The Bible: Is It From Heaven Or Of Men?

Uplook – January 2023 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Bible:
Is It From Heaven Or Of Men?

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. —2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

What precious words! If only they were more thoroughly understood in our day. It is of the utmost importance that the Lord’s people be rooted, grounded and settled in the grand truth of the plenary – meaning “absolute, complete or full” – inspiration of Holy Scripture.

Laxity as to this most weighty subject is spreading in the professing Church to an appalling extent. In many quarters it has become fashionable to pour contempt upon the idea of plenary inspiration, being looked at as childish and ignorant. Many regard this view as a great proof of profound scholarship, breadth of mind, and original thinking; then they presume to sit in judgment on the Bible as though it were a mere human composition. They undertake to pronounce what is and what is not worthy of God. In fact, they virtually sit in judgment on God Himself.

The present result is as might be expected: utter darkness and confusion for false teachers and those who foolishly listen to them. As for the future, who can conceive the eternal destiny of all who will have to answer before Christ, the Judge of all, for the sin of blaspheming the Word of God and leading people astray by their unscriptural teaching?

We will not, however, dwell on the sinful folly of many – even though called “Christians” – or their efforts to cast dishonor on that peerless volume which our gracious God has caused to be written for our learning. They will find out their fatal mistake; God grant it may not be too late! As for us, let it be our deep joy and consolation to meditate on the Word of God. May we ever discover fresh treasure and new moral glories in that heavenly revelation, which speaks as if it were written expressly for us. There is nothing like Scripture.

Relevance
If you could lay your hand on another writing thousands of years old, what would you find? It would be a curious relic of antiquity, having no application whatever to us or to our time.

The Bible, on the contrary, is the book for today. It is God’s book, His perfect revelation, His own voice speaking to each one of us. This Book is for every age, place, class and condition – high and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, old and young. It speaks in a language so simple that a child can understand it, and yet so profound that the greatest intellect cannot exhaust it. Moreover, it speaks to the heart, touches the deepest springs of our moral being, goes down to the hidden roots of thought and feeling in the soul, and judges us thoroughly. In a word, it “is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

Notice the marvelous comprehensiveness of the Bible’s range. It deals as accurately and forcibly with the habits and customs, the manners and maxims of our day in the Christian era as with those of the very earliest ages of human existence. The Word displays a perfect acquaintance with people in every stage of history. Our large cities, as Tyre of 3,000 years ago, are mirrored with precision and faithfulness. Human life in every stage of its development is portrayed by a master hand in what God has graciously penned for our learning.

What a privilege to possess such a book – to have in our hands a divine revelation! Every line is given by inspiration of God! It has a divinely given history of the past, the present and the future!

Opposition
But, this Book judges man – his ways and heart. It tells him the truth about himself. Hence man does not like God’s Book. An unconverted person prefers to read other things than even one chapter in the New Testament. Therefore we see a constant effort to pick holes in God’s blessed Book. Unbelievers in every age and class have labored hard to find flaws and contradictions in Holy Scripture.

The determined enemies of the Word of God are to be found not only in the ranks of the vulgar, the coarse and the demoralized, but among the educated, refined and cultured. In the days of the apostles “certain lewd fellows of the baser sort” (Acts 17:5) and “devout and honorable women” (13:50) – two classes far removed from each other, socially and morally – found a point in which they could heartily agree. It was the utter rejection of the Word of God and of those who faithfully preached it. Even now we ever find that people who differ in almost everything else agree in their determined opposition to the Bible. Other books are left alone, but the Bible they cannot endure because it exposes them and tells them the truth about themselves and the world to which they belong.

Was it not exactly the same with the living Word – the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ – when He was here among men? Men hated Him because He told them the truth. His ministry, His words, His ways, His whole life were a standing testimony against the world; hence their bitter and persistent opposition. Other men were allowed to pass on, but He was watched and waylaid at every turn. The great leaders and guides of the people sought to “entangle Him in His talk” (Mt. 22:15), to find occasion against Him in order that they might deliver Him to the power and authority of the governor.

Thus it was during His marvelous life and at its close. When the blessed One was nailed to the cross between two criminals, those other two were let alone. There were no insults heaped upon them; the chief priests and elders did not wag their heads at them. No. All the insults, all the mockery, all the coarse and heartless vulgarity – all were heaped upon the divine Occupant of the center cross.

It is well to thoroughly understand the real source of opposition to the Word of God as it will enable us to estimate its true worth. The Devil hates the Word of God with a perfect hatred. Therefore he employs learned but deceived individuals to write that the Bible is not God’s Word. They declare it cannot be, claiming mistakes and discrepancies are in it. Such writers also fault the Old Testament laws and institutions, habits and practices as being unworthy of a gracious and benevolent Being.

To all this form of argument we have one brief and pointed reply: these unbelievers know nothing whatever about the matter. They may be very learned, very clever, very deep and original thinkers, knowledgeable in general literature and very competent to give an opinion on any subject within the domain of natural and moral philosophy and science. Moreover, they may be very amiable in private life, estimable characters, kind, benevolent and philanthropic – beloved in private and respected in public. All this they may be, but being unconverted and not having the Spirit of God, they are wholly unfit to form, much less to give, a judgment on the subject of Holy Scripture. No one has any right to offer an opinion on a matter with which he is unacquainted. This is an admitted principle on all hands, and therefore its application in the case now before us cannot justly be called in question.

First Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” This is conclusive. The verse speaks of man in his natural state, unconverted and destitute of the Spirit of God, be he a learned philosopher or an ignorant clown. He cannot know the things of the Spirit of God; how then can he form or give a judgment as to the Word of God? How can he say what is or what is not worthy of God to write? And if he is audacious enough to do so, who will be foolish enough to listen to him? His arguments are baseless; his theories worthless; his writings only fit for the trash. In this way we dispose of all the views of godless writers. It is only by the Spirit who Himself inspired the Holy Scriptures that they can be understood and appreciated.

Reception
The Word of God must be received upon its own authority. God has given us a revelation, and it has to be absolutely perfect in every respect. Being such, it must be entirely beyond the range of human judgment, for man is no more competent to judge Scripture than he is to judge God. The Scriptures judge man, not man the Scriptures. This makes all the difference.

We might perhaps look for a little modesty were it not that we are fully aware of the bitter animus, or hostility, which lies at the root of writings against the Word of God. Other books may have a dispassionate examination, but the precious book of God is approached with the foregone conclusion that it is not a divine revelation. They tell us God could not give us a written revelation of His mind. How strange! Men can give us a revelation of their thoughts, but God cannot? What folly!

Their wish in this case is assuredly father to the thought. The question raised by the old serpent in the garden of Eden 6,000 years ago has been passed on from age to age by all sorts of skeptics, rationalists and infidels, namely, “Hath God said?” (Gen. 3:1). We reply with intense delight, “Yes, blessed be His holy name!” He has spoken – spoken to us. He has revealed His mind; He has given us the Holy Scriptures. We read: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

The Lord be praised for such words! They assure us that all Scripture is given by God to us. Precious is the link between the soul and God. What tongue can tell of its value? His Word is a rock against which all the waves of unbelieving thought are dashed in contemptible powerlessness, leaving the Word in its own divine strength and eternal stability. Nothing can touch the Word of God. Not all the powers of earth and hell can ever move it. There it stands in its own moral glory from age to age. “Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven” (Ps. 119:89). “Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name” (138:2).

Here lies the deep secret of peace. The heart is linked to the throne, yea, to the very heart of God, by means of His most precious Word and is thus put in possession of a peace which the world can neither give nor take away. What can all the worldly theories, reasonings and arguments do to the one trusting God’s Word? Nothing. The things of the world are considered as dust of the threshing floor. The one who has really learned through grace to confide in the Word of God, to rest on the authority of Scripture, will view all the infidel books as utterly worthless. They will leave Scripture where it ever has been and ever will be: “settled in heaven” – as immovable as the throne of God.

The assaults of ungodly individuals cannot touch the throne of God, neither can they touch His Word; and blessed be His name, neither can they touch the peace which flows through the heart that rests on that imperishable foundation. “Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them” (119:165). “The word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isa. 40:8). “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth away: but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Pet. 1:24-25). Here we have the same precious golden link again. The Word which has reached us in the form of glad tidings is the word of the Lord which “endureth forever.”

Therefore our salvation and our peace are as stable as the Word on which they are founded. If all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass, then what are the arguments of godless men worth? They are as worthless as withered grass or a faded flower. Oh! the sinful folly of arguing against the Word of God – arguing against the only thing in all this world that can give rest and consolation to the poor, weary human heart – arguing against that which brings the glad tidings of salvation to poor lost sinners – brings them fresh from the heart of God!

Assurance
We may perhaps here be met by the question so often raised: “How are we to know that the book which we call the Bible is the Word of God?” Our answer to this question is a very simple one. The One who has graciously given us this blessed Book can give us the certainty that it is from Him. The same Spirit who inspired the various writers of the Holy Scriptures can make us know that those Scriptures are the very voice of God speaking to us. It is only by the Spirit that anyone can discern this. If the Holy Spirit does not make us know and give us the certainty that the Bible is the Word of God, no man or body of men can possibly do it. And if He gives us the blessed certainty, we do not need the testimony of man.

We freely admit that on this great question a shadow of uncertainty would be positive torture and misery. But who can give us certainty? God alone. If we had all the human authority that could possibly be had in reference to the integrity of the Word of God, it would be utterly insufficient as a ground of certainty; and if our faith were founded on that authority, it would be perfectly worthless. God alone can give us the certainty that He has spoken in His Word. And blessed be His name, when He gives it, all the arguments and questionings of unbelievers, past or present, are as the foam on the water, the smoke from the chimney top, or the dust on the floor. The true believer rejects them as worthless and rests in holy tranquility in that peerless revelation which our God has graciously given.

It is very important to be thoroughly clear and settled as to this most serious question if we would be raised above the influence of infidelity on the one hand and superstition on the other. Infidelity, meaning the lack of belief, undertakes to tell us that God has not given us a book – revelation of His mind – that He could not give it. Superstition, being belief resulting from false ideas and ignorance, undertakes to tell us that even though God has given us a revelation, we cannot be assured of it without man’s authority nor understand it without man’s interpretation. It is important to see that both deprive us of the precious enjoyment of Holy Scripture. This is precisely what the Devil aims at. He wants to rob us of the Word of God, and he can do this quite effectually by the apparent self-distrust that humbly and reverently looks to men for authority.

Consider a case. A father writes a letter to his son living in another town, a letter full of the affection and tenderness of a father’s heart. He tells him of his plans and arrangements, tells him of everything that he thinks would interest the heart of a son – everything that the love of a father’s heart could suggest. The son calls at the post office to inquire if there is a letter from his father. He is told by one official that there is no letter, that his father had not written and could not write, could not communicate his mind by such a medium at all, that it is only folly to think of such a thing.

Another official comes forward and says, “Yes, there is a letter here for you, but you cannot possibly understand it; it is quite useless to you, indeed it can only do you positive mischief inasmuch as you are quite unable to read it aright. You must leave the letter in our hands, and we will explain to you such portions of it as we consider suitable for you.”

The former of these two officials represents infidelity; the latter, superstition. By both alike would the son be deprived of the longed-for letter – the precious communication from his father’s heart. But what, we may inquire, would be his answer to these unworthy officials? A very brief and pointed one, we may rest assured. He would say to the first, “I know my father can communicate his mind to me by letter, and that he has done so.” He would say to the second, “I know my father can make me understand his mind far better than you can.” He would say to both, and that with bold and firm determination, “Give my father’s letter to me at once; it is addressed to me, and no man has any right to withhold it from me.”

Thus, too, should the simple-hearted Christian meet the insolence, or arguments, of infidelity and the ignorance of superstition – the two special agencies of the Devil – in setting aside the precious Word of God. “My Father has communicated His mind, and He can make me understand the communication.” “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16) and “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4) are magnificent answers to every enemy of God’s precious and peerless revelation.

We feel it to be our sacred duty, as most surely it is our high privilege, to impress upon all to whom we have access the immense importance, yea, the absolute necessity of the most uncompromising decision on this point. We must faithfully maintain at all cost the divine authority and therefore the absolute supremacy and all-sufficiency of the Word of God at all times, in all places, for all purposes. We must hold that the Scriptures, having been given by God, are complete in the very highest and fullest sense of the word; that they do not need any human authority to accredit them or any human voice to make them available. They speak for themselves and carry their credentials with them. All we have to do is to believe and obey, not to reason or discuss. God has spoken; it is ours to hearken and yield an unreserved and reverent obedience.

Never was there a moment in the history of the Church in which it was more needful to urge home on the human conscience the necessity of implicit obedience to the Word of God. It is, alas, but little felt. Professing Christians for the most part seem to consider that they have a right to think for themselves, to follow their own reason, their own judgment, or their own conscience. They do not believe that the Bible is a divine and universal guidebook. They think there are very many things in which we are left to choose for ourselves. Therefore we have almost numberless sects, parties, creeds and schools of thought. If human opinion is allowed at all, then as a matter of course one man has as good a right to think as another; and thus it has come to pass that the professing Church has become a proverb and a byword for division.

What is the sovereign remedy for this widespread disease? The absolute and complete subjection to the authority of the Holy Word. It is not men going to Scripture to get their opinions and their views confirmed, but going to Scripture to get the mind of God as to everything, and bowing their whole moral being to divine authority. This is the one pressing need of the day in which our lot is cast – reverent subjection in all things to the supreme authority of the Word of God.

No doubt there will be variations in our measure of intelligence, in our apprehension and appreciation of Scripture. However, what we especially urge upon all Christians is that condition of soul, that attitude of heart expressed in those precious words of the psalmist, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” (Ps. 119:11). This, we may rest assured, is grateful to the heart of God. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word” (Isa. 66:2). Here lies the true secret of moral security.

Our knowledge of Scripture may be very limited, but if our reverence for it be profound we shall be preserved from a thousand errors, a thousand snares, and then there will be steady growth. We shall grow in the knowledge of God, of Christ and of the written Word. We shall delight to draw from those living and exhaustless depths of Holy Scripture and to range through those green pastures which infinite grace has so freely thrown open to the flock of Christ. Thus shall the divine life be nourished and strengthened; the Word of God will become more and more precious to our souls. We shall be led by the powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit into the depth, fullness, majesty and moral glory of Holy Scripture. And we will be delivered completely from the withering influences of all mere systems of theology, high, low or moderate – a most blessed deliverance! We shall be able to tell the advocates of systems of Christianity that whatever elements of truth they may have, we have in divine perfectness in the Word of God. In His Word the truths are not twisted or tortured to fit into a system, but they are in their right place in the wide circle of divine revelation, which has its eternal center in the blessed person of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

By Charles H. Mackintosh (adapted)