© Josh Cushman 2023

I wrote this paper is for an upcoming project about inhabiting the narrative of the Bible. Footnotes are available in the accompanying PDF.

The way that we talk about the Bible is incredibly important. It is without doubt the most important book ever written. It is the only book that accurately portrays the triune God, and His story with us as humanity. The Bible is God breathed, or inspired, and taken as a whole without fault in the way it reveals truth. All of this is true, and more. However there are Christian statements intended to bolster up the importance of the Bible that sometimes, when misunderstood, can have the effect of turning the Bible either into a tyrant or an idol. These misconceptions can hide from us revelation of the God who has loved us.

The Bible is the only true word of God.

In a sense this statement is incredibly true. The Bible stands out of reach of all other books as the foundation of our understanding of God. Its words reveal God and stands in Judgment of all other books, sermons, prayers or teachings. So the Bible is truly the the only foundational Word of God, worthy to build our theology and life upon. However in another sense the only true Word is Jesus (John 1). The importance of the Bible as the only foundational written truth rests solely on its revelation of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:7 Psalm 40:7 Hebrews 1:3 Colossians 1:15) In this sense Jesus is the only true Word of God. The truth of the Holy Bible rest solely on Jesus from Genesis all the way through to Revelation. When we make the mistake of seeing the Bible as the only true word of God, at the expense of relationship with Jesus we become like the those Jesus is speaking to in John 5

39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. 40 Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life.

The Bible has authority.

Christians often speak of the authority of the Bible. By this we mean that we subject our lives to the teachings of the Bible and that the Bible stands as above all human teaching, written or not. In this sense the Bible is authoritative. However in (Matthew 28:18) we read that all authority belongs to Jesus. What we find is that the Bible has no authority in itself, its authority comes solely from the complete truth revealed through its pages about Jesus. Evan so we find that as Paul says;

For now we see n a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
1 Cor 13:12

What we find is that the Bible is an accurate reflection of who God is, but because of our nature, the image revealed is often fuzzy around the edges and undefined. It is Jesus himself, not the Bible that is the perfect representation of the Father (Colossians 3:15) Paul tells Timothy in (2 Timothy 3:14-17) that scripture is able to make wise for salvation. Scripture prepares our hearts for relationship with Jesus, beginning now and reaching into eternity. All authority belongs to Jesus, the Bible is most often the vessel through which he reveals himself. But creation also speaks of God. (Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1) At other times he has chosen to reveal himself through visions ,dreams, art and literature. The importance of the Bible is simply that it is the means by which Jesus, Him with all authority, most often chooses to reveal himself, as well as the means by which we are able to judge all other revelation. (Acts 17:11)

The Bible is Inerrant.

The Bible is without error. Its message is completely true and lacking nothing, this is all true. There are however a few problems with this doctrine as it is often understood. It pains me when I hear of Christians whose faith has been shaken by finding out that there are discrepancies between the Gospels; alleged grammatical errors in the New Testament; or small sections disputed in authenticity by reputable Biblical scholars. If there faith has been built on the inerrancy of scripture, rather than on Christ the results can be traumatic.
A major prof text for this doctrine is Matthew 5:18, when Jesus says “not one jot or tittle shall pass away until all is accomplished.” In extreme cases this is then taken to mean that every stroke of the pen was perfect during the authorship of the Bible and even to today. In its context though Jesus is doing something subtly different. He immediately goes on to Biblical laws and cultural ideas that seem to be supported by some Biblical passages and shows that the simplest understanding is inadequate.

Don’t murder, ( Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17) is reexplained as don’t get angry or insult. (Matthew 5:21-22)
Don’t commit Adultery (Exodus 20:1) is reexplained as don’t lust. (Matthew 5:27-30)
Don’t make false vows, ( Leviticus 19:12) is changed to let you yes be yes and your no be no, and don’t make vows at all. (Matthew 5:33-37)

The most extreme case of Jesus reexplaining the law is concerning divorce, Deuteronomy 22:1-2 are referred to by Jesus in Matthew 5:31-32. In verse 31 of Mathew five Jesus says,

“You have heard that it was said “‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’* 32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress”.

What makes this even more interesting is Jesus explanation of the same topic in chapter 18 of the same book.

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 9 I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries her when she is divorced commits adultery.”
Matthew 19:8-9

What we find is that although Jesus teaches that “not one jot or tittle will pass away from the Law until all is accomplished”, he also teaches that some passages of scripture accurately depict reality, but not necessarily God’s heart. In this case Jesus shows this by referencing a much earlier scripture than Deuteronomy 22:1-2.

4 He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,* 5 and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’?* 6 So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.”
Matthew 19:4-6

When dealing with divorce Jesus explains the law of Moses allowing divorce as a necessary evil because of the hardness of man’s heart. He then recalls the garden narrative in Genesis 2:22-24 as accurately depicting the heart of God.

When asked if I believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, I answer absolutely, I believe that the Bible is totally true and reliable. But I must add one caveat. The Bible is 100% true and reliable when taken as a whole. When broken down into prof texts and individual ideas separated from the whole it is just as liable to be misinterpreted as any other book. The Bible Project defines the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. In other words the whole Bible works together to give witness to Jesus, who God is and who we are. Any passage or verse cut off from that grand narrative can easily be used in error. The Bible is essentially whole, it contains everything we need to fuel our journey following Christ.

The Holy Bible

We commonly refer to the Bible as the Holy Bible. It is worth considering what we mean by this phrase. Bible is simply the Greek word for scroll, or books. Holy means to be set apart for worship when it refers to an object, as it is often used of objects concerning the temple worship. Essentially what is meant by “The Holy Bible” is the book that is set apart for the worship of God. We also often use holy in reference of God or the Holy Spirit. In these cases we are using the word holy to express that God is apart from and above all things and the only one worthy of our worship. These two understandings of holy must remain exclusive of one another. We do not worship the Bible, we recognize the Bible is set apart for the worship of God.

There is a serious danger to falling into the worship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Bible. The Bible is only worthy of reverence because it contains the words of God, and leads us to the Word (namely Jesus). Apart from its purpose of revealing the things of God the Bible has no intrinsic value in itself. It is simply covers and pages. However, because God has chosen to reveal himself through its pages it is an object of utmost value.

As we teach others to value the Bible and prioritize the knowledge of it in their lives, we must keep this in mind. It is not an object for our veneration, it is a means to grow into maturity in Christ.

Conclusion

The only proper way to read the Bible is as the means of encountering Jesus. The Trinity is revealed from Genesis through Revelation, and Jesus himself is both the perfect representation of the father, and the key player of the story as a whole. “In Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17b) We can easily mistakenly choose the concrete, physical presence of the Bible, over the all pervading presence of Christ. This book is about inhabiting the story of the Bible, that can only happen when we read the Bible as a means of encountering Jesus, and allow the revealed truth to wash us and prepare us for oneness with Him. (Ephesians 5:25b-26 Ephesians 5:30-32)