The Bible contains. Canonicity) 39 books of the Old
Testament and 27 of the New Testament. The Bible is God-breathed (inspired)
in its totality (Plenary),
2 Timothy 3:16. The original manuscripts were divinely inspired
and without error and God has preserved the truths for us today.
Men wrote the Bible as the Holy Spirit led them
(2 Pet. 1:20, 21). The writers were allowed, by God, to express these truths in their
individuality and yet express them in the very words God wanted (verbal),
Isa. 55:11).
The Bible is
God's supreme rule of faith and practice for man today and it has stood the test
of time. It is the beginning and final authority as to man's life for salvation and
sanctification and on the basis of its' claims are all other arguments settled.
Revelation is God's
communication to man what is unknown or unknowable to him. The Bible is God's primary
communication with which all other revelation has to agree. In nature, God
reveals Himself (Rom. 1:19, 20;
Ps. 19:1) but full knowledge only comes with the
understanding of the Bible. God revealed Himself in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 3:16;
John 1:1, 14) but the understanding of Jesus Christ is found only in the Bible (Jn. 20:31;
Rom. 10:17). Also God guides the walk one is to take through life in His Word
(Ps. 119:1-16, 105). The Word of God is a closed book; there is not new truths or
revelation being added (Rev. 22:18,19).
Illumination is the work of the
Holy Spirit enabling one to understand God's Word (I Cor. 2:11-16;
John 16:8-16).
Interpretation is of no
private, mystical interpretation, or is it given to anyone for bolstering one's own
hobbyhorse doctrine but is to be interpreted literally unless other Scripture or context
dictates differently. The Dispensational
understanding is needed to clearly
understand God's total work of creation and His historical working with men. The
interpretation is man's attempt to determine the intended meaning of Scripture (Luke
24:27;
2 Pet. 1:20;
II Tim 2:15). Therefore, we should keep in mind the Bible as a whole, the
purpose of the Book in which the text is found, the context of the passage, the
words that are used, the historical setting in which the passage was written
and to whom the Book was written.
The scripture today and
the universal principles given in the following passages need to be taken into
account.
Ò1. All Scripture is by the inspiration of
God
2 Peter 1:19-21.
19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do
well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you
must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's
own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but
men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Ò2. Scripture is for our learning, correction,
and training in righteousness
2 Timothy 3:15-17
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become
convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how
from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work.
Ò3. All Scripture is for learning from the
examples of events in history relating to the success or failure of man’s
character, behavior morals and faith.
Romans 15:4,
14:11,
4:3, 23, 24,
3:10,
(If you desire to know more on this subject look in a concordance for words like
– written and mirror. You will see many verses relating to this truth) Romans 15:4 - For everything that was written in the past was written to
teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we
might have hope. Rom 14:11 - It is written: "`as surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee
will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" Rom 4:3, 23, 24 - What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God and
it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him"
were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit
righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Rom 3:10 - As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;
Ò4. We are to study Scripture handling it
correctly
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does
not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Ò5. With all this we need to remember that
all scripture is for us. It accomplishes God’s communication to us and we need
to take special note of God’s dispensation for the world today, ‘all scripture
is for us but not all scripture is to us’ and we need to be sure we are
discovering His desire for us today. NIV