The Doctrine of Scripture, An Overview: Clarity, Authority, Inerrancy & Infallibility of Scripture

Introduction:

    In the last post I introduced what I hope will be a series of posts on "The Doctrine of Scripture" here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2022/09/introducing-doctrine-of-scripture-what.html

    In my former post, I ended with six qualities of the Bible as Divine Revelation that provide headings that trace out for us an overview of the Doctrine of Scripture - otherwise known as "Bibliology". 

1. Clarity of God’s words – their

   communication.

2. Authority of God’s words – that’s

    revelation.

3. Inerrancy and infallibility of God’s words –

    their information.

4. Necessity of God’s words – the foundation.

5. Sufficiency of God’s words – life

   application.

6. The writing down of God’s words – that’s

    inspiration.

    In today's post, we will explore the first three of these.

1. Clarity of God’s words – their communication. Genesis 1:26-27

    For this point, let’s turn back to Genesis 1:26-27 

"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” 

    Human beings were designed to communicate with one another and with their Maker. The term “image” speaks of “capability” in the human species to give and receive whatever thoughts are in their minds. That term “likeness” refers to the “ability” of human beings to communicate within themselves.

    Wherever God is speaking forth His revelation, He always intends clarity. The clarity of Scripture speaks to its ability to provide meaning, because in each verse there is one ultimate meaning. Psalm 119:105 tells us “thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (KJV). Or again, 2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (NASB). So, already we understand this first quality of God’s Word pertains to its communication or “clarity”. Now notice a second quality.

2. Authority of God’s words – that’s revelation. Genesis 2:23-25

    The first three chapters center upon God as the talking, living God. We already considered Jesus’ citation of Genesis 2:23-25, attributing it as being God’s words. So, let’s look Genesis 2:23-25 

"The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.' 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” 

    So, who is expressing these words? The Genesis text tells us that “Adam said”. Now, take how Jesus quotes this same text in Matthew 19:4-5 

"And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?" 

    Whom does Jesus credit saying these same words? God. So, which is it? Was it Adam who spoke? Was it God who spoke? Is it God’s words conveyed through Adam’s words? B.B. Warfield helps us answer this from wrote a wonderful essay entitled “It says:” “Scripture says:” Warfield explains, 

“In one of these classes of passages the Scriptures are spoken of as if they were God; in the other, God is spoken of as if He were the Scriptures: in the two together, God and the Scriptures are brought into such a conjunction that….no distinction was made between them” (regarding authority). (B.B. Warfield, Inspiration and Authority of the Bible, page 299),

    In other words, what we see here is a demonstration of this Biblical quality of “authority”. Wayne Grudem in pages 32-34 of His Systematic Theology, 2nd edition (pages 47-51 in the 1st edition) describes God’s activity in these opening chapters through what he calls “The Word of God as speech by God”. God’s activity is nothing less than Him acting and speaking forth His authority as God.

    Why are these words so authoritative? God is exercising His most fundamental act of communication in the opening chapters – revelation. Revelation is when God makes known what was otherwise unknown. Once God has revealed His words – those words bear the stamp of His authority. To put it another way, the words of God act in such a way as if God Himself was there in front of us. The Author of those words conveys His authority through such words – hence why we call the Bible “The Word of God”. So, we’ve noticed Scripture’s clarity in its communication, as well as its authority in its revelation. Now let’s note a third trait….

3. Inerrancy and infallibility of God’s words – their information. Genesis 3:1

    As we turn again to these opening chapters of Genesis, we come to that tragic scene in Genesis 3:1 which records the first ever question in the Bible, as well as the basis for the title of this message, 

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 

    What was Satan questioning? The truthfulness and trustworthiness of the words of God spoken to Adam (and which in turn were supposed to had been taught accurately by Adam to his wife). When we say “truthfulness”, we speak of what theologians call “inerrancy” of God’s words. When we talk of “trustworthiness”, we refer to what theologians call the “infallibility of God’s words”. Now I won’t go any further into detail about these two terms, since future posts are devoted to them. What I will say next relates to the inerrancy and infallibility of God’s words by considering a fourth quality in our next post – the necessity of God’s words as the foundation.

More later....
 

Introducing the Doctrine of Scripture - What is meant when we say "The Holy Bible"?

Introduction:

    For quite a while I have had this series about “The Doctrine of Scripture" on my mind. In this introductory post, I want to give you a general survey of the “Doctrine of Scripture”, otherwise known as “Bibliology”. Before we do that survey, let me first introduce the Bible itself.

What is "The Holy Bible"?
    Whenever we think of the doctrine of Scripture, what comes to mind? Let me draw your attention to some opening thoughts.

1. To begin, we think of course about our Bibles. Most Bibles still have written on their spines on front covers “Holy Bible”. That term “holy” speaks of a uniqueness, a “set-apart” quality that makes the Bible different from any other book.

2. Then, when we see that second term “Bible”, we encounter an English word, transliterated from the Latin “biblia”, which in turn is a carryover from the Greek term “biblos”, meaning “Book”. Hence, to say “Holy Bible” means “a set-apart Book”.

3. Now, once you begin to study the Bible, you discover it is composed of sixty-six individual books, sub-divided into two main sections – Old Testament and New Testament. The term "testament" derives from a Latin term that our English Translations have used for centuries to describe our two major sections of the Bible. The term "testamentum", was translated from a Hebrew term ("berith") and a Greek term ("diatheke"), both of which mean  "covenant". 

    

    In other words, we have what is called "The Old Covenant" and what is called "The New Covenant" Scriptures. "Testament", though more familiar to us, describes a document that goes into effect upon a person's death (i.e. "Last Will and Testament"). God of course is the Living God, which is why the term "Covenant" captures for us what the Bible is all about. "Covenant" refers to a commitment made between the living God and His people. 

    Whether "Old Covenant Scriptures" or "New Covenant Scriptures", the term "Covenant" reminds us that the Bible never goes out of style. It is in written form the voice of the living God Himself, conveyed to us by He as the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. In turn, the Holy Spirit of God, through these words of God, directs our attention to the Son of God - Jesus Christ.

 

4. The Old Testament (or Covenant) portion contains 39 books, originally written in Hebrew and some Aramaic, comprising over 400,000 words in those languages. These 39 books record the history of God's covenantal dealings with His people, Israel, and how He used Israel to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

5. The New Testament (or "Covenant") consists of 27 books, originally composed in Koine Greek, containing over 138,000 words. Everyone of these words are classified together by the simple term “Scripture”, meaning “that which is written”. Jesus certainly came to ratify the "New Covenant", a better covenant, with His blood, which He shed on the cross as man (see Hebrews 9:16-17). What makes the 27 books the "New Covenant Scriptures" is in how Jesus Christ, being also truly God, demonstrated Himself forever alive by His physical resurrection from the dead, remaining truly man - and thus being forever God and man. 

6. The Bible, comprising Old and New Covenant Scriptures, is the Living God's testimony of Himself to His people whom He calls by faith, and to a world in need of the Savior. This Triune God makes Himself known through the pages of the Bible.

The Bible is a library of Divinely inspired books

    Now these introductory remarks serve to tell you what is inside your Bibles, and why they are called “The Holy Bible”. We see a Divinely inspired library of books, all expressing a unity of message, ranging over 1500 years, through 40 authors, in three languages, displaying all sorts of literary types such as narrative, poetry, letters, and prophecy.

    There are over 700 prophecies, many of which have demonstrated fulfillment in history. No other book in the world, secular or religious, boasts such features. Physical description alone would draw the conclusion that the Bible is a most remarkable book.

    However, in talking about the Bible, I'm not content to just say the Bible is a “remarkable book” (though it most certainly is  remarkable!) Rather, in exploring the doctrine of Scripture, we will discover that this most remarkable book is a “revealed book”. When I talk of "The Doctrine of Scripture", I mean the following qualities or headings.

1. Clarity of God’s words – their
   communication.

2. Authority of God’s words – that’s
    revelation.

3. Inerrancy and infallibility of God’s words –
    their information.

4. Necessity of God’s words – the foundation.

5. Sufficiency of God’s words – life
   application.

6. The writing down of God’s words – that’s
    inspiration.

In the next post, we will begin to explain what each of these characteristics mean, and why they matter today. 

The Call To A.W.A.K.E To Biblical Revival

Introduction:

      In today's post we want to consider the subject of "revival". To "revive" something means to bring back to life what seemed almost dead. Throughout the history of the Bible, we see at least roughly twenty-five instances of God moving in and through His people to stir them to seek Him. The great reference tool "Nave's Complete Word Study Topical Bible" lists the following Biblical references that speak about the topic of revival.1

1. Revival under the leadership of Joshua. Joshua 5:2-9

2. Under Elijah. 1 Kings 18:17-40

3. Under Joash and Jehoida. 2 Kings 11:1-12:21; 2 Chronicles 23:1-24:27

4. Under Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18:1-7; 2 Chronicles 29:1-31:21

5. Under Josiah. 2 Kings 22:1-23:37; 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27

6. Under Asa. 2 Chronicles 14:2-5; 15:1-14

7. Under Manasseh. 2 Chronicles 33:12-19

8. In Ninevah. Jonah 3:4-10

9. At Pentecost and post-Pentecostal times. Acts 2:1-42, 47-47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 9:35; 11:20-21; 12:24; 14:1; 19:17-20. 

    H.L Wilmington's "The Complete Book of Bible Lists" references more references to revivals in addition to what we observed from Nave's listing above.2

10. Under Jacob. Genesis 35:1-4

11. Under Samuel. 1 Samuel 7:3-6

12. Under Moses. Exodus 14:31-15:21

13. Under David. 1 Chronicles 15:25-28; 16:1-43; 29:10-25

14. Under Solomon. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3

15. Under Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 19. 

16. Under Jehu. 2 Kings 10:15-28

17. Under Jehoida. 2 Kings 11:17-20

18. Under Ezra. Ezra 9-10

19. Under Nehemiah ]. Nehemiah 13

20. Under Esther. Esther 9:17-22

21. Under John the Baptist. Luke 3:2-18

22. Under Jesus. John 4:28-32

23. Under Phillip. Acts 8:5-12

    The above lists do not include revival in the lives of individuals, nor the first reference to revival at the end of Genesis 4. I encourage readers to take time to study each of the above Scriptures to grasp the conditions, seasons, and reasons of revival. I have found that when I have studied the flow of revival through Biblical history, my own heart is prompted to seek God at a deeper level.  

Revival leaders of the past help us define revival. 

    Let me list some thoughts on revival by Godly leaders who demonstrated fidelity to the scripture and whose ministries have been used by God to spark revival. The following thoughts can enable us to grasp better what revival is meant to be.

1. Elmer Towns was for years Dean of the School of religion at Liberty University.  He writes: 

"An evangelical revival is an extraordinary work of God in which Christians repent of their sins as they become intensely aware of His presence in their midst, and they manifest a positive response to God, resulting in both a deepening of their individual and corporate experience with God, and an increased concern to win others to Christ."3

2. Leonard Ravenhill, one of the greatest writers on the subject of revival, notes: 

"Our request concerning revival must be that God be glorified ; afterwards, not before, will come our request for sinners to be saved and a believing that the heavens will be rent. God's conditions will be met."4   

3. Steven Olford, famed Baptist Pastor of times past, writes the following about revival: 

"Revival is that strange and Sovereign work of God in in which He visits His own people, restoring, reanimating and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing. Such a Divine intervention will issue in evangelism though, in the first instance, it is a work of God in the church and amongst individual believers. Once we understand the nature of heaven sent revival, we shall be able to think, pray and speak intelligently of such times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19)." 5

4. Martin Lloyd Jones, one of the premier preachers of the 20th century, writes on the cost of revival: 

"May He (God) so reveal His own glory and holiness to us. May He reveal unto us our utter impotence and hopelessness. May we see these things in such a way that we shall cease from men and look only unto the living God. And then there is no question but that He will hear us and He will manifest His glory and power."6

Jesus issues an awakening call to His church.    

    In seven letters we find from Jesus to the seven churches in the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation, one stands out as His plea for His church to experience revival. We read in Revelation 3:1-2 

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God."

    In the remainder of today's post we want to consider more about what revival is and Jesus' prescription to A.W.A.K.E His church from her slumber. As you read Jesus' letter to the church at Sardis, you can use the acrostic A.W.A.K.E to describe what it takes to be a revived people of God for His glory.

Almighty Holy Spirit.  Revelation 3:1

    Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent in His name by the Father.   The "seven spirits" mentioned is in reference to the seven-fold nature of the Holy Spirit, described in Isaiah 11:2 and mentioned in Revelation 1:4 and 4:5. In order for revival to take place, the Sovereign God in the Person of the Spirit must come down and blow fresh wind into the sails of faith.  Unless we hoist the sails of faith up into the air on the mast of prayer, no revival will occur.  Revival is undoubtedly a Sovereign work of God.  The remaining elements of Jesus' prescription of revival has to do with the Christ-follower.

Work on Neglected Areas. Revelation 3:1b-2  

    We read in Revelation 3:1b-2 "Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God." The word translated "awake" comes from the root word meaning “rise from the dead”.  This was a deadening sleep that Sardis and all slumbering churches or Christians need to awake.  It starts with an attitude of confession before God that we have neglected what we know we ought to do.  That confession must quickly lead to caring for those areas that are about to die. Often we neglect Bible reading, prayer, witnessing, giving, love.  Whatever we know to do, and yet fail to do, to us it is sin (see James 4:17)

Apply what you know. Revelation 3:3

    Revelation 3:3 reads: "So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it." Often as Christians we cry out to God for more light.  The problem is that we are not living out the current light we already have.  Application of truth involves the mind (remember), the heart (received, heard), and the hands (keep it).  Once we have walked out the current level of understanding, only then will God grant us further light and great opportunities for Him (compare Matthew 25:21; Luke 19:17). 

Keep a repentant mindset. Revelation 3:3b-4

    Jesus then says in Revelation 3:3-4 "...and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you." Repentance means I have turned away from my sin and have run into the arms of Jesus.  Repentance is the twin of faith.  Just as we are to exercise growing faith in the Lord, so too with repentance.  We should ever be cultivating a growing hatred of sin, so as to ever run into the arms of Jesus.  Then finally...

Emphasize Jesus and His word. Revelation 3:4-6

    Revival is not an end, but a means to a great end - continual pressing onward and upward in the Lord.  The "garments" of righteousness spoken of here in Revelation is in reference to the credited righteousness of Jesus Christ we receive at salvation (called justification), from whence springs our practical righteousness (sanctification). Seven times in Revelation we find reference to "white robes" given to the saints, and all seven are connected to Christ and His righteousness as being the basis for the believer's practical righteousness (compare Revelation 3:5,18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 19:14). The scriptures once again are alluded to in 3:6 as the source from whence we hear what the "Spirit is saying to the churches."  

Final thought.    

    True revival begins and ends with God.  As much as revival is conditioned upon the humbling of ourselves, praying, seeking God's face and turning from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14), yet its source and fruit all stems from the Spirit of God, who Proceeds from the Father in the name of the Son.   

Endnotes:

1. Nave's Complete Word Study Topical Bible. AMG Publishers. Page 1418.

2. H.L. Wilmington. The Complete Book of Bible Lists. Tyndale. Pages 292-294

3. Elmer Towns & Douglas Porter. The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever - From Pentecost to the Present. Vine Books. 2000. Page 16

4. Leonard Ravenhill. Revival Praying. Bethany Fellowship. 1979. Page 145

5. Steven Olford. The Heart Cry for Revival. Fleming Revell. 1962. Page 16.

6. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Revival. Crossway Books. 1987. Page 131.

Part Two: How Jesus' View Of The Bible Ought To Inform Our View Of The Bible

Introduction:

       In our last post here http://www.growingchristianresources.com/2022/05/part-one-how-jesus-view-of-bible-ought.html, we began to considerJesus' view of Scripture and why His view of  Scripture ought to be our view of Scripture. We noted three expressions Jesus used when talking about the Old Testament. First we observed His use of the phrase "it is written". Then, we witnessed His use of the term "the scripture", and where He deems the words of the Old Testament as God's voice in written form. Put another way, to say the phrase "Scripture" is to equate the words of the Bible as being tantamount to talking to God face-to-face and hearing Him speak. We demonstrated how those phrases point the reader to conclude that Jesus viewed the words of the Bible as without error or totally true - i.e. "inerrant", as well as incapable of error - i.e. "infallible". 

       In today's post I want us to consider two more phrases used by Jesus in His descriptions of how He viewed Scripture as further testimony of what the view ought to be of everyone that professes to follow Him.  

a. "Truly, Truly, I say to you"

     In addition to the phrase I alluded to above ("it is written", "the scriptures"), the next set of phrases that Jesus used to teach about the Bible was where he would either say "but I say" or "truly truly". These particular statements refer to Jesus's own self understanding of his Divine Authority as delivering the very words of God. He would often contrast himself with the Jewish traditions as found in the teachings of the Pharisees and Scribes. Hence, Jesus used the phrase "truly truly" in John 1:51; 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21, 38; 14:12; 16:20, 23 and 21:18. 

       We then find Jesus using the phrase "I say" with reference to his own Divine Authority in Matthew 5:18, 22, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 6:2, 5, 16, 25, 29, 8.10, 11; 10:15, 23, 29; 11:23, 24; 12:43; 13:30, 37: 14:9, 14, 18, 25, 30 / Luke 4:24 and Luke 5:24. In Luke 6:25, Jesus would use the phrase "but I say" to contrast himself to the Jewish traditions, as seen in Luke 7.9, 14, 26, 28, 47.10:12; 11:8, 9, 51; 12:5, 22, 27, 37, 44. 

       As Jesus proclaimed His own self understanding, He claimed the ability to forgive sins (Luke 7:47; 12:8) which is something the Old Testament taught that Yahweh, Jehovah God, could alone do (see Isaiah 43:10,11; Jonah 2:9-10). Jesus Christ came into this world with an unprecedented air of authority and self-awareness of He Himself being "God in the flesh". As only Jesus could achieve, His self-understanding as God-incarnate never came across as arrogant or out of place. Finally, we see this phrase "but I say" used in John 1:51 and in Matthew 5:22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44 / Luke 6:27 / John 5:34, expressing everything I just noted about our Lord with respect to how He perceived Himself as the Eternal Son of God who came as the virgin-born, incarnate Savior - Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:21-23, "God with us or Immanuel"; John 1:14, "The Word made flesh"; Colossians 2:9, "He being the fullness of the Godhead bodily"). 

b. "Word of God" 

         The final major term that Jesus used to describe the scriptures was the phrase "the Word of God". Whenever we use the phrase "Word of God" to describe either the writings of the Old and New Testament or Jesus Himself, we are describing something or someone who speaks in God's place. Thus, Jesus used this phrase "word of God" in places such as Matthew 4:4; 15:6 / Mark 7:13 / Luke 8:11, 21; 11:28 / John 3:34; 8:47 / John 10:35.  In John 10:35, Jesus uses the particular phrase: "the Word of God cannot be broken" to refer to scripture's infallibility (that is, it's incapability of ever being wrong or ever failing to be right).

Closing thoughts

    We have labored to show through an exhaustive survey of the four Gospels the view of the Bible held to by Jesus. We noted the major phrases He used when referencing the Old Testament: "it is written", "the Scripture", "I say to you", "truly, truly", and "the Word of God". We discovered that such descriptions revealed what Jesus thought about Himself as God in the flesh. We also noted how such phrases demonstrated Jesus' high-view of Scripture as being totally true or "inerrant" and totally trustworthy or "infallible". Jesus' use of the Greek and Aramaic translations of His day expressed that He saw the inerrancy and infalliblity of the original manuscripts still having relevance in how those translations still carry with them the words and meanings of those originals. Finally, we concluded that Jesus'view of Scripture came to represent what would be the uniform view of the Apostles. Consequently, this high view of Scripture ought to be the view of the church at large - since Jesus Himself taught it as so. My hope is that these posts reinforce a revival in proclaiming and defending the Bible as God's authoritative Word - infallible, inerrant, and the final authority on all subjects pertaining to this life and the one to come. 

Learning How To Pray Like Jesus - A 2022 National Day Of Prayer Reflection

Introduction: 

       I begin today’s post from A.W. Tozer’s classic book, “Knowledge of the Holy”. He writes, 

“The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.” 

        This year's theme for the National Day of Prayer is "Exalt the Lord", taken from the words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:6-7,

"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."

          As churches in our area will gather today to observe this important event, I got to thinking about how we can be more effective in our prayer lives as individuals and churches. There is no better Person to turn to than the LORD Jesus Himself. When Jesus’ disciples followed Him in His public ministry, the only subject they requested Him to teach concerned this: "How to pray". What Jesus did was provide a model prayer we call “The Lord’s Prayer” (found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11). I find in this prayer four principles on how to pray, following the acronym “P.R.A.Y”. Thus consider with me four truths on learning how to pray like Jesus. 

Praise God for being God.      Matthew 6:9

    Jesus begins His teaching on prayer with these words recorded by Matthew in Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” The featured attribute or characteristic of God is His holiness. God’s holiness is that attribute that emphasizes the otherness, goodness, radiance, and perfection that He is as God. 

        I heard a speaker say years ago that the God of popular American religion is not a holy God, which explains why hunger for the things of God rarely characterizes so few churches today. Remember: wherever we begin in prayer is where we will end. The Psalmist writes this in Psalm 121:1-2, 

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." 

     The Apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-2, 

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." 

   So as we pray, we begin with praise to God for being God. Now let us notice secondly….

Recall His promises.                 Matthew 6:10

      Again we turn to Matthew's version of Jesus' famous model prayer, wherein He says next in Matthew 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." One writer estimated there are some 8,000 promises in God's Word to His people. The Apostle Peter records for us in 2 Peter 1:3-4,

"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

      As we rehearse the promises of God to ourselves from the Bible, we notice certain themes.  Two such motifs associated with God's promises pertain to His Second coming and His daily provisions for our lives. Do we give thought to the promise of His coming?  Paul writes this in Philippians 3:20-21 about the promise of Christ's soon return for every believer to recall, 

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."

      How about His provisions for us on a daily basis. We so often worry and fret about how to make ends meet that we get distracted from meeting with God in prayer. This, again, is where we turn to promises of His provision such as we meet in Philippians 4:6-7, 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

      Recalling God's promises aids us in refocusing ourselves upon His glory and excellence as God, for which we praise Him. Let us notice a third truth on how to pray like Jesus….

Ask according to His will.       Matthew 6:11-13

       What is God’s will? That intention, rooted in God’s being, knowledge, wisdom, and decree that guarantees all He has ordained to come to pass, as revealed in His Word or unrevealed in His working.  Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us God makes known those things which we are to know, while concealing other matters known only to Himself. We read Jesus' next statement on prayer in Matthew 6:11-13 

‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] 

         For those believers aiming to live in God's revealed will (the Bible) as they live life before God, the need to pray according to His will is stated most clearly in 1 John 5:14-15 

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

         Sometimes when I pray, I do so with my Bible open to a given passage of Scripture. Thankfully today, most Bibles have a topical index in the back to which one can turn whenever looking for a passage to match whatever they are praying about. Do you know there are those occassions where even when framing my prayers in such exercises, I still find myself at a loss as to know how to pray or what to pray. Admittedly, this can be discouraging and make any of us wonder how to find the will to pray whenever it seems God's will eludes us. This is why we have this promise of the Holy Spirit's help in our prayer-life in Romans 8:26-27

"In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

      So, in praising God for being God, recalling His promises, and asking according to His will, Jesus gives us three wonderful principles for moreeffective prayers. Let's consider one final thought....

Yearn for Christ.                    Matthew 6:14-15

     We read in Matthew 6:14-15 "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Paul writes in Colossians 3:12-13 

"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."

      Yearning for Jesus is seen in how Christ Himself points us to the mercy the Father desires to bestow in forgiveness, for which Christ Himself came to pay for through His cross and resurrection (see Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). What practical steps can we take (if we are followers of Jesus) to stoke the fires of yearning for Jesus? It all begins by reviewing what He did for us on the cross. In most churches, periodic observance of the Lord's Table is designed to help Christians get refocused upon the cross of Christ. All that Jesus achieved on our behalf in His act of passive obedience as the subsitutionary atoning sacrifice for sins can disarm any resentment we may harbor against someone. To think of what I did as part of all Jesus bore on the cross to provide forgiveness of my sins can fight the tendency we all have to become bitter. Bitterness and anger can dry up desire for God. Only at the cross can we lay such things aside.

        As we review the cross (whether by partaking the Lord's supper or in our daily reflections through one of the final portions of the four Gospel accounts, Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19), we then mentally and prayerfully revisit the empty tomb of our Lord. As we strive to yearn for Jesus, we do not yearn for a dead Savior - but a living One! To know He lives gives me power to overcome those barriers that smother the flames of my devotion to Christ. We read in Romans 8 of how the power of the Holy Spirit in raising Christ from the dead is what initiates the new birth in the beginnings of our Christian walk. 

       Thirdly, as we yearn for Jesus by means of reviewing His cross and revisiting His empty tomb, we refocus by looking up. What do I mean "looking up"? I mean with reference to His ascension into Heaven 40 days following His resurrection, the angels words to the disciples in Acts 1:11 are apropos to us today,

"They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

       Yearning for Jesus means anticipating His soon return. As we focus on Christ's second coming, the way our prayers will change will show in how we come to focus on whatever we pray for in light of eternity and things to come. As anyone who desire to follow Jesus can attest, the need to pray more effectively is a constant need. May we take to heart the four above principles in learning to P.R.A.Y. like Jesus. 

Part One: How Jesus' View Of The Bible Ought To Inform Our View Of The Bible

Introduction:

      There are two pillars that support the historic Christian view of the Bible. The first concerns what Jesus Himself taught - which is the focus of this post. The second considers the Biblical documents themselves, their claims of Divine inspiration, demonstration of inerrancy, fulfilled prophecies, preservation of their words in the thousands of manuscripts and translations, and demonstration of their reliability from archaeology and historical studies. This second "pillar" fits under the theological study of the doctrine of Scripture that is called "Bibliology". Bibliology is important in its own right, since despite centuries of scrutiny, the Biblical text continues to show its character as totally true or without error. Bibliology, rightly understood, complements what we learn from the first pillar of our understanding of the nature of Scripture - namely Jesus' teaching.

    Dr. Michael Kruger, an eminent Biblical scholar and expert in the history of the Biblical text, has this to say of the importance of Jesus' view of Scripture,

"One need only consider Jesus' own view of the Old Testament. Time and again, Jesus appeals to Old Testament passages and always receives it as truth, never correcting it, criticizing it, or pointing out inconsistencies. Indeed, He not only refrained from correcting the Scriptures, but He also affirmed the Scriptures "cannot be broken" (John 10:35), and that "[God's] Word is truth" (John 17:17). It is unthinkable that Jesus would ever have read an Old Testament passage and declared, "Well, this passage is simply wrong." 

      We will argue that whether we consider Jesus' approach to Scripture or go the second route of establishing the preservation, reliability, and prophetic claims of the Bible itself, both methods arrive at the same conclusion - Biblical inerrancy (that is, without error as oriignally revealed) and infallibility (that is, incapable of being wrong as originally revealed).  By focusing on how Jesus treated and understood the Old Testament Scriptures of His day (the New Testament had not yet been composed during His earthly ministry), we can establish what I call "an argument to inerrancy". 

Jesus taught that the scripture is inspired, inerrant and revealed by God.
       

        In Jesus' day, the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible, "The Tanak", as it is sometimes referred, standing for "Torah = Law"; "Neviim = Prophets"; "Kethuvim = Writings") was the only Bible known. Jesus Himself referred to "The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings or Psalms" (see Luke 24:44), corresponding to the Jewish divisions of the Hebrew Bible into the above "Tanak" acronym. There were no New Testament books, since Jesus had not yet died, raised and ascended. The Old Testament books were revealed by God through the prophets in Hebrew (98% of the Old Testament text) and Aramaic (2% of the Old Testament text). 

       By the first century, almost every Jewish person in Israel spoke Aramaic, which meant that the copies of the scriptures read in the synagogues were Aramaic (called "Targums", meaning, "to interpret"). Other Jews throughout the rest of the Greco-Roman world had access to Greek copies of the Old Testament associated with the Septuagint Greek Old Testament (so-named due to the tradition that the project was translated by seventy Jewish scribes, symbolized by the Roman numeral LXX). 

       The Septuagint (LXX) was translated over a period of a century, beginning in 275 b.c. It is likely that Jesus and the Apostles had familiarity with the Aramaic Targums and Greek translation of the Old Testament.

       There were of course copies of the Hebrew text, however, very few Jewish people knew Hebrew. Despite various translations of the Old Testament in circulation by Jesus' day, His view of the Divine authority carried by such translations did not alter. As we shall see below, Jesus viewed the translations of His day as carrying forth the authority of inerrancy and infallibility of the originals from whence they were translated. This point is vital, since it shows us how to treat and regard English translations that are translated from the underlying Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament and Greek New Testament. 

        Several key phrases that Jesus used to describe the scriptures attest to His views, which ought to inform us as to how to view our translations of the Old and by extension, the New Testament. Let me mention three of them today.

a. "It is written"

      Jesus would sometimes use the phrase "it is written" to assert the Divine authority of the Old Testament (Matthew 4:4, 6, 7, 10; 11:10; 21:13; 26:24, 31 / Mark 1:2, 7:6, 9:12, 13; 11:17; 14:21, 27 / Luke 4:4, 8, 10, 17, 7:27; 10:26; 18:31; 19.46; 20.17, 22, 22:37; 24.44, 46 / John 6:31,45; 8:17; 10:34; 12:14, 16; 15:25; 19:19, 20, 22. At least 16 times in the Old Testament do we find this phrase used to refer to the words of other Old Testament books as being God's Word. 

       To say that the Bible is "God's Word" or "it is written" was Jesus' way of saying that to hear the Bible read was equivalent to hearing God Himself speak. The human author's writing style, background, setting, historical situation, and place in history were orchestrated by the Holy Spirit in producing original documents that were true in all they said on matters of history, science and doctrine. 

b. "Scripture"

      Jesus used another closely associated term, "Scripture", to describe the Old Testament (Matthew 21:42, 22:29, 26:54, 56/ Mark 12:24, 14:49 / Luke 24:27, 32, 45, John 5:39). In these instances, Jesus describes the scriptures as fulfilled, having Divine authority, without error or "inerrant" (Matthew 22:29) and incapable of failure or "infallible" (John 10:35).  This reminds us of that trait of the Bible possessed by no other book in the world - historically verified fulfilled prophecy. 

         God alone knows the future (Isaiah 46:9-10). According to the reputable "Payne's Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy", there are over 700 prophecies in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, covering historical events predicted of historic nations, including Israel, as well as over 300 prophecies touching upon the Person and work of Jesus Himself. This use of "Scripture" by Jesus shows how He understood the Bible to be "Divinely supernatural" in its accurate predictions of events in history - He Himself being the center and goal of all of it.

More next time....

Death's Obituary - An Easter Sunday Meditation On Christ's Victory Over Death

 

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 "But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ won the cosmic battle, resulting in Death's obituary

       When one reads the above closing text of 1 Corinthians 15, it has the ring of an "obituary about death". Paul's whole point in 1 Corinthians 15 is to detail how we can know not only the historicity of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but also its life-practical and eternal implications. When it is all said and done, what Christ achieved on that first Easter morning not only had historical significance and life-changing power, but cosmic implications. When I say "cosmic", I mean the supernatural war that the kingdom of darkness has waged against God since Lucifer's cosmic rebellion in heaven at the near beginning of creation (see Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28). Satan's introduction of sin to Adam and Eve, and their compliance to his temptation, resulted in curse, sin and death on the whole physical creation (see Romans 5:12-21; 8:20-25). 

         Would Death have the final word? So it would seem. One population statistic I read of years ago suggests that over 12 billion human beings have lived on our planet since its creation. All human beings since Adam have faced death in one way or another and lost. Yes, we can note of course two exceptions in the Old Testament in which God directly took Enoch to Heaven (Genesis 5:24) and the prophet Elijah to Heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:12). Nevertheless, God forestalled what otherwise would had been Enoch's and Elijah's appointments with physical death (Hebrews 9:27). Death keeps its appointments. No one had ever died and came back by their own power, let alone experienced a physical transformation of their body as Jesus did. 

          God's curse on creation would result in death's seeming permanence. Old Testament prophecy predicted a time will come when death's universal pattern will be reversed (see Job 19:25-27; Daniel 12:1-3). Still, these prophecies indicate that such reversal would not happen until the end of history. Would death itself ever fail to take even one human being? 

           On Easter morning Death was dealt a major loss. Jesus Christ did not merely cheat death of a victory, He conquered it. Furthermore, His resurrection included the transformation of His physical body in the grave, meaning He would never die again. We see roughly half a dozen instances in the Bible where prophets, and even Christ Himself, would rescucitate people by bringing them back from the dead (Lazarus is the most famous of these in John 11). But eventually, Lazarus would die, since his body had not experienced the transformation to glory and immortality that accompanies resurrection. Jesus on the otherhand experienced this glorious transformation. As Sovereign God in human flesh, Jesus took the end of history and inserted it into the middle of this present age by His resurrection from the dead. Death lost! Christ will never die again! He is risen! What this means is the beginning of the reversal of Death's dominion, as described by Paul's term for Jesus as being the "first fruits" of such a reversal (see 1 Corinthians 15:20,23). Every Christ-follower looks forward to the day when they will experience a resurrection of their own from the dead or, if still alive at Christ's appearing, be taken up into Heaven with their bodies transformed like Enoch and Elijah (see 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

         In thinking on what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, the thought came to mind concerning "death's obituary". It appears Paul had in mind the words of Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 25:8-9 

"He will swallow up death for all time,

And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited;

Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

      What Jesus achieved on that first Easter morning made Him the first to conquer death! We certainly find evidence of Christ's victory over death issuing forth on that first Easter morning, as found in Luke 24:1-8 - 

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words."

        Such words ought to always be remembered by Christ-followers everywhere when faced with doubt, fear or worry. As I prayed about what it must had been like on that first Easter morning, as well as what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, this theme of "Death's Obituary" kept coming up in my heart. So, I shared this thought with my wife, and what she wrote below goes wonderfully with what Paul seems to be communicating in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57. I close today's post with her wonderful piece entitled: "Death's Obituary".

Death's Obituary - By Debi Smith

Death, formerly from the region of Hades, died on Easter morning surrounded by legions of stunned and terrified demons. Death lived a long life. Some of His biggest claims to fame included scaring and immobilizing people from living; killing people that thought they had tomorrow; and separating people from loved ones until Death decided it was there time as well. Death leaves behind no one to mourn him. There will be no services, but there will be a celebration held at a later date when Jesus Christ comes back to claim His followers. At that time, there will be a burial as Death will be cast into the lake of fire never to be seen again. In lieu of flowers or donations, we ask that everyone seek the Lord while He may be found and embrace eternal life."