Why the Bible Matters
Inspiration guarantees the written records will carry out the purposes for which they were intended. The doctrine of inspiration provides an assurance that divine authority stands behind the words of Scripture. We should be careful that our understanding of inspiration accords with the characteristics of the documents accepted as inspired and does not impose a preconceived idea on them.
The book of Hebrews sets forth the divine chain of authority: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son” (Heb. 1:1-2; NRSV).
The writer continues, “Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will” (Heb. 2:1-4).
GOD REVEALS HIS TRUTH
God is the source of authority. He is the Creator of all. As he spoke the worlds into existence (Heb. 11:3; Gen. 1), so he speaks in revelation. His Word is the standard of truth and is authoritative. At one time, he spoke through the prophets who recorded the Old Testament, but now he speaks to human beings through his Son.
GOD’S SON REVEALS THE FATHER
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, is now the spokesman of God’s Word (Heb. 1:2), and his Word is a message of salvation (2:3). When Peter wanted to put Jesus on the same level with Moses and Elijah, God commanded, “This is my Son, my Beloved, . . . listen to him!” (Matt. 17:4-5). In the presence of Jesus, Moses and Elijah (the Law and the Prophets) disappeared (v. 8). They are no longer authoritative in comparison with Christ. Jesus himself after his resurrection declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18).
Jesus received his authority from God. He said, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me” (John 7:16). He also declared, “[F]or I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak” (12:49).
God’s revelation through his Son is complete. “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matt. 11:27).
Against those who wanted to treat Jesus as one among other spiritual beings and authorities, Paul affirms, “He is the head Of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:18-19).
Therefore, God placed him “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Eph. 1:21).
CHRIST’S APOSTLES REVEAL UNDER HIS AUTHORITY
Those to whom Jesus chose to reveal the Father were his closest disciples. They attested to his words and deeds (Heb. 2:3). Jesus promised to them, “[W]hatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). Or, more comprehensively, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” and he breathed on them the Holy Spirit so they could bring the word of saving forgiveness to others (John 20:21-23).
Jesus sent out the 70 disciples equipped with his authority: “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me” (Luke 10:16). To the twelve disciples, he declared, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me” (John 13:20). On the basis of possessing all authority, he commissioned his followers to make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19).
When we hear the apostles, we hear Christ. If the apostles taught something, all the authority of Christ is behind what they taught. Unless we have apostolic authority for a practice, we do not have Christ’s authority for it.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Christ promised the Holy Spirit to the apostles to guide their understanding, communication and preservation of his Word. To support the message of the eye and ear witnesses to Jesus’ ministry, “God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will” (Heb. 2:4).
Jesus defined the ministry of the Holy Spirit: “[T]he Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).
He added, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15).
The Spirit has nothing to teach but what Jesus taught. His words are the same as Jesus’ words. The Spirit’s work is to glorify Christ—not himself, not the messenger, not an experience. He does this by communicating the truth revealed by Jesus.
The Spirit performed his work. In regard to the salvation brought by Christ, “It was revealed to [the prophets] that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven” (1 Pet. 1:10-12).
The revelation is complete. Peter writes, “His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Nothing more is to be revealed later than what the Spirit delivered to the original disciples.
Jude challenges his readers to defend the faith: “Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). “Contend” in this context means to defend and stand with the faith that had been once delivered to all the saints. If God, the Creator, is almighty, and the world and the Word declare that he is, he will have no trouble revealing the faith to all those who will accept it.
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WRITTEN WORD
The message of the great salvation was at first delivered orally (“spoken by the Lord and was confirmed by those who heard him,” Heb. 2:3; NKJV). Then those who were the eye and ear witnesses and those associated with them committed it to writing (Luke 1:1-4).
The apostolic authority continues through the written word. The same message was delivered by word of mouth and in writing. As Paul commanded, “[S]tand firm and hold fast to the traditions [the teachings handed on] that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter” (2 Thess. 2:15; NRSV).
Peter, quoting Isaiah 40:6-8, identifies the “living and enduring word of God” with the gospel of salvation. He writes, “[‘]All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.[’] That word is the good news that was announced [preached] to you” (1 Pet. 1:23-25).
Isaiah’s words were already written words when Peter wrote, and Peter ends his letter with a statement identifying his writing with God’s grace: “I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it” (1 Pet. 5:12).
The written word served as a reminder of what had been taught orally: “Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, since I know that my death will come soon. . . . And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things” (2 Pet. 1:12-15).
People today have access to the words of Christ and his apostles only through the written words collected into the Bible.
INSPIRATION PROVIDES GOD’S WORD TO US
The guidance of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised to his disciples in preserving his teachings, we call inspiration. Inspiration functions to communicate with accuracy and sufficiency the authoritative words delivered by the Lord and his representatives. Apostolic writers spoke of the inspiration of the spoken word of the prophets and of the written word of Scripture (“the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms,” Luke 24:44) that they had received. We know those Scriptures as the Old Testament.
Peter writes, “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy every came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
Paul writes to Timothy, “From childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:15-16).
This latter passage, along with setting forth the purposes of inspiration, places beside the Jewish Scriptures the salvation through faith in Christ. Thus the basis was laid for the Christian affirmation of the same inspiration for the writings of the New Testament.
Although revelation and inspiration are related, they are not the same. Revelation is both broader and narrower than inspiration. It is broader because God reveals himself in creation (nature) and in saving acts (the Exodus, the resurrection of Christ). It is narrower because an inspired writer might record material that was not revealed to him and make use of material not itself inspired (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12). For example, Luke did research (Luke 1:3) and included documents that were not a matter of revelation (Acts 23:25-30). Inspiration applies to words, whether spoken or written.
The writings of the New Testament record the revelation made by God through Christ and passed on by his disciples and their associates, interpret that revelation, and apply it to the lives of those who receive it.
Scripture, the written form of the message of salvation, showed the meaning of what God had done through Christ and made possible the preserving of the revelation in Christ.
Inspiration guarantees the written records, and will carry out the purposes for which they were intended. The doctrine of inspiration provides an assurance that divine authority stands behind the words of Scripture. We should be careful that our understanding of inspiration accords with the characteristics of the documents accepted as inspired and does not impose a preconceived idea on them.
God speaks to human beings today through the words of Scripture, inspired by his Spirit. For that reason the Bible matters and matters a great deal!
Everett Ferguson
Living and Worshiping as the Body of Christ (1-6)
Publication permission granted from Resource Publications, Searcy, AR