Basic Theology: What We Believe & Why We Believe It

3 The Word of God

Christendom has always reposed upon the belief that the utterances of this book are properly
oracles of God. The whole body of Christian literature bears witness to this fact. We may trace its
stream to its source, and everywhere it is vocal with a living faith in the divine trustworthiness of the
Scriptures of God in every one of their affirmations. B. B. Warfield (1851-1921)

The Nature of the Bible Definitions of Inspiration

The ________________________________________ of Scripture. Ryrie: God superintended
the human authors of the
o Relevant Verses: Bible so that they composed
and recorded without error
His message to mankind in
2 Timothy 3:16 the words of their original
writings.
2 Peter 1:21
Erickson: That supernatural
influence of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:13 on the Scripture writers that
rendered their writings an
o The Bible was given through __________________________, accurate record of the
revelation or that resulted in
_________________________ _____________________________. what they wrote actually
being the Word of God.
Inspired = ______________________________________ Frame: A divine act creating
an identity between a divine
Every ______________________________ in Scripture word and a human word.

Bird: Gods superintending

Every ______________________________ of Scripture of the sources and authors of
the biblical texts in order to
o This means the Bible has _________________-authorship. reflect the form and content
of the revelation that he
The Bible ____________________________ with God intended the church to
receive.
and expresses his ___________________. Enns: The Holy Spirits
superintending over the
The Bible also _________________________ the writers so that while writing
according to their own styles
and personalities, the result
___________________ authors who wrote it down. was Gods Word written
authoritative, trustworthy,
and free from error in the
original autographs.
In the writing of the Scriptures the human authors wrote in such freedom as to
leave the evidence of their personal human characteristics; yet these authors did Warfield: A supernatural
not fall into errors being, as they were during the time of their writing, not influence exerted on the
allowed to act apart from, or contrary to, the precise mind of God, whose Word sacred writers by the Spirit
they wrote. of God, by virtue of which
their writings are given
Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952) Divine trustworthiness.

2015 Community Bible Church | 201 Whittier Ave., Dunellen, NJ 08812 | www.communitybiblechurchnj.com
 Basic Theology: What We Believe & Why We Believe It

The ________________________________________ of Scripture. Chicago Statement on

Biblical Inerrancy
o _________________________ = without ____________________ (Short Statement)
or _____________________________ statements on matters 1. God, who is Himself Truth
and speaks truth only, has
of ____________________ and _________________________. inspired Holy Scripture in
order thereby to reveal
Himself to lost mankind
o _________________________ = completely and totally through Jesus Christ as
Creator and Lord, Redeemer
without __________________________ in the original and Judge. Holy Scripture is
Gods witness to Himself.
________________________________________
2. Holy Scripture, being
Gods own Word, written by
o Each passage of the Bible must be interpreted in light men prepared and
superintended by His Spirit,
of its ________________________, _________________________, is of infallible divine
authority in all matters upon
which it touches: it is to be
_________________________, and _________________________. believed, as Gods
instruction, in all that it
Inerrancy means when all facts are known, the Scriptures in their original affirms; obeyed, as Gods
autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be wholly true in command, in all that it
everything that they affirm, whether that has to do with doctrine or morality or requires; embraced, as Gods
with the social, physical, or life sciences. pledge, in all that it
promises.
Paul D. Feinberg
3. The Holy Spirit, its divine
Author, both authenticates it
to us by His inward witness
The Characteristics of the Bible and opens our minds to
understand its meaning.
The ________________________________________ of Scripture 4. Being wholly and verbally
God-given, Scripture is
o The Bible contains ____________________ necessary for without error or fault in all
its teaching, no less in what
faith and practice. it states about Gods acts in
creation and the events of
world history, and about its
o God communicates through the ______________________ own literary origins under
God, than in its witness to
of God revealing the ______________________ of God by Gods saving grace in
individual lives.
illuminating the ______________________ of God. 5. The authority of Scripture
is inescapably impaired if
The ________________________________________ of Scripture this total divine inerrancy is
in any way limited or
disregarded, or made
o The Bibles message is ______________________ enough to relative to a view of truth
contrary to the Bibles own;
be understood by ______________________ who reads it. and such lapses bring
serious loss to both the
individual and the Church.

2015 Community Bible Church | 201 Whittier Ave., Dunellen, NJ 08812 | www.communitybiblechurchnj.com
 Basic Theology: What We Believe & Why We Believe It

The ______________________________________ of Scripture The Bible is very easy to

o The Bible is the ____________________ word.
o The Bible supersedes human __________________,
______________________, and _____________________.
understand. But we Christians are a
bunch of scheming swindlers. We
pretend to be unable to understand it
because we know very well that the
minute we understand we are
obliged to act accordingly.

Sren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

The ______________________________________ of Scripture

o ___________________________ revelation is not enough.

o We cannot know _________________, ______________________, or _______________________

apart from Scripture.

Memory Verses:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 2 Peter 1:20-21 Psalm 19:7-11

Suggested Reading:
DeYoung, Kevin. Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and
What That Means for You and Me. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014. 146 pp.

Bibliography:
Bird, Michael F. Evangelical Theology: A Biblical and Systematic Introduction. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 2013.

Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993.

Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Revised and Expanded. Chicago: Moody
Publishers, 2008.

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.

Frame, John M. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. Philipsburg, NJ: P&R
Publishing Company, 2013.

Geisler, Norman L., ed. Inerrancy. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980.

*Ryrie, Charles C. Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth.
Chicago: Moody Press, 1999.

Warfield, Benjamin B. The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield. Vol. 1, Revelation and Inspiration.
Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008.

2015 Community Bible Church | 201 Whittier Ave., Dunellen, NJ 08812 | www.communitybiblechurchnj.com