Knowing God: The Authority of Scripture and Special Revelation

In preparation for this week's class, please read:

Psalm 119:105-112, 2 Timothy 3:10-17

Also read this news story: Basilica Bones are St. Paul's…  So what does that prove? Is it important to you?

How about this one: Fit for a Queen: Jezebel's Royal Seal

Calvin says that true knowledge of God is through Scripture alone and that the authenticity of Scripture is not established by rational proof but by the “secret testimony of the Spirit.” 

Scripture reveals Jesus as the Word made flesh and Scripture is “useful” for the building up of the person of God. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith borrows heavily from the Institutes when it says in Chapter One:

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet they are not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation; therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God's revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

Please read the first chapter of the Confession in its entirety in preparation for the class

Calvin anticipates much of the higher criticism that would mark the life of academic scholarship 300 years later when he wrote: But although we may maintain the sacred Word of God against gainsayers, it does not follow that we shall forthwith implant the certainty which faith requires in their hearts. Profane men think that religion rests only on opinion, and, therefore, that they may not believe foolishly, or on slight grounds, desire and insist to have it proved by reason that Moses and the prophets were divinely inspired. But I answer, that the testimony of the Spirit is superior to reason. For as God alone can properly bear witness to his own words, so these words will not obtain full credit in the hearts of men, until they are sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit. The same Spirit, therefore, who spoke by the mouth of the prophets, must penetrate our hearts, in order to convince us that they faithfully delivered the message with which they were divinely entrusted. (1.vii.6)

He will go on to say, "Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture indeed is self-authenticating; hence it is not right to subject it to proof and reasoning." (1.vii.5, McNeill translation) Yet Calvin is not anti-intellectual or academic. (See 1.vii)

  • With which would you be more likely to agree:  "The Bible is God's Word because it is true" or "The Bible is true because it is God's Word"?
  • What authority might this "self-authenticating" Scripture have in the lives of those whose hearts have not yet been penetrated by the Spirit? (Institutes 2.vii.6-12)
  • How do we avoid individualistic or subjective interpretations of the Bible if the Holy Spirit is the final authenticator of Scripture?
  • In what ways has Scripture been confirmed as true in your life with Christ?

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