Monthly Doctrinal Series -- Bibliology
Introduction
The first of each month we have dedicated to a particular aspect of what we believe. So far we have reviewed what we believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Man and our great Salvation.
The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice. (Official C&MA Statement of faith)
Man has the unique capacity to communicate by language; words. God made us that way so He would naturally use language to communicate His heart with us. The process God used to communicate His heart to our mind and heart can be summarized with some important concepts illustrated by this upside down pyramid. The further down the pyramid, the greater chance for misunderstanding, error and pollution from the original message. You will notice each step becomes cloudier. This is just an overview and not intended to cover this area of study in great detail.
I. REVELATION
The foundational concept of revelation has to do with “unveiling”.
It deals with God making Himself known to man. He is a self revealing God. He wants us to know Him.
There are three types of revelation.
• General revelation deals with what can be deducted about God from what He has created.
• Personal revelation deals with a God-consciousness imbedded in every human being.
• Special revelation deals with truth about God supernaturally communicated by the Spirit and through Jesus.
Since the beginning, God has revealed Himself His creatures. There are many things to be learned by observing what God has made. Only through special revelation can we lean of His specific nature.
II. INSPIRATION
Revelation relates to the content or act of revealing truth. Inspiration deals with the careful documentation or recording of that information. Strictly speaking, inspiration means to fill or breathe into. In 2 Timothy 3:16 the word translated “inspiration” is more accurately “inspiration,” that is, “God-breathed.” In other words, the verse simply says that Scripture is God-produced and it does not actually indicate any of the means that God may have used in producing it. God used human agents to record all of the information He deemed necessary to carry on dynamic relationship with Him.
Charles Ryrie has a very good section which illustrates the necessity of adding words to our statement to keep the focus clear.
Formerly all that was necessary to affirm one’s belief in full inspiration was the statement, “I believe in the inspiration of the Bible.” But when some did not extend inspiration to the words of the text it became necessary to say, “I believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible.” To counter the teaching that not all parts of the Bible were inspired, one had to say, “I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible.” Then because some did not want to ascribe total accuracy to the Bible, it was necessary to way, “I believe in the verbal, plenary, infallible, inerrant inspiration of the Bible.” But then “infallible” and “inerrant” began to be limited to matters of faith only rather than also embracing all that the Bible records (including historical facts, genealogies, accounts of Creation, etc.), so it became necessary to add the concept of “unlimited inerrancy.” Each addition to the basic statement arose because of an erroneous teaching.”
A. Verbally Inspired
The concept of verbal inspiration refers to that fact that God revealed Himself to individuals who He used to record that revelation for others to hear and heed.
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Tim. 3:16
2PE 1:20-21 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is {a matter} of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
Somehow God so directed the writers of Scripture that what they wrote was exactly what God wanted yet accomplished using the style and personality of the original author.
God communicated in words.
which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 1 Cor. 2:13
B. Inerrant / Infallible
Because God is God, what was written in the original manuscripts is completely without error of any kind even though a fallible language was employed to record it. Infallibility and inerrancy can only apply to the original manuscripts. Over the period of transmission and translation and so on, the occasion for error dramatically increases. We must conclude from the testimony of the Scriptures that what appeared on the pages of the original manuscripts was exactly what God wanted and is to be believed, obeyed, and not altered. The truth of inerrancy is vital to our faith. If we admit the possibility of error in one part, the possibility of error in other parts is also possible. Who then is to determine what part is true and what is not.
Many have undertaken that authority all through recent history. The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy in its Chicago statement affirmed inerrancy in a brief statement that the “Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching…”
Jesus Himself affirmed the supernatural nature of the written word of God.
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18
Jesus refers to the Law and the prophets. This is a statement of reference to the whole. Jesus Himself endorsed and authenticated that the things written in the Old Testament are supernaturally protected and every aspect is important.
C. Plenary
This refers to the fact that ALL of the Scriptures were inspired. The Bible does not just contain God’s inspired word to man, it is the God’s inspired word. All of it.
D. Uniqueness of the Bible
1. In its continuity
? 1,500 year span
? 40 generations
? 40 authors from every walk of life
? Variety of locations
? During war and peace
? Moods of joy and despair
? Three continents: Asia, Africa, Europe
? Three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
In spite of all this the Bible speaks with amazing unity and conformity on hundreds of controversial subjects about which there are hundreds of opposing opinions.
2. In its circulation or transmission
3. In its translation
4. In its survival
? Through time
? Through persecution
? Through Criticism
III. Transmission
A. Copying
Transmission has to do with the copying and dissemination of the documents in the original language in which they were transcribed. This was also known as textual criticism. Since we do not have the original manuscripts, how do we know that what we have has not been altered from the original since there were no copy machines then? In this regard, the Old Testament and the New Testament are considered differently.
1. Old Testament
Not having copy machines and fax machines in those days, the only way to copy writing was by hand. This copying subjected the inerrant text to human error or in that case "scribal error". How much error entered this process is the study of textual criticism. They gather copies from all over the world and compare and test those copies seeking to come as near the original text as possible. For the Hebrews, it is the process by which the text was copied that insured careful and precise copies. They would engage in a tedious copying process that transcribed ONE letter at a time to the new copy.
These scribes followed strict disciplines in regard to the Scriptures.
With meticulous care and fidelity these men were pledged to fulfill the following conditions in copying the Scriptures:
· Scroll must be written on skin of clean animal
· Prepared for use in synagogue by only a Jew
· Fastened together with strings from clean animal
· Each skin must contain specified number of columns, equal throughout the entire book
· Length of each column must not extend over less than 48 lines or more than 60 lines
· Column breadth must consist of exactly 30 letters
· Must use a specially prepared recipe of black ink
. Authentic copy must be the example
· Copy nothing from memory
· Between every consonant the space of a thread
· Between every section the breadth of nine consonants
· Between every book, three lines
· The Pentateuch must terminate exactly with a line copyist must sit in full Jewish dress
· Reverence the Scripture and the name of God so, that a fresh quill would be used to pen that sacred name
The Masoretes edited and standardized the Hebrew text, adding the vowel points to insure proper pronunciation. They went even further in their disciplines:
· Copy only letter by letter; t-t; h-h; e-e; etc.
· Count the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurs in each
· Calculate the middle word
· If more than three mistakes exist – destroy the manuscript
The scribes were so convinced that when they finished transcribing a manuscript they had an exact duplicate, they would give the new copy equal authority. The old ones were buried or destroyed so that no one would misunderstand the text through blurred or indistinct lettering.
Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the oldest Hebrew manuscript dated around 600 AD. the Dead Sea Scrolls dated around 600BC. When compared, the manuscripts were virtually identical even after 1200 years of copying.
2. New Testament
The New Testament process comes by the comparison of age and number of copies.
Whereas we have relatively few manuscripts of the Old Testament, the New Testament manuscripts number in the thousands. Comparing the New Testament manuscripts with other ancient texts should illustrate the age number point.
Homer’s “Illiad” Written 900BC Earliest copy 400BC Time Span 500 Number of copies 643
New Testament Written 40-100AD Earliest copy 125 AD Time Span 25 Number of copies 24,000
AUTHOR WRITTEN EARLIEST COPY TIME SPAN COPIES
Pliny the younger 61-113 AD 850AD 750 yrs 7
Caesar 100-44 BC 900AD 1,000yrs 10
Plato 427-347 BC 900AD 1,200 7
Aristotle 384-322BC 1100AD 1,400 49
Sophocles 496-406BC 1000AD 1,400 193
Euripides 480-406BC 1100AD 1,500 9
Catallus 54BC 1550AD 1,600 3
Homer’s Illiad 900BC 400BC 500yrs 643
New Testament (Mark) 48AD 130AD 80yrs 24,633
Through the tedious comparison of all the various copies of manuscripts, we come as close to the original text as is humanly possible. NOTE: This link has been estimated to carry at least 97% accuracy and those areas where uncertainty exists; it has no bearing on the transmission of vital truth.
B. Canonicity
Canonicity is a word which describes the collecting of the inspired writings. he word comes from the Greek word “kanon” which refers to a measuring instrument. By the middle of the fourth century it came to be used of the Bible. It now refers to the list of books that met certain tests or rules and thus were considered or recognized as authoritative and canonical.
1. The Old Testament Canon
When it comes to the Old Testament we rely upon Jesus who embraced both the law and the prophets as authoritative and the word of God. There are other tests and evidence for canonicity of the Old Testament but the testimony of Jesus is sufficient evidence.
2. The New Testament Canon
What determines the authenticity of the 27 books of the New Testament?
a) Test of authority
This means that the book had to have the authority of an apostle either writing or closely associated with the writer.
b) Test of uniqueness
This test looks to the uniqueness of the message presented.
c) Test of acceptance by the churches
As these letters circulated they became recognized by the majority of the church as special. No letter that was doubted by a majority of the church made it into the canon.
IV. Translation
Technically, one must interpret before he can translate but we will deal with interpretation in a moment. Through the years, the Bible has been now translated into many languages. In fact, the bible has been translated into more languages than any other book written. Wycliffe translators estimate that there will be a Bible translation in every language by the year 2038 as a new work is begun every five days. United Bible Society reports that at least portions of the Bible have now been translated into 2,403 different languages.
There is no substitute for reading the Bible in one’s own mother tongue. This process too gives occasion for error because one must engage in a fair amount of interpretation in order to properly translate. Over the years and with the discovery of more and more ancient texts, this has produced for us a very reliable English Bible.
The Nature of Translation
A translation is good to the degree that it produces the same knowledge, emotion and motivation that the original language produced in the original reader.
Formal Equivalence Functional Equivalence
An exact word for word translation from one language to another is not possible.
John 3:16
“Thus for he-loved the God the world that the son the only-born he-gave that every the believing into him not he-might-perish but the-might-have life eternal.”
Many of today’s modern translations try to land somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.
Others lean on one or the other directions.
V. Interpretation/ Illumination
There are some basic principles regarding interpretation that must guide or study of the Bible.
1. There is only one interpretation for any given passage of Scripture.
God used ordinary people who spoke ordinary language to communicate his extraordinary truth to ordinary people. He meant one thing when he said, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”
The ordinary meaning of the word “belief” applies. He did not mean to join a church, crawl on your knees to Mecca, perform penance, or engage in extraordinary works. God is much more interested in the obvious truth communicated through plain human language than some hidden mysterious code that only the “spiritually enlightened” or the computer literate could understand. Even though there is only one interpretation, there may be many applications to any given passage of Scripture. The more accurate the interpretation, the more accurately we are able to apply the truth.
2. Always seek to discover the original meaning to the original audience.
Not “What does it mean to me?” First, “What did God say to them? The passage cannot mean what it never meant to the original readers. We must understand words in light of the understanding of the original readers.
This principle avoids mistakes in both interpretation and application. Not “every promise in the book is mine.”
Not every promise made to individuals may be taken to apply to me.
3. Give attention to the ordinary rules of language
When it comes to the principles of interpretation, we must approach the Bible like any other book utilizing the principles of language.
Grammatical context
A verb is a verb.
A noun is a noun.
Some of those rules deal with:
Historical context (culture, historical background, customs, tradition)
Literary context (structure, grammar, words, paragraphs, sentences, figures of speech etc)
Type of literature or genre (poetry, didactic, letter, parable, narrative, proverb, prophetic)
We must understand the text grammatically before we can understand it theologically. The ordinary rules of language determine what the text means. The illumination of the Spirit is essential to understand the implications of God’s truth to life and personal application.
4. Always interpret a passage in light of the context in which it was written.
Context is vital to achieve accurate interpretation and application. First consider the immediate context of the passage, and then go to the section, the book and other writings by the same writer.
but just as it is written,
"THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
What does this passage mean and what application may we draw?
Context
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1 Cor. 2:9-10
Now what does this passage mean and what application may we draw?
What does the following passage used so often at funerals mean and what application might we make?
"DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 15:54-57
Now look at the phrase that goes just before the verse. How does that change the meaning and application of this passage?
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,
5. If the plain literal sense makes good sense don’t seek any other sense.
Seek for the literal meaning - Plain literal, Figurative literal
Plain literal – “God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
God intended to show how much he loved us by sending Christ to actually and physically die on our behalf even though we didn’t by any means deserve it.
Figurative literal – “I am the bread of life.”
Christ did not expect those who heard this claim to believe that he was not really human but a piece of bread. God had a literal intent using a figure of speech. Christ intended to demonstrate that just as bread provides physical life through the proper physical nutrients, he Himself was the necessary substance to sustain spiritual life.
6. Discern the difference between descriptive and prescriptive passages.
Biblical descriptions and examples are directly applicable only when supported by a specific universal command or principle.
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
What applications may we legitimately draw from this historical description of the early church?
7. Interpret Scripture with Scripture. Scripture cannot contradict Scripture.
Look for the two end posts of truth often found in Scripture.
What are we supposed to do when we see a brother sinning?
Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1
OR
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. 1 John 5:16
OR
"And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer. Matthew 18:15-17
Especially in the area of application it is important to compare with other passages to gain a fuller understanding of God’s ways.
VI. Application
Accurate application can only come from accurate observation and interpretation. Even though there is only ONE interpretation, there can be many applications as determined by the text.
Be careful in applying descriptive passages. Look to see if indeed there is a universal principle taught in that particular passage. Remember the purpose of ALL Scripture. Scripture is not so much for our information as our transformation!
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
VII. Communication
Although God gifts some to teach and communicate truth, there is always the possibility of the flesh and human interpretation and distortion to enter into the process. That is why we need each other and the careful personal verification by Scripture before we take some new teaching we hear from someone to heart.
Don’t neglect a discerning look at the life of the teacher.
Does he/she have a good track record of accurate interpretation or are they susceptible to the new and novel interpretations.
Be wary of what you hear on the radio and television.
Much of the super media teaching is not well balanced teaching. It is an appeal to the masses which requires some twisted modern, new age, humanistic pollution. The high cost of air time applies tremendous pressures on content. Win the audience! Keep the audience so that the money keeps flowing in.
Be careful!
CONCLUSION
The Bible is unlike any other book. It has amazing power.
• The Word builds my faith.
• The Word is the foundation and source of my new birth.
• The Word keeps me from sin or sin will keep me from the Word
• The Word continually exposes my sinful motivations and actions.
• The Word generates spiritual growth.
• The Word brings revival, transformation and restoration.
• The Word is essential for touching others.
• The Word provides defense as well as offense in spiritual warfare.
Psalm 119 is a masterpiece of literature all reinforcing the nature of God’s written word.
Nowhere else will you find the framework for addressing any issue of life in every generation.
Nowhere else will you find life and renewal.
Will you commit to regular interaction with the word at some level?
Will you commune with God through His word?
