What the Bible Says
I have mentioned that I am working on curriculum for pastors in Pakistan and Uganda. This afternoon I was working on the theology of the Bible, Bibliology. The focus of the module is the inspiration of the Bible, that we can count on the fact that what we read is in fact what God intended.
I was reviewing some notes from that course in Seminary. There is not time to cover all the nuances of the topic but looking at a key handful of passages you get a sense of what the Bible says about itself:
But there is an example that I found in D. A. Carson’s book Scripture and Truth. I will share it here in full:
What it Means for Us
The point of the passages and Carson’s illustration is that the Holy Spirit inspired the men who wrote our Bible down to the word, in fact the letter. This is important because we can investigate the vocabulary, grammar, and literary structure knowing that all was intentionally inspired by the Holy Spirit.
That should supercharge your Bible study.
I have mentioned that I am working on curriculum for pastors in Pakistan and Uganda. This afternoon I was working on the theology of the Bible, Bibliology. The focus of the module is the inspiration of the Bible, that we can count on the fact that what we read is in fact what God intended.
- 2 Timothy 3:14 – 17
- 2 Peter 1:19 – 21
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 – 13
But there is an example that I found in D. A. Carson’s book Scripture and Truth. I will share it here in full:
In Matthew 22:44–45 (Mark 12:36–37; Luke 20:42–44), Jesus proves that David calls the Messiah “Lord” from Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand.…” Two different persons are implied by the two uses of the word Lord: the first is God the Father whom the Jews acknowledged; the second is the Messiah, whom David calls “my Lord” (NIV). In order for this argument to work, Jesus relies on the fact that Psalm 110:1 has David calling the Messiah “my Lord.” Otherwise the text would not prove that the Messiah was David’s Lord.
Now the word my is signified by only one letter (י - yod) in the consonantal Hebrew text: “my Lord” is אדני. A slight lengthening of the final consonant to(ו - waw)would make “his Lord”; a bit more lengthening to(ך - kaph)would make “your Lord.” In either case, the argument would no longer work. Here Jesus’ argument depends on the reliability of one letter of the written Old Testament.
D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge, Scripture and Truth(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992), pp. 40–41.
What it Means for Us
The point of the passages and Carson’s illustration is that the Holy Spirit inspired the men who wrote our Bible down to the word, in fact the letter. This is important because we can investigate the vocabulary, grammar, and literary structure knowing that all was intentionally inspired by the Holy Spirit.
That should supercharge your Bible study.
How wonderful that we have an unmovable foundation of eternal Truth in the Book we hold in our hands - when ALL else is shifting. Praise the eternal God!
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