[03/26/19]
As to the origins of Scripture, it is quite evident that the various books which make up the text had human authors. This is valuable to us in its own right. As concerns the historical texts, it puts us in possession of the accounts of those who were eye-witnesses to the events recorded therein. As such, these texts help us establish the veracity of the record they contain. They demonstrate that far from being the stuff of myth and legend, these accounts are accounts of real events happening to real people in real history. In the wisdom texts we can readily discern the hearts and thoughts of people not so unlike ourselves. The Psalms, for example, prove powerful not so much because of their poetic beauty, but because of their human authenticity. These are not perfect words from perfect men, but the words of men working through their sorrows, and of men celebrating their joys.
Similarly, in those things written to the church, whether it’s the prophets writing to Israel or the apostles writing to the nascent Christian churches, we do not have records of some mutual admiration society – far from it. We see humble, imperfect men seeking to give sound counsel to those who would be, should be functioning as children of the living God. They are humbled by the task set them. They are humbled as well because it is quite clearly the case – and well they knew it – that they do not merely offer their best opinions. Rather, they are keenly aware of having been entrusted with that authorized revelation of God’s will and purpose.
This brings us to the counterpoint of this particular head of discussion. Yes, these texts are the result of human beings writing down that which is written. However, if that was all they were then the Bible would be of little more use to us than, say, the writings of Longfellow or Emerson. They would be no more authoritative than the Communist Manifesto. They would stand on the same footing as the Koran, or for that matter, the rantings of the latest mass murderer explaining his reasons for acting. But, this is not the case.
While the Scriptures are clearly authored by living, breathing human beings not so unlike you and I, yet they bear this fundamental distinction that sets them apart from all other writings of man: They are the direct product of God’s self-willed act of revelation. They are the texts God purposed to have written, penned by the hands of those individuals God purposed to write them. We could go so far as to say God created them for this very purpose. No other but Moses would do to set down the record of God’s establishing of Israel. Think what you may of his style, he is the one God fashioned for that task. Similarly, Paul was very clearly called out and set apart for the specific task of laying out the doctrines of the faith in a fashion suited to guide what would become a primarily Gentile church. He did not do so by abandoning Israel, but simply by comparing the voice we hear in his writings against those we hear from Peter’s we can quickly discern the difference in approach. The theology, I must stress, is the same. It is the approach to imparting that theology that varies.
These two aspects, the humanity expressed in the writing and the divinity that guides and informs the writing, combine to deliver to us a text that is utterly unique. It is unique in its formation, having become quite effectively one book, although authored by many men over many eras. It is unique in its being a work of revelatory knowledge. The things it contains are not the vain imaginations of man, but the record of those thoughts of God which He has determined to share with His creatures. It is unique in its authority, as such, for if these are the things God has determined to declare to His creatures, and if these things contain both His requirements of us and His promises to us, there can be no text more necessary to our well-being. Indeed, these being the revealed knowledge of an eternal, sovereign God, they are themselves eternal, sovereign words by which a man must live if indeed he is to live at all.
