From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 2 of a series. Read part 1.

Because the Gospel is of supernatural origin, it is not a wax nose that we can twist to fit whatever words or methods we please. Understanding the supernatural character of Scripture is vital in understanding how God saves a sinner.

How does God save a sinner? Why is there so much confusion in the church on this question today? In the first article of this series we said that in order to understand the answer, we must understand several things that direct us to it: the supernatural character of Scripture; the contrasting naturalistic thinking of most churches today regarding Scripture and salvation; the totally supernatural character of true salvation in contrast to false representations of the Gospel; and finally, how God's Word tells us He accomplishes and applies that salvation to hopeless, helpless sinners.

Careful Handling of Scripture

In this installment we take up the first point: Understanding the supernatural character of Scripture is vital in understanding how God saves a sinner. Let me begin by calling our attention to the opening verses of 2 Corinthians chapter 4:

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

Here God the Holy Spirit declares through the pen of the Apostle Paul that he and those who ministered with him had not falsified, adulterated, or corrupted the Word of God in proclaiming the Gospel and edifying believers. This is what is meant by the words translated "not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully."

Furthermore, Paul declares, our ministry has been characterized by "manifestation of the truth" - a phrase that would be more directly rendered as "a plain and forthright disclosure of revealed truth." By preaching and teaching in this way, the Apostle Paul was simply obeying the often repeated commands that we find in Scripture:

You shall not add to the Word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:4)

Every Word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5)

And in Matthew chapter 5 verse 18 we have Jesus' own words concerning the nature of Scripture. He proclaimed that "not one jot or tittle" of Scripture would remain unfulfilled. A "jot" is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. A "tittle" is a very small mark next to a Hebrew letter or word that is used to indicate its meaning within a certain context. Jesus used these very specific words to declare that not even the smallest letter or the smallest stroke of a letter of God's Word would remain unfulfilled.

Scripture's Consistency & Precision of Language

Vital teaching regarding salvation can hinge on a single word in Scripture - the Holy Spirit's use of the present versus the past tense, or a singular versus a plural noun. We find a notable example of the latter in Galatians 3:16, where Paul makes a crucial point in setting forth the plan of salvation: God speaks not of "seeds" in the plural, but of a "seed" in the singular. God declares that the seed - singular - of Abraham is the Lord Jesus Christ, and that saved sinners are Abraham's spiritual seed because they are in Christ. In the context of the book of Galatians Paul is declaring forcefully that salvation is to be found only in Him - not in ourselves, not in a church, not in a sacrament, not in law-keeping, not in any work that we may do. Vital salvation doctrine here hinges on the use of the singular noun rather than a plural.

Such consistency and precision of language throughout a book written over thousands of years by dozens of men throws a blazing light on the supernatural character of the Word of God. The Bible is a book like no other. It is a divine book mediated through human penman. It is, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, the very breathed-out words of God. It is nothing less than that. The Bible is not principally a human book. It is at its essence a divine book.

The Significance of the Term "The Word of God"

The writer to the Hebrews describes Scripture as "the Word of God" (4:12). We find this phrase over fifty times in the New Testament, and the equivalent phrase "the Word of the Lord" over 275 times in the Old Testament. In the original language of the New Testament, the term is "the logos of God". The Greek word logos is a very significant one. The phrase that is translated "the Word of God"  in Hebrews 4 introduces a number of vital characteristics of Scripture. First of all, the word logos signifies the fact that the Word of God is revelation from God. It does not have its origin in the mind of man. It is not what man decided is true or not true. It is revelation given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, the Word of God is revelation. It is the revealed will of God. It is the revealed mind of God. It is the expression of God's thoughts. Therefore, the written Word of God uniquely bears the authority of the holy God of the universe. Jesus also said this, in John 6:63: "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit [that is, they are spiritual words, supernatural words], and they are life."

We find this vital fact regarding the supernatural origin of Scripture repeated in Peter's second epistle. He declares that this fact about the Word of God is of primary importance:

...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

When Peter writes that "no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" he uses a form of the Greek word ginomai, which more specifically speaks of how Scripture "originated" or "came into existence." Unlike the infamous incident involving an American president, we cannot waffle on the meaning of "is" to obscure truth! The words of Scripture originated not in the mind of sinful man, but in the mind and counsels of the God of the universe.

Another word we must understand more carefully in verse 20 is "interpretation." This passage is the only place in the entire Bible where this particular Greek word, epilysis, is used. The word in the original language has to do with "determination" - the way in which something is determined to be true or not true. So the idea of verse 20 is this: "Knowing this first, no prophecy of Scripture originated in the human writer's own personal determination of what is true or not true."

And why is that? The next phrase tells us: "prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

We May Not Shape the Gospel to Our Own Liking

In other words, Scripture is not a mere collection of the words and ideas of men. It did not originate in man's understanding of things. The Bible is not the record of man's views, perspectives, opinions, or interpretation of events. Sinful man did not decide what is true and what is not true.

And because this is true of Scripture as a whole, it is true of the Gospel which Scripture proclaims. God gives us no leave to shape the Gospel message, or the method of proclaiming it, to our own liking. There is only one true Gospel; message and method are integrated and inseparable. The authentic Gospel is not a wax nose that men may twist into whatever shape they wish, using whatever words and methods they wish, as so many do today.

We must be careful in our proclamation of the Gospel because to proclaim the Gospel is to proclaim the Word of God. We must not add to it; we must not take away from it. We must be as scrupulous in our handling of the Gospel as the Apostle Paul was - not handling the Word of God deceitfully, but engaging in a plain and forthright disclosure of revealed truth.

Dear friends, this is serious business. To do anything else is to pervert evangelism - confusing the saved and misleading the lost - and, more terribly, to incur the wrath of God:

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19)

Next: The Supernatural Power of Scripture

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