After a side-venture to explore the theology of James Arminius, we are returning to our regular study, that of bibliology. Bibliology (the study/science of the Bible) has been the central focus of this column for the last three years. It has been a profitable study for me (I trust for you as well), but this article marks the beginning of the end. That is to say, it is the first in the final set of articles on Bibliology. The issue now before us is the necessity of Scripture.
The doctrine of Scripture’s necessity deals with the idea that Scripture is fundamental to all true faith. And not only to faith, but to all Christian truth. The created world cannot be rightly understood without the Bible. God cannot be known without it. We cannot understand ourselves without it. We do not rightly know our need for salvation or the way of salvation without what God has revealed to us in Scripture. We would not know how God expects us to live, except He has shown us in His word. God has shone into our darkness with His marvelous light, the light of His revealed word.
But before we move further into the necessity of Scripture, we must briefly review divine revelation. Necessity discusses why we need revelation, so we must first understand what revelation is. Divine revelation, simply put, is God’s self-disclosure to mankind. Paul Enns says of revelation, “The word revelation is derived from the Greek word apokalupsis, which means ‘disclosure’ or ‘unveiling.’ Hence, revelation signifies God unveiling Himself to mankind.”[1] It is His telling us what He is like, what He has done, and what He expects of us.
Theologians recognize two categories of revelation: natural and special. Natural revelation is that which can be known of God through the world He has made. Romans 1:19-20 is the prime example; “What may be know of God is manifest in [men], for He has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” We see in this that God has shown a bit of His own character through the created world. His power is revealed in obvious ways. The grand forces at work in our world suggest a greater force that sustains everything. Gravity, magnetism, electricity, light, heat—these are possible only by God’s power, a power revealed through them. “Godhead” speaks of His God-ness, the fact that He is greater than us, beyond us, outside us in that sense. The modern intelligent design debate is in large part man’s attempt to explain this. The world as God has made it clearly points to a Creator and Master Designer.
Similarly, Psalm 19 describes how creation itself reveals God’s character. The heavens declare His glory, and the firmament shows His handiwork. The days and nights speak to us of God’s faithfulness. Creation proclaims God in a speech that is universally understood; “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” God has etched His own person into creation such that some of His own character can be deduced from the cosmos.
But natural revelation only gets us so far. It reveals a small part of God’s character, but not enough for us to know who He is, to know Him, or to know what He expects from us (if anything). But the Psalm continues to tell us that God has not just revealed Himself in creation; He has spoken in His word. God’s law converts the sinner, makes him wise, leads him in what is right and pure, brings light and rejoicing, and shows that which is true and righteous. It is valuable, more valuable than the best gold and the sweetest food. In the word of God, God Himself is known.
Special revelation is God’s making Himself known, not just in creation, but in word. Through revelation, God makes known “that which could not have been known through personal experience, written records, or by any other means.”[2] God revealed Himself in a variety of ways, the apex of which is Scripture. Scripture speaks both more broadly and more deeply than all other forms of revelation and is thus of incomparable value to the believer.
Though perhaps outside the present discussion, it is necessary to distinguish between revelation and inspiration. All Scripture is inspired, but not all Scripture is revealed. That is, all Scripture is from God. “God-breathed,” says Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16. But not all Scripture is revealed. Some portions are accurate eyewitness accounts. Others record personal experiences or oral traditions. These were known—and preserved—without revelation as such. These are inspired, but not revealed. Revelation is that which God makes known that would be otherwise unknowable.
Here’s an example. Exodus records God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. Much of Exodus is an accurate record of what Moses saw and experienced. Those portions are inspired, though not necessarily revealed. That means they are divine, and thus reliable and accurate, but God’s inspiration operates to ensure the accuracy of the writing, not necessarily to make known something that would be otherwise unknown. In contrast, the Ten Commandments come by revelation. God met Moses on the mountain and spoke to Him. He told Moses what His will is for His people. Indeed, the entire law is given verbally to Moses from God, divinely revealed.
A second example is found earlier in the Pentateuch. Genesis records much history. That history is accurate (because it is inspired) but it is not revealed per se. But the first chapter of Genesis must have been revealed since Adam was not yet created to experience it. We can assume that God told Adam or one of his progeny at some later date. God revealed His creative acts and inspired the record of that revelation so that even today we have an accurate account.
Back to the main issue. Revelation is God’s willing disclosure of Himself, His works, and His will. It is this revelation that makes relationship with God possible. Without that which God has made known through Scripture, we would have no basis for right knowledge of Him. And without knowledge of God, relationship with Him is impossible. God’s revelation is antecedent not only to relationship with Him but to all spiritual life.
This means theology is impossible without revelation. Theology is the study of God. But without revelation, we are in class with no teacher and no textbook. Our pages are blank unless God fills them. Thankfully, He has. The Bible is our textbook and the Spirit is our teacher. Many other things that we know we have learned through careful examination and the use of the scientific method, but in theology all we know is that which God has revealed to us. We are never the scientist, only ever the student. On this Louis Berkhof says, “In the study of all other sciences man places himself above the object of his investigation and actively elicits from it his knowledge by whatever method may seem most appropriate, but in theology he does not stand above but rather under the object of his knowledge. In other words, man can know God only in so far as the latter actively makes Himself known. God is first of all the subject communicating knowledge to man and can only become an object of study for man in so far as the latter appropriates and reflects on the knowledge conveyed to him by revelation. Without revelation man would never have been able to acquire any knowledge of God.”[3]
We are then not in the position of discovering God as much as we are of receiving what He gives. This then makes revelation the prerequisite for knowing God, since relationship with God is only possible as we receive what He offers us. Revelation is God doing that which is necessary for us to know Him and come to Him. Scripture, the product of that revelation, is the most significant component of our relationship with God. It is essential. Without it, there’s no understanding of the truth, no gospel, no salvation, no reconciliation, no walk of faith, no eternity with God.
Scripture is given by God’s self-disclosure. In it, He pulls back the curtain and invites us into His courtroom. It is His gift, an act of mercy, sparked by His own desire to make Himself known. Peter indicates this in 2 Peter 2:20-21, where he says, “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Scripture (Prophecy) did not come from man’s observations (private interpretation) or from man’s effort (will of man). Rather, God moved men by His Spirit to speak for Him. Note the absolutes as well (“no,” “never”). The unbroken pattern in Scripture is God’s revelation of Himself through His inspired writers. The stream flows from God, through the writers, to us.
It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of God’s revealed word for the Christian. Think of the most precious thing you know to be true about God. Perhaps it’s His ever-new mercies, His faithfulness in difficulty, or His unfailing love. Anything we know to be true is only known through Scripture. The entire edifice of Christianity crumbles without the bedrock of God’s revelation.
It is precisely this that we have in mind when we speak of the necessity of Scripture. It means that Scripture is necessary to properly understand God, ourselves, and the world God has made. Of God, it teaches us that He is holy, perfect, just, righteous, kind, loving, merciful, and good. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. Of us, it teaches us that we are made in His image, were corrupted by the fall, were guilty of sin, are redeemed through Christ by faith, are being sanctified by the Spirit, and are destined for eternal glory in God’s presence. Of God’s world, Scripture teaches us that it was perfect, it is groaning for redemption, and it will be redeemed. Anything that must be known about God or God’s creation originates from the Bible. Scripture is necessary for every Christian.
[1] Enns, Paul P., The Moody Handbook of Theology (Moody Press, 1989), 155.
[2] Thomas, Thomas A., The Doctrine of the Word of God (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1972), 18.
[3] Berkhof, L., Systematic Theology (Martino Fine Books, 2020), 34.