The Authority of the Bible.
In general terms, I think that there is a truncated idea of authority in our modern world. We tend to basically think of it like this: someone with authority is someone who has the right and ability to tell other people what to do. I actually think that this is an impoverished view of what authority is really about. The concept of authority in scripture is, I believe, a much fuller and more personal concept than mere right and power for the entitlement of obedience. Let me explain what I mean.
The ideas of “author” and “authority” are, unsurprisingly, related. An author is the originator or producer of something – his words and intentions are definitive of what he has written or created. The Westminster Confession of Faith picks up on this when it recognizes God as the “author” of Scripture (Westminster Confession of Faith I.4). Now a book generally, as an example, is entirely shaped by the will of its author, and – in a sense – so it is with the book of creation and history. God is the Author, his words are definitive and determinative of all that occurs. To use that cheesy old Sunday school line: “it’s His-story.” Genesis 1 makes it very clear: God speaks, and reality is defined. This is the power and true authority of God’s Word. In the words of one theologian: “in Scripture authority is personal and a person… God is man’s author and authority.”
Now again, we tend to think of authority in terms of a “command,” but as we’re beginning to see, it’s actually much bigger. We need to think of authority more in terms of divine word that both defines and infuses all things with life. As the hands of the potter shape the clay, so God shapes and fashions us (Rom 9:21), and so His word has its way with us. Christ is thus called the “Author of life” (Acts 3:15), and as God reveals Himself to us in Christ through scripture – He is speaking life into us. As He spoke the creation into existence on the first day, so He now speaks new creation life into our souls. This is why scripture speaks of Jesus as having the power to grant us a return to our original edenic condition of life (Revelation 2:7). Coming back to the “author” idea, this is why the new covenant is spoken of as a covenant in which God writes (“authors”) His law on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).
Scripture is thus authoritative in the sense that it breathes life into us and totally defines us. As a revelation of Christ, Who is our life, scripture entirely shapes the life of faith within us. Scripture is thus not merely authoritative in the sense of being a binding command (though it is both binding and commanding of obedience), but through it the Spirit of God breathes salvation life into us – increasingly defining us and shaping us into the image of Christ.
In terms of practical application, what this means is that we are to be and must be a people of the book. Scripture is the “supreme judge” (WCF I.10) in all matters of life and faith. We receive this book alone “for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith” (Belgic Confession Art. 5). It is the ultimate, the definer of our lives, the basic presupposition in all our thought. In every situation, in all things as we seek to live our lives, our constant refrain is and must be: “What says the word of God?”
But the Book of God is also more than a mere judge for living the Christian life. The connection is much, much closer than that. Indeed, if that is how we view the Bible, our perspective is deeply impoverished. As Bavinck observes: “… everything recorded in Scripture has normative authority for our faith and conduct …” What he’s getting at is that the Bible is not a mere code of law, but a book full of various works of literature and employing various genres – and all intended to work various effects upon us to bring us nearer to God and make us more like Christ. It is indeed life to us, for through it Christ – who is our life – speaks to us.
In summary, the scripture is a medium for our communion with Christ through the Spirit. Through the Bible, in all its wonderful literary diversity, Christ speaks to us, revealing the Father, the Spirit ministers Christ to our hearts. In that sense, God’s word is not an arbitrary law, but fundamentally it is a life-giving root (Deuteronomy 4:1; Luke 8:11) – Christ being our root and we the branches. Scripture is both authorial of our lives, and demanding of our obedience. Through it the very light of Christ shines upon our paths (Psalm 119:105; Isaiah 8:20; John 1:4; 2 Peter 1:19, 23). It is a living sword piercing our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). Practically, again, this means we ought to be both diligent students and fervent lovers of the word – not mere legalistic obeyers (if such a thing is even possible!). Basically, this is why we read it each day, and especially why we treasure the preaching of the word, that we may commune with our Lord and have our hearts and minds shaped by Him in complete submission to him – the Author.
Soli Deo Gloria!