Special Revelation and Scripture

By David S. Dockery, Malcolm B. Yarnell, Nathan A. Finn and Christopher W. Morgan

The doctrine of special revelation and the role of Holy Scripture have been central to the Christian faith for two thousand years. Yet, the nature, authority, and interpretation of the Bible continue to be discussed and debated. In their book Special Revelation and Scripture, David S. Dockery and Malcolm B. Yarnell III explore the fundamental elements of divine revelation, such as inspiration, reliability, and authority, and how these elements influence and shape the Christian's understanding of theological doctrines, ethical teachings, and matters concerning worldview.

Dockery and Yarnell begin by developing the doctrine of divine revelation that emphasizes the Bible as the revealed word of the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They examine the relationship between the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, and sacred Scripture, highlighting their foundational connection. Furthermore, they explore the work of the Holy Spirit in inspiring the prophetic and apostolic writings and safeguarding them in the biblical canon.

The authors affirm the special nature of Scripture by highlighting its essential attributes of truthfulness, inerrancy, sufficiency, and authority. They conclude by emphasizing the Holy Spirit's role in illuminating Scripture for the development of theology and practice within the church.

Throughout the book, readers will encounter a deep and abiding conviction that God's special revelation is preserved and made accessible for all human beings in his inspired Word, the Holy Bible. Dockery and Yarnell's comprehensive exploration of divine revelation and Scripture will inspire readers to engage with the Word of God in a more meaningful and transformative way. 

Recognizing that faithful theological study is an integrative task, the Theology for the People of God series uniquely combines biblical and systematic theology in dialogue with historical theology and with application to church and life. This series addresses classic doctrines of systematic theology and other relevant topics, pairing careful scholarship with the practical understanding that theology finds its focus within the context of the church. Together, the series' authors guide readers in developing a theologically informed way of seeing the world, a Christlike response to life, and Christian motivation for ministry. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: BH Publishing Group
• Release date: May 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781462796199

David S. Dockery

David S. Dockery es presidente de Union Univeristy en Jackson, Tennessee. Es autor y editor de más de 30 libros, entre ellos Renewing Minds [Renovando la mente], Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal [El consenso y renovación de los bautistas del sur], Theologians of the Baptist Tradition [Teólogos de la tradición bautista], y Holman Bible Handbook​ [Manual bíblico Holman]. Dockery sirve en diferentes comités de educación y ministerio y es un editor para la revista Christianity Today.  David S. Dockery is president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. He is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including Renewing Minds, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, Theologians of the Baptist Tradition, and the Holman Bible Handbook. Dockery serves on several education and ministry boards and is a consulting editor for Christianity Today magazine.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. The Revelation of God

2. The Two Ways of Revelation

3. Natural Theology

4. The Nature of Truth and the Nature of Scripture

5. Jesus Christ and the Bible

6. The Inspiration of the Bible

7. The Preservation and Canonization of the Bible

8. The Truthfulness and Inerrancy of Scripture

9. The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture

10. From Biblical Interpretation to Theology, Part I

11. From Biblical Interpretation to Theology, Part II

12. The Bible in Baptist Life

Conclusion: Understanding and Applying the Bible Today

Bibliography

Name Index

Subject Index

Scripture Index

"Special Revelation and Scripture is certain to become a classic and standard in the study of the Bible. Its breadth is impressive and its research encyclopedic. Biblically, theologically, and historically, it gives the church what it needs to grasp the marvel and trustworthiness of God’s divine revelation. What a gift!"

—Daniel L. Akin, president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Holy Scripture is God’s great gift to the church, in which he reveals himself to us and tells us what his purposes are in his great works of creation and redemption. That revelation is fundamental to our spiritual life, and Special Revelation and Scripture gives us a comprehensive guide to understanding its nature. Pastors, students, and others will learn much from David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell and will be better equipped to use God’s Word for their own spiritual growth and for the upbuilding of the church in truth and love."

—Gerald Bray, research professor of divinity, Beeson Divinity School

"The doctrine of revelation in many ways grounds all Christian theological reflection. The triune God’s disclosure of himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ and in the inspiration of Holy Scripture are what allow for theology in the first place. David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell have carefully, ably, and systematically introduced and creatively engaged this fundamental doctrine from a distinctly Baptist perspective and for readers from all Christian traditions. Special Revelation and Scripture should be standard reading for those engaging in prolegomena, and especially with respect to the doctrine of Scripture."

—Matthew Y. Emerson, dean of theology, arts, and humanities, Oklahoma Baptist University

"Christians do not worship the Bible, but we do worship the God of the Bible. Thus it is imperative that we pay close attention to the doctrine of Holy Scripture, God’s Word written. Special Revelation and Scripture presents a fulsome study of this critical issue and I commend it to seasoned scholars and young theologians alike. Thank you, David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell, for this wonderful gift to the Lord’s people everywhere!"

—Timothy George, distinguished professor, Beeson Divinity School

"David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell have served faithfully in Christian higher education for decades. This volume contains their mature reflections on the foundational doctrines of special revelation and Scripture. Steeped in and founded on Scripture, each chapter of Special Revelation and Scripture interacts with the writings of a wide range of Christian thinkers to present the triune God revealing himself to humanity—chiefly through Scripture’s disclosure of Jesus Christ. The result is a reliable study from trustworthy scholars."

—Adam Harwood, McFarland Chair of Theology, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

"When it comes to the doctrine of Scripture, conservative evangelicals face the challenge of needing to write the same book every generation or so, to restate and refresh their confession about the Bible. We are fortunate that David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell have taken up this noble task today. Their deep curiosity, firm conviction, long memory, lively pastoral instinct, and courageous interdisciplinarity make Special Revelation and Scripture a powerful new statement on revelation and Scripture. Its integration of systematic theology and exegesis will make it an especially formative volume for students."

—Fred Sanders, professor of theology at the Torrey Honors College, Biola University

"Many Christians today have lost confidence in the Bible to address our contemporary context and our most basic and enduring needs. Special Revelation and Scripture shows that knowing God in the fullest sense, and knowing his purposes for the world he created, comes from what he himself has graciously made known and is ultimately grounded in his triune nature and character. This very significant book by David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell is full of faith, an astonishingly broad scholarship (while remaining resolutely Baptist), deep insight and pastoral wisdom. Highly recommended!"

—Mark D. Thompson, principal, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia

"David Dockery and Malcolm Yarnell provide an excellent exposition of what Baptists and other evangelical Christians have believed for centuries: that the Bible ‘has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.’ Special Revelation and Scripture also provides a short course in the history of biblical interpretation and another in how Christians should interpret, use, and apply the Bible today. I especially appreciated their concern to add to their grammatical-historical exegesis canonical context, and to canonical context, Rule of Faith, and to Rule of Faith, Christology and theological interpretation. Readers who follow their guidance will become productive in their knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet 1:5–8)."

—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Special Revelation and Scripture

Special Revelation and Scripture

Copyright © 2024 by David S. Dockery and Malcolm B. Yarnell III

Published by B&H Academic

Brentwood, Tennessee

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4627-9619-9

Dewey Decimal Classification: 220.1

Subject Heading: BIBLE-EVIDENCES, AUTHORITY, ETC. \ BIBLE-CRITICISM \ BIBLE-INSPIRATION

Except where noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

The web addresses referenced in this book were live and correct at the time of the book’s publication but may be subject to change.

This book is part of the Theology for the People of God series.

Cover design by B&H Academic. Cover image: 6th century Mosaic of Matthew the Evangelist, Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy; © A. De Gregorio / © NPL - DeA Picture Library / Bridgeman Images.

Printed in China

29 28 27 26 25 24 RRD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In piam memoriam

James Leo Garrett Jr. (1925–2020)

and

with gratitude to God for

our Southwestern Seminary faculty and staff colleagues

PREFACE

The doctrine of special revelation and the role of Holy Scripture have been central to the Christian faith for two thousand years. Due to the Bible’s importance in providing clarification during the Reformation and in fostering the development of evangelicalism, as well as for its centrality in Baptist life and in our own lives, it is our prayer that this volume will serve this current generation in a helpful way by fostering a love for the Word of God. Following the theological method of our teacher, James Leo Garrett Jr., we have attempted to give serious attention first to the Bible’s own teaching about revelation and Scripture and then to the development of thought regarding these matters throughout Christian history. Several of our chapters are significantly informed by Christian thinkers in the universal church.

The Bible is the best-selling book in all human history and has been translated into more languages than any other book. Yet, the nature, authority, and interpretation of the Bible continue to be discussed and debated. Reflecting debates around the truthfulness, authority, and sufficiency of Scripture, strident controversies continue in both church and society. The Christian’s views of Scripture, including its inspiration, reliability, and authority, inform and shape the Christian’s understanding of many theological doctrines, ethical teachings, and worldview issues. It remains essential for followers of Christ to recognize and use the Bible as the primary source for spiritual formation, strength, nurture, and guidance for faithful living, both as individuals and in community with other believers.

We are honored to contribute this volume to the Theology for the People of God series and are grateful to series editors Chris Morgan and Nathan Finn for their invitation. In addition, we would like to express our gratitude to Madison Trammel, Michael McEwen, Jessi Wallace, and Audrey Greeson at B&H Academic. We join with many others in trusting that the volumes in this series will be used of God in a positive way to equip and build up the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the contributors to this series share our commitment to the Bible as the prophetic-apostolic word, God’s Word written. Without the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of the prophets and the apostles, there would be no Scripture and therefore no certain Word of God available to us today. This calls for a renewed commitment in every generation to the Bible’s full truthfulness, sole authority, and supreme sufficiency. With our colleagues and co-contributors to this multivolume series, we gladly affirm the Bible is trustworthy, dependable, infallible, and inerrant.

While this book is designed as a classroom resource, it is our hope that it will also serve pastors, denominational leaders, and those who serve with parachurch organizations. We, moreover, invite faithful church members who serve as Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and guides for various groups in the churches to read this volume. Of course, we have primarily written with college and seminary students in mind, even as we pray the book will serve the evangelical and Baptist communities who seek to navigate the various challenges found in our twenty-first-century context in a faithful way. We pray the church of Jesus Christ will be edified through this study.

We offer heartfelt gratitude to God for making himself known to us and for giving his self-revelation to his people. We recognize that times and cultures change, but the basic needs shared by all men and women of all ages and ethnicities in all times and cultures remain the same. God’s Word is normative, authoritative, and applicable as much for the people of God in the twenty-first century as for people in the first century. We have attempted to note some contemporary applications throughout the book, particularly in the final chapter. The volume builds on some portions of our previous work, but we have attempted to rewrite and reframe each topic in a way that will serve well this series. Each chapter has been co-authored in the sense that each one of us contributed aspects to each chapter and then edited and revised the work of the other.

Our commitments regarding Scripture point to the Bible’s authority which speaks to the spiritual needs of women and men, but more importantly, we affirm the Bible reveals the truth of and about God. All Scripture is inspired by him and thus remains the true, reliable Word of God for the community of faith. We ask that as you read this volume you will join with us in renewing your personal trust and confidence in the truthful and authoritative Word of God.

We express our profound gratitude to O. S. Hawkins, Danny Roberts, and the Board of Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for their support throughout this project, including the sabbatical granted so Malcolm could dedicate time to it. We appreciate the encouragement we have felt from our Southwestern faculty colleagues, particularly Jeff Bingham, Madison Grace, Michael Wilkinson, and Travis Trawick, our colleagues in the School of Theology’s department of theology. We are truly thankful for the wonderful assistance provided by Wang Yong Lee and Chris Kim, two of our advanced graduate students, who are both fine theologians in their own rights. Appreciation is also expressed to Lakeside Baptist Church, whose people heard various lessons which made their way into this volume, and to Todd Still and the Truett Seminary of Baylor University for kindly granting the use of a spacious flat at the University of Oxford for Malcolm’s research. We are deeply grateful for the support of our families through the months devoted to this project, especially to Lanese Dockery and Karen Yarnell, who have prayed and offered support through yet another writing project.

We trust this volume will be helpful for many and that it will please our gracious, loving, and merciful triune God.

Soli Deo Gloria

David S. Dockery and Malcolm B. Yarnell III

INTRODUCTION

In recent centuries Christians have discussed and debated the nature of Scripture, often in relation to strident controversies in both church and culture, controversies which challenge the place of biblical authority. ¹ Hot-item intellectual, ethical, and social questions facing the church today, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, or postmodernism and new age mysticism, point to a wide gap between the teachings of Holy Scripture and opposing beliefs held in society. Struggles over Scripture’s message about these matters likewise roil various Christian denominations across the globe and draw in major sectors of the broader culture. To help Christians respond to these and similar crises, it is vitally important that we recover a correct view of divine revelation. We must learn again to relate the Word of God to our day-to-day concerns, not only with regard for pressing cultural issues but just as importantly with regard for the ongoing and vital Christian needs for proper worship of God, affective piety in religious practice, and winsome proclamation of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ.

With these great needs in mind, in this introduction we offer a brief overview of certain key aspects of the doctrine of revelation which require deeper exploration later in this volume for the purpose of addressing contemporary crises. This introduction begins with appreciation for the special nature of Scripture given through its inspiration by the Holy Spirit, proceeds through a summary of various attendant perfections of Scripture, and ends with an affirmation of the need for the Holy Spirit to bring illumination to Scripture so that the church may develop its theology and practices. A similar movement of subject matter may be found in the latter half of this book.

However, the trained eye will note the structure of this book first develops the doctrine of divine revelation according to a convictional trinitarian frame: Chapters 1 through 4 delve into the ontology and economy of God’s revelation of the truth of himself in the major ways of general revelation and special revelation. Chapter 5 then focuses upon the foundational relationship between the Second Person of the Trinity, our incarnate Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and Sacred Scripture. We believe the full humanity and full deity of the eternal and personal Word of God, Jesus Christ, provides a helpful analogy for viewing the written Word of God as simultaneously a divine and human book. Next, chapters 6 and 7 consider the work of the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, in the inspiration of the prophetic and apostolic writings and in the preservation of these texts in the biblical canon. The first part of the book thus demonstrates how divine revelation comes by the grace of God the Trinity, discloses the Trinity, and promises the blessed vision of the Trinity. The Bible is properly understood as the revealed Word of the one true God who is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

After establishing the theological foundation of divine revelation, we then consider various truths which relate divine revelation to its recipients. In chapters 8 and 9 we ponder the biblical text’s attributes. The attributes or perfections of Scripture, which are grounded in Scripture’s relation to the perfect God through inspiration by the Holy Spirit, include its truthfulness, inerrancy, sufficiency, and authority. Afterwards, as with the original inspiration of the biblical text by the Holy Spirit, we must also rehearse his illumination of the text for its readers. We begin our discussion of the Spirit’s illuminating work with an extended survey of the church’s historical reception of the sacred writings. Chapters 10 and 11 trace the ways in which Christians throughout the history of the church have developed the reading of Scripture for theology and proclamation. Chapter 12 narrows the focus to our own Baptist tradition’s convictions about the Bible. In the concluding chapter, we review how Christians today should interpret Scripture for appropriate understanding of the text’s original meaning and contemporary significance, as well as for its practical application.

The general narrative of this book traces the revelation of God the Trinity through history and Scripture to the contemporary church: In ancient times, God manifested himself through the grace of revelation directly to Israel in specific times and places culminating in the height of his self-revelation in the person of Jesus the Messiah. Since then, God has continued to reveal the person and work of Christ through the special grace of his written revelation of himself by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Today, the Holy Spirit’s grace of illumination is required for our understanding, appropriation, and application of this revelation of Scripture. In his economy of revelation God directly manifested himself in the historic person of Jesus Christ and continues to reveal him by his Holy Spirit through Scripture to bring about human regeneration. We thus believe it is imperative that God’s people apprehend God’s special revelation in Christ and Scripture so that through the Holy Spirit human beings may receive the gift of faith for salvation.

I. The Bible Is a Special Book

The Bible describes itself as a special book. Even before the canonization of the sacred texts, importance was attached to the prophetic and apostolic writings. Moses wrote "all the words of the

Lord

in the covenant scroll (Exod 24:4, 7). Joshua’s farewell address was written in the book of the law of God (Josh 24:26). Samuel spoke words about the manner of the kingdom and wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the

Lord

(1 Sam 10:25). Jesus repeatedly appealed to the authoritative Scriptures (see Matt 5:17–18; 19:4; 22:29). Similarly, Paul and the apostles thought of the scrolls as the very words of God" (Rom 3:2).

Jesus himself declared that Scripture is the Word of God which cannot be broken (John 10:35). Similarly, the apostles noted it is the prophetic word strongly confirmed which the prophets and apostles wrote, because these words were spoken from God as the writers were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:19–21). The Bible itself thus acknowledges that the prophetic-apostolic word is God’s Word written. Without the sacred writings there would be no Holy Scripture and therefore no Word of God available to us.²

The Bible affirms God has made himself known in a variety of ways (Ps 19:1; Heb 1:2). Thankfully, God has not abandoned us to our own devices but has manifested himself to us. We know him not due to our seeking him, but because he has made himself known to us. God has acted and spoken in history. The word revelation means an uncovering, a removal of the veil, a disclosure of what was previously not known. More specifically, revelation is God’s manifestation of himself to humankind in such a way that men and women can know and have fellowship with him.³ In recognition of the human predicament, God chose from the beginning to make himself known within time and space. He disclosed himself in both acts and works, primarily in a personal way and with a redemptive purpose. Through miracles, the Exodus, and ultimately in Jesus Christ, God has revealed himself in human history. This divine revelation includes not only the Lord’s acts in history, but also the prophetic-apostolic interpretation of these events. Thus, we must also say that God’s revelation is not merely personal but also propositional, in that it communicates truths about God to his people. While there is tension between these two aspects of revelation, we affirm that revelation is both knowledge about God and knowledge of God. Revelation is knowledge about God which leads us to know God in a personal and salvific way. We give this matter greater attention in the next chapter.

Revelation is also often and properly discussed in two different categories: general revelation and special revelation. General revelation is universal in the sense that it is always God’s self-disclosure of himself in a general way to all people in all places. General revelation occurs through nature, through human experience and conscience, and in history. God’s general revelation of himself is plain, though it is often misinterpreted because through it sinful and finite humans are trying to understand a perfect and infinite God. General revelation discloses God clearly enough to sinful human beings that they are held accountable for their responses to it. Therefore, no one can be excused for missing God’s revelation (Rom 1:20; 3:20).⁴ Further elaboration of general revelation and special revelation will occur in chapter 2.

The light of nature, including conscience, is not sufficient to import the knowledge of God necessary for salvation. What is needed to understand God’s self-disclosure fully is his special revelation. Indeed, special revelation provides the viewpoint through which we can understand and appreciate God’s general revelation.⁵ Divine truth exists outside special revelation, but it is consistent with and supplemental to, not a substitute for, special revelation. General revelation is consistent with special revelation, yet distinct from it. In contrast to God’s general revelation, which is available to all people, God’s special revelation is available to particular people at specific times in particular places. Special revelation is not only particular, but progressive, and not only propositional, but personal. The content of special revelation is primarily God himself, his works, and his Word.⁶ It is the declaration of truth about God, his character, and his actions and relationship with his creation. God is pleased to reveal himself and his majestic Word to people of faith.⁷ God’s Word, recorded and interpreted by the prophets and the apostles, calls for us to embrace, with humility and teachable hearts and without finding fault, whatever is taught in Holy Scripture. God is ontologically truth, and his Word is epistemologically true. We will discuss these themes in greater detail in chapters 3 and 4.

II. God and His Purposes

The Bible presents a message about God and his purposes. It describes the creation of the universe, including the direct creation of man and woman in a paradise on earth. The Bible describes the call of Abraham, the giving of the Law, the establishment of the kingdom, the division of the kingdom, and the captivity and restoration of Israel. Scripture sees humankind as fallen from a sinless condition and separated from God. The promise of a coming Messiah who will redeem men and women and reign as King appears throughout the Old Testament. The message of the Word of God promises that believers are restored to favor with God through the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ.⁸

The confession of Jesus as Christ the Lord, the Son of the living God and the Savior of the world, is at the heart of the Christian faith. The message about Christ is central to the content of the Christian faith, because it is central to the content of Holy Scripture.⁹ Contemporary Christians must not only affirm this message but also affirm the Bible’s inspiration, truthfulness, and normative nature, because it is the bearer of this message. Amid the historical challenges to biblical authority, we need to evince our concern for biblical authority by careful biblical interpretation, thoughtful theological reflection, faithful proclamation, genuine repentance, and ongoing prayer. A confession that the Bible is fully inspired and totally truthful is important because it is the foundation which establishes the complete extent of the Scripture’s authority. Followers of Jesus Christ must choose to articulate a view of the Bible that is faithful to and in continuity with the consensus of historic positions in the church, and the church has characteristically confessed the Bible to be the written Word of God.¹⁰ Building on these foundational commitments, we can relate to one another in love and humility, fostering truth, fellowship, and community. This will result not only in affirmations of Christian orthodoxy but also in right practice before a watching world. The middle section of this book will address these important aspects of Scripture.

III. Inspired by God

Through the superintending influence of God’s Holy Spirit upon the writers of Holy Scripture, the account and interpretation of God’s revelation has been recorded as God intended so that the Bible is truly the Word of God.¹¹ In their sacred writings, the men of God used their own languages and the literary forms which were typical of their day. Yet, within this very human activity, God was at work, conveying his Word through their words. God’s inspired Word came to us through human authors. It is even possible to see different personalities, styles, vocabularies, and purposes represented among the various prophets and apostles. Yet, the final product of their writings is equally the inspired Word of God.¹²

In the history of the church, the divine character of Scripture has been the great presupposition for the whole of Christian teaching, preaching, worship, and service.¹³ This is readily apparent in the way the New Testament speaks about the Old Testament. As we will see in this volume, that which appears in the Old Testament is cited in the New Testament with formulas like God said, and the Holy Spirit says (Acts 4:24–25; 13:47; 2 Cor 6:16). Scripture and God are so closely joined together in the minds of the New Testament authors that they could speak of Scripture doing what it records God as doing (Gal 3:8; Rom 9:17). The introductory phrase it stands written is used as a stamp of authority on both the Old and New Testament writings. Because of the divine origin and content of the prophetic-apostolic writings, Scripture can be described as certain and trustworthy (1 Pet 1:24–25; 2 Pet 1:19). As a result, those who build their lives on Scripture will never be put to shame (1 Pet 2:6). The Word was written for our instruction and encouragement (Rom 15:4), to lead to saving faith (2 Tim 3:15), to guide people toward godliness (2 Tim 3:16b), and to equip believers for good works (2 Tim 3:17).

Second Timothy 3:16–17 focuses primarily on the product of inspiration, the final writing of Scripture, though it also includes secondary aspects of the purpose and process. What is being asserted is the activity of God throughout the entire process, so that the completed, final product ultimately comes from him. As we have previously noted, it is a mistake to think of inspiration only in terms of the time when the Spirit moved human authors to write. The biblical concept of inspiration allows for the activity of the Spirit in special ways in the process without requiring that we restrict all aspects of the Spirit’s working to one and the same way. In the process of the creation and preservation of the universe, God providentially intervened in special ways for special purposes.¹⁴ Likewise, alongside and within his superintending action of the biblical writings, we can discern a special work of the Spirit in bringing God’s revelation to the apostles and prophets. God’s Spirit is involved both in revealing specific messages to the prophets (Jer 1:1–9) and in guiding the authors throughout the historical aspects of their research (Luke 1:1–4).

We can assert that inspiration extends to the choice of words even though Scripture’s meaning is located at the sentence level and beyond. Thus, our understanding of inspiration affirms the dual nature of Holy Scripture; it is simultaneously a divine book and a human book; it is a divine-human book. This recognition allows us to have a healthy understanding of the diverse literary genres represented in Scripture. The Holy Spirit is the One who, in a profound mystery for which the incarnation of Jesus Christ provides the only analogy, causes the verbal witness of the biblical writers to coincide with God’s witness to himself.¹⁵ Sometimes we think of divine action and human action as mutually exclusive. If God did something, humans did not do it. But this is not the case; some actions can be simultaneously fully human and fully divine.

Our approach to inspiration attempts to take seriously the human factors in the composition of the Bible, what we and others have described as concursive inspiration. This approach avoids any hint that God mechanically dictated the words of Scripture to the human authors, so that they had no real part in the Scripture’s composition.¹⁶ A concursive understanding of inspiration allows for a viewpoint that gladly confesses that God’s purpose is accomplished through the human writers, but the emphasis of the Spirit’s work remains finally focused on the product of inspiration, the inscripturated Word of God.¹⁷ In the chapters which focus on Jesus Christ and the Bible, the divine-human authorship of Scripture, and the inspiration of the Bible, we will seek to unpack these themes, showing their relationship to one another.

IV. The Perfections of Scripture

Although the cultural background and environment have radically changed since the biblical writings were penned, the human condition has not changed. It is to the human condition—of men and women created in the image of God who have yet fallen—that the unity of the biblical message speaks in a normative manner. The Scriptures are the result of divine inspiration. These prophetic-apostolic writings make known the saving acts of God, to which they are historically proximate. Based on these observations, we conclude in this volume that the inspired Scriptures are normative, truthful, trustworthy, and reliable (Psalm 119). Moreover, we affirm the Bible’s total truthfulness or inerrancy, as well as its coherence, its overall unity, and its clarity made possible by the witness of the Holy Spirit.¹⁸

The Bible focuses on Christ, is applicable to the church, and is affirmed to us by the testimony of the Spirit of God in our hearts.¹⁹ This understanding of the Bible’s inspiration and truthfulness applies to all canonical Scripture and includes the process of its development, the purpose of its construction, and ultimately its final product. We also assert that by the concursive action of God the Scriptures are, in their entirety, both the work of the Spirit and the work of human authors.²⁰ Moreover, we believe that Scripture speaks not only to spiritual matters but to the truth about God and its ramifications affecting all matters related to life and godliness. We have full confidence in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Scriptures as remaining the trustworthy, dependable, reliable, and authoritative Word of God.²¹ Those chapters which engage the topics of inspiration and canonicity, as well as those chapters which address Scripture’s attributes of truthfulness, authority, and sufficiency are therefore central to the purpose of the book.

A view of the Bible that affirms its verbal inspiration and total truthfulness is of little value if it is not accompanied by an enthusiastic commitment to the Bible’s complete and absolute authority. An approach to the subject of biblical authority must begin with God himself, for in God all authority is finally located. God is his own authority; there is nothing outside him on which his authority is established. When God made his promise to Abraham, he pledged his own name because nothing or no one was greater by whom he could swear (Heb 6:13). God’s authority is the authority of who and what God is. Who God is in himself has been made known in his self-manifestation, since God can be known only via his self-revelation.²² The key to perceiving God’s authority must refer to his revelation. In this manner revelation and authority are seen as two sides of the same reality. God declares his authority in his revelation, and he alone is the ultimate source of authority for all other lesser authorities.²³ Therefore, of greatest concern in any discussion of the Bible is its authority, its rightful role to command obedience.

Any discussion of biblical authority must also include the doctrines of the clarity of Scripture and the sufficiency of Scripture. The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture affirms that the Bible can be understood, with the Spirit’s enablement, by readers who earnestly seek to hear from and follow God. The Bible is clear enough to guide faithfully those who seek its wisdom (Ps 119:105).²⁴ An affirmation of scriptural clarity should not be understood to mean that all parts are equally clear. Nor does the doctrine suggest there is nothing in the Bible that is difficult to understand. Even the apostle Peter admitted as much when he wrote that some things in Paul’s letters present challenges (2 Pet 3:16). Affirming the Bible’s clarity does not mean that the Scripture does not need to be studied, interpreted, and taught to others (Acts 17:11; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Tim 3:15). Maintaining the clarity of Scripture insists on and magnifies the role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation. As Donald Bloesch observes, Scripture is clear when we submit to its authority and live in the light of its promises.²⁵

Illumination is that work of the Holy Spirit, subsequent to the Bible’s inspiration, whereby he makes the Bible understandable and applicable to the reader (1 Cor 2:14). Apart from the work of the Spirit, the reader will not grasp the meaning, power, and significance of the biblical text. Robert Plummer notes that the Spirit brings to the Christian greater cognitive understanding of the biblical text.²⁶ When followers of Christ approach the Scriptures with the humble desire to listen, learn, and obey, and are willing to work hard to interpret the meaning of the biblical passage, they can obtain sufficient understanding of Scripture by grace.²⁷ The Spirit impresses upon the conscience of believers that the teachings of Scripture are indeed true, applicable, and incumbent on the reader. Mark Strom insightfully suggests that in and through the reading of Scripture, the Spirit’s presence and ministry assures us of our union with Jesus, or his Father’s acceptance of us, and of the reality of the kingdom to which we now belong as he changes us into the image of Jesus (Rom 8:12–27; Gal 5:22).²⁸

The Bible is not only clear and authoritative, but also sufficient for living faithfully before God.²⁹ The Bible is not only sufficient but is vital and necessary as enabled by God’s Spirit to know God, to believe the gospel, and to obey the Lord in all areas of life.³⁰ The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture states that God, who exclusively possesses sufficiency in himself, has endowed his Word with what is needed for believers to accomplish the work and will of God. Wayne Grudem defines the doctrine of sufficiency this way: The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history and that it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly.³¹ We agree with Grudem’s basic definition but have much more to say in this regard.

In a potent passage, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that from eternity God invests his Word with effective power and sends it to accomplish his own will (Isa 55:11). The apostle John further reveals the profound mystery that Jesus Christ is both Word and God who became a human being (John 1:1, 14). Both John and the author of Hebrews inform us that the Bible is the Word of God in written form (John 10:35; Heb 4:12). As James Leo Garrett Jr. concluded, the Bible is at the same time the Word of God and the words of human beings.³² Of course, we must carefully distinguish between the incarnate Word of God and the written Word of God. The incarnate Word is the person of Jesus Christ who was sent from the Father and appeared to the apostles. The written Word is the coordinate testimony of the prophets, apostles, and the Holy Spirit, who was given by Jesus Christ to the apostles. Jesus promised the testimony of the Spirit would inform the testimony of the apostles. The Spirit later reminded them not only of what Jesus previously taught but told them more than they were able to receive before Christ’s death and resurrection (John 14:25–26; 15:16–17; 16:12–14).

Because God is sufficient in himself, we know his self-revelation is sufficient to speak through his people and make their words sufficient for that which God designs. Sufficiency is ascribed in the New Testament as a first principle to God. The grace of sufficiency can be detected as it proceeds from God to the church through the apostles’ ministry (2 Cor 3:5–6). The ministry of the apostles does not derive from their own competence. As with all Christian ministers, the competence must come from above by divine grace rather than from within by human nature. The sufficiency of the apostolic ministry is a gift of grace from God himself. This grace accompanies the minister’s proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the powerful working of the Holy Spirit. Our confidence in God and his work has nothing whatsoever to do with human abilities. Rather, our confidence results from knowing the grace of God’s Spirit accompanies the apostolic words to make them sufficient to accomplish God’s will and reveal God’s incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.³³

God’s written Word is sufficient to accomplish the task for which God sends it. Regarding the divine purpose and divine power of Holy Scripture, the apostle Paul writes, And you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:15–17). God inspired Scripture, intending that it would, first, bring wisdom for salvation and, second, bring righteousness for entire sanctification and good works. Scripture is powerful and profitable for the proclamation of salvation and for the completion of holiness, God-honoring communal edification, and human flourishing, being equipped for every good work.

The sufficiency of Scripture is an extremely important, foundational, and necessary doctrine.³⁴ Still, we are reminded that Scripture does not provide exhaustive teaching. For example, Scripture does not speak to everything about creation. Nor does an affirmation of scriptural sufficiency imply that creeds and confessions are not necessary. Sufficiency reminds us that creeds and confessions must derive from Scripture. The Bible is thereby the primary and sufficient means of God’s authoritative self-disclosure for people today. The authority of Jesus Christ is exercised over the church (Eph 1:20–23) and is uniquely expressed through his personal ambassadors, the apostles (Mark 3:14; John 17:18; Acts 1:1–8; 2 Cor 5:20; Gal 1:1–2:9). In this way the apostles serve as the foundation for the church with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20–3:5; 1 Pet 2:6). In fulfillment of Christ’s promises (John 14:26; 16:13), the apostles’ authority has been placed permanently in their writings.

Thus, the Holy Spirit of God has inspired the prophetic-apostolic writings, and the Scriptures have become the recognized authority to communicate God’s truth. Holy Scripture is to be taught, believed, confessed, and obeyed. The Bible, then, is the book of God’s truth. Because the Bible is completely truthful and trustworthy, it is our final authority in all things that pertain to life and godliness. Garrett adds these thoughts: The authority of the Bible is that of the sovereign God, who commands and persuades but does not coerce human beings and who redeems or liberates but does not enslave human beings.³⁵

V. Illumined by God

The Bible is to be seen as the ultimate standard of authority for God’s people, because of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of it. The Bible’s authority is subsequently and continually perceived through the self-revealing and self-authenticating work of God the Holy Spirit in illumination. Due to the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, the Bible’s authority can and does communicate across cultural, geographical, and temporal differences between the biblical world and our own contexts. Scripture is authoritative as it is rightfully and faithfully interpreted. The Holy Spirit illumines our minds and hearts to understand the biblical message. Likewise, the Spirit leads us to recognize the authority of Scripture and to respond and obey its message today. The Bible calls for obedience to the authority of God revealed in his Word, not in reaction against authority, nor in an authoritarian sense, but from the true freedom which belongs to the children of God.

Highly emotional controversies present in various denominations and across different sectors of society point to the central issues in this book regarding whether God has spoken, and if so, whether this revealed word is still available to us in the Bible. Is there such a thing as revelation, and is it discoverable? Is God’s revelation to be believed, and does it have authority for our twenty-first-century context? These questions are prominent in Roman Catholic circles, as well as in Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Anglican contexts. These questions receive different responses in progressive contexts than they do in fundamentalist ones. While the differences are not as great, there are still differences between moderates and conservatives. Mainline denominations tend to approach these questions in one way, and evangelicals and free church Christians generally take another approach. While there is much overlap as these differences are expressed and debated, there is still often a denominationally specific aspect to each one.

The Southern Baptist Convention, the community of believers of which we are a part, has been wrestling with these matters in a very public manner for sixty years. Some think it is quite paradoxical that a people who happily refer to themselves as people of the Book have argued, debated, and fragmented over these matters our entire adult lives. We write from this context, even though we have both attempted to engage in irenic ways. Our understanding of Baptist life and the implications of these discussions will be explored in the penultimate chapter in this volume. The controversy over the Bible is certainly not unique to Southern Baptist life, though there are distinctive aspects which influence our work. While we write from this context, we nevertheless seek to speak to the broader evangelical community to which we belong and to the church catholic of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our work throughout this book is shaped and informed by our confessional commitments. Readers will notice that we confess God has truly revealed himself to us. His revelation has been preserved for us in Holy Scripture by the Holy Spirit’s work of inspiration. We confess our belief in the divine inspiration, total truthfulness, and complete authority of the Bible. We believe it is important for contemporary churches to choose to articulate a view of the Bible that is faithful to historic evangelical and orthodox positions that have characteristically confessed the Holy Bible is the written Word of God, that it is truthful, infallible, and inerrant, and that it remains the only sufficient, certain, and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.³⁶

Even though times and cultures change, the basic needs shared by men and women of all ages and races in all times and cultures remain the same. Thus the written message of God is normative, authoritative, and applicable as much for the church of God in the twenty-first century as it was for the people of God in the first century of our Lord and Savior, and as it was for the ancient Hebrews. We acknowledge that Scripture speaks about the various needs of all men and women, but more importantly we acknowledge that Scripture reveals not only the eternal truth about God and his commands but also the personal saving truth of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ presented by the Word in the Spirit.

We invite you to join us as we now turn our attention to the foundational question of divine revelation. We pray that in the following pages you will come to know God in Christ ever more clearly and treasure his revelation ever more dearly.

1

The Revelation of God

Holy Scripture is the powerful text by which God personally confronts the human hearer with eternal truth. God thereby reveals himself so as to invite the sinner to consider the certainty of the coming judgment, via the law, along with the offer of his saving mercy, via the gospel. The book of Hebrews employs a famous description for the way revelation works in this divine-human encounter: For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart ( Heb 4:12). ³⁷

Scripture is not an abstract text which speaks distantly, dispassionately, and diffusedly about the divine-human encounter.³⁸ Rather, in Holy Scripture God powerfully and penetratingly confronts the human being with truth about their eternal state. God truly speaks in biblical revelation. The word of Scripture is the Word of God.

Because God truly speaks in biblical revelation, in their systematic theologies evangelicals rightly begin with God and his revelation. But, as we seek to become specific in our doctrinal analysis, the theologian is faced with a decision: Should we begin with God or his revelation? Systematic theologians must choose where to begin their own personal systems.³⁹ He or she faces a dilemma when making the traditional early choice between starting with the being of God or with our knowing of God. Some evangelical theologians choose to prioritize the ontological question, Who is God? Others have chosen to begin with the epistemological question, How do we know God?

Another complicating factor is that theologians necessarily approach the teaching of theology from the abstract perspective. Theology uses abstract definitions in order to try to provide clarity regarding our talk about God with human language. But divine revelation works with language in a concrete and powerful way, with the intent to foster the divine-human confrontation. Systematic theologians deal with the subject matter of God and his creatures primarily through propositions, but the Lord and his prophets and apostles treat God and his creatures in a personal way, though with propositions.

Scripture is a supremely concrete text, while systematic theology necessarily works in an abstract way. In other words, Scripture offers no answer to our question about systematic priority. Scripture assumes the two doctrinal concepts of God and revelation go together. The theologian’s doctrine of God (theological ontology) and the theologian’s doctrine of the revelation of God (theological epistemology) are, therefore, ultimately inseparable. This can be detected as early as Genesis 1:1, which starts neither with ontology nor epistemology but simply includes the listener in the revealed divine narrative. The theologian’s choice concerning systematic priority thereby becomes one of human logic rather than divine revelation.

There are good theological arguments for treating either ontology or epistemology first. From a divine perspective, the ontological reality of God precedes God’s epistemological revelation of himself to his creatures. But from a human perspective, our access to the reality of God depends upon the accommodation of God to our knowledge by means of his personal revelation. This revelation comes in the forms which we inhabit such as through sight and hearing. Whichever locus is treated first will, however, immediately require deep interaction with the other locus. Future systematic theologians reading this text, we believe, should feel free to begin with either God or revelation but should avoid failing to engage both adequately.

Manifesting Scripture’s continual dialectic of incorporating both divine ontology and divine epistemology, one of the richest New Testament declarations of the deity of Jesus Christ, the preface to the book of Hebrews, also contains one of the thickest descriptions of the activity of divine revelation. This passage from the book of Hebrews serves as the primary whetstone upon which our thoughts about the revelation of God shall be sharpened in this chapter. The Holy Bible’s correlation of the doctrine of revelation with the doctrine of Christ is no mere coincidence, for God’s perfect revelation of himself is his only begotten Son. The canonical treatment of theological epistemology is deeply bound together with theological ontology.

In plain language, we may say, God is the God who speaks. Likewise, The God who speaks is God. The Word of God speaks of God perfectly, because the Word of God is God himself. God says Jesus Christ is not merely the epistemological way God has spoken to us, although He is that too. Jesus Christ is also his Son in the highest ontological and eternal sense. The inextricable connection between Christian belief in both Christ as divine revelation and Christ as divine person, however, contradicts the preference of the modern guild of biblical theology. That important discipline preferred to discuss the function of Christ for the believer while bypassing the nature of God in Christ.⁴⁰ Future theologians reading this text, we believe, should not feel free to ignore either function or ontology but should engage both.

The canonical book of Hebrews has much to say about both divine epistemology and divine ontology, so we shall begin this abstract book about special revelation and Scripture by listening to that concretely personal and passionate scriptural text. Introducing his epistle with a statement about epistemological superiority, the self-effacing author explained the older revelations to the prophets had accelerated and culminated in the Son of God himself.

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Heb 1:1–3)

The prologue concludes in verse 4 by affirming the personal superiority (kreittōn) of the Son. The prologue to Hebrews hereby both demonstrates and asserts the superiority of the revelation of God in Christ. The idea of the Son’s unparalleled excellence also provides the Letter to the Hebrews with a certain Christological structure.⁴¹ Madison Pierce recently provided detailed evidence that the book of Hebrews also contains a trinitarian structure from the perspective of its doctrine of revelation.⁴² With this Christological and trinitarian theme and structure in mind, we shall first consider common biblical terms for revelation in the book of Hebrews and in Scripture more generally before turning to a delineation of the twelve major