Is God's Word Our Authority?

Is God’s word our authority? Well, we have to first of all know what authority is. Authority is power, control, and the law that governs us. We have seen throughout the last three weeks that God’s word has the authority to create all we see around us, with nothing more than a spoken word. We have seen during Jesus’ ministry on earth that He had the authority over weather, demons, and even healing the sick and the lame. All he had to do is speak, and the job was done. We have also seen that God’s Word holds the truths about scientific laws, and mathematic equations, proving His Word to be authoritative. But, now we finely deal with the heart of the matter, is God’s word our authority? 

The first example of God’s authority is found in Psalm 119. In verse 11 it says, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”  (NASB) Then he says in verse 105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” It appears to the psalmist that God’s word is everything he needs. God’s word protects him so that he will not sin if he chooses to abide in God’s word. Further than that, God’s word guides him where he needs to be like a light guides our pathway in the dark. Doesn’t this language used seem to indicate authority? But, that was the Old Testament - let’s look at something more pertinent today.

The second example of God’s authority is found in the gospel of John, Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31). The lesson learned here is very similar to what the Psalmist wrote, and that is for those who make God’s word apart of their lives, safety and guidance will be given to them. 

The third example of God’s authority is found in Romans 1:16, when Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  What does Paul say the gospel is? He says of the gospel that, “it is the power of God for salvation”. The gospel, which is the good news, is power, and it is the source of our salvation. But again, there is a condition. We must believe. Those who want the protection that God gives must dwell in God’s word, to the point that they believe in it with all their heart. 

The fourth example of God’s authority is found in 2 Timothy 3:16, when Paul says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;” Notice, Paul does not say, “some scripture”, or, “most scripture,” but, “All Scripture”. The entire work of the Bible is profitable for those four nouns Paul shares with us. But, notice even further what the scriptures are intended for in verse 17, “so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” God’s word has the authority, the power, and the guidance for every good work we wish to accomplish as Christians, if only we will study it carefully and thoroughly applying it to our lives. 

These are just a few out of many examples we could look at in regards to God’s word having authority. Looking at these examples we can know for certain that God’s word is the power, authority and the law that we must answer to.  God’s word has the ability to guide us and protect us in this life if we choose to make it a part of us. God’s word has the ability to make us disciples of Christ; if we continue in His words. God’s word has the ability to bring us its power of salvation if we believe and obey it. God’s word can shape us to be the Christians we need to be! 

With this in mind, let me encourage you to never stop studying. God’s word shows us the way to salvation and forgiveness of sins, God’s word shows us how to be a disciples of Christ, and God’s word shows us how to make it to our home in heaven. Never stop studying, but dwell on God’s word daily, and let it shape, and mold you into the person God wants you to be.  Let’s hide God’s word in our hearts, because God’s word is our authority!

Is God's Word Our Authority? (Christian Evidences)

I am by no means claiming to be a scientist, biologist, genealogist, geologist, or any other certified name you can think of. But, like other men who have far greater qualification than I (both in the field of science and biblical studies), I hope to briefly share a few examples from the scriptures proving its reliability.  Up to this point, we have only looked at what the Bible says about how God merely spoke and it was done (in regards to creation and miracles). Both of which are helpful, but only powerful if we truly believe the scriptures claims of authority. So, we will investigate three simple, yet powerful texts proving the authority of God’s Word. 

First, let us take a look at Psalm 8:8. It reads, “…Whatever passes through the paths of the seas” (NASB). These paths, Under-water Rivers, Currents, or whatever you like to call them, are no surprise to us today. It is interesting, though, that these currents weren’t actually undiscovered until the 1800s. One of its discoverers, Matthew Fontaine Maury (known as “Pathfinder of the seas”) respected God’s word, and loved this passage we speak of (see article by Major). It makes you wonder how many thousands, or even millions, of people have read over a passage like this thinking nothing of it, but that same passage held the truth of the currents of the seas for thousands of years before man even discovered them. 

Second, let us take a look at Psalm 19. When talking about the sun (e.g. 19:4), the psalmist says,” Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat” (19:6). Now we all know that the earth has an orbit around the sun. And, we all know that the moon is on a circuit, or orbit, around the earth. But, has it occurred to us that the sun itself is on orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy? What is of even greater significance is that we did now know about this until June 1, 1999 (Brad Harrub, 85). That was only 14 years ago folks! Yet, the scriptures held this truth about the sun for thousands of years. 

Third, let us look at the construction of Noah’s ark. There are two categories we wish to discuss. The first category is the ark’s perfect size. The ark was 300 cubits in length, by 50 fifty cubits in width, and by 30 cubits in height (Genesis 6:15).  Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an engineer living in the 1800s built his ship to practically the same exact ratio as the ark, which as we see is 30, by 5, by 3 (Kyle Butt). Brunel was not the only one to have done something like this. Here in the U.S., there was a fleet of cargo vessels called the Liberty Ships in World War II. Surprisingly, these ships were the exact dimensions of the ark. Many individuals believe and state that the ark could not float, but as we see through history, God knew the exact ratio and dimensions to give. The second category is the ark’s perfect draft. A draft of a boat is approximately half its height, meaning the boat will submerge into water approximately at that point. If the ark’s height is 30 cubits, wouldn’t that make it’s draft 15 cubits? Right, and that is exactly the amount of water God gave them over all the earth, even over the tallest mountains (Genesis 7:19-20).  God knew exactly what the ark needed to stay afloat. He knew the exact dimensions, and He knew exactly how much water was needed to keep Noah and His family alive.

I wish we had more time and space to dig into even more information. But hopefully we are beginning to see that God’s word is true and alive and has the utmost authority. The Bible has held trustworthy statements for thousands of years what man has known for just a few centuries at most. The Bible gives scientific laws, mathematical equations, and even prophesied historical events (For historical events look at the ancient city Tyre. Click here: Tyre in Prophecy). God’s word has proven itself authoritative, and that means we can believe those creation accounts and the miraculous accounts of Jesus. God’s word is definitely authoritative. Next week however, we are going to look at the more personal side of God's word, which is the authority over our lives. 

References:

• Butt, Kyle,  Noah’s Ark – A Flawless Floater. http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=562.  Apologetics Press, Montgomery Alabama, 2001

• Harrub, Brad, Ph.D. Convicted. Focus Press, 2010

• Major, Trevor.  Matthew Fontaine Maury. http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=361. Apologetics Press, Montgomery Alabama, 1995

Is God's Word Our Authority? (Miracles of Jesus)

Last week we discussed the authority seen in God’s words at creation. Continuing our study we now turn to Jesus, specifically His miracles. Do His miracles prove His words to be authoritative? With this in mind, we now turn our attention to Matthew 7:28-8:32. By way of introduction to the text, the Lord had already finished His sermon on the mountain (chapters 5-7) and the people, “were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching as one having authority…” (7:28b-29a). “Authority,” is what they saw.  But do we see His authority proven through His actions? Let us look at three miracles within the text.

First, we will look at the centurion in Capernaum. This man came to Jesus on behalf of his paralyzed servant (8:5-6). Feeling unworthy for Jesus under his roof, he only asks of Him to “say the word” to heal the servant (8:8). This centurion understood that those with authority only have to speak a word. The words, “Go!...Come!...Do this!...” is all that is necessary for a job to be done (8:9). And the centurion realized that Jesus had this authority. Seeing his faith, Jesus blessed this man’s belief by simply speaking His servant to health (8:10, 13). All it took was Jesus’ words of authority, and the job was done.

Second, we will look at the storm on the sea. When Jesus and His disciples were crossing the sea, there came upon them a terrible storm, but during this event Jesus had fallen asleep (8:23-24). Being woken by His disciples, the scriptures say that He, “rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.” (8:25-26). All it took was a rebuke and everything silenced. We know according to Mark that the rebuke was as simple as, “Hush, be still.” (Mark 4:39). All it took was Jesus’ words of authority, and the job was done.  

Third, we will look at the demon-possessed men in the land of the Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28-32). These two men were in the tombs and they would become so violent that no one could go past them. The interesting part is that the demons knew Jesus had authority, and these tormentors were afraid of being tormented. They knew that they were going to be cast out, but all they wanted was to be cast into a nearby herd of swine. With this request granted, Jesus cast them out. He did so, not by some magic trick, not with complex works of the hand, but a simple command, “Go!” (8:32). All it took was Jesus’ word of authority, and the job was done.

Looking at these examples should show us that Jesus, like it was during the days of creation, has authority over all things. All it took was a word, phrase, or command, and the job was done. We could look at several other examples such as those found in Matthew 8:16, 9:1-8, etc., but the message is clear as is – Jesus’ miracles prove that His words have authority, and these are the words we must trust. But, our search continues next week. Please come back to see if God’s Word is proven to be authoritative through Christian Evidences.