The Claim of the Bible
Even a casual reader of the
Bible will soon discover he is
reading a very unusual book.
Even though he may not accept
its claims, a careful and
reflective reading will
demonstrate, for most at least,
that this book is not only
unique, but makes some very
unique claims. The following are
a number of evidences that
support this uniqueness.
In hundreds of passages, the
Bible declares or takes the
position explicitly or
implicitly that it is nothing
less than the very Word of God.
Some thirty-eight
hundred times the Bible
declares, “God said,” or “Thus
says the Lord” (e.g. Ex. 14:1;
20:1; Lev. 4:1; Num. 4:1; Deut.
4:2; 32:48; Isa. 1:10, 24; Jer.
1:11; Ezek. 1:3; etc.). Paul
also recognized that the things
he was writing were the Lord’s
commandments (1 Cor. 14:37), and
they were acknowledged as such
by the believers (1 Thess.
2:13). Peter proclaimed the
certainty of the Scriptures and
the necessity of heeding the
unalterable and certain Word of
God (2 Pet. 1:16-21). John too
recognized that his teaching was
from God; to reject his teaching
was to reject God (1 John 4:6).17
For other passages which either
declare or assume the Bible as
God’s Word see Deuteronomy
6:6-9, 17-18; Joshua 1:8-9;
8:32-35; 2 Samuel 22:31; Ps.
1:2; 12:6; 19:7-11; 93:5; 119:9,
11, 18, 89-93, 130; Prov.
30:5-6; Matthew 5:17-19; 22:29;
Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; John
2:22; 5:24; 10:35; Acts 17:11;
Romans 10:17; Colossians 3:16; 1
Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy
2:15; 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25;
2 Peter 3:15-16; Revelation 1:2;
22:18.
But isn’t this a circular kind
of argument, and is that a valid
argument? In a court of law, the
accused has the right to testify
on his own behalf. That
testimony should be considered
in the light of the evidence. In
this case, the evidence, both
external and internal, strongly
supports the claims of the
Bible.
In response to
those who would reject the
above-mentioned argument, it
should be noted that the writers
who made those claims for the
Scripture were trustworthy men
who defended the integrity of
the Scripture at great personal
sacrifice. Jeremiah received his
message directly from the Lord (Jer.
11:1-3), yet because of his
defense of the Scripture some
attempted to kill him (Jer.
11:21); even his family rejected
him (Jer. 12:6). Counterfeit
prophets were readily recognized
(Jer. 23:21, 32; 28:1-17).
However, the Bible’s claims
should not be understood as
arguing in a circle or by
circular reasoning. The
testimony of reliable
witnesses—particularly of Jesus,
but also of others such as
Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel,
and Nehemiah in the Old
Testament, and John and Paul in
the New Testament—affirmed the
authority and verbal inspiration
of the Holy Scriptures.18
The ever present assumption of
the writers of the Bible is that
the Bible is the God-breathed
Word of God. A good illustration
is seen in Psalm 19:7-11 which
not only declares the Bible to
be the Word of God, but
identifies six perfections with
corresponding transformations of
human character that the Bible
will produce in those who study
and apply it in faith.
(1) The
continuity of the Bible.
One of the amazing facts about
the Bible is that though it was
written by a wide diversity of
authors (as many as 40) over a
period of 1600 years, from many
different locations and under a
wide variety of conditions, the
Bible is uniquely one book, not
merely a collection of sixty-six
books. Its authors came from all
walks of life. Some were kings,
some peasants, still others were
philosophers, fishermen,
physicians, statesmen, scholars,
poets, and farmers. They lived
in a variety of cultures, in
different experiences and often
were quite different in their
make up. Regardless of this
diversity, as one book, it is:
… bound together
by historical sequence, type and
antitype, prophecy and
fulfillment, and by the
anticipation, presentation,
realization, and exaltation of
the most perfect Person who ever
walked on earth and whose
glories are manifest in heaven.19
Enns has an interesting
comparison as it pertains to the
Bible’s continuity. He writes:
The divine origin
of the Bible is further seen in
considering the continuity of
its teaching despite the unusual
nature of its composition. It
stands distinct from other
religious writings. For example,
the Islamic Koran was compiled
by an individual, Zaid ibn
Thabit, under the guidance of
Mohammed’s father-in-law, Abu-Bekr.
Additionally, in A.D. 650, a
group of Arab scholars produced
a unified version and destroyed
all variant copies to preserve
the unity of the Koran. By
contrast, the Bible came from
some forty different authors
from diverse vocations in life.
For instance, among the writers
of Scripture were Moses, a
political leader; Joshua, a
military leader; David, a
shepherd; Solomon, a king; Amos,
a herdsman and fruit pincher;
Daniel, a prime minister;
Matthew, a tax collector; Luke,
a medical doctor; Paul, a rabbi;
and Peter, a fisherman.20
Summing up the significance of
the Bible’s continuity, Enns
writes,
It is apparent
that many of the writers did not
know of the other writers of
Scripture and were unfamiliar
with the other writings,
inasmuch as the writers wrote
over a period of more than
fifteen hundred years, yet the
Bible is a marvelous, unified
whole. There are no
contradictions or
inconsistencies within its
pages. The Holy Spirit is the
unifier of the sixty-six books,
determining its harmonious
consistency. In unity these
books teach the triunity of God,
the deity of Jesus Christ, the
personality of the Holy Spirit,
the fall and depravity of man,
as well as salvation by grace.
It quickly becomes apparent that
no human being(s) could have
orchestrated the harmony of the
teachings of the Scripture. The
divine authorship of the Bible
is the only answer.21
Speaking of the Bible as “a
phenomenon which is explainable
in but one way—it is the word of
God,” the late Dr. Lewis Sperry
Chafer wrote, “It is not such a
book as man would write if he
could, or could write if he
would.”22
It is beyond the scope of man’s
capacity to write a book like
the Bible under the conditions
describes above apart from its
divine origin.
(2) The Bible’s
revelation of God.
The
Bible’s revelation of God is
unique among all the religious
writings of either antiquity or
of more modern times. While the
Bible is a very ethical book, it
never divorces its code of
morality from a personal
relationship with the God of the
Bible, teaching that God’s laws
are not meant to hinder joy and
pleasure, but to enhance man’s
capacity to know and love God
and people. Morality is to be a
product of knowing and loving
the God of the Bible (Deut.
4:4-6; Matt. 22:36-40; Mark
12:28-31).
In addition, no other religious
writing presents both the
absolute holiness of God
combined with God’s love, mercy,
and grace that reaches out to
sinful man who has been
separated from God not only
because of man’s sin, but
because of God’s absolute
holiness. One of the great
revelations and themes of the
Bible is that which is expressed
by Isaiah, “holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3;
Hab. 1:13a).
While other contemporary writers
were primarily polytheistic, the
Bible is monotheistic. It
presents a monotheistic concept
of God rather than the
polytheism which was so flagrant
in the days when the Scriptures
were written. Furthermore, when
later holy books like the Koran
and others presented a
monotheistic concept of God, the
Bible remained unique because it
is the only book about God that
presents God as one (monotheism)
yet one in three persons, the
Triunity or Trinity. Indeed, the
Bible’s revelation of God is one
that is starkly different from
the ones depicted in all other
holy books whether of antiquity
or of modern times.
(3) The nature,
condition, and cure for man’s
sin.
Only the Bible
describes man’s condition in sin
as it really is and demonstrates
the impossibility for man to
deal with his sin and sinfulness
apart from God’s grace solution
in the person and death of His
Son. Every other religion in the
world, past and present, has man
seeking to obtain his own
salvation or gain God’s favor by
some form of human works or
religious activity. Only the
Bible presents a solution for
man’s sin that is truly life
changing, when properly embraced
and believed.
(4) The ethics
and morals of the Bible.
The ethics
and morals of the Bible cover
all areas of human conduct from
the home, the husband/wife
relationships, parent/child
relationships, to human conduct
in society as with employers and
employees, neighbors and
enemies, and the state and its
citizens. It covers morals on
all levels as well as business,
economic, and social spheres.
But as mentioned previously, the
ethics and morals of the Bible
are unique in that they are
always related to one’s belief
in the existence of God and
one’s relationship with Him; in
this way, the motives themselves
are judged. Ethics and morals
are never simply a matter of
outward conformity to the moral
standards of Scripture as other
religions or religious books do.
The emphasis of the Bible is
“search me O God, and know my
heart.”
(5) Fulfilled
prophecy.
Another amazing
illustration of the divine
origin and uniqueness of the
Bible is its many fulfilled
prophecies.
Throughout
Scripture, hundreds of
prophecies were made by Old
Testament writers concerning the
Messiah, the future kingdom on
earth, the restoration of Israel
as a nation, and their return to
their Promised Land. In the New
Testament also many predictions
are made of events to come. As
Scripture unfolds, about half of
these prophecies have already
been fulfilled, but others,
following the same pattern of
literal fulfillment, are subject
to fulfillment in the future.
The perfect precision of
prophecy extending to such
details as the place of Christ’s
birth, the character of His
execution, the very words He
would speak on the cross testify
to the absolute accuracy of the
Word of God. In Scripture,
prophecy is just as accurate as
history.23
(6) The Bible as Revelation
Beyond Human Comprehension.
The extent of
Bible revelation is beyond human
comprehension. 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 plans and purposes as
well as the hidden secrets of
the human heart. The Bible deals
as freely with things unknown as
it does with the known. It can
speak with complete freedom and
assurance about situations and
events outside the realm of
human experience. The Bible
knows no limits to the infinite
knowledge of God who guided its
writers. It permits its readers
to gaze on events in eternity
past as well as in eternity
future. The comprehension of
divine revelation is utterly
beyond the capacity of even the
most brilliant men unaided by
the Spirit of God.24
Other unique features of the
Bible that give evidence of its
divine origin are its types
and antitypes, its nature as
unique literature, its
scientific accuracy when
compared to true science, its
enduring freshness, and its
power to change lives.25
The Bible:
God’s Special Revelation
Definition of Revelation
The term revelation comes from
the Greek word apokalupsis,
which means “a disclosure” or
“an unveiling.” It is used in
the New Testament of the
disclosure of truth in general
(Luke 2:32; Rom. 16:25; Eph.
1:17), of the disclosure of a
specific area of truth (2 Cor.
12:1; Gal. 1:12; 2:2; Eph. 3:3),
of the second coming of Christ
(1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13;
4:13), and of the book of
Revelation (Rev. 1:1).
Theologically, Bible students
use this word to signify God’s
work of revealing Himself to
mankind through the various
sources of revelation as in
creation (Rom. 1:18-21; Ps. 19),
in providential acts (Acts
14:17; Rom. 8:28), in miracles
(John 20:30-31), through direct
acts of communication (Ex.
3:1-9; Acts 22:17-21), through
the person of Christ (John 1:14,
18), and through the Bible.
What then is revelation?
Thiessen defines it as:
… that act of God whereby he
discloses himself or
communicates truth to the mind;
whereby he makes manifest to his
creatures that which could not
be known in any other way. The
revelation may occur in a
single, instantaneous act, or it
may extend over a long period of
time; and this communication of
himself and his truth may be
perceived by the human mind in
varying degrees of fullness.26
Erickson defines
“revelation” as: “By special
revelation we mean God’s
manifestation of himself to
particular persons at definite
times and places, enabling those
persons to enter into a
redemptive relationship with
him.”27
The concept of revelation falls
into two principal divisions or
areas: (1) general, natural, or
original, and (2) special,
supernatural, or soteriological.
The first pertains to revelation
revealed through nature and
history, the second to what God
has revealed as He intervenes in
human history to reveal Himself
in supernatural ways.
General or Natural Revelation
By general revelation, we mean
revelation that is simply
general in its extent. Ryrie
explains:
General
revelation is exactly
that—general. It is general in
its scope; that is, it reaches
to all people (Matt. 5:45; Acts
14:17). It is general in
geography; that is, it
encompasses the entire globe
(Ps. 19:2). It is general in its
methodology; that is, it employs
universal means like the heat of
the sun (vv. 4-6) and human
conscience (Rom. 2:14-15).
Simply because it is a
revelation that thus affects all
people wherever they are and
whenever they have lived it can
bring light and truth to all,
or, if rejected, brings
condemnation.28
General
revelation comes to mankind in a
number of ways (creation, order
and design, the nature of man as
an intelligent being), but the
most obvious and powerful means
of general revelation is nature
or creation. As powerful and
universal as this is, however,
it is inadequate or has certain
limitations. It cannot tell us
about the love and grace of God
nor of His perfect holiness.
Furthermore, creation does not
tell us of God’s plan of
salvation nor how man may
procure that salvation. Still,
general revelation “is
nonetheless an important
antecedent to salvation. General
revelation is God revealing
certain truths and aspects about
His nature to all humanity,
which revelation is essential
and preliminary to God’s special
revelation.”29
Creation as a part of God’s
general revelation affirms
certain facts about God. Two key
passages emphasize God’s general
revelation in creation:
(1) Psalm 19:1-6
affirms (a) the heavens declare
the fact of God’s glory to the
human race throughout the earth
(vs. 1), (b) that this
revelation is constant,
occurring “day to day” and
“night to night” (vs. 2), that
(c) it is a nonverbal
revelation, “there is no speech,
nor are there words, their voice
is not heard,” (v. 3), and (d)
its scope is worldwide, “Their
line [sound] has gone out
through all the earth, And their
utterance to the end of the
world” (v. 4). “Being
unrestricted by the division of
languages, natural revelation
transcends human communication
without the use of speech,
words, and sounds. To those who
are inclined to hear, revelation
comes with no regard for
linguistic or geographical
barriers.”30
No one is
excluded from this revelation of
God. Wherever man peers at the
universe, there is orderliness.
At a distance of ninety-three
million miles from the earth,
the sun provides exactly the
right temperature environment
for man to function on earth.
Were the sun closer, it would be
too hot to survive, and were it
further away it would be too
cold for man to function. If the
moon were closer than two
hundred forty thousand miles the
gravitational pull of the tides
would engulf the earth’s surface
with water from the oceans.
Wherever man looks in the
universe, there is harmony and
order. Similarly, God has
revealed Himself on earth (v.
1). The magnificence of the
human body is perhaps the best
evidence of general revelation
on earth. The entire human
body—its cardiovascular system,
the bone structure, the
respiratory system, the muscles,
the nervous system including its
center in the brain—reveals an
infinite God.31
(2) Romans
1:18-21
develops the truth of general
revelation through creation even
further. It draws our attention
to four vital characteristics of
what the revelation of God in
creation does. (a) It is a clear
testimony, being clearly seen by
the things which are made (vss.
19 and 20). (b) The word
“understood” (noew, “of rational
reflection, inner contemplation,
perceive, apprehend,
understand …”)32
indicates this general
revelation goes beyond mere
perception; creation’s
revelation is such that it is
expected to result in reflection
so there is a conclusion drawn
about the Creator. (c) As Psalm
19 affirms, this testimony is
constant being witnessed “since
the creation of the world” (vs.
20). And (d) it is limited in
what it reveals; only certain
aspects about God’s invisible
qualities or nature are
revealed, specifically, “his
eternal power and divine
nature.”
As mentioned previously, to
learn of God’s love, grace, and
plan of salvation, one must turn
to God’s special revelation, the
Bible, and the revelation of His
Son (John 1:14, 18). Natural
revelation, however, is more
than sufficient to make mankind
responsible and to show he is
“without excuse” for his
indifference and failure to seek
to know God and to be thankful.
Providence and Human
Conscience
In addition to creation, God has
also revealed Himself to the
human race through His
providential goodness in the
world and through the human
conscience.
It is through His providential
goodness in supplying people
with sunshine and rain that
enables them to live and
function (Matt. 5:45; Acts
14:15-17). Paul reminds the
people at Lystra that God’s
providential goodness was a
witness to them (Acts 14:17).
God’s providential control is
also evident in His dealing with
the nations. He disciplined His
disobedient people Israel (Deut.
28:15-68) but will also restore
them (Deut. 30:1-10); He judged
Egypt for sinning against Israel
(Ex. 7-11); He raised the
nations to power and also caused
their demise (Dan. 2:21a,
31-43).
Further, God has revealed
Himself through conscience.
Romans 2:14-15 indicates God has
placed intuitional knowledge
concerning Himself within the
heart of man. “Man intuitively
knows not only that God values
goodness and abhors evil but
also that he is ultimately
accountable to such a righteous
Power.” (Bruce A. Demarest,
General Revelation: Historical
Views and Contemporary Issues,
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982,
p. 231.) While the Jews will be
judged according to the written
law, Gentiles, who do not have
the written Law, will be judged
according to an unwritten law,
the law of conscience written on
their hearts. Moreover, Paul
says the conscience acts as a
legal prosecutor (v. 15).
“Conscience may be regarded as
an inner monitor, or the voice
of God in the soul, that passes
judgment on man’s response to
the moral law within” (Ibid.,
pp. 232-33).33
While God has revealed Himself
in His creation, which gives us
general revelation about God,
and in the person of Jesus
Christ, which gives us
revelation of God incarnate, our
focus in bibliology is on the
revelation of God in the Bible,
the written Word of God. As
God’s Word the Bible reveals
much more about God than can be
known from nature or creation or
even through the person Christ.
Accordingly, the Bible may be
regarded as completing the
intended divine revelation of
God partially revealed in
nature, more fully revealed in
Christ, and completely revealed
in the written Word.
Special Revelation
The Nature of Special
Revelation
This section will examine how
God has revealed Himself in
special revelation. The nature
of this mode of revelation is
that it consists primarily of
words. The author of Hebrews
reminds us that God has made
Himself known by speaking long
ago to the fathers in the
prophets in many portions and in
many ways, and in these last
days has spoken to us in His
Son (Heb. 1:1-2a). There are
three elements to special
revelation: specific times,
specific modes, and specific
persons. Later, still dealing
with this special revelation
that reveals our “so great
salvation,” the author of
Hebrews says:
After it was at the first spoken
through the Lord, it was
confirmed to us by those who
heard, God also bearing witness
with them, both by signs and
wonders and by various miracles
and by gifts of the Holy Spirit
according to His own will (Heb.
1:1-2).
Again we see the same elements:
a specific mode (special
revelation embodied in words),
at a specific time
(during the life of Christ and
the apostles), and in
specific persons (those who
heard the Lord, His apostles
whose teaching or words were
confirmed by signs and wonders).
This was precisely in keeping
with Christ’s own words in John
16:12-15.
Special
revelation involves a narrower
focus than general revelation
and is restricted to Jesus
Christ and the Scriptures. Of
course, all that is known of
Christ is through the
Scriptures; therefore, it can be
said that special revelation is
restricted to the Scriptures.34
The Necessity of Special
Revelation
Why does man need special
revelation? Special revelation
is needed because of man’s blind
and sinful condition caused by
his fall as recorded in Genesis
3, a blindness that is made even
stronger by the blinding
activity of Satan (cf. Eph.
4:17-19 with 2 Cor. 4:4). This
necessitated the need for
special revelation so God could
reveal Himself and His plan of
salvation that man in turn might
be reconciled from his condition
of alienation and restored to
fellowship with God.
God’s special revelation of
Himself centers in the Person of
Jesus Christ as the only One who
fully reveals both God and His
plan of salvation; Jesus is the
heart and testimony of Scripture
in its promises and fulfillment
and the means of salvation (John
1:14, 18; 3:16-18; 6:63; 14:6;
Heb. 1:3; 2:3; Rev. 19:10).
In addition to the above, man
needs special revelation for two
more important reasons. First,
so he correctly interpret the
truths revealed in general
revelation, and second, because
these general truths are very
limited. As is obvious from the
many religions of the world, man
consistently misinterprets what
he can learn from creation or
providence. Therefore, man
desperately needs God’s special
or supernatural revelation.
The Avenues of Special
Revelation
Drawing on his knowledge of the
Old Testament and the testimony
of those who had personally
heard the Lord Jesus, the author
of Hebrews speaks of the various
ways God has spoken to reveal
Himself in history through the
prophets and then through His
Son who is the very outshining
of God (Heb. 1:1-2). Ryrie gives
us an excellent summary of the
various avenues God has used to
reveal Himself.
A. The Lot: While today we would
not highly regard the use of the
lot, it did serve sometimes to
communicate the mind of God to
man (Prov. 16:33; Acts 1:21-26).
B. The Urim and Thummim: The
breastplate which the high
priest wore in the Old Testament
was a square piece of beautiful
material which was folded in
half and open at the top like a
pouch. It was adorned with
twelve precious stones on which
were engraved the names of the
twelve tribes of Israel. The
Urim and Thummim possibly were
two precious stones placed
inside the pouch which were
used, like the lot, to determine
God’s will (Ex. 28:30, Num.
27:21, Deut. 33:8; 1 Sam. 28:6,
Ezra 2:63).
C. Dreams: God apparently used
dreams to communicate many times
during the Old Testament period,
and He will do so again at the
time of the second coming of
Christ (Gen. 20:3, 6; 31:11-13,
24; 40-41; Joel 2:28).
Nonbelievers as well as
believers experienced God-given
dreams (Gen. 20:3; 31:24).
Though a common experience,
dreams were used by God in this
special way to reveal truth.
D. Visions: In a vision the
emphasis seems to be on what is
heard, while in a dream, on what
is seen. Also the human being
involved seems to be more active
in receiving a vision (Isa. 1:1;
6:1; Ezek. 1:3).
E. Theophanies: Before the
Incarnation, theophanies were
associated with the appearance
of the Angel of the Lord who
communicated the divine message
to people (Gen. 16:7-14; Ex.
3:2; 2 Sam. 24:16; Zech. 1:12).
F. Angels: God also uses created
angels to carry His message to
people (Dan. 9:20-21, Luke
2:10-11, Rev. 1:1). (Notice Rev.
19:17 where God will use an
angel to communicate to birds!)
G. The Prophets: Old Testament
prophets brought God’s message
to mankind (2 Sam. 23:2; Zech.
1:1) as did New Testament
prophets (Eph. 3:5). They spoke
with authority because they were
communicating the Word of the
Lord. A preacher or teacher
today does not qualify as a
prophet since he proclaims or
explains God’s Word, previously
given and encoded.
H. Events: God’s activity in
history also constitutes a
channel of revelation.
Delivering the people of Israel
from Egypt revealed the
righteous acts of the Lord,
according to Micah 6:5. Acts of
judgment reveal who God is
(Ezek. 25:7). And, of course,
the incarnation of Christ
exegeted God (John 1:14). It
does not go without saying today
that these events have to be
historical and factual in order
also to be communicative; for
today some are putting
existential faith before the
historical. In other words, they
are attempting to create
revelation apart from historical
facts. Such existential
historiography was never a part
of the framework of the biblical
writers.
Not only must the events be
historical, but they also need
to be interpreted through divine
inspiration if we are to
understand accurately their
meaning. For example, many
people were crucified; how do we
know that the crucifixion of one
Jesus of Nazareth paid for the
sins of the world? The Word of
special revelation clarifies and
correctly interprets the
obscurity of the meaning of
events.
I. Jesus Christ: Undebatably the
incarnation of Jesus Christ was
a major avenue of special
revelation. He exegeted the
Father (John 1:14), revealing
the nature of God (14:9), the
power of God (3:2), the wisdom
of God (7:46), the glory of God
(1:14), the life of God (1 John
1:1-3), and the love of God
(Romans 5:8). Our Lord did all
this by both His acts (John
2:11) and His words (Matt.
16:17).
J. The Bible: Actually the Bible
serves as the most inclusive of
all the avenues of special
revelation, for it encompasses
the record of many aspects of
the other avenues. Though God
undoubtedly gave other visions,
dreams, and prophetic messages
that were not recorded in the
Bible, we know no details of
them. Too, all that we know
about the life of Christ appears
in the Bible, though, of course,
not all that He did or said was
recorded in the Scriptures (John
21:25). But the Bible is not
simply the record of these other
revelations from God; it also
contains additional truth not
revealed, for example, through
the prophets or even during the
earthly life of Christ. So the
Bible, then, is both the record
of aspects of special revelation
and revelation itself.
The revelation in the Bible is
not only inclusive yet partial,
it is also accurate (John
17:17), progressive (Heb. 1:1),
and purposeful (2 Tim. 3:15-17).
Two approaches
exist as to the credibility of
the scriptural revelation.
Fideists insist that the
Scripture and the revelation it
contains is self-authenticating,
that is, autopistic. The
infallibility of the Bible must
be presupposed and can be
because the Scripture says it is
inspired and the Spirit
accredits it. Empiricists, on
the other hand, stress the
intrinsic credibility of the
revelation of the Bible as being
worthy of belief, that is,
axiopistic. The Bible’s claim to
authority is not in itself proof
of its authority; rather there
exist factual, historical
evidences which constitute the
Bible’s credentials and validate
the truth of its message. My
feeling is that there is truth
in both approaches so that both
can and should be used.35
17 Ibid, p. 154.
18 Ibid.
19 Chafer, p. 52.
20 Enns, pp. 154-155.
21 Enns, p. 155.
22 Lewis Sperry Chafer,
Systematic Theology, Vol 1,
Kregel, Grand Rapids, 1947-48,
p. 22.
23 Lewis Sperry Chafer
Systematic Theology, Vol. 1,
Abridged Edition, Walvoord,
Campbell, Zuck, p. 53.
24 Ibid., p. 51.
25 For further reading on these
and the features mentioned above
see Chafer’s Systematic
Theology, pp. 22-36, or the
Abridged Edition of Chafer’s
Theology by Walvoord, Zuck,
and Campbell, pp. 48-55.
26 Henry Clarence Thiessen,
Introductory Lectures in
systematic Theology,
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI,
1949, p. 31.
27 Millard J. Erickson,
Christian Theology, Baker
Book House, Grand Rapids, 1983,
p. 175.
28 Charles C. Ryrie, Basic
Theology, Victor Books,
Wheaton, IL, 1987, electronic
media.
29 Enns, p. 156.
30 NIV Bible Commentary,
Kenneth Barker & John
Kohlenberger III, Consulting
Editors, Zondervan Publishing
House, Grand Rapids, 1994,
electronic media.
31 Enns, pp. 156, 158.
32 Walter Bauer, F. Wilbur
Gingrich, and Frederick W.
Danker, A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature,
University of Chicago Press,
Chicago, 1979, electronic
version.
33 Enns, p. 158.
34 Enns, p. 158.
35 Charles C. Ryrie, Basic
Theology, Victor Books,
Wheaton, IL, 1987, electronic
media.