by Josh Liu
Every person (and counseling system) operates on a presupposed worldview. That set of beliefs form a system through which a person interprets his observations, thoughts, experiences, actions, feelings, past, values, problems, etc. Therefore, it is critical to establish or define the biblical counselor’s worldview—this series introduces the underlying theology that makes biblical counseling biblical.
Studying theology and doctrine will help to organize and summarize the vast amount of information that Scripture provides on a given subject. We start with understanding Scripture itself. Here is a brief primer on the doctrines of inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture.
The Bible is God’s special revelation to man. Dr. James Mook describes special revelation as
the personal and primarily verbal disclosing of God’s existence and perfections (including His will and His truth) by supernatural means to particular selected persons, for various purposes, including (after the fall) bringing people to be saved and worship him aright. Before the Second Advent of Christ, the final special revelation consists primarily of the words of the Bible (Rev 22:18-20). [1]
In other words, Scripture is God’s personal revelation of Himself and His purposes in creation. The Bible, God’s recoding of His special revelation, claims at least three crucial attributes: (1) divine inspiration, (2) inerrancy, and (3) authority.
The Bible is inspired by God. The original autographs (manuscripts) of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments were God-breathed in which the Holy Spirit used human authors to record divine revelation (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21). The Bible is not ultimately the product of human thought or expression. God used human authors to record His very words (Ex. 34:27; Rev. 22:6). John Walvoord says,
God so supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture that without excluding their human intelligence, their individuality, their literary style, their personal feelings, or any other human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy, the very words of Scripture bearing the authority of divine authorship. [2]
In other words, God used men to communicate and record His message. Every word, syntax, and aspect of Scripture is inspired of God (i.e., verbal plenary inspiration). Since the Bible is from God, it contains no error.
The Bible is completely inerrant in the original autographs. Since the Bible is from God, it reflects His perfections: He does not lie (Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2); His words are pure (Ps. 12:6); His every word proves true (Prov. 30:5); He is the God of truth (Is. 65:16); and His worth is truth (John 17:17). Dr. Mook says, “the words of the Bible in their historical, grammatical, literary, and moral settings in the original autographs of the Bible are wholly true in what they affirm, in every respect, whether these words concern doctrine, morality, history, or any of the sciences.” [3] The Bible is not primarily a history or science textbook, but when it addresses areas relating to history and science, it is completely free from error in the same way when it addresses the spiritual. Since the Bible is inspired by God and inerrant, it is completely authoritative.
The Bible is supreme and absolute, regardless of its reception by people. What the Bible says on an issue is what God says on an issue. Since God is authoritative over all of His creation, we regard His Word as divinely authoritative. Wayne Grudem says, “all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.” [4] Thus, every person ought to submit to the Bible. We are to understand all of creation and reality through Scripture, and we must submit to it by faithful obedience (cf. Ezra 7:10; John 6:68; 2 Tim. 3:17; 1 John 2:3-6).
[1] Dr. James Mook, “Theology 1: Section 2: Bibliology, Part 1: General/Natural Revelation,” (Lecture, The Master’s Seminary, Summer 2014), 1.
[2] John Walvoord, The Holy Spirit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991), 58.
[3] Dr. James Mook, “Theoloy 1: Section 2: Bibliology, Part 5: The Inerrancy of Scripture Defined,” (Lecture, The Master’s Seminary, Summer 2014), 84.
[4] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 73.