RICKMAN ROAD

The purpose of this study is not to go into great detail but to give direction and supply some tools for personal study. We hope this study will accomplish that.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES

The World Book Encyclopedia

The authors of the New Testament did not deliberately try to create a Christian Bible. The early church already had a Bible, the Old Testament of Judaism. However, differing views of Christian faith during the A.D. 100’s led the church to form the New Testament canon. It needed the cannon as authority against unacceptable religious views. The church also wanted to preserve the authentic story of Jesus’ life and death in writing for future generations of Christians.

In selecting books for the canon, the church judged writings chiefly by three standards. (1) The writings had to be widely accepted and used in the church. (2) They had to follow the church’s traditional teachings. (3) They were believed to have been written or authorized by an apostle.

By about A.D. 200, the church had a canon that included all the present New Testament books except Hebrews and Revelation. These two books were added in the next century. Thus by A.D. 400, the church had established the present canon.

God’s Revelation and Authority

By Carl F.H. Henry, p. 55,vol. III

In the apocryphal writings, a growing angelology increasingly obscures the presence of God, whereas in the canonical writings the emphasis on the angel of the Lord neither fragments God’s unity nor obscures the exalted Lord’s direct presence.

p. 96 – Scripture presents us with the remarkable phenomenon of a canon concerned primarily with the propositional disclosure of God.

God’s Revelation and Authority

By Carl F.H. Henry, p. 13, vol. II

The especially inspired prophetic-apostolic proclamation is the basis of the Church’s distinction between canonical and noncanonical writings and constitutes a standard for verifying Christian truth-claims as authentic and authoritative. “Search the scriptures…. they are which testify of me,” John 5:39, 46-47; Luke 16:31.

God’s Revelation and Authority

By Carl F.H. Henry, p. 47, vol. III

In summary, Jesus altered the prevailing Jewish view of Scripture in several ways: (1) He subjected the authority of tradition to the superior and normative authority of the Old Testament: (2 He emphasized that He Himself fulfills the messianic promise of the inspired writings; (3 He claimed for Himself an authority not below that of the Old Testament and definitively expounded the inner significance of the Law; (4) He inaugurated the new covenant escalating the Holy Spirit’s moral power as an internal reality: (5) He committed His apostles to the enlargement and completion of the Old Testament canon through their proclamation of the Spirit-given interpretation of His life and work.

The Criswell Study Bible

The Bible: A Book of Destiny, Paige Patterson

Canon

The Word “canon” comes from a Greek word (kanon) meaning literally “reed” and thus ‘”straightedge” or “ruler” or “rod”. Out of this association with measurement, the term metaphorically became a reference to a “standard”. Conservative scholars maintain that every book of the Bible has God as its Author and His authority inherent thereby. The thirty-nine books of the O.T. are considered canonical by the Jews, the apostolic church, and the Christian churches through the centuries. As applied to Scripture, then, the canon is the list of books which are accepted by the Church as conforming to the standard of divine inspiration and authority and, therefore, as forming a “rule” of faith and practice for every believer.

The sole criterion of the canon of Scripture is inspiration (cf. II Tim. 3:16-17), i.e., God’s testimony of God through the Holy Spirit to the authority of His word. In the O.T., inspiration is determined by the internal unity and consistent witness of the prophetic preparation for the Messiah, God’s anointed Deliverer, and in the N. T. by the fulfillment of that prophecy in the person and work of Christ; it is confirmed by external testimony as God’s people through the ages, in God’s providence, have recognized and acknowledged His word; it is ultimately assured by the imprimatur Of God Himself upon these holy books.

Some scholars appeal to ecclesiastical or conciliar decisions as the basis for the selection of the sixty-six books of the Bible. A rabbinical gathering at Jamnia in c. 90 A.D. debated the canonicity of some O.T. books, but every indication points to the acceptance of the thirty-nine books of the present O.T. at a much earlier time. In 397 A.D., the Synod of Carthage affirmed the twenty-seven books of the N.T. Though the designation “canon” has been associated with the decisions of church councils, one must remember that the canon of Scripture is not an ecclesiastical creation: rather the idea of canon predated the usage of that very term to describe it. Conciliar decisions only affirmed what was clearly already the consensus of the churches who had fixed the canon with three centuries of usage throughout the Roman Empire.

Table of Contents

THE DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES

I. Names and Titles

A. The Bible

B. The Testaments

C. The Scriptures

D. The Word of God

II. Inspiration

A. Definition

1. Theopneustos, found in II Tim. 3:16, is translated inspiration. It means “God Breathed”.

“Inspiration is the strong conscious inbreathing of God into men, qualifying them to give utterance to truth. It is God speaking through men.” William Evans

B. Biblical Claims to Inspiration

1. For the writers – II Peter 1:21

2. For the Writings – II Tim. 3:16

3. For the words – I Cor. 2:13; II Peter 3:2

C. Inspiration, the Work of the Holy Spirit – II Peter 1:21; John 14:26; 16:13

D. Evidence of Inspiration

1. Scriptural unity is miraculous – Lk. 24:25-27

a. This book was written over 1,600 years by more than 40 separate, human authors writing about the ultimate issues of life.

2. Bible prophecy is completely accurate

a. Examples –sequence of Empires in Dan. 2:37-45

Messianic prophesies:

1. Piercing – Zech. 12:10

2. Vinegar – Ps. 69:21

3. Mocking – Ps 22:6-8

4. Nakedness – Ps. 22:17

5. Gambling – Ps 22:18

6. No broken bones – Ps. 34:20

7. Resurrection – Ps. 16:10; 30:3; 40:1,2

3. Archaeology confirms Scripture.

4. The Bible is historically accurate.

III. Divine Preservation – Ps 12:6,7

A. God is Able – Ps. 31:23; 37:28; Prov. 2:8; II Tim. 4:18

B. If God Wanted to Give Mankind His Revelation of Himself, Why Would He Allow It To Be Polluted Or Destroyed?

IV. Inerrant and Infallible – Ps. 12:6; Prov. 30:5,6

IS THERE AN INERRANT, INFALLIBLE BIBLE IN EXISTENCE TODAY?

Prov. 30:5,6 – “Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a Liar.”

II. Tim. 3:16, 17 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man Of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” Read II Peter. 1:15-21

Inerrant:

1. New Century Dictionary – “free from error”

2. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary – “free from error”

Inerrancy – exemption from error

Error – mistake, blunder, slip, oversight, incorrectness, inaccuracy, wrongdoing, sin

Infallible:

1. W.N.C.D. – “incapable of error: unerring”

2. N.C.D. – “exempt from liability to error, as persons, the judgment, pronouncements, etc.: absolutely trustworthy or sure.”

Synonym – “certain, reliable”

DO WE ACCEPT ANY MAN’S WRITINGS TODAY AS INERRANT, INFALLIBLE?

Paraphrase: a restatement of a text, passage, work giving the meaning in another form.

Commentary – an explanatory treatise – syn.: interpret

Interpret – “to explain or tell the meaning of” – WNCD

I Kings 18:27 – “About noon time Elijah began mocking him, you’ll have to shout louder than that, he scoffed, to catch the attention of your God! Perhaps he is talking to someone or is out sitting on the toilet, or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be awakened!”

Daniel 3:25; Col. 1:14; I John 5:7, 8

When texts disagree, one or both have to be wrong! They cannot both be right.

Can all the translations be the inerrant, infallible Word of God?

* PERFECTION *

The second term we wish to examine is the term PERFECTION. With this term there is another that goes along with it. That term is PURE, in the sense of PERFECTION.

Now since God never made a mistake, but is always, everywhere the same, and cannot lie, are not all His ways PERFECT?

James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every PERFECT gift is from above, and cometh down from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom THERE IS NO VARIABLENESS, NEITHER SHADOW OF TURNING.”

Numbers 23:19 – “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it Good?

Yes, our God is a PERFECT God. And all He has ever said or done, or that He will ever say or do is, and shall be PERFECT. So His Word is beyond all comparison. You cannot sensibly speak of one text, call it a translation, or a version, or a paraphrase, as being good, better, or best, when you refer to the Word of God, for these are relative terms, not absolutes. And God’s work is absolute. If one text can bear comparing with another, then such is inferior or superior to another. Neither can be perfect. But that which is PERFECT is INCOMPARABLE! It is absolute! Thus we discover in our studies that God’s Holy Word which He has so carefully given to man, is PERFECTION. And, as we have said, when we consider this term PERFECTION we will also include the word PURE with PERFECTION as they relate to the Word of God.

Now let us look at just a few references on this subject of PURE, or PERFECTION. We shall try to be a bit more brief in discussing this second term than we were in the first term.

My favorite verse for this term is written by King David, himself, as he wrote in,

Psalms 12:6 – “The words of the Lord are PURE (perfect) words:”

How pure were, or are they?

“as silver tried in a furnace of earth seven times.”

Then he speaks again in Psalms 19: Let’s read them:

Psalms 19:7 – “The law (that’s a synonym for Word) of the Lord is PERFECT, converting the soul: the testimony (another synonym for Word) of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Psalms 19:8b – “…. The commandment (another syn. for Word) of the Lord is PURE, enlightening the eyes.”

Then there is the 119^th Psalm. This Psalm has 176 verses of which 173, that’s all the verses except three, make reference to the Word of God through several synonymous terms such as: law, ways, precepts, testimonies, statutes, commandments, judgments, Word, Truth, Ordinances, etc. In this chapter I find another verse that blesses my heart on the PURITY or PERFECTION of God’s Word! And I am so glad it is true! And it was given by the great, wise, King Solomon:

Proverbs 30:5 – “EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE (PERFECT): He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.”

· 5 Things God Wants Us to Know (About His Word)

By Thomas N. Golden, p. 20-22

God Himself wrote the Bible, telling men what to say. He did not just place vague thoughts in their heads as to what to write down.

Exodus 34:1 – “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: AND I WILL WRITE upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.”

Exodus 34:27 – “And the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Write thou these words…”

Deut. 31:24 – “And it came to pass… Moses… made an end of writing the words of this Law in a book.”

Jer. 30:2 – “Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.”

Table of Contents

THE DOCTRINE OF GOD

Why is it important to know the teaching of the Scriptures concerning God? The Scriptures are God’s revelation of Himself to man. No one can describe God with complete accuracy but God. This He has done. The scriptures declare and spotlight the only true God. This corrects any misconceptions and preconceived ideas originating with man. Here are just a few.

1. Pantheism – maintains that this universe in its ever-changing conditions is but the manifestation of the one ever changing universal substance which is God; thus all, everything is God, and God is everything; God is all, all is God. Thus God is identified with nature and not held to be independent of and separate from it. God is, therefore, a necessary but an unconscious force working in the world.

The Great Doctrines of the Bible, by William Evans

2. Polytheism – a belief in many gods.

3. Unitarianism – the belief that the deity exists only in one person.

We will study in the Doctrine of God what God Himself says about Himself. Let’s begin our study with the question, “Who is God?’ In the first of the Bible, Genesis, God is declared. The Bible does not go into a long discussion explaining the existence of God. He is declared to be. We will not spend time on His existence although there are good arguments to prove His existence. What we will deal with is His names, nature, attributes, and activities.

I. The Names of God

A. Elohim – Gen. 2:4 – The One Who is Mighty – The Lord Who Creates

B. El Elyon – Gen. 14:22 – The One Who is Supreme – The Lord Who Owns

C. Adonai – Gen. 15:2 – The One Who is Ruling – The Lord Our Master

D. El Olam – Gen. 21:33 – The One Who is Mysterious – The Lord Who Reveals

E. Jireh – Gen. 22:14 – The One Who Redeems – The Lord Who Provides

F. Rophi – Ex. 15:26 – The One Who Heals - The Lord Who Heals

G. Nissi – Ex. 17:15 – The One Who Fights for Us – The Lord Our Banner

H. Yekaddia – Ex. 31:13 – The One Who is Sanctification- The Lord Who Sanctified

I. Shalom – Judg. 6:24 – The One Who Gives Peace – The Lord Our Peace

J. Sabaoth – I Sam. 1:3 – The One Who is Possessing – The Lord of Hosts

K. Zidkenu – Jer. 23:6 – The One Who is Justifying – The Lord Our Righteousness

L. Shammah – Ezek. 48:35 – The One Who is Present – The Lord at Hand

M. Elyon – Ps. 7:17 – The One Who is Blessing – The Lord Who Blesses

N. Roi – Ps. 23:1 – The One Who is Caring – The Lord Our Shepherd

Some of the Names are preceded by the name of Jehovah.

II. The Nature of God

A. His Personality – God is a person. He is not an influence or an unseen force or power as we see exhibited in the laws of nature or electricity (this contradicts Pantheism).

1. Jer. 10:10, “But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God.”

2. Acts 14:15, “…turn from these vanities unto the living God.”

3. I Thess. 1:9, “…how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”

4. II Chron. 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect.”

5. Ps. 94:11, “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man.”

All these verses reveal God has intelligence, mind, will, reason, individuality, self-consciousness, and self-determination.

B. His Spirituality – John 4:24 – “God is spirit.” Meaning: The Samaritan woman’s question, “Where is God to be found?”, etc. On Mt. Zion or Gerizim? Christ’s answer: God is not to be confined to any one place (cf. Acts 7:48; 17:25; I Kings 8:27). God must be worshipped in spirit as distinguished from place, form, or other sensual limitations

John 4:21) and in truth as distinguished from false conceptions resulting from imperfect knowledge (4:22). William Evans

1. Hence we do not use objects such as pictures, idols, or any image in worship. Why? God is none of these.

a. Luke 24:39 – “behold my hands and my feet, that it is I Myself: handle me, and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”

b. When we worship it must be of the heart and not be confined to only one place nor must be aided by graven images in any form for God is a Spirit. (We do not have to go to Jerusalem to worship. We should never worship a piece of wood made in the form of a cross or a picture. God never takes any of these forms.)

Here would be a good personal Bible study subject to help us understand better how to worship God. (The Trinity will be studied later.)

III. The Attributes of God

A. Natural Attributes

1. The Omniscience of God – all knowing

a. Is. 40:28; Job 37:16; Ps. 147:5; I John 3:20; Prov. 15:3; Matt. 10:29

2. The Omnipotence of God – all powerful

a. Job 42:2; Gen. 18:14; Ps. 107:25-29

3. The Omnipresence of God – all present

a. Jer. 23:23, 24; Ps. 139: 7-12; God is on His throne but this does not limit God to that location only. Remember He is a spirit.

4. The Eternity and Immutability of God – eternal and unchanging