What does the Bible say about itself?

What does the Bible say about itself? The Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice in the lives of Christians. The second letter to Timothy says that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (3:16-17, TNIV). A right understanding of what the Bible is can also help us to share our faith more effectively. In this article we shall look at the Bible s view of itself, and at how this relates to our mission among Muslims and others. The Bible on the Bible 1. The Old Testament s view of itself In the period covered by the Old Testament (OT), God reveals Himself in the history of His relationship with the people of Israel. His nature and character, His purpose and will, are all disclosed in the unfolding events and in His people s responses to them, recounted especially in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the OT) and the historical books (Joshua to Esther). God also makes Himself known through the experience of His people. The OT wisdom and poetic books (Job to Song of Songs) record their thoughts on and reactions to His activity in their lives and circumstances. Some of the OT consists of words attributed directly to God, which He speaks to (and through) His servants. Much of the legal material in Exodus to Deuteronomy is of this kind, and so is much of the prophetic literature (Isaiah to Malachi), though many of these books also contain elements of story. They also include the varied responses of God s people (and others) to His words. So the OT contains words spoken by God to His people, words that report events or express experiences in which He makes Himself known, and words that convey the human responses to these divine disclosures. The OT records God s revelation of Himself and so also reveals Him itself. 2. The New Testament s view of the Old The New Testament (NT) writers see the whole OT as having its origin in God. They not only assert the divine source of those passages in which God speaks directly, such as the law of Moses or direct prophecies (e.g. Mark 7:10 or Acts 2:17-21); they also assign the other kinds of writing to His hand. Thus in Matthew 19:5 the words of Genesis 2:24 are ascribed to God, even though in Genesis they are a narrator s comment and not spoken directly by God. For this reason the NT also treats every part of the OT as having authority over Christian faith and life. But more than this, it presents Jesus and the early Christian community as the fulfilment of the OT Scriptures. These basic convictions can be illustrated from various parts of the NT. The Gospels and Acts. In all four Gospels the Lord Jesus accepts the OT as the Word of God. He refers repeatedly to its authoritative teaching: whether in explaining the purpose of parables (Matthew 13:14-15), declaring God s purpose for marriage (Mark 10:6-8), foretelling His betrayal (John 13:18-1 P a g e

19) or interpreting His death and resurrection (Luke 20:17). He also sees the OT as defining the way of life that God requires of His disciples. He makes the bold statement in Matthew 5:18-19 that not even the smallest part of the law will pass away, and that whoever breaks the least of its commands will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, and He also mentions some specific ways in which the OT shows disciples how to live (e.g. in Matthew 19:18-19 and Mark 12:29-31). His understanding of the OT is carried forward into the early Christian communities in the book of Acts (e.g. 7:49-50; 23:5). Jesus and the Gospel writers also view the promises and prophecies of the OT as coming true in His life and ministry, death and resurrection. In fact who Jesus is and why He came are defined by the OT : in these writings God has laid down His plan for His people and His world, and this has now reached its fulfilment in Jesus, whose life follows the pattern revealed in the text. Matthew in particular develops this point, using numerous quotations to relate Jesus life and actions to the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy (e.g. 1:22-23; 4:14-16; 12:17-21; 21:4-5; 27:9-10). And Luke takes over this idea and develops it further in Acts, where not only the coming of Jesus but also the experience of the early churches is seen as fulfilling the OT (e.g. 4:25-26; 13:47). Paul s writings. Paul s teaching is thoroughly grounded in the OT Scriptures. He sees them as words of God (Romans 3:2) that embody what God said in former ages to Moses and the prophets (Romans 3:21). He too appeals to the authority of OT teaching: for example, on universal sinfulness (Romans 3:12-18), about righteousness being based on faith (Galatians 3:11) and on the future defeat of death (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). And he affirms its continuing role in shaping the lifestyle of God s people (e.g. Romans 12:20; 2 Corinthians 13:1). Paul also presents the coming of Christ as the climax to the story of Israel told in the OT (Romans 9:4-5). God has set out His plan in the Scriptures (Romans 1:2), and all His promises have been fulfilled in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:23-24). Paul relates the work of Christ to OT teaching in specific ways (e.g. Romans 15:3; Galatians 3:13), and also the experience of the early Christians (e.g. Romans 8:36; 1 Corinthians 2:16). In 2 Timothy we find one of the most explicit statements about the OT in the NT: the Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17, TNIV). Every part of the OT has its source in God, and God has made it useful and sufficient for its divinely intended purpose, that is, to guide people to salvation and the way of life that goes with it. For this purpose it is all fully reliable: its history, its theology, its ethical teaching and everything else. The rest of the NT. The other NT books also affirm the authority of the OT Scriptures and their fulfilment in Christ and the Christian community. The letter to the Hebrews is the clearest witness on these matters. It is largely an exposition of various OT texts (e.g. Psalm 95:7-11 in Hebrews 3:7-11; Jeremiah 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8:8-12). The author ascribes some texts explicitly to God (e.g. in 1:5-8, 4:3-7), even though not all of them are direct divine speech in the OT, and he regards OT themes and concepts (notably priesthood and sacrifice) as standard for Christian faith and life (4:14-16; 10:19-25). One purpose of his discussion is to show that these things have been fulfilled in God s new covenant in Christ (8:1-13). 2 P a g e

The other most explicit NT statement about the OT declares: no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21, NRSV). The prophecies of the OT were in effect spoken by the Spirit; the prophets were so driven by the Spirit that what they said came from God. 3. New Testament interpretation of the Old So the NT writers accept the OT s view of itself as revealed by God. They treat it as having authority over the churches, and they see it as being fulfilled in Christ and His people. But they also believe that God has revealed Himself supremely and finally in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that this new and greater revelation is being further worked out by the Holy Spirit in the early churches. Thus in the opening verses of his Gospel, John says the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ are an advance on the grace that was given in the law of Moses (John 1:16-17). Because Jesus is God the One and Only, who is at the Father s side, He is uniquely able to disclose God to the world (John 1:18). Later John goes on to say that the role of the Spirit is both to remind Jesus disciples of what He has said and to explain its significance; the Spirit confirms and interprets God s revelation of Himself in Jesus (14:26; 16:12-15). So the NT writers do not read the OT text just as it might have been read before Christ came; they believe that it must now be interpreted in light of His coming. For them it is a set of writings that point forward to Him and explain His significance; it cannot be properly understood in isolation from Him. This means that although the OT is still authoritative for God s people, it must be read in light of God s final revelation of Himself in Christ and by the Spirit. For instance, Paul devotes most of his letter to the Galatians to arguing that Gentiles who are in Christ do not need to be circumcised, even though this was the most basic command laid on the people of Israel in the OT (2:15 5:12). The writer to the Hebrews takes several chapters (7 10) to make the case that the OT sacrificial system has now been superseded, since Christ has offered a perfect sacrifice for sin once and for all. And Jesus Himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, offers new interpretations of a series of OT commands in light of the coming of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:21-48). Thus whilst the NT writers have the highest respect for the OT, the way they bring this together with their convictions about Christ and the Spirit allows them to interpret it in new ways. 4. The New Testament view of itself There are various indications in the NT that its writers saw their work as having authority for the early churches, and one hint (2 Peter 3:16) that it was being read as Scripture even before all the NT writings had been completed. Jesus words and deeds were basic to the first Christian communities. They had put their faith in Him as Lord and Saviour, and they were committed to receiving His teaching, following His example and obeying His commands. The Gospels were regarded as having authority because they brought together traditions about Him that had been accepted, passed on and eventually written down. 3 P a g e

All the Gospel writers tie their writings carefully in with the OT, and Luke in particular seems to see his two-volume work (Luke and Acts) as continuing the OT story of God s mighty acts for the salvation of His people and His world. John s teaching on the work of the Spirit, mentioned above, suggests he believes that God is enabling him to remember and interpret His revelation of Himself in Jesus. Some of the NT authors write as apostles sent by Christ (Paul, Peter) or as other senior figures with authority over the churches (e.g. James, Jude). According to Paul, the apostles have the leading ministry in the church (1 Corinthians 12:28), and he claims explicitly that at least some of his own statements have divine authority (e.g. 1 Corinthians 7:25, 40). In Ephesians 2:20 and 3:5 apostles are said to be part of the foundation of the Church, suggesting that their teaching (and writings) are meant to define it. The prophets mentioned in Ephesians 3:5 share in this foundational role; their task was probably to interpret and apply the apostles teaching and the traditions about Jesus. The last book of the NT not only calls itself a revelation that God has shown to the author (Revelation 1:1), but is also presented as a sacred prophecy (22:18-19) that carries the authority of God and of Christ. Finally, 2 Peter 3:16 says that Paul s letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction (emphasis added). This statement strongly indicates that by the time 2 Peter was written, Paul s letters had been given the same status among the churches as OT Scripture, and it is likely that by then the same honour had also been given to other NT books. So the NT writings present themselves as having authority, based on their relation to Christ, and by the close of the NT period at least some of them were regarded as Scripture. The same reasons that led to their acceptance as Scripture would eventually extend that acceptance to the whole NT. 5. Summary The Bible s understanding of itself develops through the course of the story that it tells, but a clear picture emerges at each stage: The OT presents itself as a record of God s disclosure of Himself in the time before the coming of Christ, in the history and experience of Israel and in His direct speaking to them. The NT sees the OT as having authority for Christian understanding and behaviour, and presents Jesus and the early churches as the fulfilment of it. The NT writers believe that God has revealed Himself supremely in Christ and the Spirit, and that the OT must therefore be reinterpreted in light of Christ s coming. The NT writings are presented as having authority for the churches, derived from Christ, and even within the NT period some are already being read as Scripture. The Bible in mission Adherents of non-christian religions and philosophies hold a variety of different views about the Christian Bible. Some of them contrast it unfavourably with their own sacred writings. For example, the Muslim view of the Bible and its relation to the Quran, the Muslim holy book, are very different from mainstream Christian views. 4 P a g e

The Bible s understanding of itself, as set out above, can help us to grasp some of these issues and respond to Muslim (and other) criticisms of the Bible. We conclude by looking at three of the most important issues. Inspired by God Muslims believe that the Quran is the word of the god of Islam in a unique sense. They claim that Muhammad merely received the word and passed it on as an exact copy of an original in heaven. It supposedly bears no mark of Muhammad s character, and in Islam it is blasphemous to ascribe it to him in even a secondary sense. To Muslims the attribution of the Biblical writings to their human authors shows that the Bible is inferior to the Quran. It is true that only some parts of the Bible came by direct prophetic inspiration; that is, in words spoken directly by God, for example to Moses or the OT prophets. The rest consists of human reports about and responses to God s self-disclosure, and this has clearly been produced through ordinary oral and literary processes. Each book bears distinctive marks of its human author/s; even Mark, Matthew and Luke write very differently, despite describing many of the same events. And even the words ascribed explicitly to God are spoken in different ways according to the prophet or writer who receives them: compare, for example, Leviticus with Isaiah. So the Bible presents itself as a fully human book, but its human character does not undermine its status as divine revelation. We have also seen that it is inspired by God or God-breathed ; the Spirit of God was at work through all the processes of its composition so that the whole product may be said to come from Him. God worked not by divine dictation that wipes out the distinctiveness of the human authors, but by divine inspiration that works through their various human personalities, agendas and approaches. The Bible is 100% the work and Word of God while also being 100% the work and words of humans. Scripture cannot be broken Muslims believe that Jesus and some other Biblical figures are prophets, and that the OT and NT are genuine revelations from the god of Islam. But since they also believe that the Quran is final and perfect, they will dismiss any part of the Bible that contradicts it, claiming that the original Biblical manuscripts have been seriously corrupted and changed. For example, references to Christ s deity and divine Sonship, and to His death by crucifixion, conflict with Quranic teaching and are therefore rejected. Thus in Islam the authority of Christian Scripture is only relative, not absolute; Muslims believe that parts of it can be set aside in light of the later and more authoritative Quran. It is clear from the above survey of Biblical teaching that this is not the Bible s view of itself. In Matthew s Gospel Jesus denounces those who make void the written Word of God (Matthew 15:6), and in John He declares that the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35). The authority of the OT as defined in the NT, and by extension that of the NT itself, does not allow parts of Scripture to be set aside or contradicted. We have already seen how 2 Timothy 3:15-17 suggests that God has made the Bible what He wants it to be to fulfil its divinely intended purpose, which is to lead people to salvation and its associated lifestyle. For this purpose the Bible is all an entirely trustworthy statement of God s self-revelation to humans. This is another reason why it should all be received as the Word of God. 5 P a g e

In any case, the Muslim claim that present-day Biblical manuscripts are badly corrupt lacks historical support. When did the change happen? If Muslims claim that it happened before Muhammad, they contradict the positive statements in the Quran about the Bible. If they claim that it happened after Muhammad, they ignore the many manuscripts of the Bible that predate Muhammad by several hundred years, and that in every important respect support the present Biblical texts. Fully equipped Muslims also believe that the Quran is the supreme and final revelation of the god of Islam, which fulfils and supersedes all earlier ones. Although they revere the Bible, at least in theory, they see the Quran as going well beyond the Bible s teachings, adding new truth and commands to what their god has already revealed. So they believe that the Quran surpasses all the earlier Scriptures, and Christians who look only to the Bible as God s Word fail to realise the fullness of divine revelation. This view does not do justice to the Bible s testimony about itself and about Christ. We have seen how the NT writers regard Christ as God s supreme and final revelation to the world. The OT points to Him and is now to be interpreted in the light of His coming, and the NT writings derive their authority from Him. Second Timothy 3:17 also says that through Scripture God s people are equipped for every good work. This statement refers directly only to the OT, but it can also be applied to the NT by extension. It suggests that the Bible is not only profitable for its God-given purpose, but also sufficient for that purpose; there is no need for God to disclose any truth additional to what is in the Bible (though He does of course interpret and apply Biblical truth for us through the Spirit). So the whole Bible is God s testimony to His ultimate revelation of Himself in Christ, and it is a sufficient testimony. This means that if the Bible needs to be superseded or added to, as Muslims believe, then so also does Christ which means in turn that He is not after all God s supreme and final revelation. To diminish the Bible in the way that the Quran does is to diminish Christ Himself. Conclusion The Muslim downgrading of the inspiration, authority and adequacy of the Bible is not true to the Bible s view of itself. Nor are similar attacks on the Bible by other religions and ideologies. Understanding the Biblical teaching on this subject will enable us to uphold the true nature of Scripture against attack and help us to be faithful to its teaching. But even more importantly, it will enable us to maintain the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom Scripture bears witness and from whom it derives its character. This article is taken from Barnabas Aid, the magazine of Barnabas Fund, January/February 2012. Barnabas Fund 2012. www.barnabasfund.org 6 P a g e