; it portrays the culmination of all things in the second coming of Christ, the resurrections, the judgments, the millennium, and the eternal state. Surely, this book comes from the hand of an infinite God.
Consider, in the second place, the unity of the Bible. Although written by some forty different authors over a period of about 1,600 years, the Bible is one book. It has one doctrinal system, one moral standard, one plan of salvation, one program of the ages. Its several accounts of the same incidents or teachings are not contradictory, but supplementary. In contrast to the Mohammedan, Zoroastrian, and Buddhist scriptures, which are for the most part collections of heterogeneous materials without beginning, middle, or end, the Bible is an amazingly unified whole.
In view of the contents and unity of the Bible we are obliged to conclude that it is the embodiment of a divine revelation.
4. THE FULFILLED PROPHECY
Only God can reveal the future, and prophecy as it relates to prediction is a miracle of knowledge.
The prophecies concerning Israel's dispersion have been minutely fulfilled (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Jeremiah 15:4; 16:13; Hosea 3:4). In the fulfillment Samaria was to be overthrown, but Judah to be preserved (1 Kings 14:15; Isaiah 7:6-8; Hosea 1:6f); Judah and Jerusalem, though rescued from the Assyrians, were to fall into the hands of the Babylonians (Isaiah 39:6; Jeremiah 25:9-12); the destruction of Samaria was to be final (Micah 1:6-9), but that of Jerusalem was to be followed by a restoration (Jeremiah 29:10-14); the very restorer of Judah was foretold by name (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1); the Medes and the Persians were to overthrow Babylon (Isaiah 21:2; Daniel 5:28); the city of Jerusalem and the temple were to be rebuilt (Isaiah 44:28).
So also the prophecies concerning the Gentile nations were fulfilled. Prophecies concerning Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia were fulfilled (Isaiah 13-23; Jeremiah 46-51). Particularly, the prophecies concerning the four great world empires in Daniel 2 and 7 have been fulfilled. Certain parts connected with the fourth of these are manifestly still future and lead us to the return of Christ, but the rest have been fulfilled. So also the prophecy of the detailed struggle between Syria and Egypt, following the break-up of Alexander's empire, has been fulfilled.
There are many other predictions in the Bible that could be mentioned as proof of the same thing. Some are the increase knowledge and of travel in the latter days (Daniel 12:4), the continuation of wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6f), the increase of wickedness (2 Timothy 3:1-13), the preservation of a remnant of Israel (Romans 11:1-5; 25-32), and the stirring of these dry bones and their return to national and spiritual life (Ezekiel 37:1-28).
For more information relating to the fulfilled Bible Prophecy, please study the course, Bible Prophecy.
5. THE GENUINENESS OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?)
The Old Testament Scriptures will be approached in their threefold division (the order of the Hebrew Bible):
The Law;
The Prophets, and
The Kethubhim.
5.1 The Genuineness of the books of the Law
Modern criticism denies the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. We can indicate the proofs of the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (including: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy).
Moses is repeatedly represented as the author of that which is written. He was to write it (Exodus 17:14; 34:27), and it is said that he did write (Exodus 24:4; 34:28; Numbers 33:2; Deuteronomy 31:9, 24). What he wrote is described as "the words of this law" (Deuteronomy 28:58; 28:61; 29:20, 27; 29:21; 30:10; 31:26; 31:24). In addition, thirteen times outside the Pentateuch in the Old Testament Moses is represented as the author of a written work. It is called "the book of the law of Moses" (Joshua 8:31; 23:6; 2 Kings 14:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Chronicles 23:18; Daniel 9:11, Nehemiah 13:1).
In the New Testament our Lord Jesus Christ frequently speaks of "Moses" as a written work (Luke 16:29; 24:27; cf. John 7:19). He also ascribes various teachings in the Pentateuch to Moses (Matthew 8:4; 19:7f; Mark 7:10; 12:26; John 7:22f). Various writers of the New Testament ascribe teachings found in the Pentateuch to Moses (Acts 3:22; 13:39; 15:21; Romans 9:15; 1 Corinthians 9:9; 2 Corinthians 3:15; Hebrews 8:5; 9:19; 10:28).
Certain other internal evidence may also be mentioned which attests to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. The author is obviously an eyewitness to the account of the exodus; he shows an acquaintance with the land of Egypt, its geography, flora and fauna; he uses several Egyptian words; and he makes reference to customs which go back to the second millennium BC.
5.2 The Genuineness of the books of the Prophets
The Hebrew speaks of the former and the latter prophets. To the former prophets belong:
Joshua;
Judges;
1 and 2 Samuel; and
1 and 2 Kings.
To the latter prophets belong:
Isaiah;
Jeremiah;
Ezekiel; and
the so-called Minor Prophets.
First, looking at the former prophets, there is no reason for rejecting the traditional view that Joshua wrote the book that bears his name, nor that Samuel wrote Judges. Judges was written after the commencement of the monarchy (19:1; 21:25) and before the accession of David (1:21; cf. 2 Samuel 5:6-8). In 1 Chronicles 29:29 we read of the things "written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer, in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the chronicles of Gad the seer." Tradition has, accordingly, felt justified in assigning 1 Samuel 1-24 to Samuel, and 1 Samuel 25 to 2 Samuel 24 to Nathan and Gad.
Jeremiah has been commonly considered the author of the books of Kings; at least the author was a contemporary of his. Kings speaks of the book of the acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41), the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel (1 Kings 14:19), and the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah (1 Kings 14:29); and it has frequent insertions of the records of eyewitnesses in the portions about Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah, in which older material is used.
Second, the latter prophets are also genuine. The acts and deeds of Hezekiah are said to have been written "in the vision of Isaiah the prophet" (2 Chronicles 32:32); Isaiah is also said to have written "the acts of Uzziah" (2 Chronicles 26:22). The prophecy of Isaiah is assigned to him (1:1). Jesus and his apostles speak of the writing of Isaiah, assigning even the disputed parts to him (Matthew 8:17, cf. Isaiah 53:4; Luke 4:17f, cf. Isaiah 61:1; John 12:38-41, cf. Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10). Jeremiah was instructed, "write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book" (Jeremiah 30:2), and we are told that he "wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon" (Jeremiah 51:60).
Ezekiel also was asked to write (Ezekiel 24:2; 43:11), as was Habakkuk (Habakkuk 2:2). It is commonly assumed by conservative scholars that the names which appear in the opening verses of a prophetic book are intended to give us faithfully the name of the author of that book.
5.3 The Genuineness of the books of the Kethubhim
The remaining books were divided into three groups:
The Poetic Books, which consists of the Psalms, Proverbs, Job;
The Megilloth, which consists of Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther; and
The Non-Prophetical Historical Books, which include Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles. (Note: You may think that Daniel is a prophetic book.)
As for the Psalms and the works of Solomon, we read of "the writing of David" and "the writing of his son Solomon" (2 Chronicles 35:4). Although the inscriptions to the Psalms are not a part of the original text, they are generally accepted as accurate. Of the 150 Psalms, 100 are assigned to authors: 73 to David, 11 to the sons of Korah, 12 to Asaph, two to Solomon, and one each to Ethan and to Moses. The remainder are anonymous.
According to the headings in Proverbs, Solomon was the author of chapters 1 to 24. He was also the author of chapters 25 to 29, although these chapters were copied from his writings by the men of Hezekiah. Chapter 30 is ascribed to Agur the son of Jakeh, and chapter 31 to King Lemuel.
The Book of Job does not give us the name of the author, but it is likely that Job himself wrote the book. We regard the book as narrating faithfully the experiences of the man Job in the days of the patriarchs, and as not being mere poetic fiction. Who but Job himself could narrate faithfully his own experiences and sayings and also the speeches of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu, and God?
The Song of Solomon is also inscribed to Solomon (1:1). Ruth has frequently been associated with Judges and was probably written by the same man who wrote the book of Judges, probably Samuel. That David's name is mentioned (Ruth 4:22) and not Solomon's is an argument favouring the dating of the book as not later than David.
Lamentations is ascribed to Jeremiah by the heading in our Bibles. In form of expression and in general argument it has much in common with the book of Jeremiah, and we may confidently ascribe the book to this writer.
Ecclesiastes is said to be by "the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1), and this expression has been taken by conservatives to be Solomon. There is reference to the author's incomparable wisdom (1:16), and the great works which he made (2:4-11).
Esther may have been written by Mordecai the Jew, who best knew the facts related in the book. The author must have been a Jew who lived in Persia at the time of the events narrated and who had access to the official chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia (2:23; 9:20; 10:2).
Daniel was written by the statesman who bore that name. The author identifies himself as Daniel and writes in the first person (7:2; 8:1, 15; 9:2; 10:2). Further, Daniel was commanded to preserve the book (12:4). There is a noticeable unity in the book, with the name Daniel appearing throughout. Jesus attributed the book to Daniel (Matthew 24:15). Some scholars dates the book to the 6th century BC, though because of their rejection of predictive prophecy, modern critics generally place the book into the Maccabean period and assign it to a date between 168-165 BC.
Ezra was written by Ezra the scribe. Since some of the book is written in the first person singular by a man identified as Ezra (7:28; cf. 7:1), and because the book bears the marks of unity, "it would seem to follow that the remainder is his also."
Nehemiah was written by Nehemiah, the Persian king's cup-bearer. This is made clear by the opening words, "The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah" (1:1), and the fact that the author speaks in the first person many times. It was written in the time of Malachi, somewhere between 424 to 395 BC.
The Chronicles are placed by the critics on a much lower plane than the books of Kings. The reason seems to be that while Kings deals with the prophetic aspects of the history, Chronicles deals more with the priestly aspects. Tradition has assigned these books to Ezra. The position of the books in the canon, the closing of the history at the very point where that of Ezra begins, and the style make this possible if not probable. They must have been written about 450 to 425 BC, before Ezra.
6. THE GENUINENESS OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?)
There is reason for believing that the Synoptic Gospels (including Matthew, Luke, Mark) were written in the order: Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Origen frequently cites them in that order, and Clement of Alexandria before him puts the Gospels that contain the genealogies first on the basis of the tradition which he received from the elders before him. Tradition declares that for fifteen years Matthew preached in Palestine, and that after that he went to minister to foreign nations. On the basis of the famous statement in Papias that "Matthew composed the Logia in the Hebrews (i.e. Aramaic) tongue," we must hold that it is most natural to suppose that when he left Palestine he left behind him this Aramaic Gospel, about AD 45, and that a little later he also wrote the Greek Gospel that has come down to us, for his new hearers, about AD 50.
There is also very general agreement that the second Gospel was written by John Mark. From the circumstances of the times and internal evidence, we assign it to the years AD 67 or 68.
There is also very general agreement that the third Gospel was written by Luke (Luke 1:1-4), the beloved physician. It was probably written about the year AD 58.
The Gospel of John is rejected by some because of its emphasis on the deity of Christ. It is said that the Synoptics do not reveal any such belief concerning him during the first century. But this is not true, for in the Synoptics he is no less deity than in John. The discovery of Papyrus 52, containing five verses of John 18 and dated in the first half of the second century, has done much to confirm the traditional date of the Gospel of John.
The book of Acts is ascribed to Luke, the same man who wrote the third Gospel.
Ten of the so-called Pauline Epistles are today for the most part attributed to Paul, doubt being cast only upon the Pastoral Epistles, on the basis of style. But style changes can be due to change in subject matter and the age of the author.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is anonymous and no one knows who wrote it. It was undoubtedly written by a learned Christian somewhere between AD 67 and 69.
James and Jude were undoubtedly written by two of the brothers of Jesus.
1 and 2 Peter were written by the Apostle Peter. Some cast doubt upon 2 Peter on the ground of style. But Peter may have had Silvanus as his amanuensis in the first Epistle (1 Peter 5:12), and so have had some help with his diction, and may have written the second Epistle without his help.
The three Epistles of John and the Revelation were written by the Apostle John. The difference in style in the book of Revelation as compared with the Epistles may be accounted for in the same way as the differences in 1 and 2 Peter. That is, he may have had help in the writing of the Epistles, but have written the Revelation all by himself, and further, the subject matter would itself account for the difference of style. This does not affect the question of inspiration in the least, for we argue for the inspiration of the final result that was produced and not for the inspiration of the man as such.
7. THE CREDIBILITY OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
7.1 The Proof from Christ's Recognition of the Old Testament
The Lord Jesus Christ received the Old Testament as relating truthfully the events and doctrines which it treats (Matthew 5:17f; Luke 24:27, 44f; John 10:34-36). Please also read the following Bible verses (Matthew 8:17; 12:39f; 19:4f; Mark 12:26; 13:19; Luke 4:17f; 6:3f; 17:26f; 17:28-30; 24:27; John 6:32; 8:44). If Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, He knew what were the facts, and if He knew them, He could not accommodate Himself to any erroneous views of His day regarding matters of such fundamental importance, and be honest. His testimony must, therefore, be accepted as true.
7.2 The Proof Derived from History and Archaeology
History furnishes many proofs of the correctness of the biblical representations of life in Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and so forth. A number of the rulers of these countries are mentioned by name in Scripture, and none of them is represented in a manner contradictory to what is known of him in history. Shalmaneser IV is said to have besieged the city of Samaria, but the king of Assyria, whom we now know to have been Sargon II, is said to have carried the people away into Assyria (2 Kings 17:3-6). History shows that he reigned from 722 to 705 BC. He is mentioned by name only once in the Bible (Isaiah 20:1). Neither Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1-30) nor Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:31-6:28) is any longer regarded as a fictitious character.
Archaeology supplies many confirmations of the biblical accounts. The Babylonian "Epic of Creation," while a confirmation of the Genesis account, shows that the idea of a special creation by the God was widespread in early times. The same can be said about the Babylonian legends of the fall. More important is a tablet that has been found in Babylon containing an account of the flood which has marked similarities to the biblical account. The so-called battle of the kings (Genesis 14) can no longer be regarded with suspicion, since the inscriptions in the Valley of the Euphrates show that the four kings mentioned in the Bible as joining in this expedition are historical persons.
The Nuzi tablets throw light on the action of Sarah and Rachel in giving their handmaids to their husbands. The Egyptian hieroglyphics indicate that writing was known more than a thousand years before Abraham.
Archaeology also confirms that Israel lived in Egypt, that the people were in bondage in that land, and that they finally left the country. The Hittites, whose very existence was questioned, have been shown to be a powerful people in Asia Minor and Palestine at the very time indicated in the Bible. The Tel el-Amarna tables give evidence of the trustworthiness of the book of Judges. As the science of archaeology progresses, no doubt more and more information will come to light confirming the accuracy of the biblical record.
8. THE CREDIBILITY OF THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
8.1 Their Writings Harmonize with Each Other
The Synoptics do not contradict but supplement each other. The details in the Gospel of John can be fitted together with the first three Gospels into a harmonious whole. The Acts furnishes an historical background for ten of Paul's Epistles. The Pastoral Epistles do not have to be fitted into the Acts, for in none of them is it intimated that they belong to the period of the Acts. Hebrews and the General Epistles, as well as the Revelation, can without any violence to the contents be fitted into the first century. Doctrinally, also, the writngs of the New Testament harmonize. Christ is deity in the Synoptics as well as in John's Gospel. Paul and James do not contradict each other, but present faith and works from different viewpoints. There is a difference of emphasis, but not of fundamental conception. There is progress in the unfolding of doctrine from the Gospels to the Epistles, but not contradiction. The twenty-seven books of the New Testament present an harmonious picture of Jesus Christ and His work. This argues for the truthfulness of the record.
8.2 Their Accounts Agree with History and Experience
There are many references to contemporary history in the New Testament, such as the enrollment when Quirinius was governor of Syria (Luke 2:2), the acts of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:16-18), of Herod Antipas (Matthew 14:1-12), of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1), of Gallio (Acts 18:12-17), of Herod Agrippa II (Acts 25:13-26:32), etc., but thus far no one has been able to show that the biblical account is contradicted by a single fact derived from other trustworthy sources.
We therefore say that there is nothing in history that contradicts the narratives of the Bible.
9. THE CANONICITY OF THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
9.1 What is Canon?
A question closely allied to that of the reliability of the texts we have is, How do we know the books in our Bible, and no others, are the ones that should be there? This is called the question of the canon. The word "canon" comes from the Greek word meaning "rule" or "standard." When it is applied to the books of the Bible, it means that they have met a certain standard which has segregated them from all other writings. This does not mean that the Bible was not God's Word before the individual books became part of the canon; the process of canonization was simply an official recognition by man of what has always been God's Word.
There are distinct questions involved for Old and New Testaments.
9.2 The Old Testament Books
The Protestant church accepts identically the same Old Testament books as the Jews had, and as Jesus and the apostles accepted. The Roman Catholic Church, since the Council of Trent in 1546, includes the books of the Apocrypha. The order in the English Bible follows that of the Septuagint. This is different from the Hebrew Bible, in which the books are divided into three groups:
the Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy), known also as the Torah or the Pentateuch;
the Prophets, including the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve - Hosea to Malachi); and
the Writings, the remaining books of our Old Testament canon.
As E.J. Young says:
"When the Word of God was written, it became Scripture, and inasmuch as it had been spoken by God, it possessed absolute authority. Since it was the Word of God, it was canonical. That which determines the canonicity of a book, therefore, is the fact that the book is inspired of God. Hence, a distinction is properly made between the authority which the Old Testament books possess as divinely inspired and the recognition of that authority on the part of Israel."
We can see this development in the work of Moses. The laws issued by him and by the later prophets were intended to be respected as the decrees of God Himself. They were so regarded then and also by later generations. The authority of the Law was recognized by Israel's spiritual leaders. It was the recognition of this authority that shook the King Josiah when he realized how long the Law had been neglected (2 Kings 22:11).
When we examine the writings of the prophets, it is obvious that they believed they spoke with authority. "This is what the Lord says" and "the word of the Lord came to me" are common preambles to their messages.
By the beginning of the Christian era the term Scripture had come to mean a fixed body of divinely inspired writings that were fully recognized as authoritative. Our Lord used the term in this sense and was fully understood by his hearers when he said, "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). It is interesting that there was no controversy between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Pharisees on the authority of the Old Testament. Contention arose because they gave tradition the same authority as Scripture.
9.3 The Apocryphal Books
The apocryphal books, it is important to note, were never received into the Jewish canon and were not considered as part of the inspired Scriptures by Jews in the early centuries of the Christian era.
The apocryphal books vary greatly in content and value. Some, like 1 Maccabees, were probably written around 100 BC and are valuable as historical background. Others are more characterized by legend. These books were added to the LXX. In this way they came to be included by Jerome in the Latin Vulgate.
9.4 The New Testament Books
Here, as for the Old Testament, the books possessed canonicity by virtue of their inspiration, not by virtue of their being voted into canonicity by any group. The history of the recognition of the New Testament's canonicity, however, is interesting. Much of the material of the New Testament claimed apostolic authority. Paul and Peter clearly wrote with this authority in mind. Peter specifically refers to Paul's letters as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Jude (v. 18) says that 2 Peter 3:3 is a word from the apostles. Such early church fathers as Polycarp, Ignatius and Clement mention a number of the New Testament books as authoritative.
The onslaught of heresy in the middle of the 2nd century caused the concept of a canon to be revived in the thinking of Christians. Irenaeus and later Eusebius, in the 3rd century, give us more light in their writings. The final fixation of the canon as we know it came in the 4th century. In the East, a letter of Athanasius in AD 367 clearly distinguishes between works in the canon which are described as the sole sources of religious instruction and others which believers were permitted to read. In the West, the canon was fixed by decision of a church council held at Carthage in AD 397. By the year 500, the whole Greek-speaking church seems also to have accepted all the books in our present New Testament.
Three criteria were generally used throughout this period of time to establish that particular written documents were the true record of the voice and message of apostolic witness, they were:
Could authorship be attributed to an apostle? The Gospels of Mark and Luke do not meet this criterion specifically, but were accepted as the works of close associates of the apostles. Note: Mark and Luke were the companions of the apostle Paul.
There was the matter of ecclesiastical usage - that is, recognition of a book by a leading church or majority of churches.
There was conformity to standards of sound doctrine.
9.5 Conclusion - the Bible is the Word of God
These data are helpful and interesting, but in the final analysis, as with the question of the inspiration of the Scripture, canonicity is a question of the witness of the Spirit in the hearts of God's people. In days of uncertainty, what a rock the Scripture is on which to stand! "Heaven and earth will pass away," says our Lord, "but my Words will never pass away" (Luke 21:33).
For more information relating to the Reliability of the Bible, please study the course, Apologetics, Chapters 3 and 4.
10. THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES
10.1 The Definition of Inspiration
In order to give an adequate and precise definition of inspiration, several related theological concepts must be considered, and the false theories refuted.
10.1.1 Revelation
We have noted that God has revealed Himself in nature, history, and conscience. He has also revealed Himself in His Son and in His Word. Revelation has to do with the communication of truth that cannot be otherwise discovered; inspiration has to do with the recording of revealed truth. In the broader sense we speak of the entirety of Scripture as God's self-revelation; some of the revelation came directly, and some of it came indirectly through God's saving operations in human history.
10.1.2 Inspirations
Inspiration has to do with the recording of the truth. The Spirit of God move upon men to write the sixty-six books of the Bible (Acts 1:16; Hebrews 10:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21). Scripture is fully and verbally inspired; it is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). A fuller definition of inspiration will follow later in this chapter.
10.1.3 Authority
The Bible carries with it the divine authority of God. It is binding upon man - on his mind, conscience, will, and heart. Man, creed, and church are all subject to the authority of Scripture. God has spoken; we must submit. The eternal "thus saith the Lord" is our standard.
10.1.4 Inerrancy
Not only is Scripture inspired and authoritative, it is also inerrant and infallible. By this we mean that it is without error in the original manuscripts. It is inerrant in all that it affirms, whether in historical, scientific, moral, or doctrinal matters. Inerrancy extends to all of Scripture and is not limited to certain teachings of Scripture.
The Bible is inerrant when:
accurately interpreted;
accurately translated; and
though our own knowledge of history and science is incomplete.
So far, our increasing knowledge of our universe has confirmed the integrity of Scripture. Many imagined errors have been based on the incomplete or incorrect knowledge and scientific theories of man. The best approach when a biblical problem refuses clarification is to suspend our judgment until our knowledge is sufficiently broadened to clarify the seeming error.
The biblical evidence for inerrancy are as follows:
John 10:35. Jesus said that "the Scripture cannot be broken." In defense against His critics, Jesus points to an obscure statement in the Old Testament and says of the passage it "cannot be broken." That is, Scripture "cannot be emptied of its force by being shown to be erroneous." In the Savior's view the indefectible authority of Scripture attaches to the very form of expression of its most casual clauses."
Matthew 5:18. Jesus said. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished."
It is clear that Jesus had the highest view possible of the authority of Scripture ("Law" here means the whole Old Testament), right down to the smallest letter or tiniest part of a letter. This extends inerrancy to every part of the Bible, so that any attempt to distinguish between "theological" parts and "non-theological" parts, and ascribe inerrancy to only the theological parts, is unfounded.
Belief in the inerrancy of Scripture is both biblical and reasonable. If Scripture itself claims inerrancy, it is far safer to assume that it is, rather than carelessly exert our fallible judgment over what we think may or may not be true. Nowadays, some Liberal Protestants denied the writings of the apostle Paul. They alleged that the apostle Paul's writing was merely related to the local customs in the 1st century churches and therefore his writing was not applicable to nowaday churches. It is obvious that the Liberal Protestants are false teachers. The Bible clearly told us that the teachings of the apostle Paul are the Lord's commandment (1 Corinthians 14:37). Readers are recommended to make their own judgments!
10.1.5 Illumination
The one who inspired men in the writing of Scripture, illumines the minds of those who read it. Because of sin and the darkened understanding brought about because of sin, no one can understand Scripture properly (Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:18). But the Spirit can enlighten the mind of the believer to understand the Scriptures. This is the burden of 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 (cf. Ephesians 1:18); John speaks of this as well in 1 John 2:20, 27.
10.2 Inadequate Theories of Inspiration
10.2.1 The dynamic or partial-inspiration theory
This theory holds that God supplied the ability needed for the trustworthy transmission of the truth which the writers of Scripture were commissioned to deliver. This made them infallible in matters of faith and practice, but not in things which are not of an immediately religious character. Thus the writer could be in error in things which relate to history or science. The problems with this view are obvious. How can we accept one sentence of Scripture and not another? Who can tell us which part is right and which part is not? And further, who can tell us how to distinguish between things that are essential to faith and practice and those that are not? Nowhere does the Bible tell us that inspiration covers only things which relates to faith and practice. It declares all Scripture to be God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).
10.2.2 The theory that the thoughts, not the words, are inspired
According to this theory, God suggested the thoughts of the revelation, but left it up to man to put the revelation into words. But Scripture indicates that the words themselves are inspired. Paul records that he spoke, "not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit" (1 Corinthians 2:13). He further declared that all Scripture is inspired (2 Timothy 3:16); this means the very words used.
10.2.3 The dictation theory
This theory holds that the authors of Scripture were mere pens, amanuenses, not beings whose individualities were preserved and somehow pressed into service in the act of inspiration. On this view the style is that of the Holy Spirit. Some have even argued that the grammar must be everywhere perfect because it is the Holy Spirit's grammar. But this theory ignores the manifest differences in the style of Moses, David, Peter, James, John, and Paul, for example. We must acknowledge the twofold nature of Scripture: on the one hand it is a God-breathed book, but on the other hand it has a human character. God used living men, not dead tools. He did not set aside human personality, but rather used the very personality of the human authors in the penning of his revelation.
10.3 The Correct Biblical Doctrine of Inspiration
The Holy Spirit so guided and superintended the writers of the sacred text, making use of their own unique personalities, that they wrote all that he wanted them to write, without excess or error. Several things must be noted:
Inspiration is inexplicable. It is the operation of the Holy Spirit, but we do not know exactly how that power of the Spirit operates.
Inspiration, in this restricted sense, is limited to the authors of Scripture. Other books are not inspired in the same sense.
Inspiration is essentially guidance. That is, the Holy Spirit supervised the selection of the materials to be used and the words to be employed in writing.
The Holy Spirit preserved the authors from all error and from all omission.
Inspiration extends to the words, not merely to the thoughts and concepts. Thus, we speak of the plenary and verbal inspiration of the Scriptures; plenary, because the inspiration is entire and without restriction, that is, it includes all and every Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16); verbal, because it includes every word (1 Corinthians 2:13).
Inspiration is affirmed only of the autographs of the Scriptures, not of any of the versions, whether ancient or modern, nor of any Hebrew or Greek manuscripts in existence, nor of any critical texts known. All these are either known to be faulty in some particulars, or are not certainly known to be free from all error. While there are no original autographs available, the number of words which are still in doubt is very small, and no doctrine is affected by this situation.
The inspired writers were oftern restrained in what they wrote. Sometimes they would have liked to write more but the Holy Spirit restrained them. For instance, in the book of Revelation John was about to record the message of the seven thunders but was told not to do so (10:4). The writer of Hebrews wanted to write about Melchizedek (5:11), but was prevented. Jude planned to write about Salvation, but instead found it necessary to exhort the saints earnestly to contend for the faith (v. 3). In what they wrote and in what they did not write, all these Bible authors were impelled and restrained by the Spirit of God.
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FURTHER STUDY
Henry C. Thiessen - Lectures in Systematic Theology, Part II Bibliology (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company).
William H. Baker - Survey of Theology I, Lessons 1 and 2 (Moody Bible Institute).
J. Edward Young - Thy Word is Truth (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's Publishing Company).
William MacDonald - What the Bible Teaches, Chapter 1 (Emmaus Bible College).
R.E. Harlow - Basic Bible Doctrines, Chapters 1 and 2 (Emmaus Bible College).