Four Characteristics of Scripture

Here are some things that I have learned recently. If you have any questions, or if I have made a mistake somewhere, let me know. WORD UP!....K.P.


The Four Characteristics of Scripture
1- Authority
The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
A- All the Words in Scripture are God’s Words
1-This is what the Bible claims for Itself. All throughout the Bible, you will find these words, “God said”, or “Jesus said”. Also if you look at 2 Timothy 3:16 you will find “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right”. This is one of the strongest, and yet clear verses that confirm the fact that the Words in the Bible are Gods words.
2- We are convinced of the Bible’s claims to be God’s words as we read the Bible. Wayne Grudem states “It is one thing to affirm that the Bible claims to be the words of God. It is another thing to be convinced that those claims are true. Our ultimate conviction that the words of the Bible are God’s words comes only when the Holy Spirit speaks in and through the words of the Bible to our hearts and gives us an inner assurance that these are the words of our Creator speaking to us”. I believe that it is worthy to note one more quote that I believe is very important to note, “It is important to remember that this conviction that the words of Scripture are the words of God does not come apart from the words of Scripture or in addition to the Words of Scripture. It is not as if the Hoy Spirit one day whispers in our ear, “do you see that Bible sitting on your desk? I want you to know that the words of that Bible are God’s words”. It is rather as people read Scripture that they hear their Creator’s voice speaking to them in the words of Scripture and realize that the book they are reading is unlike any other book, that it is indeed a book of God’s own words speaking to their hearts.”
3-The Words of Scripture are Self-Attesting. We can not use anything to prove the Bible to be Gods words by appeal to any higher authority, because the Bible is the highest authority. If we were to use something other that the Bible to prove its authority, then that would be placing the Bible under those facts, which would make them have authority over the Bible, therefore decreasing the value of the Words of God.
4-Objection: This is a circular argument. An example of this would be; we believe that Scripture is Gods word, because it claims to be that, and it claims to be that because Scripture is Gods word, and so forth. Wayne Grudem states what I believe would be the conclusion, “the argument for the Bible as Gods word and our ultimate authority is not a typical circular argument. The process of persuasion is perhaps better likened to a spiral in which increasing knowledge of Scripture and increasing correct understanding of God and creation tend to supplement one another in a harmonious way, each tending to confirm the accuracy of the other. This is not to say that our knowledge of the world around us serves as a higher authority than Scripture, but rather that such knowledge, if it is correct, continues to give greater and greater assurance and deeper conviction that the Bible is the only truly ultimate authority and that others competing claims for ultimate authority are false”.


B. Therefore to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
From what I understand and believe about the previous discussed section, the statement above calls for application.
C. The Truthfulness of Scripture
1-God cannot lie or speak falsely. I believe the strongest confirmation we have on this is found in Hebrews 6:18, “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie…” Therefore, since all Scripture is spoken or “inspired” by God, then all scripture must be truth, just as the Lord Himself is. There cannot be untruthfulness in Scripture, period!
2-Gods words are the ultimate standard of truth. John 17:17 “Make them holy by your truth, teach them your word, which is truth”. Here Jesus uses the word truth as a noun, meaning, on purpose, that Gods word is truth, not that it is true, but that it is truth itself.
D. Written Scripture is our final authority
“It is important to realize that the final form in which Scripture remains authoritative is its written form. It was the words of God written on the tablets of stone that Moses deposited in the ark of the Covenant. Later, God commanded Moses and subsequent prophets to write their words in a book. And it was written Scripture that Paul said was “God-Breathed” 2 Tim. 3:16”.
2-Clarity
A. The Bible frequently affirms its own clarity
The Bibles clarity responsibility of believers generally to read it and understand it are often emphasized.
Deut. 6:6-7, From these verses I understand that Israel was expected to be able to “teach and talk” to there children about the Word, therefore the Word must have been able to understand.
Psalm 1119:130 states “The teaching of your Word gives light, so even the simple can understand”. Wayne Grudem says “Here the simple person is not merely one who lacks intellectual ability, but one who lacks sound judgment, who is prone to making mistakes, and who is easily lead astray. God’s Word is so understandable, so clear, that even this kind of person is made wise by it. This should be great encouragement to all believers: no believer should think himself or herself too foolish to read Scripture and understand sufficiently to be made wise y it”.
It is also very important, and yet very interesting to note that not one time in the Gospels did you ever read Jesus saying “I see where you get your problem”, or “I see why you don’t understand, the Scriptures were unclear about that”. Instead you see Jesus putting the blame not on Scripture, but on the ones who misunderstood or failed to accept what the Scriptures said. A prime example of this is in Matthew 22:29 “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scripture, and you don’t know the power of God”.
B. The Moral and Spiritual Qualities Needed for Right Understanding
“But people who aren’t spiritual cant receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they cant understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, Who can know the Lords thoughts” Who knows enough to teach him? But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16. Wayne Grudem states “Although the New Testament authors affirm that the Bible in itself is written clearly, they also affirm that it will not be understood rightly by those who are unwilling to receive its teachings”. This is not to say that all unbelievers will fail to understand the Bible. They will be able to understand if God chooses to allow them to understand, and if they are seeking the Bible sincerely for salvation. In this case the Holy Spirit, if He chooses to, will overcome the effects of sin, allowing the unbeliever to see the Truth.
C. Definition of the Clarity of Scripture
Wayne Grudem defines it as this, “The clarity of Scripture means that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who will read it seeking God’s help and being willing to follow it”.
D. Why do people misunderstand Scripture?
Throughout history there has been many disagreements on Scripture and its interpretation. From what we have studied so far, we can and must conclude that the problem doesn’t lie in Scripture, but within our very selves. We can conclude, just as Matthew 22:29 states, that the Scripture is clear and able to be understood, and that we misunderstand what is clearly written in Scripture.
Through this study, we can also conclude that there are only two causes to us misunderstanding, one being that we are seeking to make affirmations where Scripture itself is silent, or two being that we have made mistakes in our interpretation of Scripture.
3- Necessity
“The necessity of Scripture means that the Bible is necessary for knowing the Gospel, for maintaining Spiritual life, and for knowing God’s will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exist or for knowing something about God’s character and moral laws”, Wayne Grudem.
A. The Bible is Necessary for knowledge of the Gospel
Romans 10:13-17
The Bible is necessary for salvation, then, in this sense: one must either read the Gospel message in the Bible for oneself or hear it form another person. Even those believer who came to salvation in the Old Covenant did so by trusting in the words of God that promised to Savoir to come.
B. the Bible is Necessary for Maintaining Spiritual life
If you look in the book of Deuteronomy 8:3b and also in Matthew 4:4 we see that Scripture says “ People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”. Also in the book of Deuteronomy 32:47 we see that Moses is giving a command from the Lord, and he says “ These instructions are not empty words- they are your LIFE!”. So, just from these few verses we can come to the conclusion that the Word of God is very, very vital to our spiritual life!
C. The Bible is necessary for certain knowledge of God’s Will
Deuteronomy 29:29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of theses instructions”. God has not revealed ALL things to us, but he has revealed enough for us to know his will. God has revealed his words to us that we might obey his laws and therefore do his will.

D. The Bible is NOT necessary for knowing that God exist
People can come to the conclusion that God exist and can even come to the knowledge of some of his attributes, without reading the Bible. Psalm 19:1 states this fact clearly “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, the skies display his craftsmanship”. To look to the sky is to see clear evidence of the infinite power, wisdom, beauty, and majesty of the Lord.
Romans 1:20 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Thorough everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have NO EXCUSE for not knowing God.”. Paul writes very plainly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirits authority that creation displays Gods existence and character.
4- Sufficiency
“The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly and for obeying him perfectly.” Grudem. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 give us support for this definition, “You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right”. If you continue on through the end of the chapter which is verse 17 we find that Scripture also gives us what we need to live the Christian Life, “God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work”. Therefore, the sufficiency of Scripture should encourage us as we are in a pursuit of seeking the Lord. Knowing that everything God wants us to know and has willed us to know is revealed to us through His fully sufficient Word.

The Inerrancy of Scripture
Are there any errors in the Bible?
The Inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact. Grudem. If you look back in the Authority of Scripture, there is a section talking about the “Truthfulness of Scripture”. That section discusses the fact that God cannot lie or speak falsely, Hebrews 6:18. Therefore if God cannot lie, or speak falsely, then His word has to be without error. If Scripture is not inerrant, then God would be a liar, therefore throwing His whole Character off!