The Authority & Sufficiency of Scripture. Pt, 2 God's authority shown from the beginning.
Good morning...
What do we mean when we talk about the authority of scripture? Perhaps it is best to begin by thinking about the word "authority."
Websters 1828 dictionary defines the primary meaning as having the right to act with the legal power granting control over things. It means having the authority to rule, the authority to command and the authority to govern.
When we speak of the authority of scripture we of necessity speak of the God who gave us the scriptures. If scripture has authority it is because God Himself has authority.
God's authority is seen in Creation.
Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible as the Spirit of God guided him to record them. Only God knows how the time, space and matter continuum came to be and He was pleased to tell us about our origins because God wants us to know Him!
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Authority is ascribed to God in the first verse of the Bible. Not one thing existed before God subsequently created everything that is. His creation exhibits an infinite display of Divine power, wisdom and love. God has absolute authority and this is clearly communicated by His ability to create something from nothing and His governing power that makes it all operate as He designed it to.
God speaks 10 times in the first chapter of the Bible.
This is a significant revelation from God. He is a communicating God who holds the entire universe together by His Word. Let us take a brief look at these first occurrences to show the explicit and undeniable authority of God and His Word.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
This is the first time we read "And God said." What happened when God spoke? He commanded "Light be" and light was! Do we fully understand this? God spoke and commanded light to exist and it existed. Please think about what this single act teaches us about our God. He is truly omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He utters a word and something happens immediately. He spoke and light filled a previously darkened void.
Genesis 1:6-7 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
God spoke a second time and He caused the waters below to separate from the waters above. He caused them to divide into liquid and vapor forms with an expanse between. He spoke and it happened.
Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
God spoke a third time and commanded the waters on the earth to gather in one place in order to expose dry land. God spoke and it happened as He commanded.
Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
God spoke a fourth time and vegetation grew upon the earth and He commanded that each type of plant or tree reproduce after its kind. Now, this means that a pin oak tree will never reproduce anything other than another pin oak tree. A pin oak tree will never reproduce a maple tree or a pine tree or a willow tree.
Genesis 1:14-15 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
God spoke a fifth time and commanded the sun, moon and stars and He instituted the regulation of time and seasons. Time, days, years and seasons were put in place by God. This also means that the movement of all planetary bodies big and small including the path of their orbits and how fast they move through space are ordered by God.
Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
God spoke a sixth time and commanded all forms of animal life on land into existence. Notice again, each creature reproduces after its kind. Again, a horse will only reproduce another horse and an eagle will only reproduce another eagle.
I hope you also noticed that each time God spoke Moses noted that "it was so." This teaches us that when God speaks He does so with absolute authority. He acted with authority and the right to do whatever pleases Him.
God spoke to man with authority.
Gen 1:26-31 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God created man and gave them dominion over the earth. God created man in His own image. This means that man was created with a soul unlike animal or plant life. God created man with the ability to commune with Him.
"And God said" to Adam and Eve that they must reproduce and exercise dominion over all the earth. God told Adam and Even what they were permitted to eat and that they could eat from every tree in the garden of Eden except one. He spoke authoritatively to the man and woman He created.
What have we learned?
We learned what the word authority means and we saw many examples of how that word expressly applies to God speaking.
We learned that each time when God spoke during the process of creation that whatever He spoke happened immediately. "It was so."
We learned that after God created Adam and Eve, He spoke to them with authority. He gave them instructions and commands and they were expected to obey what He said.
In this series of posts we are delving into the authority and sufficiency of scripture. We know what authority means and we have seen it on vivid display in all that God does from the beginning.
When God speaks He does so with absolute authority! How will we respond to what we have learned so far? Will we submit to God's authority in His Word and be blessed or will we rebel against His authority and endure the certain consequences of our sin?
May we give the glory to God with how we respond to His authority.
What do we mean when we talk about the authority of scripture? Perhaps it is best to begin by thinking about the word "authority."
Websters 1828 dictionary defines the primary meaning as having the right to act with the legal power granting control over things. It means having the authority to rule, the authority to command and the authority to govern.
When we speak of the authority of scripture we of necessity speak of the God who gave us the scriptures. If scripture has authority it is because God Himself has authority.
God's authority is seen in Creation.
Moses wrote the first 5 books of the Bible as the Spirit of God guided him to record them. Only God knows how the time, space and matter continuum came to be and He was pleased to tell us about our origins because God wants us to know Him!
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Authority is ascribed to God in the first verse of the Bible. Not one thing existed before God subsequently created everything that is. His creation exhibits an infinite display of Divine power, wisdom and love. God has absolute authority and this is clearly communicated by His ability to create something from nothing and His governing power that makes it all operate as He designed it to.
God speaks 10 times in the first chapter of the Bible.
This is a significant revelation from God. He is a communicating God who holds the entire universe together by His Word. Let us take a brief look at these first occurrences to show the explicit and undeniable authority of God and His Word.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
This is the first time we read "And God said." What happened when God spoke? He commanded "Light be" and light was! Do we fully understand this? God spoke and commanded light to exist and it existed. Please think about what this single act teaches us about our God. He is truly omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He utters a word and something happens immediately. He spoke and light filled a previously darkened void.
Genesis 1:6-7 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
God spoke a second time and He caused the waters below to separate from the waters above. He caused them to divide into liquid and vapor forms with an expanse between. He spoke and it happened.
Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
God spoke a third time and commanded the waters on the earth to gather in one place in order to expose dry land. God spoke and it happened as He commanded.
Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
God spoke a fourth time and vegetation grew upon the earth and He commanded that each type of plant or tree reproduce after its kind. Now, this means that a pin oak tree will never reproduce anything other than another pin oak tree. A pin oak tree will never reproduce a maple tree or a pine tree or a willow tree.
Genesis 1:14-15 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
God spoke a fifth time and commanded the sun, moon and stars and He instituted the regulation of time and seasons. Time, days, years and seasons were put in place by God. This also means that the movement of all planetary bodies big and small including the path of their orbits and how fast they move through space are ordered by God.
Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
God spoke a sixth time and commanded all forms of animal life on land into existence. Notice again, each creature reproduces after its kind. Again, a horse will only reproduce another horse and an eagle will only reproduce another eagle.
I hope you also noticed that each time God spoke Moses noted that "it was so." This teaches us that when God speaks He does so with absolute authority. He acted with authority and the right to do whatever pleases Him.
God spoke to man with authority.
Gen 1:26-31 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
God created man and gave them dominion over the earth. God created man in His own image. This means that man was created with a soul unlike animal or plant life. God created man with the ability to commune with Him.
"And God said" to Adam and Eve that they must reproduce and exercise dominion over all the earth. God told Adam and Even what they were permitted to eat and that they could eat from every tree in the garden of Eden except one. He spoke authoritatively to the man and woman He created.
What have we learned?
We learned what the word authority means and we saw many examples of how that word expressly applies to God speaking.
We learned that each time when God spoke during the process of creation that whatever He spoke happened immediately. "It was so."
We learned that after God created Adam and Eve, He spoke to them with authority. He gave them instructions and commands and they were expected to obey what He said.
In this series of posts we are delving into the authority and sufficiency of scripture. We know what authority means and we have seen it on vivid display in all that God does from the beginning.
When God speaks He does so with absolute authority! How will we respond to what we have learned so far? Will we submit to God's authority in His Word and be blessed or will we rebel against His authority and endure the certain consequences of our sin?
May we give the glory to God with how we respond to His authority.
Bob
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