The Holy Scriptures

WE BELIEVE in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, namely the Old and the New Testaments in their original writings. All scriptures is given by inspiration of God and is infallible, inerrantly revealing the will of God, concerning us all, in all things necessary to our salvation, and is absolutely supreme and sufficient authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The Bible does not simply contain the Word of God, but is, in reality, the complete revelation and the very Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.
Matthew 5:17 -18; 24:35; John 4:39; 2 Tim 3:16, 17; 2; Peter 1:19 – 21.

Introduction

It makes sense to believe that the Creator of humanity would leave a written document explaining the purpose of life and how to have a relationship with Him. We believe that this document is the Bible. The Bible is divided into 2 sections, the Old Testament containing 39 books and the New Testament containing 27 books.

1. Verbal, plenary inspiration.

2 Tim 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

1. Verbal – the words.
2. Plenary – extending to all parts equally.
3. Inspiration – divinely breathed out.

What this means is, God inspired men to write what He wanted written using their vocabulary and background. He did not dictate what to write down, but breathed into them divine inspiration.

This accounts for different styles of writers, but what is consistent is the fact that every word written was inspired and breathed by God. No part of the Bible is more inspired than another, but all of it has equal and total dependence on the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.

2. Divine inspiration.

2 Peter 1:20 -21, “..no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”.

The Bible is not a book of private, human inspiration. It does not contain some of God’s words, written around human words. It is God motivated, God inspired and God initiated. God has given us His permitted revelation and nothing must be removed or added to distort that which He has already revealed.
Bible claims to be divinely inspired at least 3000 times alone in the Old Testament. We have statements like: “Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying ..”(Ex 14.1, 15,26).

Moses was commanded to write what God told him in a book (Ex 17:14; 34:27) and we are told that he did this (Ex 24:4; 34:29). Some of the other prophets claim likewise.
1:2; Jer 11:1; Ezek 1:3; Hosea 1:1, Joel 1:1).
New Testament writers also claim likewise. Paul said the things he wrote were the commandments of God (1 Cor 14:37) “The things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord”.

3. The inerrancy of the Bible.

Inerrancy means without mistake.

The original writings in their Hebrew (O.T), Aramaic (Dan 2:46 – 7:28; Ezra 4:6:18, 7:12 -26; Jer 10:11) and Greek (N.T.) contain no mistakes. They are infallible, without error whatsoever.

Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

4. Absolute authority of the Scriptures.

The biblical record takes precedent over any traditions of man, or differences. The Bible is the chief source of correction, teaching and guidance concerning salvation and the will of God, and how we should conduct our lives. An article of faith cannot be founded on anything except a clear revelation from the Bible.
2 Tim 3:15, “… you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”.

Conclusion

The Bible is the revelation of God Himself. It clearly declares His nature and His abundant love for humanity. Those who love His Word and partake of it, actually reveal that they love God and are partakers of His nature.

Heb 4:12 says “For the Word of God is living and powerful..”

James 1:21, ” …receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Ps 107:20, “He sent His word and healed them”.

What we have in the Bible is not just a simple book but the most powerful source of divine revelation known to mankind.

Teaching Copyright (C) 1999 John Iuliano (M.A. Min). All rights reserved. Published here with permission.