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00:00:01 “All Scripture 00:00:04 is inspired of God.” 00:00:08 Now, let’s stop right there 00:00:11 and unpack that statement, 00:00:13 because there’s a lot to unpack. 00:00:16 Let’s take the last part first, “inspired of God.” 00:00:21 Now, you know what that means. 00:00:24 It means that God put his thoughts 00:00:27 into the mind of man, 00:00:29 and then men wrote them down. 00:00:32 You know what that means. 00:00:34 But now, when you tell a householder from house-to-house 00:00:38 that the Bible is inspired by God, 00:00:40 does the householder necessarily know what you mean? 00:00:44 Not necessarily. 00:00:47 Why not? 00:00:48 Because the word “inspired” is thrown around rather casually today. 00:00:54 “This motion picture was inspired by real events.” 00:01:00 God is not in the picture. 00:01:02 A poet or a songwriter 00:01:05 is inspired by a sunset. 00:01:09 And so if the householder doesn’t have a strong Bible background, 00:01:13 it’s not likely that he understands what you mean 00:01:16 when you say that the Bible is inspired by God. 00:01:18 And you’ll have to explain that the Bible 00:01:21 is God’s thoughts about men 00:01:23 and not man’s thoughts about God. 00:01:27 But now we’re going to spend most of our time on the first part of our text, 00:01:31 “all Scripture.” 00:01:34 And we have to ask, 00:01:37 How did Paul and the other Bible writers 00:01:40 and the early Christians in the first century—? 00:01:43 How did they determine 00:01:45 which writings were inspired 00:01:47 and which were not? 00:01:50 Now, we’ll examine three Bible texts that illustrate the problem. 00:01:54 Let’s turn to Luke 1:1. 00:02:00 I’ll give you a moment. 00:02:03 And our goal in reading this text 00:02:06 is to see if there is a problem with determining 00:02:10 whether a writing is inspired or not. 00:02:13 At Luke 1:1, Luke writes: 00:02:16 “Seeing that many have undertaken 00:02:21 to compile an account of the facts that are given full credence among us.” 00:02:26 What is Luke saying? 00:02:28 There were many gospels of Jesus Christ in the first century, 00:02:32 and yet only four of them were accepted as inspired. 00:02:37 Now, how was that determined? 00:02:40 Did the Christians put a bunch of manuscripts on the table 00:02:43 and say, “Oh, I like this one; this one, not so much”? 00:02:46 That wouldn’t be a very good way to determine 00:02:49 which books were canonical or not. 00:02:52 Now, as a second illustration, or example, 00:02:57 Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 00:03:00 was not Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:06 If you’ll turn to 1 Corinthians 5:9, 00:03:09 you’ll see what I mean. 00:03:20 At 1 Corinthians 5:9, 00:03:23 here Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: 00:03:28 “In my letter I wrote you 00:03:31 to stop keeping company with sexually immoral people.” 00:03:36 So there was a previous letter 00:03:39 before what we now call Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:42 I guess if you want to be picky, you would call this one 00:03:45 Paul’s first inspired letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:50 But now, that previous letter was never accepted 00:03:53 as part of the Bible canon. 00:03:55 Why not? 00:03:56 Was it a good letter? 00:03:58 No doubt it was. 00:04:00 Was it accurate in every way? 00:04:03 Maybe. 00:04:05 Maybe not. 00:04:07 It wasn’t inspired. 00:04:10 Now, why do we say maybe not? 00:04:13 Well, Insight made a very interesting comment 00:04:15 about the writings of Bible writers 00:04:18 when they were not writing under inspiration. 00:04:21 And speaking of these writings, 00:04:23 Insight says that they “may have reflected to some degree 00:04:27 “the incomplete understanding that existed in the early years 00:04:31 of the Christian congregation.” 00:04:33 So if someone was just writing for himself, 00:04:36 writing a letter to some congregation or some brother— 00:04:38 Maybe the disciple James was writing to someone early on 00:04:43 before the decision of circumcision was made, 00:04:46 and he said, ‘Well, it’s probably best 00:04:49 for Gentile Christians to be circumcised.’ 00:04:52 He might have said something like that. 00:04:54 But then, of course, when the decision was made 00:04:57 under the influence of holy spirit, 00:04:59 James would have written and spoken in harmony with holy spirit. 00:05:03 And, of course, his letter —the letter of James— 00:05:06 was written under inspiration. 00:05:08 So when Bible writers were inspired, 00:05:12 their letters and their writings were without error. 00:05:18 Now, for one last example, turn to Colossians 4:16. 00:05:38 And Paul writes: “And when this letter 00:05:41 “has been read among you, 00:05:43 “arrange for it also to be read 00:05:45 “in the congregation of the Laodiceans 00:05:48 and for you also to read the one from Laodicea.” 00:05:54 The letter to the Colossians, inspired. 00:05:57 The letter to the Laodiceans, not inspired. 00:06:01 Well, how was the decision made? 00:06:07 Now, the Catholic Church claims that the so-called fathers of the church 00:06:11 made the decision that they are the ones who compiled the Bible canon 00:06:14 at the Council of Carthage in 397 C.E., 00:06:19 but the decision was made much, much earlier than that. 00:06:24 And we have a clue when we read Peter’s words 00:06:27 at 2 Peter chapter 3 00:06:32 and verse 16. 00:06:35 We often read this verse for another reason, 00:06:39 but let’s read 2 Peter 3:16 00:06:42 and think about the Bible canon. 00:06:45 And here Peter is talking about Paul, 00:06:48 and he says: “Speaking about these things 00:06:51 as he does in all his letters.” 00:06:54 Now, Peter here is writing in the year 64 C.E. 00:06:59 And that means that at least 00:07:01 13 of Paul’s 14 letters 00:07:04 had already been circulated. 00:07:06 So he talked about Paul writing in all his letters. 00:07:11 “However, some things in them are hard to understand, 00:07:15 “and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, 00:07:19 as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 00:07:24 So here already in the year 64 C.E., 00:07:27 a decision had been made 00:07:31 that Paul’s letters were part of the Scriptures. 00:07:35 How? 00:07:37 Well, we haven’t answered the question. 00:07:40 We keep asking the question, but we haven’t answered it. 00:07:43 The answer is found at 1 Corinthians chapter 12 00:07:51 and verse 10. 00:07:54 And remember our point in reading this. 00:07:57 We’re looking for the way in which Christians 00:08:00 were able to determine in the first century 00:08:03 which Bible books and letters were inspired 00:08:07 and which were not. 00:08:09 So Paul is talking about the gifts of the spirit here, 00:08:12 and he says that there was given “to yet another 00:08:15 “operations of powerful works, 00:08:18 “to another prophesying, 00:08:20 “to another discernment 00:08:24 of inspired expressions.” 00:08:28 Certain Christians in the first century 00:08:32 had a miraculous gift of the spirit 00:08:35 that allowed them to determine, to discern, 00:08:39 which writings were inspired and which were not, 00:08:44 and that is how the Bible canon came together. 00:08:47 And when you think of it, it really makes sense, doesn’t it? 00:08:51 Holy spirit guided the writing of the Bible, 00:08:55 and holy spirit 00:08:57 guided the collection of the inspired writings together 00:09:02 into what we now know as “all Scripture.” 00:09:06 “All Scripture is inspired of God.”
00:00:01 “All Scripture 00:00:04 is inspired of God.” 00:00:08 Now, let’s stop right there 00:00:11 and unpack that statement, 00:00:13 because there’s a lot to unpack. 00:00:16 Let’s take the last part first, “inspired of God.” 00:00:21 Now, you know what that means. 00:00:24 It means that God put his thoughts 00:00:27 into the mind of man, 00:00:29 and then men wrote them down. 00:00:32 You know what that means. 00:00:34 But now, when you tell a householder from house-to-house 00:00:38 that the Bible is inspired by God, 00:00:40 does the householder necessarily know what you mean? 00:00:44 Not necessarily. 00:00:47 Why not? 00:00:48 Because the word “inspired” is thrown around rather casually today. 00:00:54 “This motion picture was inspired by real events.” 00:01:00 God is not in the picture. 00:01:02 A poet or a songwriter 00:01:05 is inspired by a sunset. 00:01:09 And so if the householder doesn’t have a strong Bible background, 00:01:13 it’s not likely that he understands what you mean 00:01:16 when you say that the Bible is inspired by God. 00:01:18 And you’ll have to explain that the Bible 00:01:21 is God’s thoughts about men 00:01:23 and not man’s thoughts about God. 00:01:27 But now we’re going to spend most of our time on the first part of our text, 00:01:31 “all Scripture.” 00:01:34 And we have to ask, 00:01:37 How did Paul and the other Bible writers 00:01:40 and the early Christians in the first century—? 00:01:43 How did they determine 00:01:45 which writings were inspired 00:01:47 and which were not? 00:01:50 Now, we’ll examine three Bible texts that illustrate the problem. 00:01:54 Let’s turn to Luke 1:1. 00:02:00 I’ll give you a moment. 00:02:03 And our goal in reading this text 00:02:06 is to see if there is a problem with determining 00:02:10 whether a writing is inspired or not. 00:02:13 At Luke 1:1, Luke writes: 00:02:16 “Seeing that many have undertaken 00:02:21 to compile an account of the facts that are given full credence among us.” 00:02:26 What is Luke saying? 00:02:28 There were many gospels of Jesus Christ in the first century, 00:02:32 and yet only four of them were accepted as inspired. 00:02:37 Now, how was that determined? 00:02:40 Did the Christians put a bunch of manuscripts on the table 00:02:43 and say, “Oh, I like this one; this one, not so much”? 00:02:46 That wouldn’t be a very good way to determine 00:02:49 which books were canonical or not. 00:02:52 Now, as a second illustration, or example, 00:02:57 Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians 00:03:00 was not Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:06 If you’ll turn to 1 Corinthians 5:9, 00:03:09 you’ll see what I mean. 00:03:20 At 1 Corinthians 5:9, 00:03:23 here Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: 00:03:28 “In my letter I wrote you 00:03:31 to stop keeping company with sexually immoral people.” 00:03:36 So there was a previous letter 00:03:39 before what we now call Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:42 I guess if you want to be picky, you would call this one 00:03:45 Paul’s first inspired letter to the Corinthians. 00:03:50 But now, that previous letter was never accepted 00:03:53 as part of the Bible canon. 00:03:55 Why not? 00:03:56 Was it a good letter? 00:03:58 No doubt it was. 00:04:00 Was it accurate in every way? 00:04:03 Maybe. 00:04:05 Maybe not. 00:04:07 It wasn’t inspired. 00:04:10 Now, why do we say maybe not? 00:04:13 Well, Insight made a very interesting comment 00:04:15 about the writings of Bible writers 00:04:18 when they were not writing under inspiration. 00:04:21 And speaking of these writings, 00:04:23 Insight says that they “may have reflected to some degree 00:04:27 “the incomplete understanding that existed in the early years 00:04:31 of the Christian congregation.” 00:04:33 So if someone was just writing for himself, 00:04:36 writing a letter to some congregation or some brother— 00:04:38 Maybe the disciple James was writing to someone early on 00:04:43 before the decision of circumcision was made, 00:04:46 and he said, ‘Well, it’s probably best 00:04:49 for Gentile Christians to be circumcised.’ 00:04:52 He might have said something like that. 00:04:54 But then, of course, when the decision was made 00:04:57 under the influence of holy spirit, 00:04:59 James would have written and spoken in harmony with holy spirit. 00:05:03 And, of course, his letter —the letter of James— 00:05:06 was written under inspiration. 00:05:08 So when Bible writers were inspired, 00:05:12 their letters and their writings were without error. 00:05:18 Now, for one last example, turn to Colossians 4:16. 00:05:38 And Paul writes: “And when this letter 00:05:41 “has been read among you, 00:05:43 “arrange for it also to be read 00:05:45 “in the congregation of the Laodiceans 00:05:48 and for you also to read the one from Laodicea.” 00:05:54 The letter to the Colossians, inspired. 00:05:57 The letter to the Laodiceans, not inspired. 00:06:01 Well, how was the decision made? 00:06:07 Now, the Catholic Church claims that the so-called fathers of the church 00:06:11 made the decision that they are the ones who compiled the Bible canon 00:06:14 at the Council of Carthage in 397 C.E., 00:06:19 but the decision was made much, much earlier than that. 00:06:24 And we have a clue when we read Peter’s words 00:06:27 at 2 Peter chapter 3 00:06:32 and verse 16. 00:06:35 We often read this verse for another reason, 00:06:39 but let’s read 2 Peter 3:16 00:06:42 and think about the Bible canon. 00:06:45 And here Peter is talking about Paul, 00:06:48 and he says: “Speaking about these things 00:06:51 as he does in all his letters.” 00:06:54 Now, Peter here is writing in the year 64 C.E. 00:06:59 And that means that at least 00:07:01 13 of Paul’s 14 letters 00:07:04 had already been circulated. 00:07:06 So he talked about Paul writing in all his letters. 00:07:11 “However, some things in them are hard to understand, 00:07:15 “and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, 00:07:19 as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 00:07:24 So here already in the year 64 C.E., 00:07:27 a decision had been made 00:07:31 that Paul’s letters were part of the Scriptures. 00:07:35 How? 00:07:37 Well, we haven’t answered the question. 00:07:40 We keep asking the question, but we haven’t answered it. 00:07:43 The answer is found at 1 Corinthians chapter 12 00:07:51 and verse 10. 00:07:54 And remember our point in reading this. 00:07:57 We’re looking for the way in which Christians 00:08:00 were able to determine in the first century 00:08:03 which Bible books and letters were inspired 00:08:07 and which were not. 00:08:09 So Paul is talking about the gifts of the spirit here, 00:08:12 and he says that there was given “to yet another 00:08:15 “operations of powerful works, 00:08:18 “to another prophesying, 00:08:20 “to another discernment 00:08:24 of inspired expressions.” 00:08:28 Certain Christians in the first century 00:08:32 had a miraculous gift of the spirit 00:08:35 that allowed them to determine, to discern, 00:08:39 which writings were inspired and which were not, 00:08:44 and that is how the Bible canon came together. 00:08:47 And when you think of it, it really makes sense, doesn’t it? 00:08:51 Holy spirit guided the writing of the Bible, 00:08:55 and holy spirit 00:08:57 guided the collection of the inspired writings together 00:09:02 into what we now know as “all Scripture.” 00:09:06 “All Scripture is inspired of God.”
