ST 601 Bibliology and TheologyWest Coast Baptist College

J. Michael Lester, Instructor

I. IntroductionA. The doctrine of the Bible is the foundation for all that we believe – it is the bedrock for

Christianity. All that we know about God, we know from the Bible.

B. If we are not settled at this point, all other doctrines will be shaky at best. Thus, as we begin this study we are laying the groundwork for all other doctrines within the Bible.

C. Bibliology then is to be understood as fundamental to our faith. It is given the primary place within our Systematic Theology framework as the source from which all other doctrines are discovered.

“Bibliology . . . is much more than the touchstone of theological orthodoxy. . . . [I]t assumes the position of cornerstone of the theological structure; remove it and the superstructure crumbles and disintegrates. Therefore, the twentieth century battle over the doctrine of Holy Scripture is no insignificant quibble . . . but it is a conflict of basic proportions involving the very existence of theology and Christian faith in the traditional meanings of those terms.”1

D. Distinctions to Consider:1. Revelation concerns the communication of spiritual truth that was previously unknown

and otherwise unknowable.2. Inspiration concerns the recording of that spiritual truth.3. Illumination concerns the understanding of that spiritual truth.4. Canonization concerns the recognition of that spiritual truth.5. Preservation concerns the extension of that spiritual truth.6. Inerrancy concerns the validity of that spiritual truth.7. Infallibility concerns the authority of that spiritual truth.

II. Supernatural Origin of the BibleA. Uploaded at http://lester.wcbc.edu is an article by Benjamin B. Warfield

B. The article needs to be read – “The Divine Origin of the Bible”

1 John A. Witmer, “The Twentieth Century – Battleground of Bibliology,” Bibliotheca Sacra 111 (April 1954).

C. We are not dealing with a book that is just like any other book

1. We do not approach this book like the liberal

2. We have certain presuppositions that we bring to our interpretative tasks.

3. If we approach the Bible as a divine book, then we must expect divine help in understanding it. Therefore, when an unbeliever wields his academic prowess against the Bible, we should understand that with all of his educational expertise, he is an example of one who “professing to be wise, became a fool…”

III. Logical Organization of the BibleA. For the Old Testament

1. Torah (The Law)

2. Nebiim (The Prophets)

3. Kethubim (The Writings)

4. See Luke 24:44

B. For the New Testament

1. The Gospels

2. The Acts

3. The Epistlesa. Pastoral

b. Prison

c. Church

d. General

4. The Revelation

IV. Chronological Organization of the BibleA. Civilizations

1. In the OT, there is a progressiona. One man becomes two people

b. Two people become a family

c. A family becomes a fountain head

d. Descendants build cities

e. Cities develop culture

f. This culture leads to civilizations

g. These civilizations lead to nations, world powers, wars, etc

2. The OT tells the story of how a certain family interacted with all of these civilizations

a. From Adam to Noah, evil reigns and God judges

b. Noah has a son named Shem

c. Shem has a great grandson, Eber

d. Eber has a great, great grandson, Nahor

e. Nahor begets Terah, who begets Abraham

f. To Abraham, a covenant is made which sets his descendants, and specifically his descendants from Isaac, apart from all other families.

g. It is this special covenant group that the OT follows through its ups and downs.

3. As the Babylonians, Hittites, Egyptians, Moabites, etc play a part in furthering the story of Israel’s covenant relationship with God, they are mentioned by the biblical writers.

B. Dispensations

1. InnocenceMan was created innocent, not perfect. Responsibilities included: Being fruitful, having dominion, and obeying GodEnds in Disobedience and Death

2. ConscienceTheir eyes are opened and they feel shame and guiltConscience is not enough to govern manThis dispensation ends with the Flood

3. Human GovernmentBeginning with Noah, God makes a covenant about His future intentionsGod establishes human government, granting to them the right of capital punishmentThey also were able to eat meatThis ends at BABEL

4. Promise This begins with the Covenant with Abraham

“The dispensation of promise established clearly the principle of divine sovereignty, provided a channel of special divine revelation to the nation of Israel, continued provision of divine redemption and blessing, revealed the grace of God, and promised a

witness to the world.  Like the other dispensations, however, it ended in failure as far as bringing conformity to the will of God, and it laid the ground work for bringing in the law as a schoolmaster to bring believers to Christ (Gal 3:24)” 2

This ends with the giving of the Law

5. LawThe law should not be viewed as a list of do’s and don’ts

Rather, it should be understood as a covenant relationship based on shadows, types, and prophesied conditions that would come

It ends with a blind Israel killing her Messiah

6. Grace (Church)This is sometimes called the Church Age

Its commencement point is difficult to identify: Is it with John the Baptist, with Jesus calling His disciples; with the Cross, with the Ascension, or with Pentecost?

There is a responsibility in this age to tell everyone about the Gospel

It ends with the 2nd Coming (though some will end it with the Rapture, and just have 7 years of unidentified dispensation…)

7. KingdomEstablished with the 2nd Coming

Will last for 1,000 years

Will usher us into the Eternal Kingdom

During this dispensation, we rule and reign with Christ

V. Revelation – General and SpecialA. General Revelation

1. Problema. Does every rational being comprehend something of God? If so, how much of

God can he understand? Can he come to salvation without the Word of God?

b. Is God only to be revealed through mighty signs, wonders, and miracles? Or, can He make a disclosure of Himself through the more ordinary methods of nature and history?

c. There is a distinction that must be made:i. General Revelation is the disclosure of God in nature, in providential

history, and within the moral law in man’s heart (conscience). It is addressed to man as man and can be discovered by his natural abilities. Intuitively, man feels a responsibility to God and has an innate consciousness for a supreme being.

ii. Special Revelation is God’s self-disclosure through speaking, through signs and miracles, through utterances (both written and spoken) of

2 Lewis Chafer and John Walvoord, Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1972), 132.

prophets and apostles, and through the deeds / words of Christ (Heb 1:1-3). The goal of this type of revelation is for specific people at particular times and places to gain an understanding of God’s character and a knowledge of His saving purposes in His Son.

2. Biblical Theology of General Revelationa. Through the Dispensation of Innocence

Genesis 1:3, 9, 11 – God spoke the material reality into existence… (In other words, God communicates)

“The Hebrew community understood that God’s creative word was the same authoritative word by which he brought about the affairs of human history and the nations.”3

Genesis 1:26-27 – Humanity is created in the image of God (which communicates the fact that there is something inherent within man that speaks of God)

b. Through the Dispensation of ConscienceGenesis 3:8-13 – God created man with a conscience (which revealed itself in the guilt and shame that Adam and Eve experienced).

c. Through the Dispensation of Human GovernmentGenesis 9:14-16 – the rainbow is the only non-verbal symbol of a verbal promise of God (by the way, this passage begins with a blessing on the human race)

This covenant, symbolized by the rainbow, is universal (in other words, it is made with every living creature, even those who did not hear the covenant).

d. Through the Dispensation of PromiseGenesis 14:18ff – How did Melchizedek know about the Most High God?

e. Through the Dispensation of LawConsider the nature psalms (8, 19, 29, 65, 104, 148)

Psalm 14:1 – a fool is someone who closes his mind to the evidence

Psalm 19 identifies two realms of revelation (the book of nature, v1-6, and the book of the law, v7-13)

f. Dispensation of GraceSee Paul at Lystra Acts 14

See Paul at Athens Acts 17

Hear Paul write to Rome (chapter 1-2)

g. What about Church History?1. Early Church Theologians

a. They argued, based primarily on philosophy, that the mind knows there is a God.4

3 K. A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001), 145.

4 See, for example, Theophilus, To Autolychus, 1.5; Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies, 5.13; Tertullian, The Apology, 17.6 and Against Marcion, 1.10; and Origen, On First Principles, 1.1.6.

b. The Fathers also focused a good deal of attention on Romans 1, arguing that God revealed himself to mankind in creation and in human rationality.5

c. Origen of Alexandria (185-254) concerning Romans 1

“Paul says that what can be known about God is plain to them [the Gentile nations], thereby revealing that there is something about God which can be known, even if there is much that remains unknown. . . . It appears here that the wrath of God is revealed not to those who are ignorant of the truth, but to those who already know the truth, however imperfectly.”6

d. John Chrysostom (344-407) concerning Romans 1

“God has placed the knowledge of himself in human hearts from the beginning. But this knowledge they unwisely invested in wood and stone. They thus contaminated the truth, at least as far as they were able. Meanwhile the truth itself abides unchanged, possessing its own unchanging glory. . . . How did God reveal himself? By a voice from heaven? Not at all! God made a panoply which was able to draw them by more than a voice. He put before them the immense creation, so that both the wise and the unlearned, the Scythian and the barbarian, might ascend to God, having learned through sight the beauty of the things which they had seen.”7

Chrysostom also saw this to be an opportunity for salvation, since it was a legitimate means to come to know God. “Weren’t they able to hear the heavens speaking more clearly than a trumpet through the well-ordered harmony of all things? Did you not see the hours of night and day remaining constant, and the good order of winter, spring and the other seasons remaining both fixed and unmoved . . . ? Yet God did not set so vast a system of teaching before the heathen merely to deprive them of any excuse, but so that they might

5 T. Oden, “Without Excuse: Classic Christian Exegesis of General Revelation,” JETS 41 (March 1998): 55-68.6 Origen Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.7 Chrysostom Homilies on Romans 3.19.

voluntarily come to know him. It was by their own failure to recognize him that they deprived themselves of every excuse.”8

e. Basil of Caesarea (4th Century)

“You will find that the world was not devised at random or to no purpose, but to contribute to some useful end and to the great advantage of all beings. The cosmos is truly a training place for each rational soul, and a school for attaining the knowledge of God, because through visible and perceptible objects it provides guidance to the mind for the contemplation of the invisible.”9

f. Tertullian

“For how can the intellect be considered sovereign above the senses, when it is these senses that educate it for the discovery of truths? It is a fact that these truths are learned by means of palpable objects. Invisible things are discovered by the help of visible ones, even as the Apostle says in his Epistle.”10

2. Thomas Aquinasa. He distinguished between two realms: Nature and Graceb. He distinguished between two kinds of knowledge: Natural and

Revealedc. He stressed two ways of knowing: by means of reason and by

means of faithd. He had three important presuppositions:

i. Human beings have the power of a rational mindii. Intellect was not seriously affected by the Fall

iii. God’s existence is analogous to human existence.3. Empirical Liberalism (18th and 19th Century)

a. Liberalism taught that knowledge of God obtained by evaluation of natural and social sciences, since God has not given us any special revelation. (Rejected belief in inspired Scripture – the Bible was a collection of writings from religious men.11

b. They believed that insights from modern man are superior to the biblical writers.

8 Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans 3.20.9 Basil Hexameron, Homily 1.10 Tertullian A Treatise of the Soul.11 See Henry P. Van Dusen, The Vindication of Liberal Theology (New York: Scribner, 1963); L. Harold DeWolf, A

Theology of the Living Church (New York: Harper, 1953).

c. Experience can give a considerable knowledge of God

d. Liberal theology routinely refuses to accept special revelation, usually arguing that a person cannot distinguish between special revelation and general revelation, between “nature and the Bible on the ground of the more direct, unmediated character of the latter.”12

4. Existential Liberalisma. Argued that human beings know God in a mystical, life-changing

experience of grace.b. Schleiermacher believed that God is not found through revelation,

but through the feeling of absolute dependence and the uniting of the soul with the Soul of the universe.13

c. Paul Tillich proposed a natural theology that would leave God out.14

d. Karl Rahner, a Roman Catholic, argued that every human already has an a priori relationship with God and therefore possesses an experienced knowledge of God; therefore, the entire world constitutes an “anonymous Christianity.”15

5. Neo-Orthodoxya. Neo-orthodoxy was a reaction to liberalism and its rejection of the

truth of Scripture; however, neo-orthodoxy refused to return to the clear teaching of Scripture and ended up halfway between truth and falsehood.

b. Its leaders were Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Rudolph Bultmann in Germany; it became popular in the United States after World War 2, but as a movement died an early death.16 It remains an indirect influence on evangelicalism today.

c. Basic Tenets:i. There is no revelation outside of the Word, Jesus Christ

ii. The Bible is a record of that revelation, but not the revelation itself.

iii. Hence this statement: “The Bible contains the Word of God.”d. Reasons it rejected natural theology:

i. There is an infinite qualitative difference between God and humanity; hence, no one can reason from the universe to God.

ii. The Imago Dei (the Image of God) was annihilated in the fall; therefore, human reason will always lead a person in the wrong direction.

iii. There is no analogy of being between Creator and creature. God is so far removed from his creation that no analogy may be drawn between it and him. (So, accordingly Barth rejected

12 DeWolf, 65.13 Friedrich Schleiermacher, The Christian Faith (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976 reprint).14 Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951-63).15 Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations (New York: Seabury, 1974-76), 5:115-34.16 See especially Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1936-69), Vol. 1, Parts 1 and 2, and

Volume 2, Part 1.

any concept that Rom 1 teaches that general revelation can bring a man to some measure of knowledge of God…Based on his view of universal election, all heathen can know God theoretically.

6. Dutch Reformed Theologya. Its modern leaders were Abraham Kuyper, G. C. Berkouwer, and

Cornelius Van Til. These men were significant in the American scene as well.

b. Sin has shut the door to general revelation; only the regenerate can find God in nature.

c. Knowledge of God as Creator is predicated on knowledge of God as Redeemer. Unless one knows God as the Redeemer he cannot know God as Creator.

d. Van Til takes a strong presuppositionalist position:i. There are two ways of viewing reality: Christian and non-

Christianii. The only way to know anything about God is to presuppose

the God revealed in Scriptureiii. Sinful humans, however, are incapable of understanding

general revelation; in fact, the unsaved are epistemological atheists.17

7. Orthodox Theologya. Augustine

By means of general illumination, all men have a rudimentary knowledge of God. The mind, blessed by common grace, can draw further conclusions about the character of God. However, general revelation cannot save.

b. Martin LutherOne can know about God through general revelation, but not fully or spiritually…Only special revelation made salvation possible.

c. John CalvinGeneral revelation is the ability of humans to know God s Creator by intuition, by moral law, and the image of God.

d. General observationsMost evangelical scholars allow for a limited knowledge about God through general revelation.18.

3. Systematic Theological Formulationa. What is our basis?

17 Cornelius Van Til, An Introduction to Systematic Theology: In Defense of the Faith (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1974), 82.

18 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973 reprint), 21-25; Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology (Valley Forge: Judson, 1907), 26-27; Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority (Waco: Word, 1976-1983), 1:399-402; 2:69-90; Henry C. Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 7-10; Dale Moody, The Word of Truth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), 57-77; 276-77; Millard Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998), 177ff.

i. Based on creation (Ps 19; Rom 1)ii. Based on conscience (Rom 2:15; 2 Cor 4.2)

iii. Based on providential history (Acts 14:17; 17:24ff)

b. What are the means?i. Comes by perception, not communication

ii. It is reasonable to assume that the Designer placed pictures of himself in His design

iii. It is reasonable to conclude that God involves Himself in the lives of His people

c. What is its content?i. God is one (one source – Acts 17:26; one sustainer – Psalm 19; Rom 1)

ii. God is creator, the source of life (Acts 17:25; John 1:4)iii. God is eternal and independent (Ps 93.2; Rom 1.20; Acts 17.25)iv. God is invisible and powerful (Rom 1.20)v. God is personal and wise (Ps 104.24)

vi. He is distinct from universe but active within it (Acts 17:24ff)

d. What are the evidences?i. There is a universal human consciousness of dependence on a higher being.

This forms the basis for all of the world’s religions.ii. There is a universal sense of obligation for right and wrong

iii. There is a universal understanding of the intelligibility of lifeiv. There is a universal understanding about history and man’s part in it.

e. What is our responsei. Human perception

ii. Human accountabilityiii. The conscience

4. Apologetic Interaction concerning General Revelationa. Atheistic Suppression

b. Pantheistic Distortion

c. Liberalism’s Inflation

d. Neo-orthodoxy’s Denial

B. Special Revelation

1. Introductory commentsa. A working definition

b. Revelation vs Inspiration

c. Revelation vs Illumination

d. Revelation vs Rationalization

2. Introductory Characteristicsa. Divine revelation is Christocentric

b. Divine revelation is progressive

c. Divine revelation is varied in its meansi. Dreams

ii. Visionsiii. Miraclesiv. Theophanies / Christophanies

d. Divine revelation is accurate

e. Divine revelation ceases with close of canon

3. Problems to solvea. How does a man, woman, or child, created and loved by God, come to know the

Lord of the universe in a personal, saving relationship?b. If general revelation does not save but serves only to condemn, has the sovereign

God moved to communicate further dimensions of his person and redemptive plan, and if so, how has he done so?

c. How can a Christian determine by what means God has made known his saving purposes? How can finite, alienated persons identify and appropriate the several modes of special revelation?

d. Is God still giving further special revelation?e. Special revelation is important because it constitutes the prerequisite for the

formulation of a theology that is properly Christian. Moreover, it forms the basis whereby a person comes to know God savingly, to worship him, and to serve him meaningfully in life.

4. Biblical Theology of Special Revelationa. Dispensation of Innocence

i. God used specific language to create – Genesis 1.3, 6, 9 etc

ii. God spoke to man in a language they understood – Gen 2:16-17iii. God spoke on a regular basis to them as implied by Genesis 3:8-9

b. Dispensation of Consciencei. Gen 3.15 – Part of the first revelation of God after the Fall revealed the

person and mission of Christii. Gen 5.24 – Does this imply that God and Enoch had an ongoing

conversation?iii. Gen 6.13 – God spoke to Noah and told him His plan of destruction

c. Dispensation of Human Governmenti. God speaks to Noah about the rainbow…

d. Dispensation of Promisei. God was speaking directly to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17)

ii. God revealed truths to Joseph via dreams (Genesis 37ff)

e. Dispensation of the Lawi. Exo 20…God gave to Moses the Law / God wrote with His very finger

ii. Joshua 4, et al – God revealed Himself as Captain of the Lord’s Host…He also states, “The Lord said unto Joshua…”

iii. Daniel 6…Again, God wrote with His finger

f. Dispensation of Gracei. Acts – God used visions often…

ii. 2 Cor 12 – Paul received visions

g. Dispensation of the Kingdom

5. Apologetic Interactiona. Is there still continuing revelation today?

1. Consider the OTa. When the Old Testament was completed, no more prophets appeared

i. The people of the inter-testamental period understood that there was no prophet available to them.1 Maccabees 4:46 – “And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them.”

1 Maccabees 9:27 – “So was there a great affliction in Israel, the like whereof was not since the time that a prophet was not seen among them.”

b. The current successor to the prophets is the Old Testament itself which still carries the message of the prophets to God’s people.

2. Consider the NT Apostles:

a. There is no wording in the New Testament that conveys the teaching of apostolic succession as taught by the Church of England and Episcopalian Church.

b. The office of apostleship was a unique office given to those who were eyewitnesses of the incarnate and risen Christ.

c. There is no further revelation given to man today. Instead, all men are responsible to take that which God has revealed and apply it to their lives.

d. None of the claimed new revelation of today can legitimately add anything to the message of redemption that God has already given.

b. What is the Peculiarity with Special Revelation?1. General revelation is for all men – it reveals that there is a God. Special

revelation underscores what we deserve as mankind (eternal punishment) but focuses on grace and mercy.

a. It may seem unfair in the minds of men that God would give special revelation to only a few and not to all of mankind (Jews in the Old Testament; Jews and Greeks in the New Testament).

b. However, with the special revelation that God has given comes the responsibility to proclaim it to others.

c. God did not give his revelation so that a particular person or nation could brag about what they had received.

d. God did give his special revelation to specific individuals in order that the whole world might receive it. This is now become the responsibility that Christians have today.

2. Special Revelation: Personal and Propositionala. Personal: God revealed Himself directly to mankind through various

forms of communicationb. Propositional: reveals truth about who God is and how man can

relate to Him.

VI. Verbal, Plenary InspirationA. Definitions

From the biblical description of the process of inspiration, the necessary constituents of a theological definition of inspiration may be derived. There are three:

1. Divine causality. The prime mover in inspiration is God: “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). In other words, God moved, and the prophet mouthed the truths; God revealed, and man recorded His word. The Bible is God’s word in the sense that it originates with Him and is authorized by Him, even though it is articulated by men. God speaks in their written records.

2. Prophetic agency. The prophets played an important role in the overall process of inspiration; they were the means by which God spoke. The word of God was written by men of God. God used persons to convey His propositions. In other words, as J.I. Packer perceptively observes, there God exercised “concursive

operation in, with and through the free working of man’s own mind.”7 He amplifies the concept further saying,

We are to think of the Spirit’s inspiring activity, and, for that matter, of all His regular operations in and upon human personality, as (to use an old but valuable technical term) concursive; that is, as exercised in, through and by means of the writers’ own activity, in such a way that their thinking and writing was both free and spontaneous on their part and divinely elicited and controlled, and what they wrote was not only their own work but also God’s work.8

God prepared the prophets by training, experience, gifts of grace, and, if need be, by direct revelation to utter His word. “By it [inspiration], the Spirit of God, flowing confluently with the providentially and graciously determined work of men, spontaneously producing under the Divine directions the writings appointed them, gives the product a Divine quality unattainable by human powers alone.”9 In inspiration, then, God is the primary cause, and the prophets are the secondary causes. Thus the divine influence did not restrict human activity but rather enabled the human authors to communicate the divine message accurately.

3. Scriptural authority is the final product of God’s causality and the prophetic agency. Hence, the Bible is a divinely authoritative book. God moved the prophets in such a way as to breathe out (literally, “spirate”) their writings. In other words, God spoke to the prophets and is speaking in their writings. Although some might argue that the prophetic model of inspiration is inadequate,10 in order to shift the basis of the believer’s authority from Scripture to some other locus, Carl F. H. Henry rightly observes that “the church is neither the locus of divine revelation, nor the source of divine inspiration, nor the seat of infallibility. Rather, the church has the task of transmitting, translating, and expounding the prophetic-apostolic Scriptures.”11 The cause of inspiration is God, the means is the men of God, and the end result is the word of God in the language of men.

77 James I. Packer, “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God, p. 82; J.I. Packer, God Has Spoken, esp. pp. 45–124. Also see I. Howard Marshall, Biblical Inspiration, pp. 40–43.

88 Packer, “Fundamentalism” , p. 80.

99 Benjamin B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, pp. 154–60.

010 Paul J. Achtemeier, The Inspiration of Scripture: Problems and Proposals, pp. 29–3, 74–75, 99–100, 122–23, and elsewhere. Clark Pinnock, The Scripture Principle, uncritically accepts this notion, stating, “The Bible is more than prophecy, and although direct divine speech is part of the record, there are many other kinds of communication as well, some of them more indirect and ambiguous” (p. 63), and indicating that “Paul J. Achtemeier has called attention to the inadequacy of the prophetic model for representing the biblical category of inspiration in its fulness” (p. 234 n. 8).

111 Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, vol. 2: God Who Speaks and Shows: Fifteen Theses, Part One, pp. 13–15.

NOTE: suggested definition: Inspiration is that mysterious process by which the divine causality worked through the human prophets without destroying their individual personalities and styles to produce divinely authoritative and inerrant writings.19

B. Concepts1. Infallibility

a. New Evangelicals make a distinction between infallibility and inerrancy

b. Originally, the two terms were interchangeable.

c. Today, infallibility usually refers to the assertion that the Bible will not make any misleading statements. (There may be some historical data that is incorrect, but it will not mislead anyone in search of salvation and biblical doctrine)

d. We define it as absolute truth – that it, the Bible is truthful in all its assertions.

2. Inerrancya. The writers accurately recorded their stories

b. As a product of supernatural inspiration, the information affirmed by the sentences of the original autographs of the 66 Canonical books is true.

c. Truth is logically non-contradictory, factually reliable, and experientially viable.

d. Hence, the Bible is a reliable guide for physical, mental, moral, and spiritual realities that people face.

3. Plenarilya. All of the Canon is equally inspired – equally God’s Wordb. Yet, not all of the Bible is not as equally important for answering any given

question. (Example: the list of genealogies may not be much guidance for finding God’s will for your life!)

4. Verballya. Inspiration is not limited to the concepts or ideas of the Bibleb. Inspiration extends to the very words of Scripture that is found in the autographs.

5. Ipsissima Voxa. What is it?

i. ASSIGNMENT: Read: Donald Green, “Evangelicals and Ipsissima Vox,” The Masters Seminary Journal 12:1 (Spring 2001): 49-68

ii. A Definition1. Latin: Ipsissima = “the very”…VOX= “voice”

iii. A Description1. Ipsissima Vox states that we have the very “voice” of Jesus in the

Scriptures.2. His words have been paraphrased.3. There are two lines used to defend this position:

a. His words were recorded in Greek…the assumption is he spoke Aramaic

b. There are some alleged discrepancies in the Synopticsi. EX: Matt 7:11 and Luke 11:13

19 Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, Rev. and expanded. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 38-39.

ii. Does Jesus promise “good things” or the “Holy Spirit?”

iii. Are these identical occasions or did Jesus use similar language / illustrations as He preached?

6. Ipsissima Verbaa. What is it?

i. ASSIGNMENT: Read Robert L. Thomas, “Historical Criticism and the Evangelical: Another View,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:1 (March 2000): 97-111

ii. A Definition1. Latin: Ipsissima “the very” Verba “words”2. This position argues that we have the very words Christ spoke3. Verba = verbatim…

iii. A Description1. When we hear a writer say something like, “And Jesus said unto

them…” are these the very words or just a paraphrase, a summary of what He said?

2. The difference between these two options is the difference between Vox and Verba…

3. People who take a strong stand on inerrancy fall into both positions. (In other words, a belief in inerrancy doesn’t dictate / mandate that you fall into a specific position…)

C. Objections1. “It cannot be a divine book when it contains so many errors.”2. “Inerrancy only applies to those Scriptures which deal with salvation.”3. “Everyone has a different definition of inerrancy.”

D. Considerations

1. Some hypothesis to testa. The Bible is errant

i. Those who hold this position usually argue in this manner:ii. God is holy. Man is sinful. Therefore, Scripture cannot be inerrant.

iii. Errors found in Scripture are due to man’s sinfulnessiv. Truth that is contained in Scripture can only be verified through other

disciplines such as archeology, psychology, science, etc

b. The Bible is partially errant and partially inerranti. There must be a differentiation between those parts that are errant and

inerrant.ii. This is determined by the leading of the Holy Spirit and man’s faith

iii. Where Scripture deals with faith and practice (doctrine), it is assumed to be inerrant.

iv. When the Bible delves into other areas, it may contain falsehoods or misleading statements.

c. The Bible is plenarily inerranti. This position asserts that the Bible is truthful in all that it affirms

ii. All Scripture originates from God and the Holy Spirit uses only truth to lead people away from idols and to Himself.

iii. It is necessary for a person to discover what the Scripture is teaching.

2. Some probabilities to considera. None of these hypotheses can be proven in a completely intellectual sense.b. The issue is: Which hypothesis provides the most probable (coherent and viable)

account of the relevant lines of evidence with the fewest difficulties?c. Seven Major Lines of Evidence given as relevant evidence:

i. Jesus Christ’s view of Scriptureii. The claims of the prophets

iii. The claims of the apostlesiv. Dominant view of Scriptures throughout history of the churchv. Humanness of the writers (fallible, finite, and fallen)

vi. Problem phenomena: difficulties of apparent historical, chronological, and scientific discrepancies

vii. Positive phenomena: standard Christian evidences of fulfilled prophecies and miracles confirming the office and messages of divine spokesmen.

d. Only the view that Scripture is inerrant lines up with all seven strands of evidence.

E. Dual Authorship

1. Holy Spirit Agency

2. Human Agencya. Languages

b. Cultural Allusions

c. Historical References

F. False Theories

VII. Canonicity and AuthorityA. ASSIGNMENT: Read Benjamin B. Warfield The Formation of the Canon of the New

Testament Access at: http://www.reformed.org/master/index.html?mainframe=/bible/warfield_canon.html

B. Reasons for recognition1. Historical Reasons:

a.2. Biblical Reasons:

C. Requirements for recognition

D. Disputed Books

1. Homologoumena

2. Antilegoumena

3. Pseudepigrapha

4. Apocrypha

E. Why we believe in the authority of God’s Word

1. Apologetic introduction

2. Internal evidence

3. External evidence

F. How we received God’s Word

1. Languages

2. Writings (Chronology)

3. Preservation

G. Interpretative issues to consider3. Dispensationalism4. Covenantalism