The Word of God
Notes
Transcript
The suffering
The suffering
Paul’s service described
Never take the word of God lightly or casually
Paul’s experiences will be experienced all you desire to live a godly life
The warning and exhortation
The warning and exhortation
The Scriptures
The Scriptures
The vessel used to write this portion of the holy Scriptures was John, the apostle
He was an eyewitness of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
John 20:
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
Knowing the authorship was an important principle adhered to in choosing whether a book should be included in the canon of Scripture
The word canon is borrowed from the Greek and simply means, rule—a standard for measurement
Acceptance of the local churches at the time the book was circulated
Church father’s recognition of the book
The book’s subject matter, did it contradict other recognized books, was it accurate in historical matters
Personal edification
The early church councils applied several basic standards in recognizing whether a book was inspired.
A. Is it authoritative (“Thus saith the Lord”)?
B. Is it prophetic (“a man of God” )?
- A book in the Bible must have the authority of a spiritual leader of Israel (O.T. – prophet, king, judge, scribe) or and apostle of the church (N.T. – It must be based on the testimony of an original apostle.).
C. Is it authentic (consistent with other revelation of truth)?
D. Is it dynamic – demonstrating God’s life-changing power (Hebrew 4:12)?
E. Is it received (accepted and used by believers – )?
(Norman L. Geisler & William Nix, A General Introduction To The Bible. pp. 137-144).
The Tests of Canonicity
Throughout the time when the canonical books of the Bible were written and afterward, other literature was produced which was asserted to be the word of God. This led godly believers to develop certain tests, based on the canonical books of the Bible, by which to judge the validity of these claims. The application of these tests does not impart canonicity, for the canonicity of any literature is determined
The Test of Divine Inspiration
Does the book claim to be divinely inspired? Is it inspired?
The Test of Human Authorship
Is the book written, by an accredited agent of God, such as a prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, or one of His apostles? If not, did the writer have the gift of prophecy (David, Daniel) or a relation to a prophet or an apostle (Mark, Luke) that would raise his book to the level of their writings? Can the book be traced back to the time and/or the writer from who it professes to have come?
The Test of Authenticity
Is the book factually true? It is noteworthy that Bible authors did not use the false
philosophical and scientific opinions of their times.
The Test of Testimony
Was the book universally recognized by the Jews and/or by the Christian church as being God's Word? Does the Holy Spirit bear witness to the regenerated reader that the book is His Word?
The Test of Agreement
Does the book agree doctrinally with the teachings of known canonical books? While there is progression in the Bible's revelation of doctrine, there is no contradiction. Is the content of the book of such spiritual character that it is in harmony with the dignity and majesty of God?
May I repeat again that these tests are based on what is known of the sixty-six canonical books of the Bible. When these tests are applied to ancient or current non-canonical literature that claims to be divine revelation, they readily show the falseness of this claim. They reveal that non-canonical literature does not meet the standard that is set by the Bible. Any literature that does not meet this standard is not God's Word. We praise God for His self-revelation by the written Word. As the psalmist of old, let us strive to meditate on it day and night (). They who do are blessed of God and lead happy and productive lives.
The canon of scriptures is the 66 books that we have in our English Bibles. All are Holy Spirit authored (God-breathed) through the use of some 40 human authors. Each is equally and totally the inspired, inherent, and infallible word of God
The canon of Scripture is the only and final authority of the Church of Jesus Christ. Each local church that is truly a part of the body of Christ must firmly believe without any reservation that the Bible is the very word of God.
Knowing this is the word of God makes it the absolute truth and totally trustworthy
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.
Revelation 21:5
The connection of John to the seven churches
Family - your brother
Fellowship - companion
The author of the message of God’s word
The author of the message of God’s word
The intended readers of the word of God
The intended readers of the word of God