Once the identity of Jesus is established, his view and use of Scripture becomes the primary consideration for the believer.
III. Jesus Christ’s view of Scripture:
An important issue relating to the reliability of the Scripture has to do with what Jesus taught about it both by example and precept. The following information further verifies a completely reliable Bible:
A. What Jesus taught about the Old Testament
Authority: Matthew 22:43
Reliability: Matthew 26:54
Finality: Matthew 4:4,7,10
Sufficiency: Luke 16:31
Indestructibility: Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 16:16-17
Unity: Luke 24:27,44
Historicity: Matthew 12:40
Inerrancy: Matthew 22:29; John 3:12; 17:17
Infallibility: John 10:35See also: Luke 16:16, 17; Matthew 24:25; Luke 17:27; Mark 7:10; Mark 12:36; Luke 10:12.
B. Jesus promised the New Testament John 14:25-26; 16:13; Matt. 16:19; Acts 1:1; Heb. 2:3.
“The disciples are to declare openly in their proclamation what has been revealed to them and what Jesus has said to them (Matt. 10:26f). Thus in the preaching of the disciples the event of revelation is continued: he who hears the disciples hears Jesus Himself (Lk. 10:16); cf. Matt. 10:40; Jn. 12:44; 13:20).”
“In John’s gospel Jesus promises his disciples the Spirit of Truth who will bear witness to Him. He will teach them everything and lead them into the full truth (Jn. 14:26; 15:26; 16:13). The even of revelation is not terminated in the earthly existence of Jesus…The N.T. does not draw a distinction here: the apostolic message is called the ‘Word of God’ just as much as the word of Jesus (cf. Lk. 5:1; 8:21; with I Cor. 14:26; Col. 1:25). The consequence of this understanding was that early Christianity accepted both the words of Jesus transmitted in the Gospels and the apostolic writings into the Canon, and gave them recognition as the authoritative records of the divine revelation” (N.I.D.N.T.T., Vol. 3, pp. 314-315, Colin Brown). (See also: Rom. 15:18; II Cor. 12:1ff; 13:3; Gal. 2:2).
C. Jesus confirmed Scriptures critics reject
The creation account: Lk. 11:51; Mt. 19:4,5
Noah and the flood: Mt. 24:37-39
Sodom and Gomorrah: Lk. 10:12
Jonah and the great fish: Mt. 12:39-41
Mosaic authorship: Mk. 7:10; Jn. 7:19
Unity of Isaiah: Jn. 12:38-41;
Prophecy: Lk. 4:16-21
Moses at the burning bush: Mt. 22:32
Feeding of Manna to the Israelites: Jn. 6:49
The repentance of Nineveh: Mt. 12:41
Daniel’s prophecy: Mt. 24:15
D. Concluding thoughts
Jesus did not confirm these truths in an effort to accommodate popular views of the day (Mt. 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32: 15:1-9; 22:29; 23:1ff; Jn. 2:13; 3:10).
“Nothing could be clearer than that our Divine Savior believed in the literal truthfulness of the entire Old Testament record, whether those accounts dealt with doctrinal matters, matters of science, or history. He who refuses to go along with the Lord in this judgment stands guilty of asserting that God can err (since Jesus is God as well as man) and that the sovereign Creator (John 1:1-3) stands in need of instruction and correction by the finite wisdom of man” (Gleason Archer, p. 25, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties).
“The role of Scripture in the life of Jesus is really remarkable. Although Jesus was and is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, during his earthly ministry he subjected himself completely to the Old Testament Scripture. Over and over again, he performed various actions so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. The whole point of his life and his sacrificial death and resurrection was determined beforehand by Scripture. Jesus’ testimony to Scripture, then, is not occasional, but pervasive. His whole life was a witness to biblical authority!” (John M. Frame, p.188, God’s Inerrant Word).
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The argument runs like this:
1. The Bible says that it is true and from God.
2. Therefor the Bible is true and from God.
This is a circular argument, also known as "begging the question". You cannot assume in your premises what you are trying to prove. If you want to establish the truth-value of the statements of the Bible, then you must reach outside that system for something verifiable.
Consider this counter-argument.
1. I say that I am 6'8" and in the NBA.
2. Therefore, I am 6'8" and in the NBA.
It's not true just because I said it. I must look outside of my own statements about myself in order to verify what I have said. In the same way, the Bible saying that it is "true" or "from God" does not make it true for someone who has not already assumed that position from the start.
So although this argument might make us Christians feel better about the reliability of Scripture, it will be absolutely worthless to anyone looking in from the outside. So the question we must ask is who are these apologetics for, the insider or outsider. Perhaps we should focus on constructing arguments that outsiders will not laugh at. Click here to reply to this post
THE LAMB WAS ALL SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD
Posted On: 11/14/07 08:54:01 AM
Age 64, OH
I have been enjoying your articles Steve. To make my point about the child who is born unto us who He calls The Everlasting Father look in The Revelation 5:6 "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." - We can see from this scripture that The Lamb who was Jesus had 7 horns and seven eyes which were the seven spirits of God. The Lamb did not have one horn and one eye but had all seven Spirits of God. The 7 Spirits are The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, The Lion, The Ox, The Man, and the Eagle. The first three Spirits are the three ways that God appears and the four creatures are the four ways that God works. There is a gospel for every creature. Matthew is the Lion or King, Mark is the OX or servant, Luke is the Son of Man or The Man, and in John He is The Eagle or God. 3 + 4 = 7 and 3 x 4 + 12 Lou Click here to reply to this post
Re: Is the Bible really from God? (conclusion
Posted On: 11/14/07 12:09:30 AM
Age 53, CANADA
I have put all the scriptures into this part of the article.
B. Jesus promised the New Testament John 14:25-26 "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you; John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come; Matt. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."; Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach; Heb. 2:3. how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
I cannot see how any of these scriptures have anything to do with Jesus promising the written New Testament to us. In these scriptures He promised the Spirit, keys of the kingdom, salvation etc. Are you saying that these things are the New Testament scriptures? Click here to reply to this post
Re: Is the Bible really from God? (conclusion
Posted On: 11/13/07 09:15:54 AM
Age 64, OH
Thanks for the article Steve; You say, "Jesus is the second person of The trinity". There is The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit but they are not three but One. This is shown in the Scriptures by the fact that The Holy Spirit is called The Spirit of God or The Father in the OT; but in the NT The Holy Spirit is also referred to as The Holy Spirit of Jesus. There are not two Holy Spirits but One. There is The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit BUT they are ONE. This is also shown in the OT in Isaiah 9:6 Geneva Bible "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given; and the government is upon his shoulder, and he shall call his name, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. When Jesus said in the scripture that When you see me you see The father, he meant just what he said. Jesus is The Creator of Genesis 1 in the OT. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Re: Re: Is the Bible really from God? (conclusion
Posted On: 11/17/07 10:02:31 AM
Age 46, AR
No, they are three, but one. Eg, we are to be baptized into the name (singular) of Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Mysterious, I admit. But this mystery demands your faith, not a denial of the trinity. Click here to reply to this post
THERE IS BUT ONE GOD
Posted On: 11/26/07 11:18:24 AM
Age 64, OH
Dear brother, we a;; can think of many, many scriptures that say there is but One and Only One God. God the Father says "you will have no other savior except for me". Do you know of ONE SCRIPTURE that says God is three or three in one. there is not one scripture that says this. read the Athanasian Creed and you will see that it even says that The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are NOT THREE BUT ONE. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Re: THERE IS BUT ONE GOD
Posted On: 11/30/07 11:51:10 PM
Age 46, AR
Sure, but first tell me whether you accept the indirect testimony of Scripture as well as the direct testimony of Scripture. No verse directly says God is one but three. Many verses say this indirectly. Lets get the hermeneutical question out of the way before we go to the verses. Click here to reply to this post
Re: Re: THERE IS BUT ONE GOD
Posted On: 12/03/07 08:14:29 PM
Age 64, OH
You say there is no scripture that says God is one. The fact that God is One is the most often fact that is stated in the Bible and also the Athanasian Creed of the trinity. Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [ Or The LORD our God is one LORD; or The LORD is our God, the LORD is one ; or The LORD is our God, the LORD alone ] - Deuteronomy 9:3 "your God is the one"( notice it does not say one of the ones or one of the three) - Deuteronomy 20:4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." - Deuteronomy 32:39 "See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. - Deuteronomy 33:26 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. - Joshua 22:22 "The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! And let Israel know! ( notice God does NOT say The mighty Three, which he could have said if it was true) - Judges 5:5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel. - 1 Samuel 2:2 (Whole Chapter)
"There is no one holy [ Or no Holy One ] like the LORD; there is NO ONE BESIDES YOU; there is no Rock like our God. - 2 Samuel 7:22"How great you are, O Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. - 1 Chronicles 17:20 "There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. - Psalm 113:5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, - Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; - Isaiah 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.- I could give many, many more, for the scriptures say that there is Only One God and that God is One in the OT and the NT. Lou Click here to reply to this post
Re: Re: Re: THERE IS BUT ONE GOD
Posted On: 12/05/07 08:30:29 PM
Age 46, AR
Read my post again. I merely stated that the bible does not say, quote, "God is one but three." I am trinitarian. From our previous discussions, it appears that you are Arian. You have denied the threeness of God in previous posts. I heartily agree that God is one. I also heartily agree that God is three. You asked me to support this from Scripture. More than willing, but first I asked if you accept only direct Scriptural testimony or whether you also accept the indirect testimony of Scripture. If you do not accept the indirect testimony of Scripture any further discussions about the Trinity would be fruitless. It would be more fruitful to have a discussion about how to properly interpret Scripture. Click here to reply to this post
ATHANASIAN CREED
Posted On: 12/06/07 06:24:22 PM
Age 64, OH
For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another.
But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory, coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit.
Uncreated is the Father; uncreated is the Son; uncreated is the Spirit.
The Father is infinite; the Son is infinite; the Holy Spirit is infinite.
Eternal is the Father; eternal is the Son; eternal is the Spirit:
And yet there are NOT THREE eternal beings, but one who is eternal;
as there are not three uncreated and unlimited beings, but one who is uncreated and unlimited.
Almighty is the Father; almighty is the Son; almighty is the Spirit:
And yet there are not three almighty beings, but one who is almighty.
Thus the Father is God; the Son is God; the Holy Spirit is God:
And yet there are not three gods, but one God.
Thus the Father is Lord; the Son is Lord; the Holy Spirit is Lord:
And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten;
the Son was neither made nor created, but was alone begotten of the Father;
the Spirit was neither made nor created, but is proceeding from the Father and the Son.
Thus there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.
And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other;
but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the Trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.
Whoever wants to be saved should think thus about the Trinity.
It is necessary for eternal salvation that one also faithfully believe that our Lord Jesus Christ became flesh.
For this is the true faith that we believe and confess: That our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and man.
He is God, begotten before all worlds from the being of the Father, and he is man, born in the world from the being of his mother --
existing fully as God, and fully as man with a rational soul and a human body;
equal to the Father in divinity, subordinate to the Father in humanity.
Although he is God and man, he is not divided, but is one Christ.
He is united because God has taken humanity into himself; he does not transform deity into humanity.
He is completely one in the unity of his person, without confusing his natures.
For as the rational soul and body are one person, so the one Christ is God and man. Click here to reply to this post
HOW TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE
Posted On: 12/06/07 06:15:59 PM
Age 64, OH
here are some thoughts on how to interpret scripture: 1 - Know the Lord Jesus Christ and seek him with your whole heart, mind and treasure. 2- read the whole Bible and read it in as many translations as you can get your hands on. ( except false ones as The JW trans) 3- study the Bible by the book 4- study the Bible by the subject 5-take a close up look at every verse of the bible and make every verse a matter of prayer 6- take a overall view of the bible by studying the whole thing by reading it all in a few days. Every so often I listen to the whole bible in a weekend. This means shutting oneself off and listening 16 hours a day. This has been VERY fruitful. You see that so many things that men make such a big deal of God only mentions once or twice. And you see some things God put on every page and it is never preached about. 7- study the history of man and for this will give you insight into the time God was addressing 8- study the creation of God for this will give you insight into God Himself and His ways 9-study anything that is TRUE, for all truth is relevant. Anything that is not true has no relevance. 10-realize that you are blind and deaf and can not see or hear except by the mercy of God 11-confess that you are a sinful man every time you sit down to study 12-confess your desire and ask God to take all your desires away, if we have a desire in the meaning of scripture then we are made blind by this desire 13-do not follow any group or tradition but ask God for yourself, for he is able to help those who call upon his name 14- cry out to God knowing you are blind, deaf, and sinful and ask God in His mercy and grace to heal your blindness and help you see his Truth 15-repeat 1 through 14 over and over until Jesus returns or you die. Click here to reply to this post
SCRIPTURE OR INTERPRETATION
Posted On: 12/06/07 05:54:42 PM
Age 64, OH
I understood your reply I think. but I was trying to show there is scripture of the fact that God is one. But there is not one scripture that god is three. I think what you call indirect evidence is called interpretation. I am NOT arian. I believe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are fully God Almighty. But as the Asthanasian creed of the Trinity says they are NOT three but one. Isaiah 9:6 says that the child Jesus is THE Everlasting Father. Lou Click here to reply to this post
