The Bible is God’s Word

This article appeared in the June 2009 edition of Broadway Christian Church's newspaper, The Harbinger.

Last month’s article concluded by listing four criteria commonly used to explain how early church fathers decided which books would be admitted into the Canon of Scripture. No matter how much one studies the history behind the composition of the Bible, one will realize that, men decided which books belonged. The pedestal on which Christians place the Bible goes a very long way in determining what kind of relationship they will have with God. Either all of the Bible is the Word of God or all of it comes into question because different people can then decide which parts of the Bible they believe are “God-breathed” and which parts are not.

For a moment, consider the possibility that the Bible is the unadulterated Word of God and consider that God wanted the Bible to develop exactly as it has throughout history. With those two ideas in mind, is it possible that God worked through the early church fathers to see that the Bible was compiled in the manner that it exists today? Many people have difficulty accepting the Canon of Scripture as being comprehensive. The ground can appear shaky on this subject, but remember this: the most brilliant of scholars cannot prove that the 66 books that make up the Bible are not the complete Word of God; so, ultimately, it comes down to a question of personal faith anyway. One must accept on faith that the 66 books of the Bible are the Word of God.

In affirming Paul’s writings as Scripture, Peter said that Paul’s wisdom came from God (II Peter 3:15-16). Jesus affirmed the Old Testament as Scripture when he mentioned that everything in the “Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” would be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). Scripture does authenticate itself, but in the end people want more than that. However, with matters of faith one must have just that—faith.