The Highway Forums Announcements What's New on The Highway website? Scripture, Inspiration and Incarnation

The doctrine of Scripture embedded in the Reformed theology was crystallized in the seventeenth-century confessions: “The Old Testament in Hebrew . . . and the New Testament in Greek . . . being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all controversies of religion, the Church is finally to appeal unto them.” And “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in scripture, or by good and necessary consequences may be deduced from scripture; unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”

Certain propositions follow. The Bible as we have it is, in its original autographs, the Word of God. The Bible does not contain the word of God. It is the Word of God. By inspiration, the ultimate author of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, has determined that the very words of Scripture, in all their singularity and plurality, are the words of God. We hold, therefore, to the plenary, verbal, inspiration of the Scriptures. By virtue of their divine authorship the Scriptures are completely inerrant and authoritative and are the infallible rule of life and belief. As to their authority, the Scriptures are self-attesting, and as is true of all doctrines of Christian belief we hold to the Scriptural doctrine of Scripture. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). And the pages of holy writ are redolent with the claim that “Thus saith the Lord.” The providential preservation of the Scriptures means that in proper translation we have at this time the Word of God. The canon of Scripture has been closed. Revelation has come to an end, and God has said his last word to man. God has nothing to say to man that he has not already said. But the Word of God is to be mined for the full understanding of its doctrinal content and directives, and progressive illumination thereby accrues to the Christian in his faithful submission to it.

I shall address some of those propositions in what follows, but my objective is not to stay with the well-established Reformed doctrine of Scripture and with the conventional categories of its necessity, authority, sufficiency, and perspicuity. Nor is it possible in the present space to advert to the historic development of the doctrine. My intention, rather, is to look briefly at our commitment to Scripture in the context of some wider doctrinal emphases and against certain contemporary aberrations and their pressure on the belief of the church. I shall conclude with some summary comments on the lessons arising from current debates on the doctrine of Scripture.

I have intentionally quoted a larger portion of this article than I typically do with the new articles added to The Highway so that you would get a better idea of what Dr. Vickers has written in all that follows. Be forewarned, this is not easy reading... i.e., it is not your typical contemporary fluff type of literature. The subject which he addresses is a most serious one and thus one needs to be serious when reading it.

Let me encourage you to work your way through this article even if it takes you a bit longer than you would normally like to spend reading. You will most definitely reap the rewards for your efforts as Doug Vickers is a most gifted man of God as well as a prolific writer. And, you will be most grateful to have been forewarned about a most recent departure from the Church's traditional and confessional view of Scripture which is currently being promoted in many schools, churches and by individuals.

You can read this article by clicking here: Scripture, Inspiration, and Incarnation.

Or, for later reading, from The Highway homepage, click on the "Article of the Month" logo.

Critiques, comments and/or questions about these articles are always welcomed on the Board.

In His service and grace,