The Scriptures and Authority
Chapter 1: Of the Holy Scriptures
5. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
This is such an important paragraph in this chapter of the WCF! An not only important, but masterfully crafted; in this chapter the Westminster Assembly lists those qualities of the scriptures themselves which give evidence that they are indeed the Word of God. Before we dive into those qualities, note that the Assembly doesn't completely throw out the voice of the church on the matter--but not a voice of ultimate authority over the scriptures, but the voice of one bearing witness and exhorting people to hold the scriptures in high and reverent esteem. And this is important aspect of the church's work: if we are not directing people to the scriptures, but are instead training people to listen to and depend on the teachings and opinions of me, we are failing miserably at our job. As a pastor and elder, it isn't my job to encourage you to hang on my every word, but to hang on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Following that, the Assembly points to the qualities of the scriptures themselves; it is an excellent and important list which highlights many of the divine qualities of the Scriptures which makes them stand out among any other human writing, including those attempted forgeries attempting to be scripture. Recently I led a group through a discussion of this paragraph, and it took us several weeks to get through the list of these qualities alone! But it is time well spent, therefore I want to take you through this list piece by piece now.
The heavenliness of the matter. When we speak of something being heavenly, we typically mean that it is of excellent quality: "that chocolate cake was simply heavenly" we might say. However, this is not quite what the Assembly meant when they refer to "the heavenliness of the matter" as an indicator of the Bible's divine source. Rather, this description refers to the quality and nature of the subject matter--it is something transcendent and above the capabilities of man. R.C. Sproul comments on this, saying: "...I found when reading Scripture that in a very real sense I, rather than the text, was the object of criticism. The Bible was criticizing me more than I was able to criticize it." (Truths We Confess, pg.16). The Heavenliness of the matter refers to the subject and content of the Scriptures which is beyond the scope of men to invent, and certainly beyond the scope of men to comprehend, unless God Himself reveals it to them. Just consider, which religious claims made by men come close to the content of the scriptures concerning a God who is both perfect in holiness and righteousness, yet who Himself offers a plan of salvation solely through His unmerited grace? All other religions talk about what man can do to save himself (if they even talk about the need to do anything at all). Or consider the so called "gods" of other religions. Typically they are an expression of the hearts and desires of human beings rather than being any sort of expression of true knowledge of divine matters. Even those religions that claim to be close to Christianity show themselves to be counterfeits when they deny one of the core doctrines of the Bible: the Trinity. It is one of the more challenging teachings of scripture, yet those who refuse to submit themselves in truth to the Bible are quick to reject it, because it does not fit into their fleshly and worldly ideas of who God is. Indeed, the Bible alone declares a God and a world that is so offensive to the flesh of fallen humanity that it is rejected and not tolerated, even among those who claim to be religious but are really seeking to exalt themselves.
The efficacy of the doctrine speaks of the capability of the teaching of the Scriptures to accomplish God's purpose both in the church and in the heart of the individual believer. First and foremost, the Scriptures are the means through which a person comes to a saving knowledge of the truth, as the Holy Spirit works by and through the Word of God to give new life and faith. He declares this in Romans when He says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans: 1:16, ESV). Elsewhere he speaks of the hearing of the Word of God as the means through which a person comes to faith (Romans 10:17). Not only this, but the scriptures are effectual in the life of the believer to produce obedience, and equip them to walk before their Lord and Savior: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). The Bible is full of testimonies concerning the efficacy of the scriptures teachings for those who heed it in faith (Psalm 1, Psalm 119, James 1:21), therefore not only is it necessary for the Christian to be a student of God's Word, it is a blessing beyond measure to have access to this book! How do you make use of this blessing given to you?
The majesty of the style. There is a book called "The Christian in Complete Armor" by William Gurnall. It is a collection of sermons which are focused on the teachings of Ephesians 6:10-18, concerning the full armor of God. And it is a massive work! My copy of this book is 600 pages and that is will a relatively small font! Granted Gurnall was a puritan, and that means that when a subject was discussed, it was discussed exhaustively, but consider that; it took 600 pages for a preacher to unfold what the Word of God says in 9 verses containing 201 words in English! The scriptures are a masterful work teaching high and heavenly matters in a way that is approachable for any sincere student. The Word of God has been made to communicate God and His way of Salvation to any reader, in any language in any time and place. Take the Psalms for example: unlike English poetry which often times leans heavily on timing, and rhyming schemes, the impact of Hebrew poetry relies on the pictures it paints with words, therefore the Psalms are just as impactful in English, or Spanish, or German as they are in the original language.
The consent of all the parts. Part of the majesty of the style of the Scriptures is their unity. From beginning to end, there is a wholeness to the book that is amazing given the fact that it was written over a span of 1,600 years by around 36 authors. Now there are several ways one can consider the consent of all the parts of scripture; the first is what has already been discussed, concerning the coherency of all the teachings.
Following that, the Assembly points to the qualities of the scriptures themselves; it is an excellent and important list which highlights many of the divine qualities of the Scriptures which makes them stand out among any other human writing, including those attempted forgeries attempting to be scripture. Recently I led a group through a discussion of this paragraph, and it took us several weeks to get through the list of these qualities alone! But it is time well spent, therefore I want to take you through this list piece by piece now.
The heavenliness of the matter. When we speak of something being heavenly, we typically mean that it is of excellent quality: "that chocolate cake was simply heavenly" we might say. However, this is not quite what the Assembly meant when they refer to "the heavenliness of the matter" as an indicator of the Bible's divine source. Rather, this description refers to the quality and nature of the subject matter--it is something transcendent and above the capabilities of man. R.C. Sproul comments on this, saying: "...I found when reading Scripture that in a very real sense I, rather than the text, was the object of criticism. The Bible was criticizing me more than I was able to criticize it." (Truths We Confess, pg.16). The Heavenliness of the matter refers to the subject and content of the Scriptures which is beyond the scope of men to invent, and certainly beyond the scope of men to comprehend, unless God Himself reveals it to them. Just consider, which religious claims made by men come close to the content of the scriptures concerning a God who is both perfect in holiness and righteousness, yet who Himself offers a plan of salvation solely through His unmerited grace? All other religions talk about what man can do to save himself (if they even talk about the need to do anything at all). Or consider the so called "gods" of other religions. Typically they are an expression of the hearts and desires of human beings rather than being any sort of expression of true knowledge of divine matters. Even those religions that claim to be close to Christianity show themselves to be counterfeits when they deny one of the core doctrines of the Bible: the Trinity. It is one of the more challenging teachings of scripture, yet those who refuse to submit themselves in truth to the Bible are quick to reject it, because it does not fit into their fleshly and worldly ideas of who God is. Indeed, the Bible alone declares a God and a world that is so offensive to the flesh of fallen humanity that it is rejected and not tolerated, even among those who claim to be religious but are really seeking to exalt themselves.
The efficacy of the doctrine speaks of the capability of the teaching of the Scriptures to accomplish God's purpose both in the church and in the heart of the individual believer. First and foremost, the Scriptures are the means through which a person comes to a saving knowledge of the truth, as the Holy Spirit works by and through the Word of God to give new life and faith. He declares this in Romans when He says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans: 1:16, ESV). Elsewhere he speaks of the hearing of the Word of God as the means through which a person comes to faith (Romans 10:17). Not only this, but the scriptures are effectual in the life of the believer to produce obedience, and equip them to walk before their Lord and Savior: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV). The Bible is full of testimonies concerning the efficacy of the scriptures teachings for those who heed it in faith (Psalm 1, Psalm 119, James 1:21), therefore not only is it necessary for the Christian to be a student of God's Word, it is a blessing beyond measure to have access to this book! How do you make use of this blessing given to you?
The majesty of the style. There is a book called "The Christian in Complete Armor" by William Gurnall. It is a collection of sermons which are focused on the teachings of Ephesians 6:10-18, concerning the full armor of God. And it is a massive work! My copy of this book is 600 pages and that is will a relatively small font! Granted Gurnall was a puritan, and that means that when a subject was discussed, it was discussed exhaustively, but consider that; it took 600 pages for a preacher to unfold what the Word of God says in 9 verses containing 201 words in English! The scriptures are a masterful work teaching high and heavenly matters in a way that is approachable for any sincere student. The Word of God has been made to communicate God and His way of Salvation to any reader, in any language in any time and place. Take the Psalms for example: unlike English poetry which often times leans heavily on timing, and rhyming schemes, the impact of Hebrew poetry relies on the pictures it paints with words, therefore the Psalms are just as impactful in English, or Spanish, or German as they are in the original language.
The consent of all the parts. Part of the majesty of the style of the Scriptures is their unity. From beginning to end, there is a wholeness to the book that is amazing given the fact that it was written over a span of 1,600 years by around 36 authors. Now there are several ways one can consider the consent of all the parts of scripture; the first is what has already been discussed, concerning the coherency of all the teachings.