X. The Reformed View of Scripture

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1 X. The Reformed View of Scripture Date: August 4, 2013 Sola: Sola Scriptura Aim: To understand the Reformed view of Biblical authority. A. Necessity (WCF 1.1) The Holy Bible is God s special revelation to man and the Scriptures are most necessary No other source of knowledge tradition, inner light, etc. is necessary unto salvation WCF I.1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable (Rom. 2:14-15; Rom. 1:19-20; Ps. 19:1-3; Rom. 1:32; 2:1); yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation (1 Cor. 1:21; 2:13-14); therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His Church (Heb. 1:1); and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing (Prov. 22:19-21; Lk. 1:3-4; Rom. 15:4; Mt. 4:4, 7, 10; Is. 8:19-20); which makes the Holy Scripture to be most necessary (2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pe. 1:19); those former ways of God's revealing His will unto His people being now ceased (Heb. 1:1-2) B. Inspiration (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pe. 1:20-21) The Holy Spirit inspired or breathed the Word of God to human authors, using their own gifts and talents, illuminating their minds, and guiding them in the choice of their words and in the expression of their thoughts Plenary Inspiration means that although God used human authors, He guided the biblical writers in their choice of words and expressions to prevent any error from entering into the text The Bible is in its entirety, on the one hand, a human production, and on the other, a divine creation C. Canon (WCF 1.2, 1.3) OT Cannon o Books were soon recongnized as canonical o Quoted by other OT writers DSB p Jun- 13

2 o Quoted by NT writers o Recognized by Essenes, Josephus, Talmud o OT Canon set well before beginning of NT age o Formally recognized by Jewish Council of Jamnia in AD Apocrypha Rejected o Not quoted by NT o Rejected by Essenes, Josephus, Talmud o Not quoted by Philo o Does not claim divine inspiration (e.g., 1 Macc. 4:46; 9:27; 14:41) o Contains historical errors; contradicts OT o Rejected by the early church for centuries until accepted by Council of Trent in 1546 AD NT Canon o Clear principles used by early church to recognize Scripture Internal witness, claims, authority Apostolic source Mark (Peter); Luke (Paul) Jude/James brothers of Jesus Hebrews o Early church soon accepted (recognized) true NT canon o Council of Carthage (397 AD) put books in current order Pseudoepigrapha ( false writings ) Rejected o About 40 gospel (fragments) and many epistles o All rejected by early church o Many pretended to come from apostles (apostolic source considered important) o Contents in obvious contrast to Scripture WCF I.3. The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the Scripture, and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings (Lk. 24:27; Rom. 3:2; 2 Pe. 1:21) D. Authority (WCF 1.4) The Scriptures have inherent authority by virtue of their inspiration by the Holy Spirit The authority of Scripture does not rest on man or the Church, but on God No other human document or tradition has equal authority WCF I.4. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon DSB p Jun- 13

3 God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God (2 Pe. 1:19, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Jn. 5:9; 1 Th. 2:13) Roman Catholic Go d Reformed Go d Churc h Bib le Traditi on Peopl e Bib le Peopl e Church Traditi on E. Inerrancy (WCF 1.5) The Bible texts as original given were without error Throughout the centuries, the grace of God has miraculously persevered the texts of the Scriptures substantially without error NT is quoted extensively by early church fathers; all but 11 verses of NT are quoted in the works of the 2 nd /3 rd century writers; 86,000 quotes of NT in early church fathers Manuscripts o No originals remain (neither are there any of Hamlet or Plato s Republic ) To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart- ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation DSB p Jun- 13

4 Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. o New Testament 5300 Greek MSS; total of +24,000 Greek, Latin, other MSS Earliest copy 125 AD; about 25 years after close of canon 20,000 lines of text About 40 lines (400 words) with textual questions (mostly spelling, word order, variants); only 50 words really in question 99.5% certainty of text No doctrine in jeopardy o Iliad by Homer 643 MSS (2 nd most in ancient world after NT) Earliest copy (400 BC), about 500 years after original writing 15,600 lines 764 lines in doubt About 5% uncertainty o Massoretic Jewish Scholars Preserved OT with great accuracy through extremely strict rules of copying, including checks and balances Destroyed imperfect copies and also old copies after new copies were approved o New Testament preservation after 325 edict of Emperor Constantine was done with great accuracy o OT verse numbers added around 900 AD; chapters around 1330 AD o NT chapters added by Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Cara in 1240 AD o NT verses by Etienne in Greek 1550 AD; Whittington in English AD o Geneva Bible of 1560 first Bible with chapter/verse for both OT and NT WCF I.5. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture (1 Tim. 3:15). And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy DSB p Jun- 13

5 Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts (1 Jn. 2:20, 27; Jn. 16:13-14; 1 Cor. 2:10-12; Is. 59:21). F. Sufficiency (WCF 1.6) The whole counsel of God as revealed in the Scriptures is sufficient unto salvation The Scriptures do not contain everything possible; but they are sufficient for the moral and spiritual needs of the church Nothing can be added or subtracted from the Scripture There is no other written or unwritten Word of God with equal or superior authority WCF I.6. The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men (2 Tim. 3:15-17; Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Th. 2:2); nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word (Jn. 6:45; 1 Cor. 2:9-12): and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed (1 Cor. 11:13; 14:26, 40) G. Interpretation (WCF 1.7, 1.9, 1.10) The Scriptures are clear or perpiscuous to the Christian unto salvation (Ps. 19:7-8; 1 Cor. 2:15) Not every passage is as clear as every other passage, yet anyone earnestly seeking knowledge about salvation can do so for himself instead of relying upon the church for an authoritative interpretation The Analogy of Faith teaches that Scripture interprets Scripture; less clear passages should be interpreted according to more clear passage The final judge of Scripture interpretation is the conviction of the Holy Spirit WCF I.7. All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all (2 Pe. 3:16): yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation are so clearly propounded, and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them (Ps. 119:105, 130) DSB p Jun- 13

6 WCF I.9. The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly (2 Pe. 1:20-21; Acts 15:15-16) WCF I.10. The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture (Mt. 22:29, 31; Acts 28:25) H. Availability (WCF 1.8) The Word of God is to be freely made available in the vernacular of the people so they can read it, study it, interpret it, and gain moral and spiritual benefit from it, worshiping God as He desires according to His Word WCF I.8. The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek (which, at the time of the writing of it, was most generally known to the nations), being immediately inspired by God, and, by His singular care and providence, kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical (Mt. 5:18); so as, in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto them (1 Sam. 8:20; Acts 15:15; Jn. 5:39, 46); but, because these original tongues are not known to all the people of God, who have right unto, and interest in the Scriptures, and are commanded, in the fear of God, to read and search them (Jn. 5:39), therefore they are to be translated in to the vulgar language of every nation unto which they come (1 Cor. 14:6-12, 24-28), that, the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all, they may worship Him in an acceptable manner (Col. 3:16); and, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, may have hope (Rom. 15:4) DSB p Jun- 13

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