What the Bible Is

“The Bible is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without its paleness; a glory without a dimness. O Bible! It cannot be said of any other book that it is perfect and pure; but of thee we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in thee, without a particle of folly. This is the judge that ends the strife, where wit and reason fail. This is the book untainted by any error; but is pure, unalloyed, perfect truth.” Charles Spurgeon

There are a lot of different ways to talk about the nature of the Bible, but one way of splitting up categories I found helpful is to talk about (1) what Scripture is and (2) what Scripture does. On Instagram and Facebook, I’m posting during August on the doctrine of Scripture, and this week have focused on what the Bible is.

WHAT SCRIPTURE IS: THE NATURE OF SCRIPTURE

In You Are a Theologian by Jen Wilkin and J. T. English, they provide this diagram with some key attributes or descriptions of the nature of Scripture. Most theology books on the Bible will have sections on these key aspects of it. You’ll notice that they see the inspiration of Scripture as the key truth.

Below I provide a few quotes, Bible verses, and additional resources on Scripture’s inspiration, inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, transforming power, and revelation of God. Then I added a few good resources on the doctrine of Scripture as a whole.

Scripture is Inspired

“All Scripture is God-breathed, because the Holy Spirit super-intended the biblical authors as they composed their writings, the Word of God.” Gregg Allison

“God made sure the human authors wrote exactly what he wanted them to write—no more, no less. These authors weren’t passive robots, however. God didn’t erase their personalities or commandeer their minds. They wrote as thinking, feeling human beings. God worked through their unique personalities and educations and backgrounds and experiences to enable—to inspire—them to write divine truth.” Matt Smethurst

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16; See also Acts 4:24-25; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21; 3:15-16; Matt. 19:4-5

“What Does the Inspiration of Scripture Mean” by Stephen Yuille
“What Do We Mean When We Say Scripture is Inspired?” at The Gospel Project (article & video)

Scripture is Inerrant

“Truthfulness (inerrancy) is an attribute of Scripture by which whatever it affirms corresponds to reality, and it never affirms anything that is contrary to fact. It also means that Scripture never contradicts itself.” Gregg Allison

“Inerrancy is nothing less than the affirmation that the Bible, as the Word of God written, is totally true and totally trustworthy. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. This is the Bible’s own testimony about itself, and it is the historic faith of the Christian church.” Al Mohler

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30; See also John 10:35; 17:17; Ps. 12:6; 19:8; Prov. 30:5; 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 4:24-25

“The Authority & Inerrancy of Scripture” by Matthew Barrett
“Wayne Grudem on Biblical Inerrancy” video with Wayne Grudem
“Can We Trust What the Bible Says” by The Gospel Project (article & video)

Scripture is Authoritative

“We are bound to say, then, that God’s word carries the authority of God himself. It is the chief means by which he expresses his authority in the world he has created.” Mark Thompson

“Divine authorship is the ultimate reason why Scripture is authoritative. Its Authority is absolute because God’s Authority is absolute, and scripture is his personal word to us.” John Frame

“Sola scriptura does not preclude other authorities in the church (such as creeds, councils, church leaders, theologians, traditions, etc.). Rather, it is to say Scripture alone is our inspired, inerrant, and therefore final authority. While there may be many important authorities, they are all subservient to Scripture, which alone is God-breathed and without error, fully trustworthy and sufficient for faith and practice. Scripture alone is our magisterial authority; all other authorities are ministerial.” Matthew Barrett

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” 1 Thess. 2:13; See also Deut. 4:2; Gal. 1:11; John 17:8

“Why Do We Call the Bible Our Authority?” by The Gospel Project (article & video)
“Biblical Authority and the Christian Tradition” by John Woodbridge
“The Authority & Inerrancy of Scripture” by Matthew Barrett

Scripture is Sufficient

“Paul is saying that the Bible is sufficient, in itself, to tell us everything we must believe in order to be saved and what we must do in order to please God… Now of course, we need to do a little work in terms of understanding what Scripture says, and then applying that truth to our lives, but the sufficiency of Scripture tells us that we need no other kind of “special revelation” in order to live the Christian life well.” Barry Cooper

“The Christian need not fear the use of extrabiblical sources. In fact, the Christian should have no hesitancy learning from, appealing to, and utilizing extrabiblical sources. Many of these may be gracious gifts that stem from God’s general revelation in the created order. Whether it be archaeology or philosophy, medicine or literature, mathematics or science, these are fruit from the tree of God’s common grace to humanity.
Nonetheless, we should naturally worry if any extrabiblical source claims superiority to scriptural truth or poses itself in opposition to biblical Christianity. As much as we appreciate any number of extrabiblical sources, they are maidservants to that authority which alone is inspired and inerrant: Scripture. When used rightly, extrabiblical sources become interpretive assistants, and what a great help they can be. But they should never turn into interpretive lords, making God and his word subordinate.” Matthew Barrett

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” 2 Peter 1:3-4; see also 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Psalm 119:93, 105 (really all of Psalm 119)

“The Sufficiency of Scripture” by Barry Cooper
“The Sufficiency of Scripture” by Matthew Barrett

Scripture is God’s Self-Revelation

“The Scriptures constitute not only a sufficient revelation of God’s mind and purposes, but a unique instrument of our relationship with him.” Peter Jensen

“There are many who have imagined God to be what they would like him to be, and then of course they admire the image which they have set up; but to see God as the Scripture reveals him, especially in his holiness, is a gift of his grace.” Charles Spurgeon

“The Bible is unlike any other book – it is God’s written revelation to man. By it, we can know God and truly know ourselves. More importantly, by it, we can know Christ and the way of salvation.” Jason Allen

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” Jesus in John 5:39; see also Luke 24:27; Deut. 18:18-22; Heb. 1:1-3

“Divine Revelation: God Making Himself Known” by John Frame
“The Morning I Heard the Voice of God” by John Piper
“Special Revelation (in about 99 seconds)” video by The Gospel Project

Scripture is Transformative or Powerful

“The transformative power of Scripture is the multifaceted effect that God, its author, brings about through his Word.” Gregg Allison

“The Holy Spirit authored the Bible not just so that we could know things but so that we could know God and be transformed by Him. By the Spirit’s work, the Bible grows our relationship with the God it proclaims and transforms us into the image of Christ.” Jen Wilkin & J. T. English

“The Bible is powerful and able to change your life from the inside out. No other means is given by God to accomplish such a task. The Spirit of God, who is at work in the hearts of Christians, uses the Word of God to transform them into Christlike people.” Nate Pickowicz

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12; see also Jer. 23:29; Ps. 19:7-11; 29

“The Bible Has Power” and “Why Do I Need the Bible?” by Paul Tripp

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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indycrowe

You can follow me on Twitter or Instagram @IndyCrowe for the short & sweet stuff.

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