By: Dwayne Spearman
Introduction
The purpose of this paper will be to take a look at the Canon of Scripture in regards to not only its inspiration, but also its preservation. This is with the understanding that it is important to make a study of the Scriptures as that they are central to the whole of the Christian faith. Christianity rises and falls on not only the inspiration of these Scriptures, but also upon God’s ability to preserve them for future generations. As such, this paper will take a closer look at the issues of inspiration and preservation. This will require that we look at such topics as revelation, the views and proofs of inspiration, inerrancy and ultimately canonization.
Revelation
Before we can discuss the issue of inspiration, the issue of revelation must be addressed, because it comes first in the sequence of events. The issue of inspiration mainly deals with how revelation is transmitted. In general, the word revelation speaks of a disclosing of information that could not have been known otherwise. In Scripture, the word speaks of God disclosing information to man that he otherwise would not have known on his own.
In regards to revelation, there are two types of revelation that must be dealt with before we proceed: they are general and special. Both speak of situations in which God is revealing Himself to some extent.
General Revelation
General revelation is by definition, “God’s disclosure of Himself in nature as the creator and sustainer of all things.”[1] Most would agree that this revelation comes through nature (Psalms 19:1-6), conscience (Romans 2:14-15), and history (Deuteronomy 28:9-10).
The Bible tells us two things about general revelation. First, it is seen by all men. Barnabas and Paul asked, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. "In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness”(Acts 14:15-17, NASB).[2]
Second, it leaves all men without an excuse. Paul said in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” It’s that “natural knowledge of God that is the basis for divine judgment.”[3]
However, ultimately, general revelation is not enough. While it does indeed point to God, it is insufficient to reveal the totality of God and salvation. We see this in Romans 2:12-16. However, most do agree that general revelation, if accepted, will of necessity lead to special revelation.
Special Revelation
Special revelation is when God reveals Himself to men “directly in a personal way.”[4]It is information that cannot be learned any other way, but through God (1 Corinthians 2:14) and it must be accepted by faith (Romans 10:17). Swindoll and Zuck point out that it was necessary as that it would have been impossible for Adam and Eve to just look around at God’s creation in the garden and have been able to surmise from creation alone what God’s will and purpose for their lives was. God had to have eventually communicated with them by using words.[5]
The conclusion would be that the ultimate form of special revelation is the Bible itself; for it is the Bible that contains the gospel that is necessary for salvation. Thus is the urgency of getting out the gospel (Romans 10:13-15). It is only through special revelation that we are able to “learn truth about God that cannot be known or discovered by general revelation alone.”[6]
Inspiration
That leads us to our next subject; which is inspiration. Obviously, one can have a revelation without it necessarily resulting in an inspiration, but one cannot have an inspiration without first having received a revelation. The word “inspired” literally means “God-breathed” or as Erickson puts it, “breathed into by the Holy Spirit”[7]. It is seen in 2 Timothy 3:16 where it says that “All Scripture is inspired by God.”
The inspiration spoken of here is more than just that of an artist or a musician being inspired to create something. Instead, it is a unique event in which God speaks words to man and man in turn, writes those words down.
When speaking of these words as contained in the Bible, Peter said in 2 Peter 1:16-21 that the Bible is the “prophetic word made more sure”. In the context of that statement, Peter had just stated that even though he and the others who were him had seen Christ transfigured before them on the mountain (Matthew 17:2-5); their testimony was not to be compared to the testimony of the Bible itself. In other words, the Bible, by its own claim to inspiration, is always the superior witness.
Views of Inspiration
There are several views as to inspiration. First, there is the natural view which totally denies any supernatural element in the process. Those who hold this view merely see the Bible as a great work of art on the level of Shakespeare or any other great artist. A second view is that of partial inspiration which believes that while not all of the Scriptures are inspired, some are. The third view is what is called conceptual inspiration. In this view, it’s not necessarily the words themselves that are inspired, but the concept behind those words, i.e. the overall message. A fourth view is what some would call encounter inspiration. In other words, the Bible “becomes” inspired to each individual reader as they “encounter” perceived truth. And finally, there is what is called plenary verbal inspiration.[8]
In this view, not only is the message of the Bible inspired, but the very words of that message are inspired. The word “verbal” actually means “by means of words” or “word for word”. Jesus said in Luke 16:17 "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.” That same language is found in Matthew 5:18 where it says, “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.” The word for “letter” in this verse is the Hebrew word iota and the word for “stroke” is the Hebrew word keraia as in Luke 16:17. The iota, or jot as it is sometimes called, refers to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and the word keraia refers to the small appendage that differentiates two similar letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In our English language it would almost be the equivalent of what we would call the dotting of an “I” and the crossing of a “T”.
Now, some would argue that verbal inspiration of necessity requires dictation. Grudem is quick to point out that even though the words in the Bible are indeed God’s words, we are talking more about the “result” than the actual words themselves.[9]He further points out that God actually used a “wide variety of processes” to bring about the desired “result”.[10]
However, that is not to say that no dictation is to be found in Scripture. It is obvious from the text at times that the author did indeed pen the words verbatim as they were spoken to him. For example in Revelation 2:1 it says, "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:” It’s obvious from the text that the Apostle John was told emphatically to write exactly what the angel said to write.
In the end, it means that God made sure that the human personalities and the individual writing styles of each were under the over site of God and He directed each of them to write exactly what He wanted them to write.
That brings is to the “plenary”. The word means “full” or “all”. In other words, when the words “plenary verbal inspiration” are all added together; they mean “all words God-breathed.”
Proofs of Inspiration
There are several proofs as to the inspiration of the Bible. These include: the Bible itself, its indestructability, its transmission, fulfilled prophecy, scientific accuracy, history and the lives that have been transformed because of it.
The Bible Itself
The first proof offered is the Bible itself. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” As a matter of fact, the term “thus says the Lord”is found over 3800 times in the Bible.[11]
Indestructability
Second, the inspiration of the Bible is seen in its indestructability. It has survived throughout the centuries in spite of all events to the contrary. For example, the Roman emperor, Diocletian, made a degree that all Bibles were to be destroyed in 303 A.D. His reasoning was simply that if Christians were “people of the Book”; once the book was removed, Christians would cease to exist. He even went so far as to raise a pillar to his “success” that said “Extincto Nomene Christianorum” which means “the name Christian is extinguished.” Ironically, only 25 years later, the new Roman Emperor, Constantine, commissioned 50 copies of the Bible to be prepared at government expense.[12]
Voltaire, the French infidel, once said “that in one hundred years from his time that “Christianity would be a thing of the past and that the only Bible left on earth would be in a museum.”[13] As a God-hater who greatly despised the Bible, he was sorely mistaken in that statement. The Bible today is still the number one best seller of all times!
Josh McDowell refers to these things as “historic irony”.[14] He made a quote that “We might as well put our shoulder to the burning wheel of the sun, and try to stop it on its flaming course, as attempt to stop the circulation of the Bible.[15]
The Bible itself speaks of its own indestructibility. Isaiah 40:8 says “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Also, in Matthew 24:35, Jesus said "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Other references include
Isaiah 55:11; 59:21; Matthew 5:18 and Luke 16:17.
Transmission
Another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is in the way in which it has been passed down through the centuries though the copying of the autographs or what is known as transmission. It’s obvious that God has preserved His Word by the hands of dedicated copyists.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 revealed that the copies of the Scripture that we hold in our hands today are incredibly accurate when compared to the oldest known copies. However, with this discovery came even older extant copies that date back to the first century B.C.
The scribes and the scholars who did most of the copying over the centuries took surprising steps to ensure accuracy. For example, copies of the Pentateuch which were meant to be read in the synagogues were written on skins. These rolls were to be sewn together with string made from clean animals and prepared only by a Jew. [16]Everyone was to contain a certain number of columns and they were not to be shorter than forty-eight lines and not more than sixty lines and the breadth was not to be more than thirty letters. It was to also be written in only black ink.
They were so careful with the process that in order for a copy to be considered authentic and worthy to be read in the synagogue, there could not be even one deviation from the original codex. Also, “no word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory, the scribe not having looked at the codex before him.”[17]
Furthermore, it was stated that the copyist “must also sit in full Jewish dress throughout the entire process, wash his whole body, and to not begin the name of God with a pen newly dipped in ink, and should a king address him while writing that name he must take no notice of him.” The rolls that failed to meet the above criterion were condemned to be buried, burned or banished to the schools to be used as reading-books.[18]
This method of copying continued until the invention of the “movable-type printing press by Johann Gutenberg in Germany in the 15thcentury. As a matter of fact, the first major book to be printed for distribution was the Bible! It was known as the Gutenberg Bible.
Fulfilled Prophecy
Another proof of inspiration is fulfilled prophecy. The Bible is indeed a book of prophecy and the purpose of prophecy is not only to establish the authenticity of the prophet but also the authenticity of the source of the prophecy. [19]As a matter of fact, the Bible goes so far as to bring about the death penalty for those who presume to speak on behalf of God. “But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die” (Deuteronomy 18:20).
It is estimated that there are at least 456 prophecies in the Bible that refer to the Messiah alone. Of these, there are at least 109 of them that Jesus had to fulfill at his first coming alone.”[20] Some of these would include his virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), birthplace (Micah 5:2), being proceeded by John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3), triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9-10), the piercing of his side on the cross (Zechariah 12:10), and the list could go on and on. In Psalm 22 alone, it is prophesied of the darkness that occurred at the moment of his death, the mocking that he received, the piercings in his hands and feet and the casting of lots for his robe.[21]
Scientific Accuracy
Another proof of inspiration is its scientific accuracy. It has been said that although the Bible is not a science book, it is accurate when it speaks on scientific matters. Just to name a few. In Leviticus 17:11, it says that the life of the flesh is in the blood. In Psalm 8:8 it says that there are paths or currents in the sea. In Isaiah 40:22 it says that the earth is a sphere and yet for many years people believed that the world was flat. In Job 26:7 it says that the earth is suspended in space. In Genesis 15:5 it says that the stars were innumerable. In Jonah 2:6 it says that there are mountains and canyons in the sea. In Genesis 7:11 it says that there are springs and fountains in the sea. In Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 it speaks of the hydrologic cycle. In Romans 1:20 it speaks of matter.[22]And once again the list could go on and on.
History
And yet another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is history, especially in the realm of archeology. It has been said that with every turn of the archeologists spade, another skeptic is put to silence. Halley’s Bible Handbook lists 112 examples and Unger’s Bible Handbook lists 96.[23]
In Genesis 2:8-14 it says that the Garden of Eden was in the lower Mesopotamian Valley and it is now referred to by even the evolutionists as the birthplace of human life or the Cradle of Civilization. In Genesis 11:1-9 it mentions the Tower of Babel and dozens of ziggurats have been found in Mesopotamia. The Bible states that the birthplace of Abraham was in Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 11:27-31). For many years, people doubted if it ever existed until C.L. Wooley came along in 1922 and found it. It is now one of the best known ancient sites in the world that dates back to around 2000 B.C.[24]
Transformed Lives
The final proof (at least for this paper) in the proof of the inspiration of the Bible is the lives that it has transformed. There is not enough room in this paper or any other for that matter, to list the lives that have been “elevated to new levels of peace and joy by turning their lives over to Christ.”[25]
The Bible says in Psalm 119:9, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.” Hebrews 4:12 says, “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.”
There is no doubt that the Bible has changed the lives of many. The Apostle Paul said of himself in 1 Timothy 1:12-15 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”
Inerrancy
That brings us to the issue of inerrancy. The word inerrant means “without error.” Packer and Oden say that it means that the “Scripture in it’s entirely is free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.[26]
However, that can mean different things to different people. Some hold to absolute inerrancy, which means that the Bible is absolutely true in all areas that it addresses in the areas of science and history. Others hold to full inerrancy, which means that the Bible is completely true, but it is not “given primarily to scientific and historical data.” Another view is referred to as limited inerrancy, which means that the Bible is only inerrant in issues of salvation and not necessarily facts in any other area. And still others view that the Bible is only inerrant in purpose. [27]
Why is this issue so important? Does the whole of Christianity rest on how many “stalls for horses” King Solomon really had (I Kings 4:26 and 2 Chronicles 9:25)? “The argument is simply: (1) the Bible is the Word of God; (2) God cannot err; (3) therefore the Bible (which is the Word of God) cannot err. That means that the Bible is factually accurate and correct in what it affirms.”[28]
However, does that only apply to the original autographs that we no longer have? Or does it also extend down to the copies of those autographs? Well, there is no doubt that there are indeed grammatical errors in the manuscripts we have today. It is believed that these variations occurred as the “result of handwritten scribal errors in the course of making copies and were not part of the originally inspired autographs themselves.”[29] However, of the nearly 5,700 New Testament manuscripts that we have today, they can be reconstructed with over a 99 percent accuracy.[30] Therefore, it must be concluded that the issue of inerrancy applies only to the originals and not the copies.
Canonization
A canon is a measuring rod, rule or standard. In reference to the Bible, the Canon refers to those books that have been measured and found worthy to be a part of the Bible. It is essentially viewed in two stages: what has been determined by God and what has been recognized by Man.[31]
In regards to canonization, it was God who decided what would be in the Canon of Scripture. Harold Willmington puts it this way, “The Bible is not an authorized collection of books, but rather a collection of authorized books.[32]
A few things to consider are that the Old Testament as we know it today was compiled by the Jewish people under the providential oversight of God. It was firmly established well before Christ. Of course, no doubt God was involved in this process. However, our Lord further confirmed it by quoting from or alluding to every book in the Old Testament Canon with the possible exception of Esther.[33]
Some have looked at Luke 11:51 as a verification of this when Jesus said, “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.' To understand this statement more clearly, one must understand that the Hebrew Bible starts with Genesis and ends with 2 Chronicles. In Genesis 4:8 we see the blood of Abel when it says, “And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”And in 2 Chronicles 24:21 we see the blood of Zechariah when it says, “So they conspired against him (Zechariah) and at the command of the king they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD.” This served to affirm that Jesus believed everything in between.
In regards to our New Testament, it was essentially decided by several factors. These included: authorship, local church acceptance, church father’s recognition, subject matter and personal edification.[34]
However, James Sawyer warns evangelicals to not simply rely on “unexamined theological assumptions and historical inaccuracies” when it comes to their acceptance of the canonization of the New Testament.[35] His challenge is for evangelicals to not downplay the “witness of the Spirit” for assurance instead of relying so heavily only on historical arguments. In other words, the Holy Spirit played a large role in the accumulation of the inspired manuscripts and He is fully responsible for them and not the schemes of man.
In regards to the finalization of the Canon, most will agree that the Old Testament Canon was closed by the year 300 B.C. and the New Testament was closed at the Third Council of Carthage in 397 A.D.[36]
Conclusion
The purpose of this paper has been to look the Canon of Scripture in regards to not only its inspiration, but also its preservation. As for the issue of inspiration, we have discussed how God has chosen to reveal Himself through both his creation via general revelation and through His Word via special revelation. We have also looked at the different views of exactly what inspiration means and how others have defined it.
As for the issue of preservation, we have seen how God has throughout the centuries preserved His Word in such a way that we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we do indeed hold the very Words of God in our hands.
Henry H. Halley once wrote, “Apart from any theory of inspiration; or any theory of how the Bible books came to their present form; or how much the text may have suffered in transmission at the hands of editors and copyists…it bears on its face the stamp of its Author; that it is in a unique and distinctive sense THE WORD OF GOD.[37]
Bibliography
Bere, Michael C. Bible Doctrines for Today. Pensacola, FL: A Beka Book, 1987.
Erickson, Millard. Readings in Christian Theology: The Living God, Volume. 1, The Living God.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1973.
Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker House Books, 1998.
Grudem, Wayne. Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.
Halley, Henry H. Halley’s Bible Handbook. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1965.
Hindson, Ed & Ergun Caner, eds. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the
Evidence for the Truth of Christianity. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008.
Kenyon, Frederick, G. Sir. Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts. London, England: Eyre &
Spottiswoode, 1939.
Kroll, Woodrow Kroll. “Back to the Bible,” backtothebible.org.
http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/component/option,com_devotion/qid,12/task,show/resource_no,163/Itemid,75/(accessed December 13, 2011).
LaHaye, Tim. Why Believe in Jesus?: Who He Is, What He Did, & His Message for You
Today. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1984.
McDowell, Josh. Evidence Demands a Verdict: Historical Evidences for the Christian
Faith. Arrowhead Springs, San Bernardino, CA: Campus Crusade for Christ, 1977.
McDowell, Josh. Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions. Wheaton, IL: Tyndall House
Publishers, 1991.
McGrath, Alister & James Packer, eds. Zondervan Handbook of Christian Beliefs. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005.
McQuilkin, Robertson. Understanding and Applying the Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody
Publishers, 2009.
Packer, J.I. Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. Wheaten, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers, 1993.
Packer, J.I. & Thomas Oden. One Faith: The Evangelical Consensus. Downers Grove, Ill:
Intervarsity Press, 2004.
Sawyer, James M. “Evangelicals and the Canon of the New Testament.” Grace Theological
Journal 11, no. 1 (1991): 29-52.
Swindoll, Charles & Roy Zuck, eds. Understanding Christian Theology.Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
[1] Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner, eds., The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics: Surveying the Evidence for the Truth of Christianity (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2008), 421.
[2] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted, The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3] Alister McGrath and James Packer, eds., Zondervan Handbook of Christian Beliefs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 69.
[4] Charles R. Swindoll and Roy B. Zuck, eds., Understanding Christian Theology (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 29.
[5] Ibid., 28.
[6] Hindson and Canor, 422.
[7] Millard Erickson, ed., Readings in Christian Theology: The Living God, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1973), 216.
[8] Michael C. Bere. Bible Doctrines for Today (Pensacola: A Beka Book, 1987), 16-18.
[9] Wayne Grudem. Bible Doctrines: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 38.
[10] Ibid., 38.
[11] Bere, 20.
[12] Woodrow Kroll, “Back to the Bible,” backtothebible.org, http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/component/option,com_devotion/qid,12/task,show/resource_no,163/Itemid,75/(accessed December 13, 2011).
[13] Josh McDowell, Josh McDowell Answers Five Tough Questions(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1991), 7.
[14] Josh McDowell, Evidence Demands a Verdict (Arrowhead Springs: Campus Crusade for Christ International, 1972), 23.
[15] Ibid., 22.
[16] Sir Frederick G. Kenyon. Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts(London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1939), 34.
[17] Ibid., 34.
[18] Ibid., 34.
[19] Robertson McQuilkin. Understanding and Applying the Bible (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 282.
[20] Tim LaHaye. Why Believe in Jesus?: Who He is, What He Did & His Message (Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2004), 178.
[21] Harold Willmington. Willmington’s Guide to the Bible(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1982), 815.
[22] Ibid., 819.
[23] Ibid., 814.
[24] Ibid., 814.
[25] McDowell, Evidence Demands a Verdict, 340.
[26] J.I. Packer and Thomas C. Oden. One Faith: The Evangelical Consensus (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 49.
[27] Millard J. Erickson. Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 248-249.
[28] Hindson and Caner, 103.
[29] Ibid., 97.
[30] Ibid., 104.
[31] Bere, 40.
[32] Willmington, 805.
[33] Ibid., 805.
[34] Ibid., 804.
[35] James M. Sawyer. “Evangelicals and the Canon of the New Testament.” Grace Theological Journal 11, no. 1 (1991): 29-52.
[36] Willmington, 805.
[37] Halley. Halley’s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965), 22.
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