Devotional 4: The Authority of Scripture: Why It Depends on God Alone

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.

— Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1, Section 4

Introduction: Who Decides What God's Word Is?

In Section 1 we saw that Scripture is necessary — the light of nature cannot save. In Section 2 we saw which books constitute that Scripture — the sixty-six books of the canon. In Section 3 we saw that the Apocrypha are not part of it. But now we face the deepest question of all: why should I believe the Bible? On what does its authority rest?

Scripture Foundation

This section is the hinge upon which the entire Protestant doctrine of Scripture turns. The Westminster Divines are making a claim that strikes at the very heart of the controversy between Rome and the Reformation: the Bible does not borrow its authority from the church; it carries the authority of God Himself. The proof texts for this claim are drawn from Scripture's own testimony about itself. 1 John 5:9 — "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son." The Apostle John here makes a comparison that is as simple as it is profound. We accept human testimony every day — in courts of law, in the testimony of historians, in the reports of trusted friends. If human testimony is sufficient for the ordinary affairs of life, how much more is the testimony of God Himself sufficient for the affairs of the soul? The Confession draws on this principle: if God speaks, His Word carries its own authority. It does not need the church's stamp of approval any more than the sun needs a candle to prove that it is shining. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 — "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." This verse is one of the most important in the entire New Testament for understanding the nature of Scripture. Paul is commending the Thessalonians for making a crucial distinction: they did not receive his preaching as merely human teaching, but as the very Word of God. The Greek phrase here carries the sense of "just as it truly is" — the Word of God. The apostle is not saying that his words become the Word of God when the church receives them; he is saying that they are the Word of God, and the Thessalonians recognized them as such. The authority was intrinsic, not conferred. 2 Peter 1:19 — "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." Peter had just witnessed the transfiguration of Christ. He had heard the voice of God from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son." And yet he declares that the written Word of prophecy is "more sure" — the Greek bebaioteron means "more firm, more certain" — than even his own experience of the divine voice. Why? Because the written Word is permanent and testable. It does not depend on the reliability of human memory or the vividness of human experience. It stands, fixed and unchanging, as the objective testimony of God. John 5:34 — "I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved." Our Lord Himself said these words in the context of His debate with the Pharisees. He was not denying that human testimony has its place; He was asserting that His authority came from a higher source. The Confession applies this principle to Scripture itself: the Bible does not derive its authority from the testimony of men, however learned or holy those men may be. It carries the authority of its divine Author. Titus 1:2 — "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." The Confession's phrase "God (who is truth itself)" draws deeply on this and similar passages. The Greek word apseudes — "cannot lie" — is a powerful affirmation of the very character of God. Because God is truth itself, His Word — which proceeds from Him — is also truth. There is a direct chain from the character of God to the authority of Scripture. You cannot separate the two. To doubt Scripture is to doubt God. To reject Scripture is to reject God. To disobey Scripture is to disobey God.

What the Divines Meant

The Great Controversy The Westminster Divines drafted this section with the Council of Trent squarely in view. At its fourth session in 1546, the Council of Trent had declared that the authority of Scripture depends upon the church's determination. The Roman Catholic argument was that since the church decided which books belong to the canon, the church stands over Scripture — and therefore Scripture's authority is, in some sense, conferred by the church. The Divines saw this as a catastrophic error. John Calvin had called it "a wicked falsehood" to claim that Scripture's credibility depends on the church. "Nothing," Calvin wrote, "can be more absurd than the fiction that the power of judging Scripture is in the Church, and that on her nod its certainty depends." If this were true, Calvin argued, "the eternal and inviolable truth of God could depend on the will of men," which is "a great insult to the Holy Spirit." The Divines understood that the issue was not merely academic. If the church determines Scripture's authority, then the church can also determine its interpretation. And if the church determines interpretation, then the church becomes the ultimate authority — not Scripture. The Reformation principle of sola Scriptura — Scripture alone — was at stake. Robert Shaw on the Two Kinds of Testimony Robert Shaw, in his exposition of the Confession, draws an important distinction between the two kinds of "testimony" mentioned in Sections 4 and 5. In Section 4, when the Confession says Scripture's authority does not depend on "the testimony of any man, or church," it is speaking of testimony to the truth of Scripture — the authoritative declaration of divine truth. In Section 5, when the Confession says we may be "moved and induced by the testimony of the church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture," it is speaking of a different kind of testimony — testimony to the authenticity or genuineness of the biblical books. The distinction is crucial. The church can tell us that Paul wrote Romans and that Matthew wrote a Gospel — this is historical testimony, like any other historical witness. But the church cannot make Romans authoritative by declaring it so. The authority of Romans comes from God, who inspired it. The church merely recognizes and transmits what God has already given. A.A. Hodge on the Product of the Spirit A.A. Hodge sharpens this distinction with characteristic precision. He writes that Rome makes "the Scriptures a product of the Spirit through the Church, while, in fact, the Church is a product of the Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word." The church does not produce the Word; the Word produces the church. As the Apostle Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:20, the church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" — that is, upon their doctrine, which is contained in Scripture. The foundation must exist before the building that rests upon it. Hodge gives a helpful analogy: a subject may bear witness to the identity of an heir to the crown. But the witness's testimony does not make the heir the king; it merely recognizes what is already true. So the church's testimony to Scripture does not make Scripture authoritative; it recognizes the authority that Scripture already possesses as the Word of God.

Theological Depth

John Calvin on the Self-Authenticating Light of Scripture Calvin's treatment of the authority of Scripture in the Institutes of the Christian Religion is one of the great masterpieces of Reformed theology. He argues that Scripture is autopiston — self-authenticating. It does not need the church's decree to prove its divine origin any more than light needs a candle to prove that it shines, or honey needs a declaration to prove that it is sweet. Calvin writes: "Scripture bears upon the face of it as clear evidence of its truth, as white and black do of their colour, sweet and bitter of their taste." The evidence is not external but internal. The same Spirit who inspired the Word also illumines the reader, so that the sheep recognize the Shepherd's voice. This is why the Confession says that Scripture "doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God" by its "heavenliness of matter, efficacy of doctrine, majesty of style, consent of all parts, scope of the whole, and entire perfection thereof." But Calvin adds a crucial qualification. These external evidences, however powerful, are not sufficient in themselves to produce saving faith. "Our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof," as the Confession will say in Section 5, "is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts." The external arguments may convince the mind, but only the Spirit can convince the heart. Thomas Watson on the King's Proclamation Thomas Watson gives one of the most memorable illustrations in all of Puritan literature. The Roman Catholics, he says, point to 1 Timothy 3:15, where the church is called "the pillar and ground of the truth," and argue from this that Scripture derives its authority from the church. Watson replies with an analogy that is as clear as it is devastating. "The king's proclamation is fixed on the pillar," Watson writes. "The pillar holds it out, that all may read — but the proclamation does not receive its authority from the pillar, but from the king. So the church holds forth the Scriptures — but they do not receive their authority from the church, but from God." The pillar does not make the proclamation authoritative; it displays what is already authoritative. If a man tears the proclamation down from the pillar, the proclamation does not lose its force — the king's authority stands behind it regardless. So if the church were to fall into error, Scripture would not lose its authority. The authority of the Word is in the Word itself, because God is its Author. B.B. Warfield on Divine Authorship B.B. Warfield, the great Princeton theologian, takes up the same theme. He argues that the doctrine of Scripture's authority is "based on the distinct and prior doctrine of their divine authorship." If God is the Author of Scripture, then Scripture carries His authority intrinsically. The question is not whether the church recognizes this authority, but whether God has spoken. Warfield notes the wisdom of the Westminster Divines in placing their emphasis where they did. They did not begin with a theory of inspiration; they began with the fact of divine authorship. "The least that I could possibly confess," Warfield writes, "is the utmost that my Confession asks me to confess" — that the Scriptures are "of divine authorship, throughout and throughout." This divine authorship is "the wall of fire round about" the Word, protecting it from being reduced to a merely human record. Herman Witsius on the Ground of Faith Herman Witsius, in his great work The Economy of the Covenants, defines saving faith as "a full assent of mind, on the authority of the testimony of God." The ground of faith is not the church's testimony, not the believer's reason, not the experience of the heart — but the authority of God Himself, speaking in His Word. Witsius argues that the believer acknowledges the mysteries of Scripture "in the light of grace" as divinely true. This is not a blind leap in the dark; it is the reasonable response of a soul that has been illuminated by the Spirit to recognize the voice of its Creator. The authority is objective — it is in the Word itself. The recognition is subjective — it is wrought by the Spirit in the heart. But the two are never separated. The Spirit works through the Word, and the Word is made effective by the Spirit. John Owen on the Spirit and the Word John Owen, the prince of the Puritan divines, devoted his life to showing the inseparable connection between the Word of God and the Spirit of God. In his monumental work The Divine Original of the Scripture, Owen argues that the same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures must also illuminate them. The Word without the Spirit is a dead letter; the Spirit without the Word is a fanatical delusion. The two belong together, as the sun and its rays belong together. Owen writes with his characteristic depth: "The Word is the instrument which the Spirit uses. The Spirit is the agent who makes the Word effectual. Neither is the Word effectual without the Spirit, nor does the Spirit ordinarily work without the Word. They are joined together by God Himself, and no man may put them asunder." This is the great safeguard against two opposite errors. On the one hand, the rationalist treats the Word as a self-sufficient document that can be understood by human reason alone — but the Word without the Spirit leaves the soul in darkness. On the other hand, the enthusiast claims direct illumination from the Spirit apart from the Word — but the Spirit without the Word leads to fanaticism and delusion. The Reformed faith holds both together: the Word is the authority, and the Spirit is the illuminator. Francis Turretin on the Internal Witness of the Spirit Francis Turretin, the great Genevan theologian, gives a precise formulation of the Reformed doctrine in his Institutes of Elenctic Theology. He distinguishes carefully between the external arguments for the divine origin of Scripture — its majesty, its antiquity, its miracles, the fulfillment of its prophecies — and the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. The external arguments, Turretin says, can produce a rational persuasion that the Bible is from God. But only the internal witness of the Spirit can produce that full assurance which is saving faith. Turretin uses a helpful analogy: the external arguments are like someone pointing out to you that the sun is shining. They can direct your attention to the evidence. But only your own eyes, opened to receive the light, can actually see the sun. The Spirit opens the eyes of the soul, so that what was merely argued becomes directly perceived. The authority of Scripture is not demonstrated to the intellect alone; it is sealed upon the heart by the Spirit. Robert Shaw on the Self-Evidencing Light of Scripture Robert Shaw, in his exposition of the Confession, emphasizes that the Confession presents a twofold ground for our reception of Scripture. The first is the external evidence — the "heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole." These are real and powerful arguments. But they are not sufficient in themselves. Shaw writes: "Such arguments as these may produce a rational conviction that the Scriptures are the Word of God; but it is only the Holy Spirit's effectual application of them to the heart, in their self-evidencing light and power, that can produce a cordial and saving persuasion of their divine authority." The difference between a merely intellectual assent to Scripture and a saving faith in Scripture is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God. The one is the work of the mind; the other is the work of the Spirit. The Practical Implications for the Life of the Church The doctrine of Scripture's intrinsic authority has direct and practical consequences for how the church lives and ministers. If Scripture derives its authority from God and not from the church, then the church is always under the Word, never over it. This means that every church teaching, every church practice, every church tradition must be brought to the bar of Scripture. What the church commands must be what Scripture commands. What the church forbids must be what Scripture forbids. The church has no authority to bind the conscience where Scripture is silent. This principle is the foundation of liberty of conscience. As the Westminster Confession itself will later declare, "God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to His Word, or beside it, in matters of faith or worship." When the church forgets that it is under the Word, it becomes a tyrant over the conscience. When it remembers, it becomes a servant of the gospel. The great Puritan minister Samuel Rutherford, who suffered imprisonment for his fidelity to Scripture, wrote: "I have found that the Word of God is a lamp to my feet, and it hath led me through many dark steps. When all other comforts fail, this one abides — that God hath spoken, and His Word is sure." This is the testimony of every believer who has learned to rest on the authority of God alone. The Significance of This Section The fourth section of the Confession stands as a bulwark against every attempt to subject Scripture to any human authority. Rome subjected Scripture to the church. The rationalists subject Scripture to human reason. The enthusiasts subject Scripture to individual experience. The Confession rejects all three errors with a single, clear statement: the authority of Scripture depends wholly upon God, who is truth itself. This does not mean that the church has no role. The church is the "pillar and ground of the truth" — it holds up the Word, proclaims it, and commends it to the world. But the church does not create the truth it proclaims. As John Calvin said, the church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" — it rests on Scripture, not Scripture on it.

Puritan Application

Now let us bring this great doctrine home to our own souls. First, examine the foundation of your faith. Where does your confidence in Scripture ultimately rest? Do you believe the Bible is God's Word because your parents taught you so, because your church tells you so, because your pastor preaches it? These are good things; God uses means. But if your faith rests only on human testimony, it will shake when human testimony fails. Thomas Watson puts the question searching: "Where can we rest our faith, but upon God's faithfulness? To trust in ourselves is to build upon quicksands; but the truth of God is a golden pillar for faith to rest upon." Have you passed from hearing about God to hearing God Himself in His Word? Has the Spirit borne witness with the Word in your heart? Second, do you approach Scripture as the Word of God or as the word of men? There is a world of difference between reading the Bible as a great book and reading it as the voice of the living God. The Thessalonians received Paul's preaching "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God." Do you read with that same recognition? When you open your Bible, do you say to yourself, "God is speaking to me"? The Puritans would press this question relentlessly. If you treat the Bible as a human book, you will read it as you read any other book — critically, selectively, at your convenience. But if you know it to be the Word of God, you will read it with reverence, with submission, with hunger, with trembling. Third, do you submit to Scripture even when it contradicts your preferences? The true test of authority is not whether we obey when we agree, but whether we obey when we disagree. If Scripture's authority depends on our approval, then we are the judge of Scripture — and the authority is ultimately our own. But if Scripture's authority is from God, then we must submit even when it crosses our will, challenges our assumptions, or wounds our pride. The Puritan divine William Perkins said: "The Word of God is the only rule of faith and life. We may not add to it nor detract from it." This applies not only to adding or subtracting books from the canon, but to adding or subtracting our obedience. Is there a command in Scripture you are neglecting? A truth you are avoiding? A doctrine you have rejected because it makes you uncomfortable? If so, you are treating that portion of Scripture as if it were not from God. Fourth, do you use the means the Spirit has appointed? If our full persuasion comes from the inward work of the Spirit, then we must use the means through which the Spirit works. The Spirit works by and with the Word. He does not give new revelations; He illumines the revelation already given. Therefore, if you want your faith strengthened, you must go to the Word. Read it. Meditate upon it. Hear it preached. Study it with the people of God. Do not look for signs and wonders to confirm your faith. Do not wait for an inner voice or a special revelation. The Spirit speaks through the Scriptures. As Calvin wrote, "The Spirit of God acts regularly; it works in and by the Word." If you neglect the Word, you will not hear the Spirit. Fifth, do you receive the Word as authoritative because it is God's Word? The question is not whether you believe the Bible is true — many devils believe that and tremble. The question is whether you submit to it because you recognize it as the voice of your Creator. A subject may acknowledge that a king's decree exists, but only a loyal subject obeys it. Have you submitted your life to the authority of Scripture, even where it crosses your natural desires? Sixth, are you a "Bible-Christian"? Watson exhorts his readers: "Be Scripture-men, Bible-Christians." The word "Bible-Christian" is a beautiful phrase. It describes a man whose faith is grounded in the Word, who tests everything by the Word, who lives by the Word. Such a man does not need the pope to tell him what to believe, or the church to tell him what is true. He has the Word of God, and the Spirit of God opens it to his understanding. But how does the Spirit open the Word to our understanding? That is the question we will take up in Section 5, where the Confession teaches us about the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. But this carries a solemn responsibility. If you have the Word, you will be judged by the Word. You cannot plead ignorance, for the Scriptures are plain. You cannot plead that you were misled, for the Scriptures are sufficient. You have the very words of God. Will you read them? Will you believe them? Will you obey them? Seventh, do you tremble at the Word or trifle with it? The Puritans observed that many people treat the Bible as a common book, reading it carelessly, setting it aside for weeks at a time, preferring other reading to it. Watson condemns those who "can go whole weeks and months and never read the Word" and who "lay it aside as rusty armor." He adds with holy irony: "They prefer a play or romance before Scripture." If the Bible is the Word of the living God — and the Confession affirms that it is — then to neglect it is to neglect God. To prefer other books to it is to prefer the words of men to the words of the Almighty. The early Christians would have given anything for a leaf of the Scriptures. Many of the martyrs went to the stake with only a few pages memorized in their hearts. We have the whole canon, and yet we leave it unopened. May God forgive us. Eighth, are you transformed by the Word you read? Because the Word carries divine authority, reading it is not like reading any other book. It is meant to change you. Watson says the Word is not a "romance" to be read for entertainment but a "spiritual telescope" through which we see God and are transformed into His image. If you read the Bible and remain unchanged — if your heart is not warmed, your conscience not stirred, your will not moved — then you have not yet felt its authority. Ask the Spirit to make the Word effectual in your soul, that you may say with David, "Thy word hath quickened me." Ninth, do you rest on the authority of God alone in an age of uncertainty? We live in a time when every authority is questioned — the authority of Scripture, the authority of the church, the authority of conscience. The world tells us that truth is relative, that every man determines his own reality, that there is no fixed standard. The Confession's answer to this chaos is the same as it was in the seventeenth century: the authority of Scripture depends wholly upon God, who is truth itself. When everything around you is shaking, the Word of God stands firm. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever. You may lose your health, your wealth, your reputation, your friends. But you cannot lose the Word of God. It is as permanent as its Author. As Isaiah declared: "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" Isaiah 40:6-8. The Puritan Richard Sibbes, the great physician of the soul, wrote: "The Word of God is a sure anchor in all storms. When the winds blow and the waves rise, the soul that is anchored in the promises of God will not be moved. For the promise is not the word of man, which may fail; it is the Word of God, which cannot fail." Let this be your confidence in every trial. The God who spoke in the Scriptures cannot lie, and His Word will never pass away.

Prayer

Blessed Lord, who art truth itself and canst not lie, we give Thee thanks that Thou hast spoken to us in Thy holy Word. We confess that we often approach Thy Scriptures as if they were merely human writings, not recognizing the voice of the living God in every page. Grant us, we beseech Thee, the inward witness of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may receive Thy Word not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God. Convince our hearts of its divine authority, that we may submit to it with reverence and joy. Deliver us from the temptation to subject Thy Word to any human authority — whether of the church, of reason, or of our own fallen hearts. Teach us that Thy Scripture carries its own evidence, shining with the self-authenticating light of its divine Author. Help us to build our faith not upon the shifting sands of human opinion, but upon the golden pillar of Thy truth. When doubts assail us, anchor us in the promises of Thy Word. When temptations press us, arm us with the sword of the Spirit. When we wander, guide us by the lamp of Thy Word. Lord, we confess that we have often treated Thy Scriptures lightly. Forgive us for preferring other books to this Book of books. Forgive us for approaching Thy Word without reverence, hearing it without obedience, and possessing it without gratitude. We repent of the times we have submitted Thy Word to the judgment of our own reason, as if we were qualified to sit in judgment over Thee. We repent of the times we have allowed the traditions of men to outweigh the commands of Scripture. We repent of the times we have sought guidance from our own impressions and feelings rather than from the sure light of Thy Word. Create in us a hunger for Thy Word that surpasses our desire for daily bread. Make us like the blessed man who delights in Thy law and meditates upon it day and night. And when at last we shall see Thee face to face, may we bless Thee forever for the Word that led us to the Word made flesh, even Jesus Christ our Lord, who with Thee and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.