The Bible is more than just a book; it is God’s self-communication through human authors. It is the primary and fully trustworthy canon of Christian revelation, serving as the reliable medium for encountering and understanding God. Through the written Word, God speaks to people of every generation.
God’s Self-Communication
God makes Himself known through personified wisdom and ultimately through Jesus Christ. In the Scriptures, we often see wisdom personified as a common Hebrew poetic device that sharpens moral contrasts and aids memorization. For example, Proverbs 8:1-3 describes Wisdom standing in the streets, and Proverbs 7:10 speaks of a woman dressed to meet someone.
Inspiration and Sanctification
The Bible reveals sanctification—God using the temporal for eternal purposes. Inspiration means that God empowered people to accurately communicate the message He wanted them to write. The Bible is inerrant (incapable of being wrong) in that it will never lead one astray in regard to its teachings. It transforms all persons who read the sacred text into the image of Christ Jesus.
The Authority of the Bible
Because God is the ultimate author of the message found in Scripture, reading it must be more than a study in history. When we read the Bible, we are meant to hear an up-to-date Word from the Lord as He speaks to us today.
Is the Bible Divine?
The Bible is divinely inspired and humanly written. While we must avoid "Bibliolatry"—the excessive reverence to the physical text to the point of treating the book itself as an object of worship—we recognize that the text leads us to encounter God. The Holy Spirit uses the words of the Book to reveal God as Father, Son, and Spirit; to bring conviction; and to reconcile us to God through Jesus Christ.
A high view of Scripture acknowledges that the final written form accurately communicates what God wanted in the terms the author intended. It establishes laws and principles for faith and conduct. As Job 41:34 suggests in this context, its message is living, active, and sharper than a two-edged sword.
- How does the concept of "Inspiration" change the way you read the daily Word?
- Reflect on the difference between worshipping the Book and worshipping the One the Book points to.
- The Bible judges us rather than we judging it. How has the Word "examined" you recently?
Next Up: The Path the Bible Took Toward Canonization—exploring how these 66 books were recognized as God's Word.