Communicated in a Way That Humans Will Understand (Metaphors, Anthromorphisms, Etc.)

The Bible

Inspired by God Given to men  Communicated to human beings  Communicated in a way that humans will understand (metaphors, anthromorphisms, etc.)

Two extremes: 1. Denying or diminishing its divine characteristics while affirming its human traits.

Liberals

2. Denying or diminishing its human traits while affirming its diving characteristics.

Fundamentalists

Arianism – denied the divinity of Christ Docetism – denied the humanity of Christ

Bible is both Divine and human

The Human Characteristics of the Bible (Geisler, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, 254-257) 1. The Bible has human authors. 2. The Bible has written in human languages. 3. The Bible has human literary styles. 4. The Bible uses different human literary forms. 5. The Bible reflects different human perspectives. 6. The Bible reflects different human thought patterns. 7. The Bible reveals human emotions. 8. The Bible manifests specific human interests. 9. The Bible expresses human culture. 10. The Bible utilizes other written human sources.

Metaphors and Anthromorphisms

1. The Bible is like milk that nourishes us.

1 Peter 2:2 …like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

2. The bible is like meat (solid food) that satisfies us. Hebrews 5:13-14 (KJV) 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

3. The Bible is like water that washes us.

Ephesians 5:25-27 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

4. The Bible is like a fire that cleanses us.

Jeremiah 23:29 (KJV) Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

5. The Bible is like a hammer that shatters us.

Jeremiah 23:29 (KJV) Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

6. The Bible is like a sword that cuts deeply into us.

Hebrews 4:13 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

7. The Bible is like is like a mirror to reflect ourselves to us.

James 1:23-25 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

8. The Bible is like is like a lamp to our feet

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

A Case study: Various Confessions

Confession #1: “God has a personal spirit body (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19); shape (John 5:37); form (Phil. 2:5-7); image and likeness of a man (Gen. 1:26; 9:6; Ezek. 1:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:7; Jas. 3:9); He has bodily parts such as, back parts (Ex. 33:23), heart (Gen. 6:6; 8:21), hands and fingers (Ps. 8:3-6; Heb. 1:10; Rev. 5:1-7), mouth (Num. 12:8), lips and tongue (Isa. 30:27), feet (Ezek. 1:27; Ex. 24:10), eyes (Ps. 11:4; 18:24; 33:18), ears (Ps. 18:6), hair, head, face, arms (Dan. 7:9-14; 10:5-19; Rev. 5:1-7; 22:4-6), and other bodily parts.”

Confession #2:

Paragraph 1. The Lord our God is but one only living and true God;1 whose subsistence is in and of Himself,2 infinite in being and perfection; whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but Himself;3 a most pure spirit,4 invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;5 who is immutable,6 immense,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 every way infinite, most holy,10 most wise, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will,11 for His own glory;12 most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,13 and withal most just and terrible in His judgments,14 hating all sin,15 and who will by no means clear the guilty.16

The Doctrine of Inerrancy

Inerrancy – what is without error; wholly true

Inspiration is that inexplicable power which the Divine Spirit put forth of old on the authors of the Holy Scripture in order to give them guidance even in the employment of the words they used, and to preserve them alike from all error and from all omission.

The Bible has no errors of any kind.

1. God is Perfect. 2. Everything that God gives is perfect. 3. God gave the Bible. 4. The Bible is perfect.

Three objections to inerrancy 1. Inerrancy is not taught in the Bible (“inerrancy does not appear in the Bible”). 2. Inerrancy is a late invention.

Augustine (354-430) “When they write that He has taught and said, it should not be asserted that He did not write it, since the members only put down what they had come to know at the dictation of the Head. …whatever He wanted us to read concerning His words and deeds, He commanded His disciples, His hands, to write. Hence, one cannot but receive what he reads in the Gospels, though written by the disciples, as though it were written by the very hand of the Lord Himself.” “I have learned to yield this respect and honour only to the canonical books of Scripture: of these alone do I most firmly believe that the authors were completely free from error.”

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) "Only those books of Scripture which are called canonical have I learned to hold in such honor as to believe their authors have not erred in any way in writing them” (Summa Theologica, “The Nature and Extent of Sacred Doctrine”).

John Calvin (1509-1564)

Scripture is “the certain and unerring rule” (Calvin’s Commentaries, Psalm 5:11).

“For it we reflect how prone the human mind is to lapse into forgetfulness of God, how readily inclined to every kind of error, how bent every now and then on devising new and fictitious religions, it will be easy to understand how necessary it was to make such a despository of doctrine as would secure it from either perishing by the neglect, vanishing away amid the errors, or being corrupted by the presumptuous audacity of men.”

Martin Luther (1483-1546) And whoever is so bold that he ventures to accuse God of fraud and deception in a single word and does so willfully again and again after he has been warned and instructed once or twice will likewise certainly venture to accuse God of fraud and deception in all His words. Therefore, it is true absolutely and without exception, that everything is believed or nothing is believed. The Holy Ghost does not suffer Himself to be separated or divided so that He should teach and cause to be believed one doctrine rightly and another falsely.

3. The logical argument:

1. The Bible contains the words of humans. 2. Humans err. 3. Therefore, the Bible errs.

Fallacy: Humans do not always err.

1. Humans can err. 2. The Bible is a human book. 3. Therefore, the Bible can err.

Fallacy: Fails to show that the Bible actually errs.

What Jesus taught about God’s Word

1. Jesus affirmed its divine authority.

Jesus’ use of “It is written”

Matthew 4:4, 7, 10 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”

10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”

Jesus’ submission to the Scriptures

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

2. Jesus affirmed its imperishability.

Matthew 5:17-18 17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

3. Jesus asserted its un-breakability.

John 10:34-36 (KJV) 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

4. Jesus declared its ultimate supremacy.

Matthew 15:3, 6 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

5. Jesus affirmed its factual inerrancy.

Matthew 22:29 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

6. Jesus insisted on its historical reliability.

Matthew 24:37-39 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Matthew 10:15 Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Matthew 12:42 The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 19:4-6 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

7. Jesus affirmed its scientific accuracy.

Mark 13:19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.

John 3:12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

The Bible and Science

 Jesus on creation

Mark 13:19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.

John 3:12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

 Jesus and the flood

Matthew 24:37-39 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 Jesus and Jonah Matthew 12:40 …for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The Old Testament

Isaiah

 Critics believe that there were at least two authors of Isaiah o Two main sections o 1-39: Pre-Destruction Judah o 40-66: Post-Destruction Judah  Jesus stated that Isaiah wrote both o Quoted Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,

o Luke 4:17-20 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

o Quoted Isaiah 29:13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

Mark 7:6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

 Jesus’ Disciple  Quotes Isaiah 6:10 and Isaiah 53:1 (John 12:37-41)

Isaiah 6:10 “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

John 12:37-41 37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” 41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.

Psalms

Were written by David  Psalm 110 (Matthew 22:43-45)

Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

Matthew 22:43-45 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”

 Psalm 69, 109 (Acts 1:16, 20)

Acts 1:16, 20 16 “Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘LET HIS HOMESTEAD BE MADE DESOLATE, AND LET NO ONE DWELL IN IT’; and, ‘LET ANOTHER MAN TAKE HIS OFFICE.’

Psalm 69:25 May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents.

Psalm 109:8 Let his days be few; Let another take his office.

The Old Testament is Inspired by the Holy Spirit

1. Psalm 2

Psalm 2:1-3 1 Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!”

Acts 4:24-26 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, 25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS? 26 ‘THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND, AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS CHRIST.’

2. Psalm 95

Psalm 95:7-11 7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, 9 “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. 10 “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. 11 “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

Hebrews 3:7-11 7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, 8 DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, 9 WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. 10 “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’; 11 AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, ‘THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.’”

3. Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31:33-34 33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 10:15-18 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, 17 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

4. The whole Old Testament

2 Timothy 3:14-17 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 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.

“‘I will tell you, child,’ said the lion. ‘These are the signs by which I will guide you in your quest. First; as soon as the boy Eustace sets foot in Narnia, he will meet an old and dear friend. He must greet that friend at once; if he does, you will both have good help. Second; you must journey out of Narnia to the north till you come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third; you shall find a writing on a stone in that ruined city, and you must do what the writing tells you. Fourth; you will know the lost prince (if you find him) by this, that he will be the first person you have met in your travels who will ask you to do something in my name, in the name of Aslan’” (Lewis, The Silver Chair, 559.).