What kind of authority does the Bible have? And how does it get its authority?
To say that the Bible is authoritative is to say that it holds the final word; not science, human experience, or human reasoning. Scripture always has the final word.
The Westminster Confession of Faith helpfully states, “The Authority of the Holy Scripture, for which has ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received because it is the word of God.”
John Frame comments on this by saying “Divine authorship is the ultimate reason why Scripture is authoritative. Its Authority is absolute because God’s Authority is absolute, and scripture is his personal word to us.” (The Doctrine of the Word of God, p 165)
The God who spoke the universe to life with his words speaks to us by the written scriptures.
The Reformation called this Sola scriptura- The Bible is the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.
The Inherent Authority of Scripture
Scripture is authoritative because it is God’s Word. As one author wrote, “The Bible’s property of authority arises directly from its divine origin: it is God’s Word.” (Beeke and Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology Vol. 1).
In a few of our other lessons on the Bible, we’ve gone through 2 Tim. 3:16 and it is helpful again here. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Paul uses the words “breathed out by God.” We have Scripture because of God’s divine breathing out of it. God is the source of Scripture. Two truths about the Bible flow from this.
- Scripture does not have any source other than God Himself. God through the Holy Spirit inspired human authors to write it but they only wrote because they were inspired by the Spirit. (2 Pet. 1:19-21)
- Scripture has inherent authority. Authority belongs to Scripture because it is God’s Word. Scripture’s authority is not derived, meaning it has authority when any individual or the church says it does. It possesses authority on its own because it is God’s Word.
How God Exercises His Authority
God exercises His authority through His Word. This has always been the case and today He does it through Scripture.
In our evangelism series, we established the reality that God is the creator of all including every human. Because God is the maker of all he has authority over all. (Ps. 95:3-5)
The implication for our lives then is that we are to receive the words of the Bible as Gods and we are to respond accordingly. As the Word of God, it obligates “its readers or hearers to entire submission.”
Scripture provides many examples of this. One is from 1 Thessalonians 2:13, where Paul writes, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
There are three truths that are important to our discussion of Scripture’s authority. To make sense of what Paul is saying we will start in the middle of the verse.
- They received it as the word of God when they heard the word of God from Paul and his fellow gospel workers. They received it as the word of God because they recognized the authority of this word.
- They received it as the word of God and not of man. God was using Paul to proclaim the word but these Christians did not receive it as Paul’s word about God but God’s word about Himself.
- Paul thanks God that they received the word because it was God’s work in them that caused them to recognize what Paul proclaimed was God’s word.
Our Response
The Bible is God’s authoritative word; since it is his authoritative word we are obligated to respond to it. In fact, our response to Scripture is identical to our response to God Himself (Isa. 66:1-2). Because of the authority of Scripture, we are to respond with faith and obedience.
To say that the Bible is authoritative is to say that it holds the final word; not science, human experience, or human reasoning. Scripture always has the final word.
In our next lesson, we’ll look at the necessity of scripture and see how we need the Bible to know God, His way of salvation, and how to live a life that honors and glorifies Him. Without the Bible, we would have an incomplete understanding of who God is, His work of salvation, and how to live a life that pleases Him.
May God open our eyes to behold wondrous things in His Word.