The Authority of Scripture: An In-Depth Teaching
Pastor Brad Abley: Biblical Educator, M. Div
An In-Depth Teaching
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Pastor Brad writes…
“The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore, it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.[1]”
At the Diet of Worms in 1521, when all the might and ferocious power of the Church and State demanded Martin Luther recant all his writings against the pope and the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther appealed to the settled authority of Scripture and declared,
“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience would be neither right nor safe. God help me. Here I stand, I can do no other.”
Luther knew that by asserting this, he would be burned alive, publicly. How is it that he came to such a conviction, devotion and love of the Word of God that it meant more to him than life itself? And what does this courageous stance say to today’s Christians – many of whom barely read holy Scripture?
Everything about the Christian faith: salvation, redemption, restoration, justification, forgiveness; answered prayer; present and eternal rewards, Heaven and Hell, Jesus Himself and His life, ways and teaching – and so much more – are directly dependent on the authority of Scripture.
The authority of Scripture is surely one of the most important doctrines of the Bible that seemingly few believers are aware of or hear anything about – and yet our present and eternal existence directly depends on this authority – an authority even Satan himself recognizes and trembles at.
What do we mean when we speak of the “Authority of Scripture”? Virtually every book on theology – going back for generations – has in its earliest chapters a section on this subject.
In fact, one theologian has the best definition of the subject I’ve seen: Millard Erickson writes,
“By the authority of the Bible, we mean that the Bible, as the expression of God’s will to us, possesses the right supremely to define what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves.[2]”
After giving this helpful definition, Erickson also diagnoses a serious problem in nearly every society: an increasing refusal to accept any authority, whatsoever:
“External authority is often refused recognition and obedience in favor of accepting one’s own judgment as final. There is even a strong anti-establishmentarian mood in the area of religion, where individual judgment is often insisted upon.[3]”
However, that does not change the fact that the Bible has always called for its own authority as binding over all men. And this comes most importantly from Jesus Christ Himself, whom almost all hail at the very least as a great teacher – perhaps the greatest ever.
The only source about Jesus that we have is through the four gospels in the New Testament (NT), which, of course, has everything we know about His life and teachings. He is easily the most important historical figure ever.
So, who is He? What does He want and expect? To find out, we must examine Scripture, which He claimed to inspire. When we do examine Scripture, we actually discover that it examines us – albeit always for our good -- always for the purpose of Christlikeness in us.
John MacArthur brings out a remarkable fact and statement of the inviolability of Scripture:
“God is so closely linked to his Word that, in some passages, the term Scripture is even synonymous with the name God: “The Scripture … preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’ ” (Gal. 3:8); “Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (v. 22).
In these verses, the Bible is said to speak and act as God’s voice. The apostle Paul similarly referred to God’s speaking to Pharaoh (Ex. 9:16) when he wrote, “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I have raised you up’” (Rom. 9:17). Thus, believers can be confident that whenever they read the Bible, they are reading the very words of God.
Jesus implied that all of Scripture is inspired as a unified body of truth when he declared, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). The entire Bible is pure and authentic; none of its words can be nullified, because they are all God’s sacred writings (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15).
Christ also stressed the divine significance of every detail of Scripture when he said in his Sermon on the Mount, “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5:18).”
Importantly, because God is a God of truth who does not speak falsehood, his Word is also true and incapable of error. The Author of Scripture calls himself the essence of truth (Is. 65:16), and the prophet Jeremiah ascribes the same quality to him: “The Lord is the true God” (Jer. 10:10).
“The writers of the New Testament also equated God with truth (e.g. John 3:33; 17:3; 1 John 5:20), and both Testaments emphasize that God cannot lie (Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18). Thus, the Bible is inerrant because it is God’s Word, and God is a God of truth (Prov. 30:5).[4]”
Accordingly, those who deny the doctrine of inerrancy dishonor God by casting doubt on the truthfulness and trustworthiness of that which he has revealed. Jesus is Lord over all of our lives; as God the Son -- who has equally inspired Scripture along with the Father and the Holy Spirit (e.g. Luke 24:45) – He demands that His followers hold the entire Word of God as authoritative for every aspect of our lives (e.g. 1:1-4, 14; 8:31-32; John 14:21; Rev. 22:18-19; cf. Deut. 4:2).
Ian Hamilton rightly asserts,
“If any one truth dominated and shaped the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ, it was the absolute, inviolable, incontrovertible authority of Holy Scripture. For Jesus, it was enough simply to say, “It is written …”
He understood Scripture to be nothing less than God’s Word of self-revelation. Because it was breathed out by God, it is flawless, beyond all contradiction, and to be obeyed immediately, not hesitatingly; absolutely, not selectively.[5]”
Hamilton adds, substantially,
“Jesus and his apostles never took a critical position toward the Old Testament but accepted its teaching without any reservation or qualification -- and not just its religious-ethical teaching! Jesus attributed Isaiah 6 to Isaiah (Mt. 13:14); Psalm 110 to David (Mt. 22:44); the prophecy cited in Matthew 24:15 to Daniel; and the law to Moses (John 5:46).
He repeatedly cited and unconditionally believed the historical narratives of the Old Testament: the creation of human beings (Mt. 19:4-5), Abel’s murder (Mt. 23:35), the flood (Mt. 24:37-39), the history of the Patriarchs (Mt. 22:32; John 8:56), the destruction of Sodom (Mt. 11:23; Luke 17:28-33), the burning bush (Luke 20:37), the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14), the manna (John 6:32), the histories of Elijah and Naaman (Luke 4:25-27), and the story of Jonah (Mt. 12:39-41).
To Jesus, the absolute authority of Scripture embraced every single word, including dots and iotas (Mt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; Gal. 3:16).[6]”
Moreover, Hamilton maintains,
“In Luke 24:25-27, Jesus rebuked his disciples for not believing all that “the prophets” had spoken (which he equated with “all the Scriptures”). So, in Jesus’s view, all Scripture is trustworthy and should be believed.
Jesus constantly quoted Scripture as a basis for his own teaching about how to live, such as church discipline (Mt. 18:16), marriage (Mt. 19:3-9), God’s requirements for eternal life (Mt. 19:16-19), and the greatest commandment (Mt. 22:37-39).
Furthermore, he used the Old Testament to justify cleansing the temple (Mt. 21:12-17) and picking grain on the Sabbath (Luke 6:3-4). He relied on Scripture, the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) to resist the temptations of Satan (Mt. 4:1-11).
He stated unambiguously that the Old Testament supersedes all man-made traditions and ideas. No standard is higher than Scripture for what we are to believe and obey (Mt. 15:1-9; Mark 7:5-13).
There is no evidence that Jesus picked and chose some parts of the Old Testament, such as the so-called theological, moral, or religious portions, and rejected others. For him, all the Scriptures were trustworthy and authoritative, down to the last letter (Mt. 5:18).[7]”
We can understand the vital doctrine called the Clarity or Perspicacity of Scripture from our Lord as well:
“Eleven times the Gospel writers record his saying, “Have you not read …?” and thirty times he defends his teaching by saying, “It is written …” He rebukes his listeners for not understanding and believing what the text plainly says.
It has often been maintained that in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was criticizing the Old Testament and replacing it with his own authority. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Mt. 5:17-20, Jesus introduces his teaching with a categorical announcement that he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. His language is unambiguous and his intent is plain to see.
This is made unmistakably clear in what follows. The series of contrasts does not juxtapose Jesus’s teaching with that of the Old Testament law, but Jesus’s teaching with that of the Pharisees’ twisted and corrupt teaching of God’s law.
From 5:21, Jesus illustrates his foundational and personal commitment to God’s law (cf. v.17). Far from abolishing God’s moral instruction, Jesus has come to recover it, restore it, and put his personal stamp of approval on it. Here is the “righteousness” that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (v. 20). Here is God’s law at its purest and most searching.[8]”
Jesus again establishes the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of Scripture through the quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34-35. And the truth is that Psalm 82:6 -- given His argument with the religious leaders in John 10 -- is an obscure verse and passage. And this is intentional from the Lord; He is pointing out to His enemies that He upholds every bit of the OT.
Leon Morris correctly explains that John 10:34 "refers to the judges of Israel, and the expression "gods" is applied to them in the exercise of their high and God-given office."[9]
For v. 35, Morris explains that Jesus said what He said here, "not in connection with some declaration that might be regarded as among the key declarations of the Old Testament, but of what we might perhaps call without disrespect a rather run of the mill passage."[10]
Concerning Jesus referring to Scripture in the singular (v. 35), Morris rightly maintains,
“The singular is usually held to refer to a definite passage from the Old Testament and not to Scripture as a whole. Even so, what was true of this passage could be true only because it was part of the inspired Scriptures and showed the characteristics of the whole.
Jesus puts all his emphasis on the exact word used. The argument would fall to the ground if any other word for "judge" had been employed. Jesus not only appeals to the word but says in connection with it that Scripture cannot be broken.[11]”
Explaining what Jesus means with the term, "broken," Morris asserts,
“It means that Scripture cannot be emptied of its force by being shown to be erroneous. Jesus' point is that the Bible calls "gods" those who were no more than men. They were themselves the recipients of "the word of God," that is they were required to hear and heed and obey that word, primarily of course in connection with their calling as judges. Yet these men were on this occasion called "gods."[12]
And F.F. Bruce adds poignantly, “it cannot be set aside when its teaching is inconvenient. What is written remains written.”[13]”
We might ask the salient question of how Jesus in His humanity believed and accepted the authority, the inspiration, and the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. This answer will be instructive for us in how we view God’s Word as well.
“We’re told that Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature (John 2:52) and that He learned obedience through the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8). The answer to this question may be found in Isaiah’s description of how the Messiah would learn the Word of God, value it, and obey it (Is. 50:4-9):
4 The Lord God has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.5 The Lord God has opened My ear;
And I was not disobedient
Nor did I turn back.6 I gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting7 For the Lord God helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.8 He who vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us stand up to each other;
Who has a case against Me?
Let him draw near to Me.9 Behold, the Lord God helps Me;
Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, they will all wear out like a garment;
The moth will eat them.”
Our focus will only be on vv.4-5, though we list the entire passage to set its context as messianic. It is clear from those verses that the Messiah would be dependent upon Yahweh for learning, growth, teaching and action/ministry.
And we note the importance of the singular “word” – just as Jesus taught in John 10:34-35, above. Moreover, He gladly and strictly obeyed that “word,” and indeed – as His testimony above has demonstrated – every Word of God (Mt. 4:1-11).
Barry Webb gives a helpful introduction and context of Is. 50:4-9:
“Once more the Servant speaks, letting us into some of the most deeply personal areas of his life: his communion with God, the physical and mental suffering which marks his way, and the assurance of final vindication that buoys him up...
It is the weary one of verse 4 -- the person who, like the Servant himself, is an object of ridicule and abuse, and whose strength to endure is almost exhausted. We are reminded of “the bruised reed” and “the smoldering wick” of 42:3.
There were many such in Israel, and the words of the Servant here are for them first of all. But, as part of holy Scripture, they are also for us. In this third Servant Song the world at large is left out of the picture, and attention is focused on the Servant himself and his ministry to the people of God.[14]
Webb explains the overall picture of vv.4-5: “He is a disciple before he is anything else, and as such his outstanding characteristic is attentiveness to God: morning by morning God instructs him, and morning by morning he listens (4b).”[15]
Moreover,
“His whole intent is to translate the instruction he receives into obedient action, no matter what the cost...There is nothing he will not endure if obedience demands it. But finally -- and this is important -- his confidence is not in his own power to endure, but in the LORD who helps him, and who will vindicate him in the end (8).
No weary one could say that this Servant speaks from a vantage point of lofty and serene detachment. Far from it. No one has felt the struggle more intensely or paid a bigger price for obedience. He is the perfect disciple.[16]”
We must also quote Alec Motyer’s commentary at length here, due to his profound insight into the text:
The Servant with his word for the weary is plainly the prophetic figure of 42:1-4; 49:1-6; and 53:1-12, bringing revealed truth to the Gentiles with unassertive, gentle speech (42:2), incisive speech like a sharpened sword (49:2) and a pure mouth (53:7, 9).
Behind the word that sustains (4ab), and explaining it, lies the discipline of daily hearing (4cd). Sovereignty figured significantly in the foregoing extended plea to Zion; in the thoughtlessly used title (49:14), the Lord's sovereign mastery of earthly kings (49:22f.) And the absolute power of the Mighty One (49:26).
All this meant nothing to Zion; it means everything to the Servant (5, 7, 9). An instructed tongue is the tongue of those who are taught, a disciple’s tongue...The Servant comes before us as the disciple par excellence.
He was not endowed with an instant gift, an instructed tongue, but was subjected to the training procedures appropriate to all discipleship -- concentration on the word of the Lord (as in 8:9-20).[17]
The Hebrew word translated “awakens” (v.4) is in the continuous or present tense.
Motyer points out that "the primary impulse comes from the Lord, and his primary objective is to share his word."[18]
Moreover,
“[T]the awakened ear, ready to receive the word of God -- the first mark of a disciple under instruction. The sharpened sword and the polished arrow (49:3), did not happen automatically or all at once. They were the products of prolonged attention, defined here as the discipleship of the morning-by-morning appointment with God.
Not that the Servant imposed this discipline on himself, but he showed his discipleship by responding to the Lord's disciplined and regular approach to him. He is the second and true Adam who, when the Lord God came and called (cf. Gen. 3:8), was responsive and unashamed.
The tongue filled with the appropriate word for ministry is the product of the ear filled with the word of God...The morning-by-morning appointment is not a special provision or demand related to the perfect servant but is the standard curriculum for all disciples.[19]”
The authority of Scripture is binding upon every Christian in every regard of his life, because in back of that authority is God Himself. Merely to begin the Christian life -- and to continue in it -- no one can even become a follower of Jesus who does not take the authority of His Word seriously (e.g. Luke 9:23-26).
We might hasten to add that each moment a believer reveres the Word of God is the moment that the Holy Spirit is at work to witness to that believer of its beauty, its truth, its power, its encouragement – and its awesome transforming power – the Holy Spirit always working with His Word.
He has told us that His Word is entirely inspired by Him (Ps. 19:7; Zech. 7:12; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21), and therefore to be obeyed. Hence, theologian Carl F. Henry writes concerning the authority of Scripture:
“God, who reveals himself in his intelligible Word, is also personally and powerfully present in his Word, either in creation or preservation, grace or judgment. His Word defines and expresses his sovereign power and the dependence of everything else on his will.
All other authority is derivative and contingent, are right or permission conferred by God from the ultimate seat of power (“There is no authority except that which God has established,” Rom. 13:1).[20]”
God’s Word tells us that angels receive their authority from Him (e.g. Rev. 18); even the antichrist has limited authority from Him (Rev. 13:2, 4). Likewise, Satan’s spirit of dominion is a temporary bestowal (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13).
How could it possibly be then, that any human being who claims to be a Christian should not submit himself entirely to the authority of the Word of God? The Bible tells us that civil government derives its authority from God, and that it is His instrument of justice and order in a fallen society (Rom. 13:1-7).
Thus, Henry writes,
“So, Pilate wielded and authority he had not inherently but derivatively (John 19:11). The forces of destruction in fallen nature and history are not inherent but derived (Rev. 6:8; 9:3; 10, 19).
Even the authorization enabling forgiven sinners to enter God’s kingdom comes from Jesus (John 1:12), who is divinely authorized and empowered to act (John 10:18) and endowed with authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10).[21]”
The man or woman who refuses to obey God and His Word may either not really be born-again at all (despite earnest protestations to the contrary), or such a person will answer to God for his or her supreme arrogance (cf. Mt. 5:17-19; 7:24-27; 24:35; Luke 10:16; John 12:48; 1 Thess. 4:8).
Accordingly, Henry warns,
“The struggle against the authority of the Bible is therefore inseparable from the struggle against divine authority… In principle, the evangelical believer acknowledges no ultimate authority but the authority of the living God -- authoritative even above human reasoning, scientific and theological opinion, ecclesiastical tradition, cultural consensus, empirical observation, and all else…
The affirmation of the authority of Scripture represents a determination not to seek the Word of God elsewhere than in the Spirit-inspired, Christ-pledged, and God-intended source of the revelational Word.[22]”
God holds His own word in the highest regard possible (e.g. Deut. 8:3; Mt. 4:4; Ps. 138:2; Is. 66:2); for man to reject any part of His word is the height of arrogance and is frankly, satanic, because it was Satan who challenged God’s word to Eve (Gen. 3:1-5).
The Bible itself claims its own authority as “the truth”: it is not merely “truth,” nor is it some truth but not all truth; it is centered in Jesus, who is “the truth” (John 14:6), and then all of His Word is “the truth” (e.g. the “word of truth” (2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13; Col 1:5; 2 Tim 2:15; James 1:18).
Another biblical scholar exhorts,
“It is through the Bible that Jesus Christ now exercises his divine authority, imparting authoritative truth, issuing authoritative commands, and imposing an authoritative norm by which all the arrangements or statements made by the church must be shaped and corrected.[23]”
The Bible is called “the truth of Christ” (2 Cor. 11:10) and “the way of truth” (2 Pet 2:2). Believers in Christ have found “the truth,” and the heretic or unbeliever has to have missed the truth (1 John 2:26-27; 2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 5:9; 1 John 3:19).
The Church itself – with God’s inspired and inerrant Word -- is called “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). However, Henry cautions:
“Without an authoritative Scripture, the church is powerless to overcome not only human unregeneracy but also satanic deception. Where the church no longer lives by the Word of God is left to its own devices and soon is overtaken by the temptations of Satan and the misery of sin and death.
In Eden, Satan displayed his readiness to come as an Angel of light, raising doubt about God’s authoritative Word and twisting that Word to his own advantage (Gen. 3:1, 4-5). In the wilderness temptation, the Second Adam confronted Satan with what stands written in Deuteronomy (Matt 4:4).
When in turn Satan ventured to quote the written Word in the Psalms in a biased way (4:6), Jesus did not respond by resorting to some higher authority, for no appeal transcends Scripture as the authoritative divine Word; rather, he thwarted Satan by twice more facing him with the unchangeable written Word of God (4:7, 10).[24]”
The words “the word of God” (logos theou) is found more than 40 times in the NT: It is equated with the OT (e.g. Mark 7:13); Jesus preached it (Luke 5:1), and then His apostles after Him (e.g. Acts 4:31; 6:2, 7; 8:14, 25; 11:1; 12:4; 13:5, 7, 44, 48, 49; 15:35–36; 16:32; 17:13; 18:11; 19:10, 20). The apostle Paul wrote 13 of the NT epistles yet note how he referred to God’s Word: not as his own, but as the “Word of God” (2 Cor. 2:17; 4:2; Col. 1:25; 1 Thess. 2:13).
Those who do not submit to God’s authority in Scripture seriously are condemned (Jer. 8:8–9; Mark 7:1–13; 1 Thess. 4:8). On the other hand, those who rightfully honor and submit to God’s authority in Scripture are commended (Neh. 8:5–6; Rev 3:8).
Therefore, the preacher and teacher of God’s Word is His herald; commissioned by Him, that preacher and teacher is therefore to “preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2). Hence, he or she now has God’s authority to call forth action, love and obedience; that authority (thankfully) lies not with or even in himself, for he or she is not even close to being adequate for such a task (e.g. 2 Cor. 3:1-6)!
Now, those called by God to preach and teach His Word can do so with the confidence and the authority He gives to them (e.g. 1 Tim. 5:15; 2 Tim. 4:2; Titus 2:15). In fact, every area of life – and every man and woman in every station of life – is under the authority of God Himself. This is expressed in and through His Word, so that people know what is required of them (e.g. Prov. 16:11-12, 33; Ps. 2; 19).
What are the practical outcomes of the authority of Scripture? First, let every Christian know that God’s Word is inviolable; man will never change it; he cannot alter it; he cannot undermine it, refute it or violate it with impunity.
God’s Word must be obeyed; a Christian must just as readily accept His judgment and righteousness as he would his grace, love and mercy. Therefore, no matter what the prevailing culture consensus, emotions, arguments or pressures, NO Christian may EVER minimize, apologize or even “soft-peddle” His Word.
He may NEVER view Scripture as one truth among many; it is “the truth” and all men must submit to it. It would naturally follow that if the Bible were inspired by God and kept by Him to be inerrant and infallible, it would also contain within itself its own inherent authority.
In our world, authority is sometimes resented, but the authority of Scripture is given for the blessing and benefit of humanity (cf. Ps. 1; Josh. 1:5-9; Mt. 7:24-27; John 8:31-32; 15:1-7; 14:21).
However, this does not mean that Scripture doesn’t call for our complete obedience: it does! But the results of such obedience always carry with them the greatest of blessings – not all of which are promised in this life (cf. Heb. 11).
Geoffrey Bromiley, in his excellent article on the authority of Scripture, points out the following:
“If the Bible claimed no unique authority as God’s self-revelation, there would be no reason to assert that authority. There would also be no reason for absolute commitment to biblical teaching. On the other hand, if the Bible does in fact present itself as God’s authoritative Word, then one must reckon with it as such, by receiving that Word or rejecting it.[25]”
In its written form (not to mention the original oral teachings which were codified), God told Moses to record the defeat of the Amalekites in a book (Ex. 17:14), and at the giving of the law, He Himself wrote the first tablets (Ex. 32:16).
As instructed by God, Moses also wrote “all the words of the Lord” (Ex. 24:4). As Moses’ successor to lead Israel after his death, Joshua wrote an account of the covenant between God and the Israelites at Shechem (Josh. 24:26).
Josiah treated the book of the law as authoritative when he tragically found it neglected for years by apostate religious leaders in the temple (2 Kings 22:8-16). Jeremiah committed his oral messages to writing (Jer. 36:1-4).
And Ezra read and expounded the law in order to teach Israelites who had returned from Babylonian captivity how to fulfill their covenant obligations to the LORD (Ezra 8).
None other than Jesus Himself used the authoritative and binding phrase, “It is written” on three occasions when He faced a major battle with Satan over who would ultimately have authority over all people (Mt. 4:3-14).
Moreover, He saw in His own ministry a fulfillment of what had earlier been written down by Isaiah (Luke 4:16-21; cf. Is. 61:1f.). Incredibly, He even predicted His own death and resurrection on the basis of what was written (e.g. Luke 18:31).
Jesus even declared to His apostles that everything that was written in the Old Testament about Him had to be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). After His death, resurrection and ascension, His apostles stressed the foretelling of His birth, life and ministry (e.g. Mt. 1:22f.).
The apostles also were fully aware of their own divine commission to write Scripture (Luke 1:1-4). Bromiley notes that “John’s Gospel roundly asserts that it is written to evoke the response of faith and resultant newness of life in Christ” (John 20:31).[26]
And we’ve already seen (above) that Peter recognized that Paul’s writings were already part of the canon of Scripture (2 Pet. 3:16; cf. 1 Tim. 5:18 and Mt. 10:10. The apostle John claimed divine inspiration and authority to write Revelation (1:1-3) and he gave the sternest warning possible against anyone adding to or taking away from the book of Revelation (Rev. 22:18f.).
Paul also was quite aware of his own apostolic commission from Jesus to write Scripture (1 Cor. 9:9; cf. Deut. 25:4 and 1 Cor. 4:1; 2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Thess. 2:13). Henry gives the following definition of the authority of Scripture:
“The inspired Scriptures, revealing God’s transcendent will in objective written form, are the rule of faith and conduct through which Christ exercises his divine authority in the lives of Christians.[27]”
Henry goes on to note how “The Creator reveals his authority in the cosmos, in history, and in inner conscience, a disclosure of the living God that penetrates into the mind of every human being (Rom. 1:18-20; 2:12-15).”[28]
The outcome of the authority of Scripture for all human beings is wonderfully beneficial:
“In the Scriptures, the character and will of God, the meaning of human existence, the nature of the spiritual realm, and the purposes of God for human beings in all ages are stated in propositionally intelligible form that all can understand.
The Bible publishes in objective form the criteria by which God judges individuals and nations, and the means of moral recovery and restoration to personal fellowship with him.[29]”
The authority of Scripture also stems from its reliability: In making its declarations, can the NT, for example, substantiate its accuracy with accuracy in time, place, dates, names, titles and other such critical details?
If anyone can undermine the reliability of Scripture by disproving its claims of accuracy in the above areas, then Scripture has no authority. The fact is that Christianity is an historical religion, based on historical evidence (e.g. Luke 3:1-2). Does the evidence hold up?
There are three aspects of evidence in literature which test its veracity: A. Biographical Evidence; B. Internal Evidence; C. External Evidence. If any of this fail at any given point, the document in question loses its credibility.
Since we do not contain the original documents of the OT and NT, the science of textual criticism – which painstakingly examines the consistency (or lack thereof) of extant copies, their dating and the amount of copies – determines the reliability of those documents.
When it comes to the NT in particular, the biographical evidence for its authority and reliability is nothing short of staggering – especially when compared with any other document in antiquity. We have 5,686 Greek manuscripts of the NT, some which may date within the same century that the original NT letters were written, but most of which date within three decades and others within 100 years.
Contrast this with Homer’s Iliad, of which there are only 643 extant copies and the oldest, most reliable manuscript dating 1,000 years after the original was written.
Moreover, we have more than 10,000 NT manuscripts written in Latin; 4,100 in Slavic, 2,500 in Armenian; more than 2,000 in the Ethiopian language for a grand total of about 25,000 ancient Greek manuscripts and they all agree substantially with each other – less minor copyist errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. Yet not one single doctrine has been affected!
With respect to the extremely high standard of the internal test of an ancient document, we find no contradictions among the writers of the NT.
Moreover, the witness they all give concerning names, dates, places, titles, culture, geography and history are all accurate and their accuracy has been corroborated for centuries by the toughest, most highly respected Christian and non-Christian archaeologists and historians.
This is even more impressive when we consider, for example, that the different gospel writers use different eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ teaching, life, death and resurrection – a clear demonstration that they did not copy each other and hence they were not guilty of collusion.
The accounts of the NT writers were written while their critics were still alive, and they suffered withering attacks from those critics (e.g. Acts 2:22). Any of those critics could easily have produced evidence to the contrary in the NT writers were lying or sloppy or negligent with their eyewitness testimony – but no one refuted the accuracy of their testimony!
Greater credibility and authority in their writings is established when we consider that in the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, for example, the most faithful eyewitness testimony did not come from His apostles.
They were actually shown to be highly skeptical of Jesus’ resurrection, despite His many prophecies given to them about Him being raised from the dead. Instead, the gospel writers show that Jesus’ female followers attested to His resurrection.
The significance of this is that their eyewitness testimony would never have been accepted in Jewish courts of law! Finally, we have external evidence of the veracity of the NT – evidence that comes from outside the NT itself from both Jewish and Gentile historians of that era and archaeological evidence.
First, the most celebrated Jewish historian – Josephus – who actually wrote for the Roman government. He wrote the Antiquities of the Jews at the end of the first century. Josephus was one of the few survivors of the Roman slaughter of the Jews from 66-70 A.D.
He turned himself in to the Roman soldiers and years later was called upon by the Roman government to write an account of their wars with the Jews.
Like the NT writers, Josephus mentions by name the following: The Roman emperors Augustus, Claudius, Tiberius and Nerio; Quirinius, the governor of Syria; Pilate; Felix and Festus, all the procurators of Judea; the high priestly families (Annas, Caiaphas, Ananias and the others); the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Josephus discusses at length John the Baptist; James the brother of Jesus; Herod Antipas and the sudden death of Herod Agrippa. But here are some of his most noteworthy comments of Jesus:
“And there arose about this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed we should call him a man. For he was a doer of marvelous deeds, a teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure. He led away many Jews, and also many of the Greeks.
This man was the Christ. And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross on his impeachment by the chief men among us, those who had loved him at first did not cease; for he appeared to them on the third day alive again, the divine prophets having spoken these and thousands of other wonderful things about him: and even now the tribe of Christians, so named after him, has not yet died out.[30]”
Beyond Josephus, considered by the Jews to be an expert historian, Jewish literature discussing the history of Israel during Jesus’ time and up to the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is sadly very sparse.
Yet nowhere in any Jewish writings of antiquity has there been any attempt to deny His existence or the veracity of His ministry. On the contrary, the key Jewish historical passage outside of Josephus comes from the tractate Sanhedrin (43a) of the Babylonian Talmud:
On the eve of the Passover, Jesus of Nazareth was hung. During forty days a herald went before him crying aloud: “He ought to be stoned because he has practiced magic, has led Israel astray and caused them to rise in rebellion. Let him who has something to say in his defence come forward and declare it.” But no one came forward, and he was hung on the eve of the Passover.[31]
We should notice in the above paragraph an acknowledgement of our Lord’s miracles and crucifixion, though His miracles were disparaged, even as they were during His earthly ministry by the religious leaders (Mt. 9:34; 12:24; John 9:24; 10:20).
We should also note the desire to have Him stoned to death as a false prophet, which also was attempted (John 10:31), but failed. Instead, His own prophecy was fulfilled, that He would be crucified (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:34).
The significance of the Babylonian Talmud lies in this fact: it was written from 200-500 A.D. – plenty of time after the life of Jesus to attempt to prove that He never existed! Moreover, the Talmud was a central text of Judaism: it was a written record of rabbinic (rabbis were authoritative Jewish teachers) discussions pertaining to Jewish law, customs, ethics, philosophy and history.
The Talmud has two components: 1) the Mishnah, which is a commentary on the Oral Law of the Old Testament (OT) and 2) the Gemara, which discusses the Mishnah and the OT.
The Mishnah was completed in approximately 200 A.D. and the Gemara about 500 A.D.
Roman historians didn’t write much about Jesus either, but there are two reasons for that: in their eyes, there were many “competitors” to be the Jewish Messiah, and Jesus was merely one of them.
In addition, the Romans disliked the Jews, and Judea, where most of His ministry took place, was viewed by the Romans as an “armpit” or an outpost of their empire – a most undesirable place to be.
Nevertheless, it is still significant that two Roman historians – Pliny the Younger and Tacitus – both record something of Jesus’ life.
Pliny the Younger was governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor and wrote to Emperor Trajan seeking counsel in dealing with Christians in his area, whom he describes as coming together at fixed seasons and singing a hymn to Christ as God.[32]
Tacitus writes of Jesus:
“Christus, the founder of the name (Christians), had undergone the death penalty in the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate, and the pernicious superstition was checked for a moment, only to break out once more, not merely in Judea, the home of the disease, but in the capital itself, where all things horrible or shameful in the world collect and find a vogue.[33]”
Thus, as we combine these historical, non-Christian accounts of Jesus, we get the following summary that appears in the gospels:
“Jesus was from Nazareth; He lived a wise, virtuous life; He was crucified in Israel under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Tiberius Caesar at the time of the Passover, being considered the Jewish king; His disciples slowly became convinced of His resurrection three days after His crucifixion; His enemies acknowledged His miracles, even though they referred to them as “sorcery”: His small band of disciples went from fearing for their lives to extremely bold preachers of salvation in Jesus alone; they denied Roman and Greek polytheism, lived highly commendable moral lives and worshiped Jesus as God.[34]”
Thus, the most important presupposition of Scripture is its supernatural origin and nature (e.g. Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12), working through ordinary human beings! For God to preserve Scripture the way it has been preserved – using fallible men to write it -- is in itself one of the greatest miracles in history.
More Scriptural Examples of Its Authority
In many cases, Scripture shows us prophecy and fulfillment in one or two verses that seem insignificant or obscure, at least in their original historical setting. When Jesus refers to them, they gain even more prominence.
For example, in John 13:18, He quotes Ps. 41:9, in itself not a verse that seems to have had a great deal of significance. Yet, when God chooses to fulfill it, it indeed has great significance, as we can see in John 13:26-27.
Thus, the authority of Scripture lies in the One who inspired it and who alone can fulfill it – even working through man’s free will.
In order to demonstrate the essential biblical doctrine of justification by faith[35] to his Jewish readers who believed one could only have right-standing before God by keeping the Law, Paul appeals to the authority of God’s Word to establish his point.
Paul also knows that his Jewish readers revered the Word of God as the truth, with its own, unchallenged authority. And so, Paul points to the OT to establish that Abraham himself was justified by faith before God even gave the Law.
We find this progression in Rom. 3-4: To establish his arguments, note his words, “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” Every one of his Jewish readers would have accepted that statement.
Nevertheless, Paul goes on to use the phrase, “as it is written” (Rom. 3:4). It is important to point out the Greek tense of these words: they are in the perfect passive indicative, meaning that although they (“That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged”) were written one time (from Ps. 51:4), their authority continues on, indefinitely.
Hence, Paul asserts – and his readers would have accepted – the permanent, binding authority of the words as accurately coming from God. Next, in order to establish that both Jews and Gentiles are all sinners in need of God’s grace through Christ, Paul quotes a great many of verses from the OT in Rom. 3:10-18.
But note how he first introduces his quotation: with the same words as in Rom. 3:4: “as it is written” (Rom. 3:10). Again, those words are in the perfect passive indicative in Greek, indicating to us their original and ongoing, binding authority.
Again, Paul’s readers would not have disputed what he said. As he moves into the climax of his argument – that believers are justified by faith and not by works (specifically, keeping the Law), Paul asks the important, rhetorical question of his readers: “What does the Scripture say?” (Rom. 4:3).
And of course, this question is followed by his quotation of Gen. 15:6. Again, Paul’s sole basis of authority for what he teaches comes from the Word of God.
And yet, Paul is not through with establishing his argument, so he also uses David as an example. However, in this case, Paul recognizes that God didn’t just drop the Bible down from heaven, into our hands; He uses men to speak through.
Thus, Paul writes, “just as David also speaks” (Rom. 4:6). What Paul then quotes is from Ps. 32:2, but that was written by David 3,000 years ago! But it’s highly instructive to and for us that Paul uses a present-tense verb: “speaks.”
Accordingly, Paul is stating authoritatively for us that God’s Word – written ages ago – still speaks to us today, under His inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul returns to the greatest example of all regarding justification by faith before the writing of the Law – Abraham – in Rom. 4:17 (quoting Gen. 17:5).
And once again, to establish the credibility of his argument, he uses the phrase “as it is written,” to prove that Abraham was indeed justified by faith – apart from the Law. And the apostle hammers home his point again in Rom. 4:18: “according to that which had been spoken” (again, perfect passive indicative in Greek).
Moreover, he links his quotation of Gen. 15:6 in Rom. 4:22 with the words “Now not for his sake only was it written” (italics mine, for emphasis), in Rom. 4:23.
Thus, we’ve seen seven examples from Paul to establish the cardinal Christian doctrine of justification by faith for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life – seven examples – all rooted and grounded in the authority of Scripture!
Amazingly, Jesus Himself – the sinless Son of God – stood on the authority of Scripture in His epic battle against Satan in order to be victorious over his temptations (Mt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-14). Not one time in this episode of spiritual warfare did Jesus point to His divinity or to His sinless humanity. In fact, He didn’t even call upon the Father or the Holy Spirit for help!
Instead, with each temptation, Jesus quoted Scripture, with the introductory words, “It is written” (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10). Each time Jesus declared “It is written,” He quoted directly from the OT (Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13; 10:20, respectively).
So shaken by the authority and power of God’s Word, even the devil quoted Scripture (out of context) to attempt to gain mastery over Jesus (Mt. 4:6; cf. Ps. 91:11-12).
Every good book on Theology has a section on the Authority of Scripture, often included in a section on the Inspiration, Inerrancy and Infallibility of Scripture. Immediately in Rom. 1, Paul lays down for all time the authority of the Word of God.
It is his entire basis for ministry; it is a supernatural authority, in that it comes directly from God to the people, through men He chose to write His Word, without bypassing their personality, their culture, their experiences, or their heart for the people they write to. Such is the wonder, the miracle of Holy Scripture.
This authority is seen in the mere use of the word “gospel,” for nothing can be good news – great news – unless it’s true and verifiable. Its power can be understood with the supernatural phenomenon of prophecy and fulfillment (Rom. 1:2-4) – particularly in the Person of the Savior, the Messiah, Jesus.
The Word of God is the means by which the Gentiles will come to obey God – those who later will be shown to have been His enemies (Rom. 5:8-10) – yet converted through that authoritative Word of Promise. This is the powerful gospel Paul refers to in Rom. 1:16; only a true, supernatural gospel has the power to save, to transform, to liberate from sin, and to give eternal life.
Indeed, it is “the truth of God” (Rom. 1:25). In 2 Thess. 2:9-12, Paul reiterates the authority of Scripture as the determining factor of where one spends eternity. He points out that men will be thoroughly deceived by Satan “because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (v.10).
Due to that rejection and their inveterate refusal to repent of their own wickedness, they will be judged (note the urgency to receive the truth of this authoritative Word) so that they will believe lies, rather than “believe the truth” (v.12). They abjectly repudiated the grace of God given them through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus; they will have chosen Hell for themselves.
Romans is grounded decisively in the truth of the authoritative Word of God, the only inspired, inerrant, and infallible Scripture ever known or given to man. It is God’s greatest gift to us, along with His Son, Jesus.
The word translated “impossible” is linked to and followed by Ps. 16:9-11, and it shows the authority, inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture.
In Eph. 4:17, while all of Paul’s words are inspired by God, what he is about to say bears particular weight, seen especially in his words “and affirm together with the Lord” (v.17), where the word “affirm” is used to introduce a solemn declaration.
That is a statement that Paul is aware of his apostolic authority to write Scripture, just like the OT prophets, who declared, “Thus says the LORD.” Moreover, that authority becomes the authority of Scripture, since it’s the Word of God and therefore must be obeyed. It is effective, powerful, life-giving and transforming.
There are no errors in what the biblical authors write; accordingly, Scripture has been preserved without error and is infallible – all of it being inspired by God.
2 Timothy 3:16
“All scripture is inspired by God an d is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correction faults and giving instructions for right living.”
Luke 24:25, 44-45: more on the authority, inspiration, inherency and infallibility of Scripture. In Acts 1:15- 21, the stunning precision of every matter of Scripture. Likewise, what Jesus prayed in John 17:12.
Foot notes:
[1] The Westminster Confession of Faith (Edinburgh: Free Church of Scotland, 1955), 1.4, 5.
[2] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 267.
[3] Ibid., 268.
[4] John MacArthur, Jr., The Inerrant Word: Biblical, Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives, ed. John MacArthur, Jr. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), 17.
[5] Ian Hamilton, “Jesus’s Submission to Holy Scripture,” in The Inerrant Word: Biblical, Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives, ed. John MacArthur, Jr. (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), 85.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., 85.
[8] Ibid., 86.
[9] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 467.
[10] Ibid., 468.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), 235.
[14] Barry G. Webb, The Message of Isaiah, The Bible Speaks Today, ed. J.A. Motyer (Downers Grove, Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), 198.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid., 199.
[17] J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993), 398-399.
[18] Ibid., 399.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Carl F.H. Henry, “The Authority and Inspiration of the Bible,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 1, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 7.
[21] Ibid.
[22] Ibid., 8-10.
[23] Ibid., 10.
[24] Ibid., 13.
[25] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, “Scripture, Authority Of,” International Bible Encyclopedia, Gen. Ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Vol. Four (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 362.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Carl F. Henry, “The Authority of the Bible,” in The Origin of the Bible, ed. Philip Wesley Comfort (Wheaton: Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), 14.
[28] Ibid., 16.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Everett F. Harrison, A Short Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 17. Quoted from Antiquities xviii.3.3.
[31] Ibid., 15.
[32] Ibid., 19.
[33] Robert H. Stein, Jesus the Messiah: A Survey of the Life of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 27.
[34] Norman Geisler and Peter Bocchino, Unshakable Foundations (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2001), 269.
[35] This essential, vital doctrine means that a believer in Jesus Christ is declared righteous before God through Him – not through his own efforts to please God.
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