Is the Bible God's Word?
by Mike James
One of the great debates among Christians, philosophers, agnostics, atheists, and other believers in religion is the validity of the Bible. Many Christians would argue that the Bible is the inspired word of God. But even among Christians, there is disagreement. This is a deep subject, but I don't have time to fully develop it here. I just want to provide a little information to support the Church of God International's contention that the Bible is the inspired word of God.
One reason I believe in the Bible is because Jesus did. Many New Testament scriptures make it clear that Christ believed in the Old Testament scriptures. In John 5:39, Jesus says to the Jews of His day that the Scriptures should be searched because in them is the key to eternal life, and those same Scriptures testify of Him. Other sources will confirm that the books of the Old Testament we have in our Bible were the same books Jesus was referring to in this scripture. Keep in mind that would exclude what are called the apocryphal books of the Bible.
Don't forget, Jesus believed in the story of the book of Jonah because He confirmed He would be dead as long as Jonah was in the belly of the fish (Matthew 12:39-41).
Second Timothy 3:16 tells us, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof and instruction in righteousness." When this scripture was written, the only books considered Scripture at that time were the Old Testament books. The New Testament would be agreed upon later.
A reason we can have faith in the Bible is that prophecies about the first coming of Christ are written in some of the Old Testament books. How could those writers who wrote centuries before Christ have known that He was coming unless God played a part in inspiring those same books?
Those books also speak of Christ in type and symbol. The sacrificial system was a type of the sacrifice that Christ would endure. The High Priest in Israel was also a type of Christ's role as our High Priest today. Christ is called the Lamb of God in the New Testament, and this relates to the holy days addressed in the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread in the Old Testament.
The New Testament ties in with the Old Testament by providing meaning and clarity to what we read in the Old Testament. Scriptures like John 10:15, John 3:14-15, and John 10:11 connect us back to the Old Testament and draw connections to the life of Christ.
Many critics have tried to cast aspersions on the word of God, but the connection between the Old and New Testament fits like a hand in glove.
One of the most controversial books of the Old Testament (Genesis) is confirmed by the words of Christ in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6). If our Savior believes in the validity of Genesis, we must also.
Over and over again, the New Testament record confirms the validity of the Old Testament. In Luke 4:18, Jesus quotes a prophecy from Isaiah 61:1-2. He then says in Luke 4:21 that the prophecy from Isaiah 61:1-2 is fulfilled in Him at that very moment! Jesus went on to explain many other prophecies to His disciples about Him after His resurrection (Luke 24:25-27).
What about the New Testament record—is it reliable? Once again, if you believe the Scriptures, the evidence is there. All the New Testament books were written in the century in which Christ lived, died, and was resurrected. We also believe the writers of the New Testament were all followers of Jesus Christ.
Most of the New Testament books were written by the apostle Paul, and he was personally taught by Christ after His resurrection (Galatians 1:12). Paul also testified that what he preached was not just something coming from a man but the very word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
One other scripture to note from Paul is Galatians 1:8. Here, he tells us to maintain the "good news" message of Scripture. If we come across anything else that contradicts this message, we should not follow it.
Finally, we should be aware of the warning in Revelation 22:18-19 about anyone who adds to or takes away from the record of that book. God warns He will remove a person like that from the Book of Life. God seems to take His word very seriously. I believe we should too.
Source: "The Bible is True," by G. Wasserzug, Midnight Call, January 2024