Understanding the Bible (The Word of God)
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Introduction
The interest of this section of the paper us to share views of what the bible holds in terms of authority. The topic to be discussed is, does the bible have authority? The first stance in explaining the meaning of the word authority. Authority means the power needed to determine, solve, settle or evaluate disputes or problems in the society. Authority can also be expressed as the supremacy to command, control or determine issues. This authority can come from a teacher, principal, pastor, or anyone else who can command or control something or someone (Lamoureux, 2010).
According to the bible, authority is the moral or legal right to exercise power that is rightly or deliberately possessed. The bible is noted to be one of the most important or significant books in the history of civilization. Based on the Jewish history, the bible impacts on religion, history, and politics is without comparison. Hand on hand with the covenant legitimacy of the church of Christ, the bible’s political impact is indicated through prophetic politics and power of kings and the impacts of political authority. Biblical archaeologist have noted that biblical structures support historical validity of the Bible.
The Bible’s impact on politics and religion have shaped the world that human beings live in the contemporary society. The fact that the bible has been on the world for a substantial extent of time and has not been destroyed, despite the fact that there have been various attempts made to destroy it, this is an enduring power of the Holy Word of God (McKee, 2010). Many people have lost their lives while preserving and protecting this collection of books. This offers evidence that the Bible is not only a sign of Godly actions, but also a sign of authority.
When the bible is referred to as inspired doctrine, it means that God divinely influence the authors of the Scriptures in a way that what the writing were truly the Words of God. In a spiritual context, the word inspiration means Godly divined. Thus, inspiration means that the Bible is the Word of God. Hence, this attributes that the Bible will remain as an exceptional book in past and contemporary history.
Although there are diverse views to the degree to which the Bible is said to be inspired, there is no question or doubt that each word written in the Bible come from God (Corinthians 2:12-13). This part of the scripture is known as oral full inspiration; means that the inspiration extends to the words themselves not ideas or concepts and that the value of inspiration covers all the parts of the Scriptures. Most people consider that only some parts of the Bible are inspired, but these views fall short of the claims offered by the Bible. Another example that shows that the Bible is inspired can be seen in 2 Timothy 3:16; the Bible is God-breathed and is an important tool for correcting, teaching, and training. This means that God inspired all the Scriptures.
My definition of inerrancy is that the Bible is one of the perfect Words that God has shown mankind, and human difference to this definition mean that human beings do not understand or comprehend the Words of God. According to Proverbs 30:5, every word of God is unique and pure. Elwell books four arguments of inerrancy. First, the Bible defines its exceptional inerrancy via 2 Timothy 3:16. Secondly, God offers a way that his Word can be differentiated from those of false prophets or gods Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Thirdly, the Bible (the word of God) has his authority; John 10: 34-35 and fourth, the Scripture is presented in a way to the support inerrancy (Mohler, 2010). The Epistemological Argument is considered to be the strongest since it not only say that one mistake in the Bible means that the whole Bible is wrong, but it also challenge the bible if one of the parts is noted to be false (Elwell, 157-159).
The affiliation between inspiration and inerrancy is that the inspiration is noted to support the inerrancy. Human beings believe that the undertaking of God is perfect. Christians also believe that the Bible is God-breathed. God is an exceptional person, and the Bible is a result of this perfectness (Plummer, 2010).
Conclusion
The implications of my views on inerrancy, inspiration and authority of Gods and his Words is that it has enhanced my understanding the scripture better. I will inform other Christians about the worthiness of his Word.
Reference
Elwell, W. A. (Ed.). (1993). Handbook of Evangelical Theologians (Vol. 6). Baker Publishing Group (MI).
Lamoureux, D. O. (2010). The Erosion of Biblical Inerrancy, or Toward a More Biblical View of the Inerrant Word of God?. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 62, 133-138.
McKee, E. (2010). Calvin’s doctrine of Biblical authority. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Mohler, R. A. (2010). The inerrancy of Scripture: the fifty years’ war… and counting.
Plummer, R. L. (2010). 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. Kregel Academic.
