Articles
What the Bible Says about Itself
We put a lot of emphasis on the Bible. Why? The answer is simple: we believe it to be the inspired word of God. Consider a few claims that the Bible makes for itself.
It is a historical record. Not every Bible is a book of history, and not every Bible writer claims to have personally experienced everything he wrote about. The apostles, however, were emphatic that they were eyewitnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8). “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’— and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:16-18). “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life . . . what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1, 3).
It is inspired by God. Obviously, men wrote the Bible, but the men who wrote it claimed they were being directed by God in their writing. “For no prophecy of Scripture was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). “All Scripture is inspired by God . . .” (2 Timothy 3:16). Inspiration was not dictation; it was a divine guidance, not merely of thoughts but even of words, that ensures accuracy (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).
It is truth. Jesus prayed to the Father, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). He said, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32). As already noted, the Bible says it is God’s word and the record of Jesus’ word, hence it is the “word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
It is authoritative. Jesus said, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Paul said the things he wrote “are the Lord’s commandment” (1 Corinthians 14:37). Jesus emphasized the importance of keeping His word (John 8:51; 14:23), whether He spoke it personally or through His apostles (John 15:20).
It is understandable. “For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you understand until the end” (2 Corinthians 1:13). “. . . I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:3b-4). The Bible does not need some special set of rules by which to interpret it, nor does interpreting it require a unique gift or advanced degrees. Are some things in it difficult? Yes, indeed! It says so (2 Peter 3:16). But the vast majority of it is simple and straightforward; easy enough to understand, even when it is hard to obey.
It is sufficient. God may not have revealed enough to satisfy all our curiosity, but it is enough to meet our needs. John summarized, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). Paul wrote of the totality of Scripture, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV).
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide the apostles into all truth (John 16:13), and the apostles affirmed that they preached and wrote by the Spirit, enabling us to know what they knew (Ephesians 3:3-5). We should not, therefore, anticipate any further revelation from God. In fact, any revelation from any source that differs from the gospel is to be rejected (Galatians 1:8-9). “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Having briefly summarized some of the Bible’s claims, next week we will consider some reasons why we should believe them.
