Thursday, April 16
The New Testament writers approach the Bible the same way that Jesus does. In matters of doctrine, ethics, and prophetic fulfillment, the Old Testament for them was the authoritative Word of God. We find nothing, anywhere, in what these men say or do that challenges either the authority or authenticity of any part of the Bible.
What do these passages below teach us about how the apostles understood the authority of God’s Word?
Notice in these passages how closely related the Scriptures are to the voice of God Himself. In Acts 4, just before being filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples praise God for the deliverance of Peter and John. In their praise, they raise their voices, acknowledging God as the Creator and for speaking through David His servant. That is, David’s words are God’s words. In Acts 13:32-36, David is quoted again by Paul, but his words are attributed to God, for verse 32 says: “What God promised to the fathers”.
In Romans 9:17, where one would expect God as the subject, Paul uses the term “Scripture”, saying: “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh”, which could actually be stated, “For God says to the Pharaoh”. In Galatians 3:8 the subject “Scripture” is used in place of “God”, showing just how closely tied the Word of God is to God Himself.
In fact, the New Testament writers uniformly rely on the Old Testament as the Word of God. There are hundreds of quotes in the New Testament from the Old Testament. One scholar has compiled a list of 2,688 specific references, 400 from Isaiah, 370 from the Psalms, 220 from Exodus, and so on. If one were to add to this list allusions, themes, and motifs, the number would greatly increase. The books are replete with references to the Old Testament prophecies that are often introduced with the phrase, “it is written” (Matthew 2:5, Mark 1:2, 7:6, Luke 2:23, 3:4, Romans 3:4, 8:36, 9:33, 1 Corinthians 1:19, Galatians 4:27, 1 Peter 1:16). All of this confirms that the Old Testament Scriptures are the foundation upon which the teachings of Jesus and the apostles rest.
What should these examples teach us about how dangerous any ideas are that would lessen our trust in the authority of the Scriptures?
