Counseling Theology - Innerancy, Inspiration, Authority

Introduction:

It is vital that, as Christians, we are able to stand against those who would oppose the scripture and its authority. This is because accusations and misguided attacks are hurled at it from all directions. Questions people will ask will be asked things such as, “why do you believe in such an antiquated book?!” or “why do you think it has no errors?” And more attacks may come up, like “the bible is used to control the population” or “the bible is full of contradictions” and “the bible supports the suppression of women and slavery.” All these - and many more - are what we must be able to defend against, in a culture that hates God and his Christ, and this starts with having a solid footing in theology. And a solid footing in theology starts with the scripture and knowing why we can believe that it is worth believing, loving, and obeying. 

Here is a description of the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture as well as the relationship of each one of these to one another.

Inspiration and Divinity:

The bible was inspired by God and written by men that he chose for himself. He filled these men with the Holy Spirit in order that they may compose exactly what he desired. He did this in order to reveal himself to humanity, and more specifically, to his own people. The scriptures are the actual words that God has spoken (2 Timothy 3:16). They are the very breath that he breathed as he spoke them. God is also divine, and because he is divine, the scriptures are also divine. 

The breakdown of scripture is one aspect that points to the divinity of them. The scriptures were written over a span of thousands of years, and by many various and diverse men, as well as being written over a vast span of land, spread over hundreds of miles and through many diverse circumstances. This being the case, however, all of scripture is cohesive with one central theme, which is the gracious and merciful character of God, and his glory manifested in the world, ultimately through Jesus Christ, and through a chosen people for his own possession. Furthermore, 2 Peter 1:21 tells us that men were carried or moved by the Holy Spirit in the production of prophecy of scripture. It is this fact alone – that God the Holy Spirit has personally moved each writer of scripture – that verifies the trustworthiness of the inspiration of the scriptures.

Inerrancy and Infallibility

I believe that the scriptures are inerrant as well as infallible. Not only do they not err (inerrancy), but also they are incapable of erring(infallibility). The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy confessed that “...the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith…[and we] further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ.” What these signers wrote here is vital, because they are confessing that only upon our affirmation of these essential truths, can we expect further conformity to the image of Christ. Christ, after all, being fully convinced of these attributes of the scripture (John 17:17). 

In Proverbs 30:5 we’re told that “every word of God proves true…”, or is flawless, or tested, all giving the idea that the word of God has been proven true, has been shown to be flawless, and has been put through the most rigorous of tests, and has come out with no contradictions, no errors, and no missteps. The inerrant nature of God's word is to be exemplified in the truthfulness of God, as he declares, “let God be found true and every man a liar.” The faithlessness and inconsistency of man cannot be grounds for determining that the same is true of God. This notion denies the effects of sin upon the mind, and denies the necessity of scripture so that we may have objective truth. Additionally, God calls himself the “God of truth” in Isaiah 65:16. 

Authority:

Because the bible is infallible, inerrant, inspired, and divine, it must follow necessarily that it is also authoritative. The bible has this authority because God is the supreme universal authority, having dominion over all things (Ephesians 1:21; 1 Timothy 6:16). Because God is the author of scripture, and by virtue of his very authority as creator and sustainer of all things, the words of scripture are the most authoritative on the whole Earth. Since God has no greater authority to appeal to, we say his word is authoritative, simply because he has said it (Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:16), just as we would say the words of a president are authoritative, because of the position he holds. 

The bible also records thousands of times when the prophets declare “thus says the Lord” indicating that these words are from his own mouth. Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus upholds all the words of the prophets and the law, because he recognized them as the authoritative word of God, not only for those people at that time, but for all people of all times. It is vital that we recognize the entire bible as authoritative, because otherwise it will become impossible to determine which aspects are, and which are not, and in that case the choice will become entirely subjective due to the sinful desire of man to disobey the commands of God. All must be seen as from God, or it will all become questionable, and then the slip into theological liberalism becomes inevitable.

Conclusion:

The inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of the bible all relate to one another because they are all necessarily required and they all flow into one another. Unless God has inspired the bible it cannot be inerrant or authoritative. Unless the bible is inerrant and infallible, then it cannot be authoritative. We have a sure word that Christ described as a rock solid foundation upon which to stand. In the wind and waves of a culture and a world gone mad, we can stand with confidence upon this word, because it is here that we will find safe shelter, and a loving Savior.