The Infallible Word by N A Woychuk at BOW

The Infallible Word
by N.A. Woychuk
The Bible is God's love letter to the human race. It's the most important book in the world. It's God's book. Since all truth is subject to proof, let's examine the proof that the Bible is indeed the Word of the Living God. In 1970 N.A. Woychuk wrote a 77 page booklet that lists these proofs. I now quote this booklet in it's entirety. It might be well worth it for you to download it and keep it in your personal library for study, sharing, and examination.
Brother Woychuk quoted from the Old King James Translation and I have colored here the words of Jesus Christ in red, symbolizing His shed blood. I have colored the scriptures in purple, the color of royalty, honoring the greatness of God.

Suffering from truth decay?
Brush up on your Bible

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Battle of the Book
Chapter 1. This Word Is Supernatural
Chapter 2. This Word Is Superior
Chapter 3. This Word Is Sovereign
Chapter 4. This Word Is a Revelation of God
Chapter 5. This Word Came by Inspiration of God
Chapter 6. This Word Is Understood Through Illumination of God
Chapter 7. This Word Is Experiential
Chapter 8. This Word Is Essential
Chapter 9. This Word Is Eternal
Chapter 10. This Word Is Acknowledged by the Prophets
Chapter 11. This Word Is Authenticated by the Apostles
Chapter 12. This Word Is Attested by the Lord
Chapter 13. This Word Is Confirmed Through Divine Prophecies
Chapter 14. This Word Is Charged with Divine Power
Chapter 15. This Word Is Consummated in a Divine Person

The Word works
When you
work the Word

THE BATTLE OF THE BOOK
In the very dawn of the twentieth century, a distinguished Bible scholar, James Orr, predicted wisely that the theological battle of the new century "will have to be fought. . . round the fortress of the worth and authority of Holy Scripture." Tragically enough, we are in the thick of that battle today. Many serious charges and strange voices are being raised against the eternal Word of God.
Christianity cannot stand when the authority of the Bible is undermined. Christian doctrine cannot flourish when the infallibility of the Bible is questioned. C.H. Spurgeon spoke sound and solemn words on the subject when he said,
"The turning point of the battle between those who hold 'the faith once delivered to the saints' and their opponents, lies in the true and real inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. This is the Thermopylae of Christendom. If we have in the Word of God no infallible standard of truth, we are at sea without a compass, and no danger from rough weather without can be equal to the loss within. 'If the foundation be removed, what can the righteous do?' And this is the foundation loss of the worst kind."
Thank God that the stormy blasts of the twentieth century can no more undo the abiding excellence and infallibility of the Bible than could the attacks of all the previous centuries. "Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever"
(Psalm 119:152). Standing here in quietness of faith, we can refuse to be disturbed by the current denials of the divine origin and authority of the Scriptures. "He that is of God heareth God's words." There are those all about us who "hear them not," but, this is because� as we are told� they "are not of God"
(John 8:47).
One hundred twenty-five years ago, comparatively few materials existed, outside of the Bible itself, regarding the histories of peoples, countries and civilizations. The Greek historian Herodotus was often cited, but his information generally proved confused, contradictory and, in the end, untrustworthy. By a singular providence of God, things are very different now, and by comparison we are in a blaze of light. The discoveries of modern archaeology have been simply amazing. As if by magic, Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, other ancient lands, have disclosed their secrets. From their buried palaces, their monuments, their long-lost libraries, an authentic voice has arisen, rebuking the skeptics, and bearing a most emphatic testimony to the credibility of Holy Writ. Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle, an internationally famous archaeologist, has said on more than one occasion, that no discovery of excavation in the last one hundred years has in any way invalidated one single statement of the Bible. On the contrary, the discoveries have remarkably confirmed the Holy Scriptures.
This is truly a wonderful Book. But, as General Gordon used to say,
"After all, the chief proof that the Bible is good food is the eating of it."
Chemical investigation into the ingredients of a loaf of bread has its needful place, no doubt, but the analyst's household may starve if they hesitate to feed upon the bread until the analysis has been completed to his entire satisfaction.
"Eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness"
(Isaiah 55:2).
(end of pages 7-9)

A Christian on his knees
sees farther than
a philosopher on his tiptoes

Chapter 1
THIS WORD IS SUPERNATURAL
1 Corinthians 2:9-14; 1 Timothy 4:1
THE BIBLE is a supernatural Book. In the most complete manner, it is God's message to man. As Lewis Sperry Chafer used to say,
"It is not such a book as man would write if he could, because it condemns him, or could write if he would, because it surpasses him."
The Bible evidences in its own nature such an infinite measure of coherence, power and excellence as to be self-authenticating. It bears the inimitable impress of its divine Author. The Bible itself claims to be the Word of God. "Thus saith the Lord" is reiterated some 1904 times throughout the Old Testament; in the New Testament the claim is overwhelmingly confirmed.
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly" (I Timothy 4:1) is a phrase which might very appropriately be applied to the whole Bible. It is God's voice speaking, not only in the sense that the Word springs from Him, but from the standpoint also that it is expressed by Him in His own vocabulary. God conveyed His revelation to man, as Barnes notes,
"not by mere hints, and symbols, and shadowy images of the future; it was in an open and plain manner� in so many words."
In one significant passage of Scripture, namely,
I Corinthians 2:9-14, we are enabled to see the Word as a supernatural revelation
(verse 10), given by supernatural inspiration
(verse 13), and understood only through supernatural illumination
(verses 11, 12, 14).
In verse 9, the three channels of natural human learning are mentioned. They are the
"eye . . .ear. . .heart," and are the three channels of learning that psychology recognizes. Yet they are completely denied by the apostle as being the source or means of learning spiritual truth. He says it didn't come by visual imagery, nor by auditory imagery, nor yet by mental imagery. But since these are the means by which man can learn naturally, how does the knowledge of God come?
It comes supernaturally, through divine revelation, Paul declares: "God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." God moved upon certain men called prophets and apostles, in a special way, and made His will and words known to them. They wrote them down "not in words which the wisdom of man taught, but in words which the Spirit taught, combining with spiritual words spiritual things"
(verse 13, literal). Paul denies the popular idea that they put down God's thoughts in their own words, or in words suggested by human learning. Rather he states that they wrote in the exact words which the Holy Spirit directed them to use. This is how the Bible came into being. This Bible has been preserved unto this day for you and for me so that we might have the very Word of God.
Let us not be surprised, however, when the "natural man" (unregenerate person) does not grasp the reality and meaning of God's message, and when he even arrogantly denies that it is God's Word. Spiritual truth is discovered not by natural means but by illumination of the Spirit
(verse 12). To understand a human being, you have to possess the human spirit; so to understand God, one needs the divine Spirit
(verse 11). This is God's arrangement. When a person abandons his own wisdom, humbles himself, and in childlike faith accepts Christ as his Saviour, the Spirit of God instantly enters that person, and from that moment on, he is capable of learning the things of God on the supernatural plane.
Dr. Arthur T. Pierson points out that in the fifth chapter of Revelation is found a pictorial exhibit of the authority and majesty of the Holy Scriptures. A book, written within and on the back side and sealed with seven seals, is seen in the right hand of Him who is seated on the throne and it partakes of His own unfathomable glory. Whatever this particular book is, it certainly represents the Word of God. This notable chapter is unique, as showing God's own estimate of His own Book. Scanning the chapter we may see:
1) The unparalleled majesty of the Scriptures� A strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book?"
2) The unapproachable mystery of the Scriptures� No created being, even though angelic, is worthy to open the seals, take the book in hand, or even to look upon it.
3) The inseparable unity of the Book and the Lamb� The written Word and the living Word. He only is worthy and capable of taking the Book and unloosing the seals.
4) The underlying purpose of the Book� Redemption through God's Man, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb who was slain. His blood avails. He makes us kings and priests. He gives us a new song.
(end of pages 10-14)

Please be patient
God is not finished
with me yet

Chapter 2
THIS WORD IS SUPERIOR
Psalm 12:6; Psalm 92:5; Psalm 119:128; Isaiah 55:8-9;
Jeremiah 8:9; 2 Peter 1:4.
GOD'S OWN ESTIMATE of His Word is that it is superior. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so His thoughts, His words, His ways are superior to those of man
(Isaiah 55:8-9). His Word is superior in origin, superior in thought, superior in promise, superior in beauty, superior in purpose, superior in power, superior in results. We are at once impressed by its profound simplicity, its inimitable brevity, its unhurried clarity. The Bible fascinates the child and entrances the sage.
1) Its superiority is seen in the fact that the Word of God has in it nothing but truth. The words of men contain truth which is mixed with error. "The words of the Lord are pure words," purged from all dross as highly refined silver
(Psalm 12:6).
2) Its superiority is seen in the fact that the words of Scripture are entirely right and are all-truth on every subject that they touch. The inspired Psalmist declared, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right"
(Psalm 119:128). The wise men of the world find themselves in a state of confusion and frustration when they choose to reject the infinite wisdom of God's Word
(Jeremiah 8:9). They are deceived and are "taken" by their own folly; they are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth"
(II Timothy 3:7).
3) Its superiority is seen in the fact that it contains promises that are backed by God's infinite resource and power
(II Peter 1:4). They are "exceeding great and precious promises" not only because they initiate a person into the new life, and then bring him that inward comfort, but because they represent the far-reaching pledge of an omnipotent God. All the resources of the Almighty are available for the purpose of upholding His Word. He will move heaven and earth and hasten to "perform" His Word. God says, "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips"
(Psalm 89:34). This is wonderful. No words of men carry such stupendous pledge and provision. The Bible is beyond all comparison. It operates in the realm of the supernatural.
4) Its superiority is seen in its profound excellence. The inspired writers themselves marveled at its immeasurable greatness. "0 LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep"
(Psalm 92:5). "0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"
(Romans 11:33).
"Like a telescope, the Bible reaches beyond the stars and penetrates the heights of heaven and the depths of hell. Like a microscope, it discovers the minutest details of God's plan and purpose as well as the hidden secrets of the human heart... So far as human knowledge goes, the Bible deals as freely with things unknown as it does with the known. It speaks with utmost freedom and assurance of things altogether outside the range of human life and experience� of things eternal as well as of time"
-- by L.S. Chafer.
This would be mystical unreality were it not for the realization that it is in fact the Holy Spirit who is the Master Author of this divine Book. He is the One that searches out and teaches us things that are superior and true. "The Spirit searcheth all things," we are told, "yea, the deep things of God"
(I Corinthians 2:10). Our Word "searcheth", here, does not fully express the force of the original. It means a careful and accurate investigation of secret and obscure things. The Holy Spirit has intimate knowledge of all things, and so the knowledge in the Word, which He conveyed, is entire and thorough on all subjects, all laws, all events and all beings.
The so-called sacred books of the other religions of the world are sometimes compared to the Bible. Such books are the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist, Tripitaka, the Parsee Zend-Avesta, and the Muhammadan Koran. These are, as every one who has read them knows, for the most part, a jumble of heterogeneous material loosely placed together, without order, continuity, or unity of any kind. There is no connection between the parts either. The Koran, for example, is put together in a loose fashion, arranged chiefly in order of length. Whatever "gems" of wisdom about God and duty such books may contain, there is, as every qualified judge would be ready to admit, no real comparison between these ethnic writings, even at their best, and the collection of books which we term preeminently the Book� the Bible. The Bible has coherence, unity and meaning as the developing purpose of God is revealed. It is an orderly revelation of the will of God, centered in the Person of Jesus Christ, and designed for the redemption of mankind. It is a full-orbed revelation of the mind of the living God. Whether it is taken as literature, as history, or as a spiritual message, the unique superiority of the Bible stands out unchallengeable.
Most believers heartily agree with General Robert E. Lee's succinct evaluation of the Bible's comparative importance, "The Bible is a book in comparison with which all others in my eyes are of minor importance, and which in all my perplexities and distresses has never failed to give me light and strength."
"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb"
(Psalm 19:7-10).
(end of pages 15-19)

Small opportunities
are often the beginning
of great accomplishments

Chapter 3
THIS WORD IS SOVEREIGN
Psalm 138:2; Isaiah 55:10-11; Luke 4:36; John 17:17;
Acts 17:11; Romans 4:3.
WHERE is the last and supreme authority concerning God, concerning eternity and concerning life to be found?
1) Is the supreme authority found in human experience, human reason and conscience? This view is very prominent in this our twentieth century and is promoted formally by the neo-orthodox theologians. They do not receive the teaching of the Bible as final authority, but look to human reason and the so-called inward illumination of the Spirit. Whatever thus commends itself to their inner experience becomes to them the voice of God, even though it be contrary to what is written in the Word. The spiritual meaning arrived at is their final authority, not the written Word. In short, this puts human experience and human reason above the Bible.
2) Is the supreme authority found in the Church and tradition? We might be tempted to ask facetiously, "Which Church?" In reading the New Testament, we find that it was not the Church (defined as the blessed company of faithful believers in Christ and His Word) but the apostles commissioned by Christ, who gave first the spoken and then the written Word. The Church did not bestow apostolic and prophetic authority upon men, but, on the contrary, the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets
(Ephesians 2:20), unto whom the oracles of God were revealed by the Spirit
(Ephesians 3:5). Church tradition never remains fixed, is not dependable, but ever tends to deterioriate in the course of time and, as Christ Himself deplored, men are guilty of "making the word of God of none effect through ... tradition"
(Mark 7:13).
3) Is the supreme authority found in the written Word which we call the Bible? Upon the Scriptures God has bestowed His sovereign, transcendent authority, even as the Psalmist observed, "For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name"
(Psalm 138:2). The effective outworking of God's established arrangement in the natural realm of planting and reaping is given to illustrate the sovereign function that He has assigned to His written Word in the accomplishment of His beneficent purposes in the spiritual realm
(Isaiah 55:10-11).
We would not dishonor human reason; it has its important place. But reason, like the rest of the human make-up, has been tainted by sin, and is not fully trustworthy. Human reason and human experience, irrespective of how exalted, can never be allowed the place of final authority. Reason inquires, examines, considers, but, withal, submits to the superior light of divine revelation.
Truth is eternal fact. It exists objectively, whether we accept it or not. Our Lord Jesus Christ stated this in direct, unmistakable terms, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth"
(John 17:17); and "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"
(John 6:63). The sovereign tenor of His Word was recognized when He spoke in Capernaum, "For his word was with power. . . .And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out"
(Luke 4:32,36).
God knew that oral transmission of truth could not sustain itself but would soon become glutted and perverted with a vast body of venerated tradition; therefore, He directed His chosen servants to write divine truth into a Book. The word of Christ addressed majestically from "upon the throne" in Heaven, might well be taken to encompass the entire Bible: He said, "Write: for these words are true and faithful"
(Revelation 21:5). God's words alone are "true and faithful" and His words alone are sovereign and sufficient. Tradition, almost inevitably, tends to suffocate the truth, and Roman Catholicism, which venerates its traditions, at least on the level with the Bible� if not above the Bible as is suspicioned� suffers chiefly on this account.
It is highly instructive to note that the believers in the early Church not only "received the word with all readiness of mind," but they obviously accorded it the place of final supremacy, and "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so"
(Acts 17:11). In their search for truth, they did not turn to the evaluations of human reason, nor to the traditions and declarations of the Church, but to the written Word of God. "What saith the Scripture" was regarded as the highest court of appeal, not only by the rank and file of believers but by the apostles as well
(Romans 4:3).
(end of pages 20-23)

I get up every day really humbled by the fact
that there is so much that I don't know

Chapter 4
THIS WORD IS A REVELATION OF GOD
Deuteronomy 29:29; II Kings 17:13; Acts 3:21; Galatians 1:11-12;
Ephesians 3:3,5.
REVELATION is to be understood as that work of God which communicates truth from God to man.
A deep-seated antipathy to the idea of divine revelation exists in the world and is largely responsible for all that human rationalism which attempts to explain away the Scriptures. It goes back to the "father of lies" who first raised the question, "Hath God said. . .?"
(Genesis 3:1), with the sinister implication that God is incapable of such communication, or, on the other hand, that the veracity of God's Word is questionable.
We are told that there are certain areas of knowledge which God has not chosen to disclose: "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God"
(Deuteronomy 29:29). But He has not wrapped Himself in total silence. He has not kept His entire counsel secret! Certain things God has "revealed." That which God has revealed cannot be taken from us; "those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever." Neither the Devil, nor decrees of rulers, nor declarations of men can steal these eternal verities from those who have received His Word.
Most assuredly "God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets"
(Acts 3:21; II Kings 17:13; Matthew 22:31). God has communicated with us in the written revelations given by the Holy Spirit
(I Corinthians 2:10). Throughout the long span of human history, God has endeavored to reveal Himself to man in various ways. He has never left "himself without witness"
(Acts 14:17).
God has revealed Himself in nature, affording thereby a restricted measure of perception regarding His power and glory
(Psalms 19:1; Romans 1:19- 20).
God has revealed Himself in providence, including miracles and the preservation of all things, showing, in a wide and varied degree the power and purpose of God and the special care bestowed upon His own
(Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Daniel 2:31-45; Romans 8:28). "He did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness"
(Acts 14:17).
God has revealed Himself through direct communication, such as dreams and visions, and even the most intimate person-to-person conversation as in the case of Moses
(Numbers 12:8). There were others to whom God communicated directly, including Paul, who said that the message which he proclaimed was "not after man," "nor from man," "but by the revelation of Jesus Christ"
(Galatians 1:11-12).
God has revealed Himself in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, showing therein most clearly His wonderful Person, His glorious redemption, and the infinite depths of His love and grace.
God has revealed Himself through the Holy Scriptures, which are fully authenticated by the Holy Spirit and by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures interpret in written form the revelation which nature and providence afford to all generations and provide a correct and purposeful record of the miracles. Similarly, the life and death of Christ, though indisputable facts of history, are set forth in an authorized record which God gave concerning His Son
(I John 5:9-12). The Scriptures give the exact substance, unperverted and unforgotten, of those divine mysteries made known by direct revelation "unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit"
(Ephesians 3:3-5). Truth, wonderful truth� undiscoverable by the utmost reach of human learning and power� is communicated to us by divine revealing and preserved for us in the Holy Scriptures.
All other religions have their writings, which are but a record of human aspirations; Christianity has its book, the Bible, which is a divine revelation. It is the work of God, even as He declared through the prophet Hosea, "I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets"
(Hosea 12:10). In the supreme excellence of its coherent message, in the unique nature of its development over a period of some 1600 years, the Bible is what it claims to be, the work and the Word of God. As such, it exhibits the inimitable impress of the character and mind of its divine Author.
(end of pages 24-27)

The opportunity for brotherhood
presents itself
every time you meet a human being

Chapter 5
THIS WORD CAME BY INSPIRATION OF GOD
Exodus 4:12; Isaiah 59:21; Jeremiah 1:9; II Timothy 3:16;
II Peter 1:19-21.
INSPIRATION is that direct influence of God which results in an accurate recording of truth, wherein the thoughts, the words and the truths made known are declared to be entirely from God, and are, therefore, completely infallible.
The two most significant passages which express the Bible's own claim to inspiration are
II Timothy 3:16 and II Peter 1:21. In the first passage, we are told, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God..." If we follow the Greek New Testament here instead of the Latin Vulgate, followed mistakenly by most translations, we will quickly discover that the word theopneustos makes the passage read literally thus, "All scripture is God-breathed." This crucial word, "God-breathed" (theopneustos), used but once in the New Testament, and not used at all in secular Greek, appears to have been fashioned by God for this supreme purpose of informing us accurately how the Word of God was transmitted into the language of men.
The prince of exegetes and theologians, B.B. Warfield, explains further that the Greek term, theopneustos,
"has nothing to say of inspiring or inspiration: it speaks only of a 'spiring' or 'spiration.' What it says of Scripture is, not that it is 'breathed into by God' or is the product of Divine 'inbreathing' into its human authors, but that it is breathed out by God, 'God-breathed,' the product of the creative breath of God. In a word, what is declared by this fundamental passage is simply that the Scriptures are a Divine product, without any indication of how God has operated in producing them."
In a significant parallel passage, Psalm 33:6, we may see how the words, "the breath of his mouth," describe specifically the energetic operations of God in the creation of the universe. God's breath is the outflow of His creative power. The Bible, then, is not of human origin, but is most singularly the product of a divine operation, "the breath of God," just as the host of the heavens are the product of His "breath."
Divine inspiration of the Scriptures in the original languages covers not only "concepts" or thoughts, but reaches to the very exact choice of words used, as well as to the subject matter. As Bishop Westcott observed, "Thoughts are wedded to words as necessarily as soul is to body." Inspiration, then, of necessity takes in both. God said to Moses significantly, "I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say"
(Exodus 4:12), and even more pointedly He said to Jeremiah, "I have put my words in thy mouth"
(Jeremiah 1:9). Any teaching on inspiration of the Sacred Writings which leaves the selection of the words to the human authors at once denies divine inspiration. Through the Apostle Paul comes the most emphatic reminder that this revelation from God was being transmitted "not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth"
(I Corinthians 2:13). We should note, also that this extends to "all" Scripture.
This is what is known as the verbal, plenary inspiration, which means that
the Holy Spirit guided in the choice of the words used in the original writings ("verbal"),
and that this inspiration extends to every portion of the Bible (plenary, from Latin, plenus, meaning "full").
"The Bible claims for itself that on the original parchments every sentence, word, line, mark, point, penstroke, jot or tittle was placed there in complete agreement with the Divine purpose and will. Thus the omnipotent and omniscient God caused the message to be formed as the precise reproduction of His Word. The original text was not only Divine as to its origin, but was infinitely perfect as to its form"
-- by L.S. Chafer.
The Bible is not only a miraculous Book, but it is also unique in that it is the result of a dual authorship, human and divine, yet in such a way that the conscious, intelligent, voluntary authorship of each was not infringed upon by the other. The human faculties of the sacred writers were not suspended or suppressed but were used as God's organs in writing the message which would at the same time bear the stamp of divine authorship. We recognize that this runs into the realm of mystery. We cannot explain this, but we know it's true. We look at
Psalm 51, for example: We believe that the Holy Spirit selected each word, but we also see that this was indeed David's heart cry of confession. This rules out the dictation or mechanical theory, wherein the prophets and apostles are said to have functioned more or less as mere penmen or stenographers. With the exception of a very few portions, like the Ten Commandments, which God Himself wrote upon the tables of stone
(Exodus 32:16), the Bible could not have been so dictated; it embodies the prayers, the praises, the fears, the victories, the feelings and yearnings of the individuals whom God used in writing it.
The second major passage, II Peter 1:21, brings added light at this point: "For not by man's will was prophecy ever brought, but borne along by the Holy Spirit, men spake from God" (literal). First, it is stated precisely that the Scripture does not owe its origin to human initiative. Then follows the equally emphatic assertion that, although it was spoken by men, they "spake from God," as they were "borne along" by the Holy Spirit. The Greek word phero means "to carry, to take up." The men who spoke "from God" were "taken up" by the Holy Spirit, much as a passenger is borne by a ship, and brought by His power to the place of His choosing. But, as the passenger has freedom to move within the ship, so the sacred writers had the free exercise of their individual powers and characteristics. The prophets and apostles were real authors, who were "taken up" in their entirety by the Holy Spirit. He used their training, their emotions, their language, their vocabularies, their mouths, their thoughts, not as unconscious instruments, but as thinking, living, willing minds. And the miracle of it is that the things which they spoke under this operation of the Spirit were completely divine and infallible.
(end of pages 28-32)

Christians are like coals of fire-
together they glow
apart they grow cold

Chapter 6
THIS WORD IS UNDERSTOOD THROUGH ILLUMINATION OF GOD
Psalm 119:18; Luke 24:45; John 7:17; John 16:13;
Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 John 2:27.
ILLUMINATION is that ministry of the Holy Spirit which enables each person who is in right relation to God to understand the Scriptures.
"The Spirit breathes upon the Word,
And brings the truth to sight;
Precepts and promises afford
A sanctifying light."
-- by Sir Isaac Newton
We are told that the "natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God"
(I Corinthians 2:14). This means that the unregenerate man is incapable of understanding spiritual truth as long as he is unwilling to abandon his own "thoughts" and turn to the Lord for mercy
(Isaiah 55:7). This incapacity to respond to the Gospel, which is not at all relieved even by the most advanced forms of human learning, is taken up by Satan and used to blind a person so that he cannot see the reality of Christ. The Word of God teaches this clearly: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them"
(II Corinthians 4:3-4).
At the heart of this spiritual blindness is a voluntary unbelief ("them which believe not") which feeds upon pride and self-sufficiency
(Romans 1:21). "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God"
(John 7:17). By being unwilling to submit to the supreme excellence of God's own Word and God's own Son, man becomes guilty of the highest indignity and moral offense to God.
The moment a person recognizes these facts and humbly submits to the truth of God's Word about sin and about the Saviour, he shall be saved. It will be a "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost"
(Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit will come to dwell in that person
(Romans 8:9), and from henceforth he will be in a position to learn spiritual truth and to "know the things that are freely given to us of God"
(I Corinthians 2:12).
This means that the most distinguished private Tutor takes up residence in each believer
(I John 2:27), guiding each "into all truth"
(John 16:13). This Tutor will unlock and unfold the sacred mysteries of God. Is not that remarkable? This Teacher "searcheth all things," we are told, "yea, the deep things of God"
(I Corinthians 2:10). He has intimate knowledge of all things, all truth, all events, all beings. He delights to open our understanding that we might more fully know and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ
(John 16:13-14; Ephesians 1:17), and that we might more clearly perceive the "hope of his calling" and "the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints"
(Ephesians 1:18).
Some believers are disturbed by supposed errors and discrepancies in the Bible; they are confused by the findings of so-called "lower" and "higher criticism." But it is truly amazing how these problems vanish when the Bible is approached from the vantage point of the highest criticism, namely that of a "poor and of a contrite spirit" and one that "trembleth" at God's Word
(Isaiah 66:2). God's Word is a "critic" of the thoughts and intents of the heart
(Hebrews 4:12). As we submit to its supreme authority, the Holy Spirit takes us inside, as it were, and opens our eyes to see, not imagined errors, but wondrous things out of God's law
(Psalms 119:18). As one has said, "A Christian on his knees sees farther than a philosopher on his tiptoes."
Fulton Oursler's testimony in this realm is significant:
"My first return was to the undisturbed reality of the Holy Bible; to its authority and inspiration and truth through revelation. Too long I had been bespelled by the false glitter of scholarship of guesswork as deficient in humility as opinion polls and about as accurate. I discovered that the 'scientific' criticism of the Scriptures was far more vulnerable than the texts it accused."
Or it may be a spiritual dullness, a weariness concerning things in the Bible "hard to be understood," which confronts others. First, it is good to examine our own lives in the light of Scripture to make sure that we are not harboring unconfessed sin. Unholy thoughts and worldly behavior always "grieve" the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians 4:30), and hinder Him from teaching us further truth. Just as it is true that iniquity in my heart will hinder God from hearing me, it is equally true that if there be iniquity in my heart, I cannot hear God.
Second, it is most needful to recognize afresh each day the actual significance of the words of our Lord when He said that it is the Holy Spirit who "shall teach you all things"
(John 14:26). In all our study and search for truth, we may read commentaries and listen to other brethren expound the truth, but in all this seeking, we must ever maintain the keen sense of expectation from our real Teacher, the Holy Spirit. Unless He has "opened our understanding," unless He has instructed us, we have not really been taught. "Ye need not that any man teach you"
(I John 2:27) is a reminder to all of us, not only of the fact that He desires to be our Teacher, but that He is the very best there is.
(end of pages 33-37)

To be almost saved
is to be totally lost

Chapter 7
THIS WORD IS EXPERIENTIAL
Psalm 119:9; John 15:3; John 17:8; Acts 20:32;
Romans 15:4, 1 Thessalonians 2:13.
THE WORD OF GOD was not given to us simply that we might have ammunition for theological discussion and debate but that we might be able to "take" it in, "eat" it, relish it, let our souls abound in spiritual fatness, and really "live"
(Jeremiah 15:16; Isaiah 55:2; Matthew 4:4). The famous surgeon, Dr. Howard A. Kelly, a staunch defender of the Bible as God's infallible Word, described the practical reality of God's Word this way:
"The Bible appeals to me strongly as a physician, because it is such excellent medicine; it has never failed to cure a single patient if only he took his prescription honestly. It is in the realm of spiritual therapeutics just what we so long to find for all our bodily ailments, a universal remedy."
The Word works effectually in a life when it is personally received and appropriated as the Word of God
(I Thessalonians 2:13). "He that is of God heareth God's words"
(John 8:47). He that has just a smattering of outward profession, of nominal Christianity, soon abandons it when the popular current turns in a different direction. But when the Scriptures are received and embraced as the sovereign Word of God, there comes a solid conviction into that life, a sincere dedication to God and to His standards of holiness. This enables the believer to remain true to God amid severe trials and not shrink even at the terrors of bitter persecution.
The Word enlightens the mind and probes the conscience as to God's remedy for sin's guilt and defilement
(Psalm 119:9; John 15:3).
The Word of God, "abiding" in a life, is the secret of spiritual strength for a young man and for an old man alike. It is the only means of being "girded" with His strength so as to withstand the Devil
(I John 2:14; Psalm 18:30; Ephesians 6:10-11).
It is simply amazing what God can do in and for a person who will "receive" His Word. Truth undiscoverable by the utmost reach of human power is revealed by the Spirit to the person who will hear and heed the divine message. Suddenly the fog of human darkness lifts, a new spiritual landscape is unveiled, and a person "believes" and "knows surely" that Christ is a real, living person who came from the Father to this earth for the specific mission of saving sinners
(John 17:8).
Though written a long time ago, God's Word is just as personal and just as up to date as if it came this very day to give each believer needed endurance, comfort, and hope
(Romans 15:4). It flames in the believer's heart with a celestial light; it quickens faith, purifies purpose and strengthens the will. The prophet Jeremiah testifies, "Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart," and every child of God has tasted for himself something of that delectable sweetness. The Word of His grace is able to do for us two things:
(1) to build us up spiritually in this life, and
(2) to procure for us the inheritance in the life to come
(Acts 20:3 2).
In the words of Canon Hague:
"Therefore, think not of it as a good book, or even as a better book, but lift it in heart and mind and faith and love far, far above all, and ever regard it, not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God; nay, more, as the living Word of the Living God; supernatural in origin; eternal in duration; inexpressible in value; infinite in scope; Divine in authorship; human in penmanship; regenerative in power; infallible in authority; universal in interest; personal in application and, as Saint Paul declares, inspired in totality."
A poor Italian woman, a fruit-seller, sat in her little stall at the head of a bridge and made use of every spare moment to study God's Word which she had recently come to believe and love. "What are you reading there, my good woman?" said a gentleman one day as he came up to purchase some fruit. "It is the Word of God," she replied. "Who told you that?" "He told me so Himself." "Have you ever spoken with Him, then?"
The poor woman felt a little embarrassed, as she was unused to such arguments, but at length she recovered and looking upwards, she exclaimed, "Can you prove to me, sir, that there is a sun up in the sky?" "Prove it!" he replied. "Why the best proof is that it lights my way, and that it warms me." "So it is with me," she said joyously. "The proof of this book's being the Word of God is that it lights and warms my soul."
(end of pages 38-41)

One who is good at making excuses
is seldom good for anything else

Chapter 8
THIS WORD IS ESSENTIAL
Deuteronomy 8:3; Joshua 1:8; Job 23:12; Psalm 119:11;
Jeremiah 22:29; Matthew 22:29; I Peter 2:2.
GOD WANTS us to realize that His Word is not only important but that it is absolutely indispensable in every sphere of life and action
(Deuteronomy 8:3). It is not nature that nourishes man but the God of nature, who withholds and provides, who brings down and lifts up, who deals with us and disciplines us in order that He might make us "know" that we live by His every word, "every outgoing of the mouth of Jehovah." The Lord Jesus Christ illustrated this further: He was in the wilderness for forty days, hungry, weary, and sorely tempted by Satan, but His unvarying reply to Satan was, "It is written"; and His first quotation was this particular one from
Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"
(Matthew 4:4).
God intends that the believer should live by the Word, daily and momentarily. His hidden life is to be fed and sustained by it; his activities are to be guided by it. In every circumstance, the quickening Word of God will be his comfort and his consolation. Weighed down by sorrow, losses, and disillusionment with friends, Job found his solace and sustenance in the Word of His God, of which he said, "I have treasured up, taken to myself, and preserved the words of His mouth more than my necessary food"
(Job 23:12, Cook).
God's Word is essential to keep us from failure
(Joshua 1:8). God's message is not just to be treated with high regard but it must be continually in our hearts and upon our lips, all through the day and through the night seasons also. The man whose "delight is in the law of the Lord," so that he "meditates" in it day and night, "shall be like a tree. . . and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper"
(Psalm 1:2-3). "Men," said Calvin, "never act skillfully, except in so far as they allow themselves to be ruled by the Word of God."
God's Word is essential to keep us from error
(Matthew 22:29). The Sadducees erred, Christ said, for two reasons:
(1) They did not know the Scriptures.
(2) They seriously underestimated the power of God.
It should be observed that our Lord did not rebuke them for not holding tradition sacred. Pharisaism (the high church ritualism of the day) was no cure for Sadducism (the liberal-wing rationalism). The Sadducees philosophized brilliantly about the problems of the life hereafter, which they did not want to believe, but they erred in that they did not know ("perceive the meaning," from eidon) the plain Old Testament teaching concerning the resurrection of the dead. This unbelief and spiritual incapacity led them to adopt the false premise, namely, that in Heaven the same conditions with respect to marriage prevail as they do in this world. Where does the Old Testament teach anything of this sort?
God's Word is essential to keep us from sin
(Psalm 119:11). The discovering Word is to be treasured up in our hearts so as to become a source of power and life from within. Elsewhere the Psalmist said, "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide"
(Psalm 37:31). Every day we have need of letting God's Word probe the deepest recesses of our being to discover the hidden evil within, to search out every flaw and fault, every tendency to wrong. "By them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward"
(Psalm 19:11). God's Word in the mind and heart continually is still the most effective guard there is for our motives as well as our moves.
God's Word is essential to keep us from stunted growth
(I Peter 2:2). Where there is no heart longing for the divine milk, there is at once spiritual decline, which results in stunted spiritual growth. The Word, like milk, is nourishing food and it is delightful to the taste; "by it we grow, and in it we taste the graciousness of God" (Leighton). And the Psalmist adds, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb"
(Psalm 19:10). "This," as someone comments, "is maximum desire, and maximum delight!"
We live in a day when Bibles are accessible on every hand, but there is throughout the earth, as Amos prophesied, "a famine of hearing the words of the LORD." Man does not seem to hear the blessed Word of God addressing itself to the depths of his life; he pursues his own way, restless, wandering from sea to sea, craving some new thing, some new sensation, some new thrill, oblivious to the voice from Heaven. How exceedingly needful it is for man to accept the authority of God's law, and submit to the sovereign sway of the Holy Spirit in his life. This is the invitation and pleading of God in that dramatic call of the prophet Jeremiah, "0 earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD"
(Jeremiah 22:29). The great literary scholar and educator of the nineteenth century, Matthew Arnold, said,
"To the Bible men will return because they cannot do without it; because happiness is our being's end and aim, and happiness belongs to righteousness, and righteousness is revealed in the Bible. For this simple reason men will return to the Bible, just as a man who tried to give up food, thinking that it was a vain thing and that he could do without it, would return to food."
(end of pages 42-45)

If God is your co-pilot
you should swap seats

Chapter 9
THIS WORD IS ETERNAL
I Kings 8:56; Psalm 89:34; Psalm 119:89; Psalm119:152;
Psalm 119:160; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35.
THE SCOTTISH MISSIONARY, Alexander Duff, packed eight hundred volumes of choice books on the "Lady Holland" in 1829, and sailed for India. The ship was wrecked and all his priceless books were lost. The disheartened group of survivors stood safely on shore and looked back to sea, hoping that some part of their belongings might be salvaged. Only one small object was seen bobbing in the waters. The tide washed it ashore. It was Duff's Bible. This incident is a symbol of the way God's Word has survived all the storms of hate and fierce antagonism raised against it throughout the tumultuous ages since the Devil first questioned the supremacy of God's word in the garden of Eden.
In every generation and in the life of every believer, the Word of God displays its own evidence that it is supernatural in origin, that it proceeded from God Himself, and that it is self-authenticated and self-authenticating. "It ought not to be made the subject of logical demonstration," Calvin helpfully observed, "because it established its own ascendency in the believing heart by the testimony of the Spirit."
1) God laid the foundations and established the dimensions of truth
(Psalm 119:152, 160), which is as immutable as the eternal God Himself
(Psalm 119:89). The Word of God is true because it is truth "from the beginning." It has its origin in God, who established it and gave it its meaning and function. It is God-breathed, God-given, and God-determined. It is well to observe, however, that belief in the infallibility of God's Word as eternal truth, does not mean that every verse and every statement in the Bible is essential truth. The sphere of divine inspiration is to secure "an accurate transcription of the God-given message." In the Bible we find the words of the devil. They are not true, but they are accurately recorded. In the Bible we have the reasonings of man
(Ecclesiastes), and the philosophies of Bildad, as recorded in Job, which do not have the same usefulness to lost humanity as does the Gospel of John; but all are exactly what God intended to include in His Book, each in its place and for its particular purpose. Divine inspiration of the Bible includes also what might be called "the inspiration of selection," where, as in the case of the historical writers and the apostles, a large body of factual material existed, but God directed them in the selection of the exact material that He desired included in a particular book
(Luke 1:1-4).
2) The Word of our God abides forever as imperishable, unchangeable, unalterable truth
(Matthew 24:35; Isaiah 40:8). The geological structure of our globe changes continually. The moon is only an immense cinder. The sun and stars show signs of splintering and fading. What immeasurable supremacy our Lord ascribed to His Word when He contrasted its Unchanging quality with the perishableness of the heaven and earth
(Matthew 24:35). The "grass withereth," the glory of all man's achievements fades, the sun, moon and stars shall pass away, "but the word of the Lord endureth for ever"
(I Peter 1:24-25). It is for the believer a constant source of encouragement to realize that the Bible does not change with time but that it endures century after century. This is indeed the claim that the Word of God makes for itself, namely, that it is eternal.
The interpretations and theories of science are frequently in disagreement with the Bible, and this conflict seems only to establish further the fact that God's Word is eternal. Science is ever shifting and subject to its own revisions because its findings are ever incomplete. If the Bible were fully in agreement with all the interpretations and conclusions of science today, then it would become hopelessly outdated a few decades hence when science will have new discoveries and new theories.
It should be observed that much of what passes under the name of "science" is not science at all but crude speculation and bad philosophy. We find that in the nineteenth century the German rationalists, the English liberals, and the French infidels united in a fierce attack upon the Bible. The usual declamation, as expressed by Mr. Froude (1879), was to the effect that "the ablest," "the most advanced," "the best scientific thinkers" had all abandoned Christianity, including all theistic belief. In reply to such charges a host of illustrious persons in the physical sciences, including Lord Kelvin, Professor Tait, and Sir W. Thomson, rose to the defense of the Bible. A manifesto was drawn up and signed by 617 men of science, many of them the most eminent in the world. This document, now in the world-famous Bodleian Library of Oxford, deplores "the unadvised manner in which some are placing science in opposition to Holy Writ" and predicts that "the time will come when the two records shall be seen to agree in every particular." Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the force of gravity, a great student of both science and Scripture, bore similar testimony many years before. In reality there is seldom serious disagreement between true scientific men and true Bible scholars. The word "science" means "knowledge," and God is the source of all true knowledge. How then could there be a conflict between the Bible, which is the mind of God, and true science?
3) The Word of God perpetuates itself in the lives of believers, with the realization of more spiritual blessing by every succeeding generation
(Isaiah 59:21). It never grows old. It is always up to date, fresh as the morning dew, and still it endureth both now and forever. Every divine promise is fully guaranteed by God's own unchangeable faithfulness: "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips"
(Psalm 89:34). Each generation in turn surveys the pledged Word of God and then joyfully exclaims, "There hath not failed one word of all his good promise"
(I Kings 8:56; Joshua 21:45).
THE ANVIL OF GOD'S WORD
Last eve I paused beside the blacksmith's door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers worn with beating years of time.
"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."
"And so," I thought, "The Anvil of God's Word
For ages sceptic blows have beat upon,
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The Anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone."
-- by JOHN CLIFFORD

(end of pages 47-51)

If you justify your sin
you won't confess it

Chapter 10
THIS WORD IS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE PROPHETS
Deuteronomy 18:20; 2 Samuel 23:2; Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 30:2;
Ezekiel 1:3; Haggai 1:1; Zechariah 7:7.
THE COMMONLY USED Hebrew word for "prophet" is "Nabi." It means "spokesman," not in a general but in an elevated sense; it signifies the idea of "having been supposed to be moved rather by another's powers than their own" (Gesenius). Nabi (prophet) is "the utterer of a Divine message, one who conveys to his fellows truth otherwise hidden, and imparted to himself by God for them. He is, in short, the mouth of God's mind towards men" (Findlay).
The true prophet was required first to attest his own message and demonstrate its authority as having come from God
(Deuteronomy 18:21-22). Woe unto the "foolish prophets," which followed their own ideas, and not the revelation of God
(Ezekiel 13:3)! If the prophet misrepresented the mind of God, he faced the judgment of God
(Deuteronomy 18:20). The prophet of God, therefore, exercised the highest divine service ever committed to man in that he was called upon to receive, to attest, and to deliver those messages which by God's authorization were to become a part of the Holy Scriptures. The true prophet's message had to be heeded
by the ruler (Deuteronomy 17:18-19),
by the judge (Deuteronomy 17:8-10), and
by the whole house of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
The bearing of all this upon the subject at hand is quite apparent. If what has been said is true, which it is, then the writings of the prophets in their very nature are the Word of God. It should be remembered that most of the Old Testament writers were prophets, whether their writings were descriptive or predictive.
The Old Testament prophets specifically claimed to be recipients of divine revelation:
"These are the words which the Lord hath commanded";
"the word of the LORD came";
"the LORD spake";
"the word of God";
"the voice of God speaking";
"thus saith the LORD";
"God said."
Statements like these are found nearly seven hundred times in the Pentateuch alone, and can be found throughout the Scriptures no less than three thousand times. The prophets spoke with an underlying consciousness of their high calling; from their overwhelming testimony they must be received either as true "spokesmen" of the very Word of God, or they must be regarded as a group of "incorrigible liars and crazy fanatics." It is difficult to conceive how any honest mind could fail to receive their witness for what it is. Who can dispute either the meaning or the motive of Samuel's testimony when he says, "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue"
(II Samuel 23:2).
Jeremiah states that the very words which he received from God, he was asked to write in a book. "And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. . . Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book"
(Jeremiah 1:9; 30:2). Ezekiel testifies that the Word of God "came expressly" to him, which means, "It certainly came; came with the clearest demonstration of its actuality" (Henry Cowles).He tells also where he was at the time, and that "the hand of the Lord was there upon him," which indicates the special agency of the divine Spirit. Haggai identifies himself specifically as the prophet of God with respect to time and historical setting, and there "came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet"
(Ezekiel 1:1). Zechariah emphatically bears witness to the words of the Lord which came "by the former prophets"
(Zechariah 7:7).
The prophets are united in their claim that the words which they wrote came from God, and that they "spake as they were borne along by the Holy Ghost." Their unique witness to the infallibility of the Scriptures may be summed up in the words of Isaiah, "Hear, 0 heavens, and give ear, 0 earth: for the LORD hath spoken"
(Isaiah 1:2).
(end of pages 52-55)

God doesn't call the qualified
He qualifies the called

Chapter 11
THIS WORD IS AUTHENTICATED BY THE APOSTLES
Acts 28:25; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Peter 1:10-11;
2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:15-16.
THERE ARE ABOUT two hundred eighty direct quotations from the Old Testament in the New, and these are taken from twenty-eight of its thirty-nine books. It is noteworthy that not one of these is taken from the Apocrypha. In addition, there are close to four hundred allusions to Old Testament passages. A bit of verse puts it this way:
The New is in the Old contained;
The Old is by the New explained.
The New is in the Old concealed;
The Old is by the New revealed.
The New is in the Old foreshown;
The Old is in the New full-grown.
The Old Testament is in the very "warp and woof" of the New Testament, and it is at once obvious that the two stand or fall together. The one supports the other. The New Testament is saturated with the Old, and that in the most complementary manner. The two parts present an amazing doctrinal coherence and spiritual unity, implying at once that the writings are superhuman and the product of one mind.
"Here, then, is a wonderful thing," Graham Scroggie observed, "that between the two Testaments there is no contradiction of historical facts, no confusion of spiritual types, no contortion of prophetic outline, no collision of doctrinal statement, and no collapse of Divine perspective: all is a sublime unity, and this can be accounted for only by the fact that these writings are the Word of God."
"That the New Testament as fulfillment should so perfectly correspond with the Old Testament as prophecy is in itself the most wonderful phenomenon in literature; it is evidence, as near demonstration as needs be, of the intervention of a Divine Hand."
-- by W.B. Pope
The apostles bear united testimony that the Old Testament Scriptures are of divine origin. Peter, in one of his earliest sermons said, "This scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost. . . spake"; and again, "Lord, thou art God, Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said,. . ."
(Acts 1:16; 4:24-25). Peter believed very definitely that the Old Testament writings were none other than the very Word of God
(II Peter 1:21). In another passage
(I Peter 1:10-11), this same apostle reveals two important truths:
first, that the prophets wrote that which the Holy Spirit communicated in and through them;
second, that these revelations often transcended their own understanding, and led them to inquire and search into one another's prophecies, to learn if possible what was meant.
In Paul's estimate the Old Testament was, as Meyer says, "a history of Divine acts, and the unfolding of Divine ideas, continually manifesting the superintendence of a Divine sovereignty." This view is reflected in Paul's letters and discourses: "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet"
(Acts 28:25); "the gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures"
(Romans 1:1-2). How entirely this apostle regarded the Old Testament as God's revelation may be seen in his extensive quotations from it. According to Westcott and Hort, there are some one hundred ninety-two quotations in Paul's writings taken from twenty-five Old Testament books. John, Jude, and others bear similar witness.
The apostles bear witness that their own writings are of God
(I Corinthians 2:12-13). Paul challenges anyone who regards himself as being divinely endowed to "acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord"
(I Corinthians 14:37). In this way, the apostle makes the strongest claim that he writes by divine authority and inspiration. In the next verse
(I Corinthians 14:38), Paul makes even a stronger case of it by saying, if anyone affects to be ignorant of "my" authority and doubts whether I am inspired, "let him be ignorant," let him just go on that way and abide the consequences of rejecting "my" full proof of "my" divine commission. Elsewhere, Paul states unhesitatingly that what he preached was in truth the "word of God"
(I Thessalonians 2:13), and that "they" (apostles) spoke "by the word of the Lord"
(I Thessalonians 4:15). Also significant is the way in which he combines one quotation from an Old Testament book
(Deuteronomy 25:4), and another from a New Testament book
(Luke 10:7) into one verse
(I Timothy 5:18) under the meaningful designation, "scripture."
Peter also places the apostolic writings on the level with the Old Testament prophetic writings
(II Peter 3:2), which he had already authenticated as being of God
(II Peter 1:21). In another passage
(II Peter 3:15-16), Peter regards the Pauline writings as of equal authority with "the other scriptures." John makes equally strong claims in expressing the sovereign seal of divine approval and preservation concerning his writings
(Revelation 22:18-19).
Such claims as these, if made only upon human initiative and authority, would exhibit only gross blasphemy, but these men spake "as the Spirit gave them utterance"
(Acts 2:4), and their claims are true to the uttermost.
(end of pages 56-59)

Be ye fishers of men-
you catch them and He'll clean them

Chapter 12
THIS WORD IS ATTESTED BY THE LORD
Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:27; John 5:39, John 5:46-47;
John 10:35.
IN THE FOUR GOSPELS are contained over thirty-five direct quotations and references which the Lord Jesus Christ took from every part of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. These contemplate the entire Old Testament and record our Lord's witness to the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. Christ has given His royal assent to that which was already regarded as the Word of God. This endorsement does not make the Bible any more supernatural or divine, but it gives the written Word immeasurable confirmation and authority.
Our Lord stated that the primary purpose of His incarnation, His coming to earth, was that of attesting and fulfilling the Word of God: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth"
(John 18:37). He came "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers"
(Romans 15:8). He came not "to destroy, but to fulfill," to maintain, to uphold, to endorse the Old Testament as a whole, including every single "jot" (smallest Hebrew letter) and "tittle" (a distinguishing mark on some Hebrew letters)
(Matthew 5:17-18).
It is obvious at once that He regarded the Old Testament as being divinely inspired, infallible, and supreme. He based His teachings upon it. In His controversy with the devil, with the Jews and others. He constantly appeals to the Scriptures. In one such encounter. He added the significant words, "and the scripture cannot be broken"
(John 10:35). The Word translated "broken" means "to annul, deny, withstand." The Lord said, without fear of contradiction, that it is impossible to annul, or to deny, or to withstand the Scripture. "For the mind which recognizes in Jesus Christ all that He claimed to be, this verdict on the supernatural character and Divine authority of the Old Testament is final" (Moule).
1) Our Lord regarded all the Scriptures as of equal and final authority. He so quoted and used the Scriptures. "Is it not written in your law. . . ?"
(John 10:34). One word of Scripture, even a seemingly obscure one, was final. He not only endorsed what Moses wrote, but placed it upon the same level as His own words: "If ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"
(John 5:47).
2). Our Lord set His seal upon the miraculous events and historical portions of the Scriptures. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, and others, were to Him historical persons. Among others,
He speaks of the flood (Matthew 24:37-39),
of the miracles of Elijah and Elisha (Luke 4:25-27),
of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:26-32),
of Jonah in the fish's belly (Matthew 12:40).
Christ declares not only that the record is true, but that God did so act, though it involved miracles.
3). Our Lord applied the Scriptures to Himself as being in the purpose of God. The Scriptures "are they which testify of me," He said
(John 5:39). As He neared His crucifixion, He said, "The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him"
(Matthew 26:24); and again, "This that is written must yet be accomplished in me"
(Luke 22:37). He was obedient unto death "that the scriptures might be fulfilled." After His resurrection, He "expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. . .that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me"
(Luke 24:27, 44).
4) Our Lord placed His imprimatur also upon the New Testament. Before it was written. He promised that the Holy Spirit would guide them "into all truth"
(John 14:26; 16:13), and later He gave it His sovereign attestation from Heaven
(Revelation 22:20). The impress of His divine character is clearly reflected upon the pages of the Gospels, and their very reflection of the Lord of glory affirms their own divine origin. A helpful comment from the German philosopher-poet, Von Goethe, supports these thoughts, "I esteem the Gospels to be thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the reflected splendor of a sublimity proceeding from the person of Jesus Christ."
"Oh, how I love this Word, this Wonder Book
That God has given men! So rich, so sweet,
So full of truth and light, of drink and meat,
And priceless treasures for the eyes which look
With faith and prayer upon its script! 0 brook
No task to crowd it out, but pause to greet
The Master here each day in soul retreat."
-- by GWYNN M. DAY
(end of pages 60-63)

When praying
don't give God instructions-
just report for duty

Chapter 13
THIS WORD IS CONFIRMED THROUGH DIVINE PROPHECIES
Psalm 16:10; Psalm 22:18; Psalm 34:20; Isaiah 42:9;
Isaiah 53:12; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 9:9.
THE FULFILLED PROPHECIES of Scripture are incontrovertible evidence that the Bible is the Word of God. "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,... I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it"
(Isaiah 46:9-11). Is it not apparent that God has designed the whole scheme of prophecy that we might know more assuredly that the Scripture is divinely revealed truth? Indeed, He Himself instructs us that the acid test of the truthfulness of all prophecy is its literal fulfillment
(Deuteronomy 18:22).
Biblical prophecy covers a vast field, and deals specifically as to time, place, and event, in individuals, cities, nations and movements. It delineates
the downfall of magnificent Babylon (Isaiah 13:17-22),
the judgment upon ancient Tyre (Ezekiel chapter 26),
the destruction of world-renowned Nineveh, that wicked capital of Assyria
(Nahum 1:1, 9-14; 2:13). Divine prophecy foresees the eventful history of Jerusalem, that unique capital of God's earthly people, Israel
(Isaiah 44:28; Ezra 1:2-3; Isaiah 31:5; Matthew 23:37-24:2;
Revelation 21:1-2). With the exception of Jerusalem's future glory, all the predictions concerning these cities have been minutely and dramatically fulfilled.
The prophecies dealing with the nation Israel begin with Genesis 12 and run throughout the entire Bible
(Genesis 15:13-14; Deuteronomy 28:64-66; Jeremiah 25:11;29:10-14). These far-reaching predictions are now largely a matter of Israel's astounding history. The remarkable restoration of the long�desolate land of Palestine being witnessed in our generation is also foretold in numerous Scriptures
(Isaiah 27:12-13; 51:3; 61:4; Ezekiel 36:24-35). God tells us also that this people, now going back to their land largely in unbelief shall yet "seek the Lord their God, and David their king"
(Hosea 3:5; Zechariah 12:10-14:11). Who can explain the amazing fulfillment of all these ancient prophecies apart from divine inspiration of the prophets? The Jews, who have suffered satanic hatred and antagonism through all the centuries, are a miracle of survival just as is the Bible itself. When Frederick the Great of Prussia asked his chaplain for a single, definite proof that the Bible is true, the chaplain replied without hesitation, "The Jews, your Majesty."
It would be most profitable to be able to pursue these details more fully, and to notice also something of the great scope of Bible prophecy concerning the Gentile nations and the history of the world from the time of Nebuchadnezzar to the end, as foretold in the book of Daniel and in other places. But we must not fail to take a good look at the central figure of the whole Bible. It is Israel's prophesied Messiah and our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who said, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me"
(Psalm 40:7).
The Lord Jesus Christ is the "preeminent" One in the entire Old Testament, where we find three hundred thirty-three specific predictions concerning Him, and upwards of three hundred of these Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Christ at His first coming.
Let us just glance at seven representative ones, with their historical fulfillments:
(1) "Bethlehem," the place of His birth was announced
(Micah 5:2) 700 years before it occurred (Matthew 2:1);
(2) He rode "upon a colt the foal of an ass"
(Matthew 21:4-11), as was foretold by Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9) 500 years before Christ;
(3) the purpose of His substitutionary death is clearly stated by
Isaiah (Isaiah chapter 53) 700 years in advance (I Peter 2:21-24);
(4) Isaiah (Isaiah 53:12) also predicted how He would be "numbered with the transgressors"
(Mark 15:28);
(5) His very garments were disposed of (John 19:23-24) exactly as predicted 1000 years earlier
(Psalm 22:18);
(6) contrary to all custom. His bones were left unbroken
(John 19:33) as had been anticipated for a whole millennium
(Psalm 34:20); and
(7) His glorious resurrection (John chapter 20), though not believed, was prophesied 1000 years in advance
(Psalm 16:10).
We might ask, what is the probability of mere chance fulfillment of these prophecies? The answer is amazing. Let's start with the place of Christ's birth, Bethlehem. The probability of chance fulfillment would be one divided by the number of towns in Israel at the time. In this same manner, the probabilities of fulfillment may be determined for the rest of the 300 specific predictions concerning Christ. Furthermore, we have to remember that all these prophecies were fulfilled in the same person at virtually the same time. Following the laws of mathematical probability of several occurrences, we arrive at the conclusion that the probability of chance fulfillment of the three hundred prophecies simultaneously in one person would be one chance out of a number that would be written as one, followed by at least a thousand zeros. Imagine a grain of sand marked so as to distinguish it from all the rest, and then being placed in a globe the size of our whole earth, filled with unmarked grains of sand. Stir the whole mass thoroughly, and then let a blind-folded man find the marked grain of sand. The chance that he would find it on his first attempt would be many quadrillion times more likely than the chance that the 300 prophecies could have been fulfilled simultaneously in the person of Christ apart from divine inspiration of the prophetic Scriptures.
These fulfilled prophecies� these veritable miracles of revelation� are the clear signature of the omniscient, eternal God, inscribed upon almost every page of God's supernatural Book: "Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them"
(Isaiah 42:9).
To discredit, to disregard such colossal argument for the divine origin of the Scriptures is simply to confess irrational unbelief and to commit intellectual suicide. Such prescience, such power of prediction can reside only in the God who knows the end from the beginning and "who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will"
(Ephesians 1:11). Their fulfillment, their exact occurrence is beyond the scope of all imagined contrivance or imposture. The evidence which has convinced millions is yet set before others, that they might behold the excellence of His infallible Word.
(pages 64-68)

Are you wrinkled with burden?
Come to the church for a faith-lift

Chapter 14
THIS WORD IS CHARGED WITH DIVINE POWER
Jeremiah 23:29; Hosea 6:5; John 6:63; John 6:68;
2 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23.
DR. R. A. TORREY said, "There is more power in that little Book to save men, purify, gladden and beautify their lives, than in all other literature put together." The poet, Samuel Coleridge, remarked, "In the Bible there is more that finds me than I have found in all other books put together." "Teacher, may I have that Book?" asked a little boy in the Belgian Congo. "It puts holes in my heart." These are but witnesses concerning the power of God's Word, as expressed in
Hebrews 4:12 and many other passages.
The Word of God is "quick," which means "living, active." It is not an inert mass of instructions, but it is operative, always producing effects. It is not a dead "letter," as a law which merely gives commands,
(II Corinthians 3:6), but it is living "spirit," as "living" as the "living God" Himself
(Hebrews 3:12), and altogether like God in its power. God and His Word cannot be separated. This is clearly shown in the following verse
(Hebrews 4:13), which, through use of pronouns "his" and "him," relates the properties of the Word to God Himself. Our Lord stated emphatically, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"
(John 6:63).
There is in our day a dangerous trend to make of the Word something less than it claims to be; it is said to be only a "vehicle," and "instrument," which the Holy Spirit can use, and which is mere sound and mere words unless the Holy Spirit moves through it. This is like saying that the sun is operative only when the light and heat rays accompany it. The Holy Spirit does not separate Himself from His Word. What the writing records, the Spirit means; what the Spirit means, the Spirit uses. God's Word is the very mind of the Holy Spirit. The two are inseparable. "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches"
(Revelation 3:22). Obviously, what the Spirit has to say is that which is in the written Word, and not something contrary to or apart from it.
The Scriptures are the "oracles of God," the living voice of God; they are in their entirety a divine book, as B. B. Warfield points out, "created by Divine energy and speaking in their every part with Divine authority directly to the heart" under the ever-present working of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures proceed from God, and their spiritual power is "profitable" for the "man of God" in all directions of life by virtue of their divine origin
(II Timothy 3:16-17). The Psalmist testified, "Thy word hath quickened me"
(Psalm 119:50).
Our Lord likened the Word to "seed," with powers to germinate and to spring up. Peter follows up on it to show that in the new birth "the word of God" is the "incorruptible" seed, "which liveth and abideth forever"
(I Peter 1:23). James and Paul confirm the idea: "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth"
(James 1:18); "For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel"
(I Corinthians 4:15).
The Word of God is "powerful." It is potent and full of living energy, which does not "rub off mechanically," but which is pregnant with the very presence and power of God. "It is an outflow of his life and therefore instinct with the same Divine, imperishable, powerful life, either to kindle similar life in us or to react against all opposition" (Lenski). If it does not facilitate a person's salvation, it will heighten his damnation, for it is either a "savor of life unto life," or a "savor of death unto death"
(II Corinthians 2:16-17). It burns "as a fire," it crushes "like a hammer," it slays "like an ax"
(Jeremiah 23:29; Hosea 6:5; Matthew 3:10). Since the Bible incorporates the Gospel, it is "the power of God unto salvation"
(Romans 1:16).
The Word of God is "piercing." It is "sharper than any two-edged sword," able to penetrate and scrutinize the innermost part of man's nature. It probes deeply the motives of the human heart, and enters where nothing else can.
The Word of God is "a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Literally (from kritikos), it is a critic, a keen judge of the heart's thoughts and considerations. It brings to view the secret movings of the inner man. It examines, distinguishes, and discriminates his thoughts and designs. It takes cognizance of his secret purposes and motives. It exhibits the internal character of man as by holding a mirror before his eyes for him to see the features of his heart. God's Word, with its quickening powers, can awaken the dead conscience and communicate life. The holy Scriptures are able to make a person "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus"
(II Timothy 3:15). This amazing power of the Word of God is a dramatic testimony to its supernatural source and infallibility.
For this you may be called a "Biblicist," but if you really believe, know, and appropriate the living Word, do not shrink from the designation any more than you would if you were called a "physicist" because you excelled in that realm.
The charge of "Bibliolatry" may also be leveled against you, but you need not flee unless you assign to Scripture properties which the Scripture itself does not claim, or unless you actually worship the Bible and allow it to stand between you and the Lord Jesus Christ. But if the Scripture brings you face to face with the Lord, as God intended it to do, then cherish it the more.
(end of pages 69-72)

When you take a stand for Christ
He stands with you

Chapter 15
THIS WORD IS CONSUMMATED IN A DIVINE PERSON
Luke 4:16-18,21; Luke 24:44; Hebrews 1:1-2
SPEAKING at the famed Northfield Conference in 1899, Dr. C.I. Scofield reportedly said, "Christianity is the religion of a Divine Person and of a Divine Book; and the Person and the Book are inseparable. Some there are in every age who endeavor to divorce Christ and the Bible. But apart from the Bible we should know nothing of Christ, and apart from Christ we should never understand the Bible."
Our Lord began His public ministry on earth by entering the synagogue at Nazareth, where He opened the Scriptures and read a portion from the prophet Isaiah
(Isaiah 61:1-2). This significant passage predicts the scope of Christ's teaching, healing, and delivering ministry. Luke tells us that the eyes of all "were fastened on him," suggesting the thought that they wondered questioningly. Could this really be He? Then the Lord quietly closed the book, and in a sublime way. He confronted them with Himself, saying, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears"
(Luke 4:16-21). This was indeed a dramatic moment in the history of the ages and in the exhibition of the Scriptures. The very Son of God, the long-promised Messiah, stood before them in human flesh.
The revelation of God reached its summit and consummation in Jesus Christ. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us"
(John 1:14). The eternal Logos (Word) was manifest in a human form in order to reveal God. This is summed up explicitly in the first three verses of the book of Hebrews, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son," who is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." This states that Christ is the voice of God speaking directly to men, and that He is the image of the invisible God. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"
(Colossians 2:9).
Furthermore,
Christ reflects the glory of God (John 1:14).
He reveals the power of God (John 3:2).
He exemplifies the wisdom of God (I Corinthians 1:24).
He is the very embodiment of truth (John 14:6).
He is the source of life (John 1:4).
Beyond all these, Christ demonstrates the love of God
(Romans 5:8; I John 3:16), which was so fully revealed in His death for our sins. He, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Colossians 2:3), walked among men, spoke in their tongue, and wrought miracles in showing them the things of the Father.
But He is no longer with us in that direct way as He was with the apostles. However, the Lord had fully instructed and commissioned them to preserve and perpetuate His revelation. He said, "ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning"
(John 15:27), and that the Holy Spirit shall "bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you"
(John 14:26). This is precisely what John did: He wrote down what he had "heard," what he had "seen," what he had "looked upon," and what he had "handled, of the Word of life"
(I John 1:1). Other apostles did the same under the ever-present witness of the Spirit
(John 15:26). Thus the revelation of the Lord in human flesh, as known by the apostles, was set forth and preserved for all generations in the inspired, inerrant Scriptures. We are, therefore, in possession of a glorious revelation from God which centers in His Son but which is embodied in the language of men. The Word was made flesh, as it were, and tabernacles among us.
This is true not of the New Testament alone, for Christ is also the theme and substance of the Old Testament Scriptures, of which He Himself said, "They are they which testify of me"
(John 5:39). In the same context. He reasoned with the unbelieving Jews, saying, "Moses. . . wrote of me"
(John 5:46). Following His resurrection, the Lord unmistakably identified Himself with the Old Testament Scriptures which were now being fulfilled and consummated in Him. He said, "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me"
(Luke 24:44).
The supreme purpose of God's revelation in His Son and in His Word is that men may truly behold and believe in the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"
(John 1:29). The Son of God continues to speak through the Word, which is the written witness of His life and ministry. The historic Christ can now be recognized and received only through the inspired testimony of the sacred Scriptures. Faith to embrace Christ as Saviour comes by hearing the Word of God
(Romans 10:17). The eternal Word is forever an inseparable part of the written Word. The Bible is Christ revealed; Christ is the Bible fulfilled. One cannot receive His Person and reject His Word.
It is highly instructive to observe how in one place it is said, "They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word," and in the very next verse, it says that Philip "preached Christ unto them"
(Acts 8:4-5). Preaching "the Word", and preaching "Christ" is used interchangeably in numerous places throughout the Book of Acts and the Epistles. It is not possible to preach Christ except by preaching the Word, and it is hardly possible to preach the Word without preaching Christ.
In each generation, until Christ returns, His voice shall continue to be heard in the message of the Scriptures "revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit"
(Ephesians 3:5). The closing book of the written Word leaves us with a picture of the living Christ where He continues to "knock" on human hearts, and where His voice may be heard: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me"
(Revelation 3:20).
"We trace His image on each page,
In holy letters lined with light,
Redeemer, Prophet, Priest and Sage�
Who finds His presence, reads aright."
�Author not known

(end of pages 73-77)
N. A. Woychuk, The Infallible Word, Miracle Press, St. Louis, Mo., 1970, pages 1-77.
Copyright �, 1963, by THE MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
Copyright assigned to Dr. N. A. Woychuk by Moody Bible Institute

Jesus says to you

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