some thoughts

Today we discussed (or rather, I gave a talk on) The Doctrine of the Word of God II. The main idea of the class, (following up on our recognition of the Origin (and thus, the Authority and Inerrancy) of the Word of God from last week,) was that Scripture (as the Word of God), is completely reliable, clear, necessary, and sufficient, so we can trust it, we can understand it, we need it–and we need it alone.

• The Origin of Scripture (last week) is God, so the Word of God carries his authority. The original manuscripts were inerrant and infallible–the “only rule for faith and life.”
• The Reliability of Scripture means that we can trust our copy of the Bible (provided it’s one of the more accurate translations, such as the KJV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, or ESV). Many years have passed since the original writing but our copy, in relation to the originals, is reliable–so we can trust that what we read today is the same as what was written then, and is thus the reliable Word (and Will) of God for faith and life.
• The Clarity (or “Perspecuity”) of Scripture means that the Bible is understandable. It “it makes wise the simple,” (Psalm 19:7; 119:130) it is to be taught diligently to our children, discussed at home and abroad, and meditated on from morning until night (Deut. 6). It is clear, so we can understand it (though some parts are more difficult to grasp than others. Difficult doesn’t mean impossible).
• The Necessity of Scripture means that we need to read Scripture or hear about it from others for knowledge of the gospel (by which we must be saved). (Rom. 10:5ff). We don’t need Scripture know God as our Creator (Psalm 19:1; Acts 14:16-17; Romans 1:18-23; Romans 2:14-15), but it’s only “by and with” the Scriptures (illumined by the Holy Spirit) that we come to know him as our Redeemer.
• The Sufficiency of Scripture means that the Word of God [contains] everything God wants us to know about himself, about mankind, about his way of dealing with men, about salvation, about God’s covenants with men, about the purpose of history and the future, and about the moral requirements for the catholic (i.e., universal) church, etc. We may not add anything to the Words of God for the church; Scripture alone is “morally binding on the conscience” of the church. We need no Book of Mormon, no Koran, no Science and Health with a Key to the Scriptures, no writings of men who claim to be the returned Messiah (like Sun Myung Moon), or even the words of Kenneth Hagin/Copeland. (This does not mean that God doesn’t give us direct instructions for us as individuals–such as being called to missionary work in a particular place, or being called to pastor a certain congregation, or even to strike up a conversation with a specific stranger. These instructions can be valid, if they are weighed against the “more sure word” of scripture [2 Peter 1:9, in context] and found to be “good” [1 Thess. 5:20-21], but are not as certain or as authoritative as the written word, nor are these specific instructions to be morally binding on the conscience of the church-universal. Nevertheless, once found to be “good,” these instructions become morally binding on the individual as a matter of conscience. This same method of “weighing” is used of congregational prophecies as well. [1 Cor. 14:29-33])
• However, Scripture is none of these things without the active work of the Holy Spirit illuminating to our minds and hearts, and bringing us to the conviction of all these perfections of the Word of God.

The illustration I closed with was that Bible is like the North Star for all of thought and all of life. It’s reliable because it’s permanent, unchangable by the hands of man–it always points North. It’s clear (though if clouds obstruct your view, don’t look away–rather, keep looking and eventually the clouds will pass), and it’s universally visible for guidance. It’s necessary because if we don’t have a point of reference for our travels, we’ll wander aimlessly and end up in the wrong “port.” It’s sufficient because all we need is a single point of reference in order to chart our course [update: ok, so we need two for ‘triangulation.’ But cut me some slack; it’s just an analogy]. Yet, despite all of these things, we can have a clear view of true north and seaworthy vessel, but we won’t get anywhere without wind. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, none of the above perfections will be understanable, or helpful to us.

The application is that we can find answers to all our questions about life and living, doctrine and ethics, what (and how) to think and what (and how) to live. We had only 45 minutes today; we covered everything but (again) had little time for class discussion. We really need about 1.5 hours per class. (Maybe even 2.) I hope it was encourgaing, and helpful; instructional and inspirational; informative and reformative. Next session: The Doctrine of God (Part I)…

(This outline, with minor revisions, was lifted almost directly from Grudem’s Systematic Theology; which was written for this very purpose. Though, in the future I think a better place to begin is with The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God.)