06/12/2022
The Canon Of Scripture
There are some fundamental truths you must believe and wholeheartedly embrace about the Bible. These fundamental truths are just that – fundamental. They are basic, irreducible and non-negotiable.
The Bible Is Inspired
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
“The Bible is ‘theopneustic’, i.e, breathed out by God. He suplied the writers of Scripture the very words – breathed out of His own mouth – that He desired them to pen. Thoughts are revealed by words, and God revealed His thoughts in words.” - Pastor Dennis L. Horne
This is verbal inspiration...the very words of Scripture.
It is important to note that every word in the Bible is “God-breathed.” The word plenary means “all.” Nothing is left out. It is exactly as God spoke it right down to every “jot and tittle.”
This is plenary verbal inspiration...all of Scripture.
The Bible Is Inerrant
Proverbs 30:5,6 Every word of God is pure (purified - tested): he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. (6) Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
The word pure (6884) means “to purge gold or silver by fire in order to separate it from the impurities”. The original autographs are free from any and all error. The Bible contains no mistakes. It is wholly true. There are absolutely no impurities. The Word of God is reliable and trustworthy; there is no error.
Proverbs 30:5a can be translated, “every word of God proves true …”
The idea is that it is tried and found to be utterly reliable. It is without error, therefore it can be trusted to always give you accurate instruction. The direction the Bible gives for your life is exactly the way God wants you to go. The Bible and nothing else is the perfect will of God for you.
Two other verses that emphasizes this same attribute of purity and inerrancy are Psalm 12:6 and Ps. 19:9.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true (571) and righteous (6663) altogether.
God’s Word is true (571). If it is all true, and it is, then it cannot be any more inerrant than that. Zodihates says: “This feminine Hebrew noun (571) means ‘firmness, stability … sureness’. It is used 127 times in the Old Testament and being derived from ‘AMAN’ (539), has ‘firmness’ or ‘stability’ as a basic meaning. In the sense of ‘faithfulness’ it is used frequently of God and expresses one of His key attributes. It is the principal Hebrew word for truth.” - Zodihates Study Bible, pg. 1579
God’s Word is righteous (6663). Zodihates says: “This important Hebrew verb (6663) means ‘to be right … to be straight, to be just, to be true’. Essentially it is a legal term. God is righteous (Ps. 51:6), and so are His laws (Ps. 19:10).
The following verses also highlight the “truthfulness” of Scripture:
Palm 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
Psalm 119:151 Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
Psalm 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
The Bible Is Infallible
This characteristic of the Word of God is similar to the last. Whereas inerrant means “free from error”, infallible means “incapable of failing.” The verses cited under inerrant could certainly be repeated here. However, I will give a few more that will strengthen the case for a flawless canon.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
John 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
The Word broken (3289) in this verse is luo and means “to loosen or dissolve.” Zodhiates says when it is used figuratively of a law the idea is to loosen, make void or do away with its obligation. The point is that the Word of God is incapable of failing to fulfill the purpose for which it was written. Its obligation cannot be made void or done away with (Isa. 55:11). None of God’s Word will fail.
Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
The Bible Is Preserved
Psalms 119:89 Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word, which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The Bible clearly teaches the ultimate and absolute indestructibility of the verbal declaration of God. God’s Word will not pass away; it will abide forever.
- The Canon Is Closed -
Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The law (“doctrine”) of the Lord is perfect (“whole”), converting the soul.
The simple point to be drawn from this verse is whatever the soul needs and however it needs to be converted (“to turn around”) is all contained in the perfect or whole or complete Word of God.
It is comprehensive. There is not a problem, need or question concerning man that the Bible does not address.
The Bible you and I have is not merely a part of something else, something bigger, something yet to be given, etc. It is complete.
Because it is complete you can rest assured it is God’s only and final Word to mankind. God is not continuing to give new revelation.
If you had a question of the most intimate nature to ask God, He would say nothing more, nothing less and nothing different than what He has said in His complete and final word – the Bible.
The following quote is from John MacArthur’s Charismatic Chaos, pp. 61,62:
Jude 3 is a crucial passage on the completeness of our Bibles…In the Greek text the definite article preceding “faith” points to the one and only faith: “the faith”. There is no other. Such passages such as Galatians 1:23 (“He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith”) and I Timothy 4:1 (“In latter times some will fall away from the faith”) indicate this objective use of the expression “the faith” was common in apostolic times. Greek scholar Henry Alford wrote that the faith is objective here: the sum of that which Christians believe.30
Note also the critical phrase, “once for all”, in Jude 3. The Greek word here is hapax, which refers to something done for all time, with lasting results, never needing repetition. Nothing needs to be added to the faith that has been delivered “once for all.
George Lawlor, who has written an excellent work on Jude, made the following comment:
The Christian faith is unchangeable, which is not to say that men and women of every generation do not need to find it, experience it, and live it; but it does mean that every new doctrine that arises, even though its legitimacy may be plausibly asserted, is a false doctrine. All claims to convey some additional revelation to that which has been given by God in this body of truth are false claims and must be rejected.31
Also important in Jude 3 is the word “delivered”. In the Greek it is an aorist passive participle, which in this context indicates an act completed in the past with no continuing element. In this instance the passive voice means the faith was not discovered by men, but given to men by God. How did He do that? Through His Word – the Bible.
And so through the Scriptures God has given us a body of teaching that is final and complete. Our Christian faith rests on historical, objective revelation. That rules out all inspired prophecies, seers, and other forms of new revelation until God speaks again at the return of Christ (cf. Acts 2:16-21; Rev. 11:1-13).”
30 Henry Alford, Alford’s Greek Testament, vol. IV (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 530.
31 George L. Lawlor, Translation and Exposition of the Epistle of Jude (Philadelphia: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1972),45.
The Bible Is Sufficient
2 Timothy 3:16,17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Peter 1:2,3 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, (3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
The Bible Is Authoritative
Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1 John 2:3,4 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. (4) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
I quote from the Geneva Study Bible p. 1922
The Authority of Scripture
The Christian principle of biblical authority means that God is the author of the Bible, and has given it to direct the belief and behavior of His people. Our ideas about God and our conduct should be measured, tested, and where necessary corrected and enlarged by reference to the Bible. Authority is also the right to command. God’s written Word in its truth and wisdom is the way God has chosen to exercise His rule over us, and Scripture is the instrument of Christ’s lordship over the church.
The canonical Scripture is the voice of God in the world. It has the authority or right to command, corresponding to its divine author. For this reason we submit our thoughts and moral standards to the Bible. It was through the recognition that the Bible cannot be subject to any person or group, however exalted, that the reformers freed their consciences from human traditions and authorities.”
The Bible Is Clear
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
Colossians 4:4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak…
Both of the above texts directly state and generally assume the Bible can be clearly understood, accurately interpreted, and plainly taught.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Paul says you have the “mind” (3563) of Christ. This same word (3563) is translated “understanding” in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, 19. You can understand God’s mind. God’s Word can be clearly understood by those who have the Holy Spirit. If you have the Spirit, then you can understand His book.
The Bible Is Determinative
Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Proverbs 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
The simple point here is that my response to the Word of God determines certain consequences as demonstrated in the above two verses (i.e. sin – Psalm 66:18; or rejecting God’s Word – Proverbs 28:9 … have a resulting or determinative effect. God will not listen – Ps. 66:8; or my prayer is considered abominable to God – Proverbs 28:9).
You can’t defy principles of truth without experiencing consequences. The same is true on the positive side – you obey and you are blessed.
This principle is probably established most clearly in the following passage.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; (27) A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: (28) And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
