Word of God Speak: What the Bible Says about Itself
Christians believe our God speaks. He has spoken in the creation (Ps.19:1; Rom. 1:19-20). He speaks in our consciences (Rom.2:14-15). He has spoken supremely in his Son Jesus (Jn.1:1,14; Heb.1:1-3).
What about the Bible? Certainly outside corroboration like archeology, historical accuracy, the number of existing manuscripts both full and partial, and the process how we got these books of the Bible encourage us as to its reliability and truthfulness.
Evangelical theologian Wayne Grudem states in his Systematic Theology that “God’s written words are God’s words.”
It follows then that the ultimate source of authority for the Bible is God himself. It’s based on God’s character (Num.23:19). The authority and truthfulness of the Bible is a God issue. If there is a God, could he not communicate in words what we need to know? This is a reasonable hypothesis if we believe in God.
Denying or questioning the authority and truthfulness of God’s written word can erode our trust in God himself. We affirm as Christians that God speaks and speaks accurately and truthfully because of who he is.
Here then is short summary of what the Bible says about itself regarding its authority and truthfulness:
The phrases in the Hebrew Bible, “thus says the Lord” (cf. Isa.45:14) and “the word of the Lord came to me” (cf. Jer.1:4) speak to the authority God assigns to his word and that he speaks to and through human beings.
Jesus in the Gospels affirms the authority and truthfulness of the Hebrew Scriptures. (e.g. Matt.4:4; 5:17-20; John 10:35)
The early apostles considered the OT authoritative in their preaching and teaching. (e.g. Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-36, quoting Joel 2:28-32; Psalms 16 and 110)
The letters of the NT affirm the OT and Paul’s letters as inspired, i.e., literally “God breathed”. (2 Tim.3:16; 2 Peter 3:16)
2 Peter 1:19-21 upholds the divine inspiration of the OT. It further says men were “moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”. Literally that means like an unseen wind which fills the sails of a ship, the Holy Spirit so moved the authors of the books of the Bible that what they wrote down were the words of God. Peter himself sets the table for the accuracy of what is written in the NT, because he and others were eyewitnesses of Jesus (2 Peter 1:16).
Finally, we believers can attest to the life-changing power of God’s Word! In Jer.23:28-29, God says his word is “like fire…and like a hammer which shatters a rock.” Paul in Rom.10:17 says saving faith comes through the conduit of hearing and believing the life-giving word of Christ.
Most of us, in our daily reading of God’s written Word, can testify to those days when a passage or verse jumps out to us and speaks to our present situation. God speaks, and he speaks through the Bible.
We’re not saved by affirming the Bible’s inspiration and authority. We’re saved by faith through grace in Jesus Christ alone. But that faith is grounded in the authority of God himself who has chosen to reveal himself in both in the Word made flesh and his written word.