Authority

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead | Category: The Holy Scriptures | Jan 1966

The claim of Holy Scripture to be "God's Word written" is unmistakable, and is asserted in terms which admit of no compromise. Nor can the claim be ignored. It has momentous and far-reaching implications which demand attention. Upon its validity the Christian faith is founded. During its long history many attempts have been made to undermine the authority of Holy Scripture as a trustworthy basis for faith and life. All these attempts have failed; the Bible remains, its power undiminished, to confound the critics and to challenge men of this generation with its message.

Many articles have appeared in these pages in past years affirming full belief in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety. There is no reason to retreat one step from this position. It is not that we consider it necessary to defend Scripture against the critics. Spurgeon's well-known comment is pertinent here, "Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion." But in view of the recent activity of certain critics, this seems an appropriate time to restate in these pages the case for Biblical authority. The attack on Scripture these days comes not only from agnostics and secularists but also from some who occupy prominent positions in the professing church. These men bear a heavy responsibility indeed. The man-in4he-street is perplexed, and the many turn aside from the authoritative witness of the Holy Scriptures to drift aimlessly, without settled convictions on spiritual and moral issues.

This article is the first of a series by various writers, which will appear in succeeding months, if the Lord will. We propose to examine afresh some of the evidence, largely from the Book itself, of the reliability of the Holy Scriptures as a basis for our faith and life. The subject is of more than mere academic interest. It is, literally, a question of life or death. As someone has said, "We are fighting for our all."

The Bible comprises a collection of writings written over a period of about 1600 years by men of different types under the most varied circumstances and, with few exceptions, without connexion with each other. Yet the more these writings are examined and compared the more evident it becomes that they are a harmonious whole, each part having affinity with the others. This is one important part of the evidence for the divine authority of the Bible which is largely overlooked by the critics. They regard Scripture as a miscellaneous collection of ancient writings and do not generally recognize its organic unity. Once recognized, this unity becomes a key to the understanding of the Book. The part which appears obscure in isolation becomes clear when viewed in relation to the whole plan of Scripture. Critics are unable to dispose of this vital element which is woven into the very fabric of the Sacred Writings.

It is sometimes alleged that there is incompatibility between the writings of the Old Testament and those of the New Testament. This superficial view fades once the real structure of Scripture is discerned. The Old Testament writers pointed on to the coming of the Christ. Their writings demanded a sequel. The New Testament writers regard what they record as the complement of the Old Testament. This relationship between the two main parts makes Scripture an organic whole. If one part is rejected then the other must also be discarded-they stand or fall together.

One important consideration arising from this relationship of the two Testaments is that their quality is the same. During our discussion of this subject we shall examine the evidence of our Lord Jesus Christ as to the authority of the Old Testament. His attitude to these writings, clearly revealed in the Gospels, will be taken as indicating the nature of the New Testament writings also. He affirmed that He was the Fulfiller of the Old Testament. He subjected Himself to its teaching, acknowledged its authority and expounded its truths. He instructed His hearers to revere and obey this written revelation of God, and directly commissioned His apostles to add to the body of revealed truth when the Holy Spirit had come upon them (John 14.26: 16.13,14). The New Testament writings, which bring to us the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, are the sell-evident sequel and authoritative completion of the Old Testament.

Before referring to some of the passages in the Gospels which reveal our Lord's attitude to the Old Testament, we emphasize the authority of His words on any matter about which He spoke. "My teaching", He said, "is not Mine, but His that sent Me" (John 7.16). Again, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away" (Mark 13.31). Further, "the Father which sent Me, He hath given Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12.49). Declarations such as these, and there are many others like them, must be borne in mind when we consider our Lord's testimony to the Old Testament. His claim to speak absolute truth lies at the very basis of the Christian faith. To question His utterances or to modify His words is to deny Him completely.

Within the limits of this short paper extensive quotation of our Lord's pronouncements on the Old Testament is not possible. Others have gathered together His impressive witness and, for further study, readers are referred to such works.* Frequently, when quoting Scripture, our Lord used the phrase "it is written", thus making the Old Testament writings the final court of appeal. During His temptation by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4; Luke 4) He confronted the tempter with quotations from the Old Testament prefaced by the words "it is written". It is important to observe the use He made of this phrase in His teaching (e.g. Mark 7.6; 11.17; 14.21,27). The implications are obvious.

*e.g. Our Lord's view of the Old Testament (Wenham).

Our Lord was often confronted by men steeped in the knowledge of the letter of the Old Testament. Not once did He discourage their acceptance of its authority although He reproved them for their failure to grasp its true meaning. "Ye search the Scriptures", He said to the Jews when they questioned His authority, "because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of Me" (John 5.39). "Have ye not read ?" (Matthew 19.4), He enquired of the Pharisees when they tried to corner Him on divorce, casting them back on Genesis 2.24 for the basic principles of marriage. When confronted by Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, He countered, "Is it not for this cause that ye err, that ye know not the Scriptures, nor the power of God?", and then proceeded to prove the fact of resurrection from a well-known Old Testament passage (Mark 12.24-27). These examples of our Lord's use of the Old Testament in His teaching are further evidence of the view He took of its authority.

And it is not only that our Lord used the Old Testament as basic in His teaching. More remarkable still, His whole life was inextricably interwoven with its prophecies and types. The wealth of detail in Old Testament prophecies and types provides a unique background to the Christian faith, confirming it with undeniable precision. Every detail of the Messianic prophecies and types relating to our Incarnate Lord was fulfilled. He was the Son of David and the Son of man; He was the Lamb and the Servant of Jehovah-all these titles originated in the Old Testament. His birth (Matthew 2.6), His preaching (Luke 4.18), His miracles (Matthew 8.17), His death and resurrection (Luke 24.46), and much else, were all "written" in the Old Testament. His whole life was devoted to the fulfilment of the written record whose authority He acknowledged. As our Lord reached the culmination of His work on earth, and the Cross cast its shadow over His path, the words of Holy Scripture were repeatedly on His lips. In the upper room (Luke 22.37), in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26.53-56), and on the Cross (John 19.28), the very words of these ancient writings were in His heart, guiding and sustaining Him. And after His triumphant resurrection His testimony to the authority of Scripture was endorsed in these unmistakable terms:

"Behoved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ... And He said unto them, These are My words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, how that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning Me. Then opened He their mind, that they might understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24.26,27,44A5).

To sum up: based on the massive witness of our Lord Jesus Christ the authority of the Old Testament is unassailable. The issue is clear: the veracity of the Old Testament and the Deity of our Lord stand or fall together. "The question, 'what think ye of the Old Testament?" resolves into the question, 'What think ye of Christ?' And our answer to the first proclaims our answer to the second" (Packer). This witness of our Lord to the Old Testament we take as applicable also to the New Testament. The apostles commissioned by Him regarded their writings as the same in character as Old Testament Scripture (2 Peter 3.15,16). They completed God's written revelation to man (Jude 3; Revelation 22.18,19): their writings were "the commandment of the Lord" (2 Peter 3.2). The New Testament was not to supersede the Old Testament but to fulfil it-both Testaments form an organic whole.

We are, then, in possession of the priceless treasure of a completed written Word of abiding authority, for Scripture is written for all time. All the attacks of critics have left the Book unscathed. We may still rest our full confidence on "the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture".

We conclude this short paper on the authority of Scripture on a note of challenge. Granted that the Book speaks with divine authority and power; what are we doing with it today? Does Scripture have in my life and yours the response its authority demands? We may be familiar with its contents and able to discuss its doctrines intelligently, but do we accept without question its testimony and bow unreservedly to its demands? These are questions of the greatest moment to ourselves and to the work of God in our time. In a climate of unbelief and departure from God's word, the promise stands:

"Thus saith the Lord ... to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at My word "(Isaiah 66.1,2).

Most wondrous Book! bright candle of the Lord!

Star of eternity! the only star

By which the bark of man can navigate

The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss

Securely; only star which rose on time,

And, on its dark and troubled billows, still

As generation, drifting slowly by,

Succeeded generation, threw a ray

Of heaven's own light, and, to the hills of God

The everlasting hills-pointed the sinner's eye.

(Pollok)