The Internal Testimony Of The Bible About Itself
Up till' now, we have created three threads in which we have discussed at great length the evidence for a creator God such as the Bible reveals to us, looking at and discussing three different arguments, the Cosmological Argument, Intelligent Design, and the Moral Argument. These arguments were created to provide a foundation for the real discussion that I hope for us now to enter into. Our debate will now focus upon the Bible itself.
When left on their own, the history of world religions shows us that people come up with all kinds of ideas and beliefs about the nature of gods that have created and/or rule over the material world. Its not my desire to look at or break down the various belief systems and religions of the world, as a whole. I bring these things up just to point out that if God did not provide a revelation of Himself to mankind, such as the Bible claims to be a record of, then men and women would go in every which direction in their beliefs and ideas about God. We had to have a revelation of God if we were ever to know much about Him beyond simple concepts that are conveyed to us through creation itself, or what is referred to as natural revelation.
The Bible consists of 66 books written by about 44 authors writing in three different languages, and over a period of about 1,600 years. It is broken up into two divisions, an Old Testament that contains 39 books, and a New Testament that contains 27 books. Yet, the Bible itself gives a clear testimony about itself and how it came about. It contains throughout references to its being of divine origin and coming about through inspiration of God.
The Old Testament consists of 5 books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), the books of poetry (Psalms and Proverbs), Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, and the rest of the books referred to as the Hagiographa (holy writings). The New Testament consists of 5 historical books (gospels and Acts), the epistles (letters), and the Revelation.
The Bible reveals that there has been a "progressive revelation" of God about Himself, with the Old Testament writers predicting prophetically the New Testament era and message, and the New Testament writers interpreting the Old Testament era and significance. The fact that so many different authors from different backgrounds, speaking three different languages, and writing over such a long period of time, could discuss the same themes without major contradiction is more than amazing. But, add to that the fact that the Bible is unlike any other religious book in that it is full of predictive prophesy (at least 35% of it is prophesy) and contains hundreds of verifyable prophesies fulfilled many years after their writing, then it truly can only be explained as being of divine origin.
I plan to create several threads concerning the Bible and its infallibility, inerrancy, and authority, however for this first thread I want to simply provide for discussion the internal testimony of the Bible about itself. What does the Bible say about its origin, inspiration, and authority? As you consider these 35 things that I have compiled about what the Bible says about itself, please look up the reference for these in your Bible so that you can be sure you understand what the Bible claims about itself:
1. All scripture is inspired by God: 2 Tim. 3:16-17
2. The apostle Paul personified scripture as God speaking: Gal. 3:8,22
3. The totality of what scripture records is called a divine oracle: Rom. 3:2
4. The apostle Paul’s arguments in scripture can turn upon a single word: Gal. 3:16
5. To felix, Paul testified he believed in everything written in the law and prophets: Acts 24:14, Rom. 15:4
6. Nowhere does Paul dissent from any of the teachings of scripture, whether its history, doctrine, morals, or prophecies.
7. Scripture is called the voice of the Spirit: Acts 4:25, Heb. 3:7; 10:15
8. Peter wrote that no scripture ever originated from man’s will: 2 Peter 1:20-21
9. The Spirit of Christ spoke through the prophets: 1 Pet. 1:11, as he did through Paul: 2 Peter 3:16
10. Jesus pronounced the indefectible authority of the Old Testament: Matt. 5:17-18, Luke 16:17
11. Jesus called scripture the word of God: Matt. 7:13
12. Jesus said that everything in scripture had to be fulfilled: Mk. 14:49
13. Jesus made the same claim for scripture as He did for His own words: Matt. 24:35, Jn. 7:17; 12:48-50
14. Jesus’ “arguments were clinched by a text, His foes were rebuked for not knowing scripture better, Satan himself was rebuffed by a simple appeal to the written word of God, His ministry was governed down to the smallest detail by what scripture predicted the Messiah would be and do. He refused to separate revelation from scripture, which He used plentifully, confidently and effectively,” Biblical Revelation: Clark Pinnock
15. Christ was never reluctant to criticize the views of His generation when they impeded the true knowledge of God, unlike the modern liberals who seek to interpret scripture in light of secular standards and norms.
16. Jesus rarely appealed to direct revelation for His teaching, He usually cites the scripture as His witness: Luke 4:21; 7:22, 17; 18:31
17. Jesus said God’s word cannot fail or be broken: Matt. 4:4; 5:18
18. God’s word is inerrant as originally given : Pr. 30:5-6
19. God’s word possesses authority: Isaiah 1:2
20. God’s word is efficacious and will not return void: Heb. 4:2, Isaiah 55:11
21. There is no “evidence Christ on any occasion belittled scripture or set it aside (as the Jews did with tradition), or criticized it, or opposed it (although at times He was free or interpretative with it), or operated as a higher critic of the Old Testament in any way, “ Biblical Revelation: Clark Pinnock
22. God’s word has clarity: Psalms 119:105
23. Everything that a believer needs to know about salvation and the Christian walk is contained therein: 2 Peter 1:3-4
24. Scripture contains enough to lead men to Christ and enough to ensure the doctrinal, spiritual and ethical welfare of the people of God: 2 Tim. 3:15, Luke 24:25-27
25. The scriptures proved sufficient for Christ and the apostles and they had no other authority.
26. The scriptures thoroughly furnish the man of God for every good work: 2 Tim. 3:17.
27. “Nor is there any afflictive circumstance a good man can come into, but there is a promise in the word of God suitable to him,” Gill.
28. “For scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which as nothing useful and necessary to be known has been omitted, so nothing is taught but what is of importance to know,” Calvin
29. The Bible was written over 1600 years by 44 or so writers encompassed in numerous historical settings and cultures, men from numerous walks of life, dealing with every height and depth of emotion, facing situations which parallel any situations we may ever find ourselves, hence the Bible contains what we need to face any situation
30. Scripture doesn’t exhaust all possible or even all actual revelation: John 21:25
31. All scripture is not equally clear: 2 Peter 3:16. Yet obscure passages don’t affect the clarity of the essential doctrines of salvation. Scripture is essentially clear because it is God’s otherwise it would fail in its intention and not be sufficient. Because it is both we are commanded to read and obey it: John 5:39, Acts 17:11
32. Most Christians agree about at least 90% of the doctrines of scripture
“If authority fails, all the ancient controversies and heresies will reappear, all is permitted,” Biblical Revelation, Pinnock
33. “The spiritual vacuum in every church is partly due to a loss of biblical authority,” pg 12, Biblical Revelation, Pinnock
34. If one part of the Bible is untrue, can we trust any part of it?
35. The Bible strictly forbids adding or taking away from the word of God: Rev. 22:18, 19; Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6
When left on their own, the history of world religions shows us that people come up with all kinds of ideas and beliefs about the nature of gods that have created and/or rule over the material world. Its not my desire to look at or break down the various belief systems and religions of the world, as a whole. I bring these things up just to point out that if God did not provide a revelation of Himself to mankind, such as the Bible claims to be a record of, then men and women would go in every which direction in their beliefs and ideas about God. We had to have a revelation of God if we were ever to know much about Him beyond simple concepts that are conveyed to us through creation itself, or what is referred to as natural revelation.
The Bible consists of 66 books written by about 44 authors writing in three different languages, and over a period of about 1,600 years. It is broken up into two divisions, an Old Testament that contains 39 books, and a New Testament that contains 27 books. Yet, the Bible itself gives a clear testimony about itself and how it came about. It contains throughout references to its being of divine origin and coming about through inspiration of God.
The Old Testament consists of 5 books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), the books of poetry (Psalms and Proverbs), Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, and the rest of the books referred to as the Hagiographa (holy writings). The New Testament consists of 5 historical books (gospels and Acts), the epistles (letters), and the Revelation.
The Bible reveals that there has been a "progressive revelation" of God about Himself, with the Old Testament writers predicting prophetically the New Testament era and message, and the New Testament writers interpreting the Old Testament era and significance. The fact that so many different authors from different backgrounds, speaking three different languages, and writing over such a long period of time, could discuss the same themes without major contradiction is more than amazing. But, add to that the fact that the Bible is unlike any other religious book in that it is full of predictive prophesy (at least 35% of it is prophesy) and contains hundreds of verifyable prophesies fulfilled many years after their writing, then it truly can only be explained as being of divine origin.
I plan to create several threads concerning the Bible and its infallibility, inerrancy, and authority, however for this first thread I want to simply provide for discussion the internal testimony of the Bible about itself. What does the Bible say about its origin, inspiration, and authority? As you consider these 35 things that I have compiled about what the Bible says about itself, please look up the reference for these in your Bible so that you can be sure you understand what the Bible claims about itself:
1. All scripture is inspired by God: 2 Tim. 3:16-17
2. The apostle Paul personified scripture as God speaking: Gal. 3:8,22
3. The totality of what scripture records is called a divine oracle: Rom. 3:2
4. The apostle Paul’s arguments in scripture can turn upon a single word: Gal. 3:16
5. To felix, Paul testified he believed in everything written in the law and prophets: Acts 24:14, Rom. 15:4
6. Nowhere does Paul dissent from any of the teachings of scripture, whether its history, doctrine, morals, or prophecies.
7. Scripture is called the voice of the Spirit: Acts 4:25, Heb. 3:7; 10:15
8. Peter wrote that no scripture ever originated from man’s will: 2 Peter 1:20-21
9. The Spirit of Christ spoke through the prophets: 1 Pet. 1:11, as he did through Paul: 2 Peter 3:16
10. Jesus pronounced the indefectible authority of the Old Testament: Matt. 5:17-18, Luke 16:17
11. Jesus called scripture the word of God: Matt. 7:13
12. Jesus said that everything in scripture had to be fulfilled: Mk. 14:49
13. Jesus made the same claim for scripture as He did for His own words: Matt. 24:35, Jn. 7:17; 12:48-50
14. Jesus’ “arguments were clinched by a text, His foes were rebuked for not knowing scripture better, Satan himself was rebuffed by a simple appeal to the written word of God, His ministry was governed down to the smallest detail by what scripture predicted the Messiah would be and do. He refused to separate revelation from scripture, which He used plentifully, confidently and effectively,” Biblical Revelation: Clark Pinnock
15. Christ was never reluctant to criticize the views of His generation when they impeded the true knowledge of God, unlike the modern liberals who seek to interpret scripture in light of secular standards and norms.
16. Jesus rarely appealed to direct revelation for His teaching, He usually cites the scripture as His witness: Luke 4:21; 7:22, 17; 18:31
17. Jesus said God’s word cannot fail or be broken: Matt. 4:4; 5:18
18. God’s word is inerrant as originally given : Pr. 30:5-6
19. God’s word possesses authority: Isaiah 1:2
20. God’s word is efficacious and will not return void: Heb. 4:2, Isaiah 55:11
21. There is no “evidence Christ on any occasion belittled scripture or set it aside (as the Jews did with tradition), or criticized it, or opposed it (although at times He was free or interpretative with it), or operated as a higher critic of the Old Testament in any way, “ Biblical Revelation: Clark Pinnock
22. God’s word has clarity: Psalms 119:105
23. Everything that a believer needs to know about salvation and the Christian walk is contained therein: 2 Peter 1:3-4
24. Scripture contains enough to lead men to Christ and enough to ensure the doctrinal, spiritual and ethical welfare of the people of God: 2 Tim. 3:15, Luke 24:25-27
25. The scriptures proved sufficient for Christ and the apostles and they had no other authority.
26. The scriptures thoroughly furnish the man of God for every good work: 2 Tim. 3:17.
27. “Nor is there any afflictive circumstance a good man can come into, but there is a promise in the word of God suitable to him,” Gill.
28. “For scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit, in which as nothing useful and necessary to be known has been omitted, so nothing is taught but what is of importance to know,” Calvin
29. The Bible was written over 1600 years by 44 or so writers encompassed in numerous historical settings and cultures, men from numerous walks of life, dealing with every height and depth of emotion, facing situations which parallel any situations we may ever find ourselves, hence the Bible contains what we need to face any situation
30. Scripture doesn’t exhaust all possible or even all actual revelation: John 21:25
31. All scripture is not equally clear: 2 Peter 3:16. Yet obscure passages don’t affect the clarity of the essential doctrines of salvation. Scripture is essentially clear because it is God’s otherwise it would fail in its intention and not be sufficient. Because it is both we are commanded to read and obey it: John 5:39, Acts 17:11
32. Most Christians agree about at least 90% of the doctrines of scripture
“If authority fails, all the ancient controversies and heresies will reappear, all is permitted,” Biblical Revelation, Pinnock
33. “The spiritual vacuum in every church is partly due to a loss of biblical authority,” pg 12, Biblical Revelation, Pinnock
34. If one part of the Bible is untrue, can we trust any part of it?
35. The Bible strictly forbids adding or taking away from the word of God: Rev. 22:18, 19; Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6
posted by Jim Bomkamp at
8:43 AM
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