A PASSION FOR THE WORD OF GOD

Authority of the Word of God

"The Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth ans said, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth" (Dan. 1:9)

In order for one to be able to experience the full and complete impact of the Bible, the authority of Scripture must first be acknowledged. The moment a person acknowledges this authority the Bible no longer just a book, but has the voice of God imprinted in its pages.

To acknowledge the authority of the Word of God means accepting it as the Word of God that is at work in everyone who believes, (1 Thessalonians 2:13).  At this point we need to define just what it means to believe: as a verb without object- to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: as a verb with an object, [this would be the Bible; Whom Jesus says He is], to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.

When one says, "I believe", that person is saying they are convinced, are of the conviction that they know that object or person is the "truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."  Let it be known that the conviction to believe is not that one is convinced by another or themselves, but it is God Himself who draws one to the truth (John 6:44)

Peter in his second letter to the believers, (and subsequently to all believers past and future), made four (4) points concerning the Old Testament, which remember is all the early believers had then:

• Scripture did not come about due to the prophet's own interpretation;
• Scripture did not originate out man;s own will;
• The writers of Scripture spoke from God;
• The writers of Scripture were guided, carried away by the Holy Spirit.

Peter establishes the old Testament as God's Word, anchored in the will of God.  Jesus regarded the Old Testament in its entirety to be the Word of God; to be infallible and the key people and events to be historical facts, among them:

•  Abraham (Matt. 8:11)
• Moses (Mark 12:26)
• Adam & Eve (Matt. 19:4,5)
• David (Matt. 12L3-4)
• Solomon (Matt. 6:29; 12:42)
• Daniel (Matt. 24:15)
• Jonah (Matt. 12:39-41)

In His confrontations with Satan Jesus submitted to the authority of the Word of God - He used Scripture as His sole authority when countering the temptations of the devil.  Seventy years after Jeremiah dictated his writings to Baruch, his secretary/scribe, the words he spoke were regarded as Scripture by Daniel.  The writers of what is the Old Testament were very conscious that they were not writing nor speaking their own words, but the words of God Himself - (Dan. 9:2; Exodus 4:11-12; 2 Samuel 23:2; Jeremiah 1:9)