What is the Bible?

What is inspiration?

- 2 Tim 3:16

- Plenary, verbal: all Scripture comes from God (plenary), and the words themselves are also from God, not just the general message (verbal).

- “The Bible says exactly what God wants it to say.”

Why does inspiration matter?

- 2 Tim 3:16-17

- The trustworthiness of Scripture and its usefulness are derived from its inspiration.

- The authority of a story can be seen through viewing the Bible as a play, one in which we take part!

- It has “a shape and a goal which must be observed and to which appropriate response must be made.”

• - We are in the “fifth act"

“That, in fact, is (I believe) one of the reasons why God has given us so much story, so much narrative in scripture. Story authority, as Jesus knew only too well, is the authority that really works. Throw a rule book at people’s head, or offer them a list of doctrines, and they can duck or avoid it, or simply disagree and go away. Tell them a story, though, and you invite them to come into a different world; you invite them to share a world-view or better still a ‘God-view’. That, actually, is what the parables are all about. They offer, as all genuine Christian story-telling the does, a world-view which, as someone comes into it and finds how compelling it is, quietly shatters the world-view that they were in already. Stories determine how people see themselves and how they see the world. Stories determine how they experience God, and the world, and themselves, and others. Great revolutionary movements have told stories about the past and present and future. They have invited people to see themselves in that light, and people’s lives have been changed. If that happens at a merely human level, how much more when it is God himself, the creator, breathing through his word.”

What is the Bible?

Things to consider when reading:

Keeping the Purpose in View

Scripture must be read with tradition and reason in mind.

5 Ways to honor Scripture's authority when reading:

1. Read it in context

2. Use it in worship

3. Study it privately

4. Consult biblical scholarship

5. Get teaching from trained church teachers

[Scripture is virtue-instructing literature!]

- 2 Tim 3:16

• Useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness
• Equipped for every good work

Helpful questions to ask when reading Scripture:

• What does God want to do to me and in me through the words I am reading?
• What is the Lord teaching me?
• INTERPRETATION MATTERS

The Bible as Inspired, Authoritative Story

How is the Bible Authoritative?

The Bible’s authority comes from God himself! - 2 Tim 3:16

But what type of authority or text?

- Timeless truths?

- Instructions?

- STORY!

One book, or many books?

- The Bible is made up of 66 books, 39 OT and 27 NT

- The Bible is also itself one book, the canon (law or rule) of texts selected by church fathers in history.

- Each book is different, but the Scriptures ultimately tell the story of God's saving work in creation

- The Bible is an ancient, narrative book.

The Bible as "Inspired"

The Bible as God's Word

- The Bible is God’s word, but in human words.

- How does God speak?

• Directly
• Through a ‘deputy’ (a person who is empowered to act as a substitute for a superior)

- Speaking in the name of - an ambassador

• Through ‘appropriated’ human words - "she speaks for me too!"

- Speaking is “acting”!

• God’s speech, his Word, has an intended effect or message.