The Bible - God's Word
- Jul 14, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 12
God’s Word
Every true Christian can attest to the unique value of the Bible. Some do this by describing the attributes of the Bible, and they use doctrinal words like “inspiration,” “canonicity,” “inerrancy,” “infallibility,” and “sufficiency.” Each of these is useful in describing something that is true about God’s Word.
But there is another way to describe the Bible, and that is to describe the effects it has on the Christian mind, heart, and life. That is the tactic Thomas Guthrie employs. As he waxes eloquent, he tells what has proven true about the Bible as he has committed himself to reading it, meditating upon it, and living it out. He says, “The Bible is an armory of heavenly weapons, a laboratory of infallible medicines, and a mine of exhaustless wealth. It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea, a medicine for every malady, and a balm for every wound.”
Guthrie insists that the Bible has proven its value as weaponry in the battle against spiritual foes, as a laboratory researching cures for spiritual maladies, and as a rich source of treasure in the accumulation of wisdom. It has proven itself a guide to the pathways of life and a chart to navigate the stormy seas of trial and tribulation. It has been to him a medicine that brings healing to every spiritual illness, and it has been a soothing ointment for every one of life’s deep wounds.
What a blessing the Bible proves to be, all of this and more, to those who commit themselves to it.
The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books written over a period of some 1,500 years by dozens of human authors in three different languages. The cultural and linguistic divides mean that there are times we will run across passages whose meaning was clear to the author but is not immediately clear to us. We also know that all of these books were inspired by God. They are therefore inerrant and without contradiction. In this series, R.C. Sproul takes a look at some of the Bible’s most difficult texts and explains them in light of their forgotten context.
CORAM DEO Living before the face of God
Many people find the study of Scripture to be an intimidating, if not impossible, endeavor. But God encourages us to put His Word in our hearts (Deut. 6:6), and He will open His Word to us if we are faithful to study it with diligence and humility. Consider joining a Bible study or class offered by your church so that you may learn from other Christians. Be sure to make some time each week for the study and contemplation of God’s Word.
Ligonier Connect allows growing Christians to learn online from an ever-expanding library of interactive video courses. Flexibility to study with others or to pursue a course at your own pace means how you learn is up to you.
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
The Bible is unique among all books. It is not only different in form, structure, and history, but also claims supernatural superiority over all other communication. It insists on total accuracy for its content and absolute obedience to its commands. No other book is so demanding. The whole of the Bible abounds with the teaching that it has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
It is the Word of God the Father. Jesus made it clear: “I have not spoken of myself, but the Father who sent me gave me a commandment about what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (John 12:49).
It was confirmed by the Holy Spirit. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).
It is the source of faith and salvation. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).
It is not to be changed. “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
It is the instrument by which “a young man [can] cleanse his way . . . by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9). It is to be reverenced and obeyed, “for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psalm 138:2). “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). HMM III
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