Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook

Jesus Christ as the Subject

Jesus Christ as the Creator (Gen. 1:1; John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17).

Jesus Christ as the supreme ruler of the world. It is the Father’s will that every knee shall bow in submission to Jesus (Phil. 2:9-11). Jesus Christ will establish His kingdom on earth (Dan. 7:13-14; Luke 1:31-33) when He returns at His second coming (Rev. 19:11-21; 20:1-6). Jesus is also the sovereign head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23). As supreme ruler, Jesus Christ is the judge of all men (John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:42; 17:30-31; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Pet. 4:5).

Jesus Christ as the Incarnate Word (John 1:1, 14; Heb. 1:3).

Jesus Christ as Savior (Gen. 3:15; John 3:16; 20:30-31; Acts 4:12).

The Purpose of the Bible

"According to the written Word of God, one supreme purpose is revealed in all that God has done or will do, from the beginning of creation to the farthest reaches of eternity. This supreme purpose is the manifestation of the glory of God. For this one purpose angels were created, the material universe was designed to reflect that glory, and man was created in the image and likeness of God. In the inscrutable wisdom of God, even sin was permitted and redemption was provided with a view toward the realization of this supreme purpose."[1]

God’s creation glorifies Him (Ps. 19:1).

The nation of Israel is for the glory of God (Isa. 60:21; Jer. 13:11).

Salvation is unto the glory of God (Rom. 9:22-23).

All service should be unto the glory of God (Matt. 5:16; John 15:8; 17:1, 5). “The Bible itself is God’s instrument by which He prepares the man of God unto every good work (2 Tim. 3: 16-17).”[2]

The Christian’s new passion is that God may be glorified (Rom. 5:2).

Even the believer’s death glorifies God (John 21:19).

The saved one is appointed to share in the glory of Christ (John 17:22; Col. 3:4).

 

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer; John F. Walvoord; Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 2010), 28.

[2] Ibid., 29.

Forms of Divine Revelation

The revelation of God in creation (Ps. 19:1-2; Rom. 1:18-20).

Revelation in Christ (John 1:18; 14:9). Jesus is a revelation of the Father to mankind; yet, we know about Jesus only from Scripture.

Revelation in the written Word (1 Thess. 2:13; cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

Special Revelation

God the Holy Spirit illumines the Christian mind to know the Bible (1 Cor. 2:10-13).

The natural man (i.e. the unbeliever) cannot know the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14).

Interpretation of the Bible

Individual passages of Scripture must be viewed within the context of the whole Bible, within the context of the book in which it appears, and within the immediate context of chapter and paragraph.

Each passage must be interpreted according to the person(s) to whom it was written. Primary and secondary application must be considered.

Because God is the divine Author behind each human author, there will be theological continuity in Scripture. This means that when we interpret a passage, we must seek to do so in light of other theological statements in Scripture.

Knowledge of the original languages of Scripture (Hebrew and Greek) helps shed light on the meaning of words and phrases. Where such knowledge is lacking, the student must rely on lexicons and commentaries for help. “In addition to determining the actual meaning of the words, proper interpretation assumes that each word has its normal literal meaning unless there are good reasons for regarding it as a figure of speech.”[1]

The Christian must guard against prejudice. “While it is proper for any interpreter of Scripture to approach a passage with theological convictions arising from a study of the entire Bible, care should be taken not to twist a text into what it does not say in order to harmonize it with preconceived ideas. Each text should be allowed to speak for itself even if it leaves temporarily some unresolved problems of harmonization with other Scripture.”[2]

 

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer; John F. Walvoord; Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 2010), 35.

[2] Ibid., 35.

     Major views of inspiration: 1) The dictation view which says the entire Bible was dictated directly from God to man.  2) The neo-orthodox view which teaches the Bible contains errors, but can still be used by God to reveal Himself and Jesus.  3) The concept theory which holds the concepts of the Bible are inspired but not the very words.  4) The partial inspiration view which argues that only parts of the Bible are inspired, but contains errors concerning history, geography and science.  5) The naturalistic inspiration view which says the Bible is just a human book with nothing divine in it.  6) The verbal plenary inspiration view which teaches every word of the Bible is divinely inspired and without error.

     Verbal plenary inspiration is the evangelical view.  Though the Bible was written by fallible men, each was superintended by God the Holy Spirit, Who guided them in such a way that what they wrote, without compromising their personal choices of words and literary style, penned God’s inerrant Word.  There is a parallel between the written Word and the Living Word.  Just as God took a sinful woman, Mary, and supernaturally produced a sinless and perfect Person, Jesus; so God took sinful men and used them to produce a perfect book that accurately reflects His thoughts and will for mankind.  The human authors—without forfeiting their personal literary style—wrote under the direction and superintending care of God the Holy Spirit (Ex. 17:14; 34:27; Isa. 30:8; Jer. 30:2; Luke 1:3; 1 Cor. 14:37; Rev. 1:11), so that what is written is the inerrant and infallible “word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13; cf. Ps. 12:6-7; Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20).  Some of the various literary styles include historical narrative, law, poetry, psalms, proverbs, parables, and symbolism.  The Bible is a dual authorship.

"By the term Dual Authorship, two facts are indicated, namely, that, on the divine side, the Scriptures are the Word of God in the sense that they originate with Him and are the expression of His mind alone; and, on the human side, certain men have been chosen of God for the high honor and responsibility of receiving God’s Word and transcribing it into written form. Granting that it is God’s purpose to place His Word in written form into the hands of men, the method He has employed to do this is the natural way in which it would be done."[1]

     The Bible is God’s Word penned by men who wrote under the inspiration and superintending guidance of God the Holy Spirit.  The end result is that the Bible is perfect in all it reveals about God, nature, mankind, history, prophecy, and our most excellent salvation provided by our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer, “Bibliology” Bibliotheca Sacra, 94 (1937): 398-399.

     The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word βίβλος biblos which means scroll or book. The Bible is a library of sixty six books, composed by approximately forty human authors spanning nearly fifteen hundred years.  “The purpose of God in providing the Bible is that man, to whom the Bible is addressed, may be possessed of dependable information regarding things tangible and intangible, temporal and eternal, visible and invisible, earthly and heavenly.”[1] 

     Internally, the Bible claims to be the word of God (Ex. 17:14; 34:27; Dan. 7:1; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25).  Paul equated the writings of Moses and Luke as Scripture (1 Tim. 5:18), as Peter did the writings of Paul (2 Pet. 3:15-16).  It reveals there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons within the Trinity (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2): God the Father (Gal. 1:1; Eph. 6:23; Phil. 2:11), God the Son (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:8), and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:11-12; 2 Cor. 13:14).  All three are co-equal, co-infinite, co-eternal, and worthy of all praise and service.  The Bible also reveals the origins of the universe (Gen. 1:1), mankind (Gen. 1:26-27), sin (Gen. 3:1-8), salvation (John 3:16), and the future (Rev. 21-22), just to name a few.  The Bible does not reveal all there is to know about God or His plans and actions, but only what He deems important (Deut. 29:29; cf. John 21:25). 

     Externally, the Bible has a wealth of manuscript evidence (13,000 manuscript copies & portions of texts), has been translated into more languages than any other book, has perfect continuity regarding what it reveals about God and creation (Job 26:7; Isa. 40:22), has transformed countless lives, and served as a basis for law and morality. 

     In Summary, the Bible is God’s Word to man, revealing what He deems important, and those who are positive to God accept and live by it.

 

[1]Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, Mich. Kregel Publication, 1993), 105.

     To follow Jesus means we follow Him for who He is and not who we want Him to be. There is a biblical Jesus and a worldly Jesus. The worldly Jesus is the one the world sets forth. He is the ecumenical Jesus who never judges, never offends, never stands up for truth, never divides, embraces other religions, wants to improve the world rather than convert the heart, and lets everyone into heaven. There are many moral people who follow this Jesus, and the world loves them for it. In the end, this is a Jesus of their making who fits their agendas. It’s a Jesus who serves them.

     But what does the Bible reveal about Jesus? The Bible reveals Jesus is God who added humanity to Himself (John 1:1, 14; 5:18; 10:33; 20:28), and that He is worthy of worship (Matt. 2:11; 14:33; 28:9). He lived a sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5), willingly went to the cross and died in our place (John 3:16; 10:14-18), and was buried and rose again on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Concerning salvation, Jesus is the only Savior (John 14:6), and it is only by grace through faith in Him that one is eternally saved (Eph. 2:8-9). There is no salvation apart from Jesus (Acts 4:12).

     During His incarnation, there was a time when Jesus was popular with the masses because He fed them (John 6:1-14), but when they wanted to take Him by force and make Him king, He withdrew from them (John 6:15). The same crowd later pursued Jesus, not because they embraced Him or His teaching, but because they wanted another free meal (John 6:24-26) and He corrected their selfish motives (John 6:27). Jesus was kind to the sick and helpless (Matt. 8:1-3; 20:34; Luke 5:13), yet He did not hesitate to condemn the religious and powerful (Matt. 23:13-36). For the most part, Jesus was rejected by the majority of those who heard and saw Him (John 3:19; 12:37; 15:24). At times He caused division (John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19), even among His own disciples (John 6:66), as well as members of a family in the same household (Luke 12:51-53).

     Jesus called men to follow Him (Matt. 4:18-19; 9:9; John 1:43), and He had many female followers as well, several of whom funded His earthly ministry (Luke 8:1-3). To follow Jesus means to learn His teaching, obey His commands and model our life after Him. Followers of Jesus were to share the gospel (Matt. 4:19), not be bound by the world’s values (Matt. 8:19-22), treasure Jesus above one’s profession (Matt. 9:9), be committed to Jesus above family (Matt. 10:34-38; cf. Mark 1:20), and deny self and take up one’s cross daily (Matt. 16:24; cf. Luke 9:23). There is no place for personal glory or selfishness in serving the Lord, as one’s life is given for His glory and the benefit of others (1 Cor. 10:32-33; Phil. 2:3-4). To follow Jesus is a lifelong pursuit.

In John 21:1-25 Jesus appears to seven of His disciples and encourages Peter to shepherd God’s people. Peter and six other disciples had been fishing all night but had caught nothing (John 21:1-3). Jesus appeared on the beach and asked if they’d caught anything, and was told “no” (John 21:4-5).  Jesus then commanded they cast their net again, on the right side of the boat, and they caught a huge amount of fish (John 21:4-6). John realized it was Jesus and told Peter, who jumped out of the boat and swam to Him (John 21:7). The other disciples brought the boat and fish to shore where Jesus had already built a fire and cooked breakfast (John 21:8-13). This was Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples (John 21:14). After breakfast, Jesus then talked with Peter and restored him to ministry, commanding him three times to care for God’s people (John 21:15-17). This was done in contrast to Peter’s comments that he would never deny the Lord and would be faithful to death (Matt. 26:33, 35; John 13:37). Of course, Jesus knew Peter would fail (John 13:38), and when the test came, he denied the Lord three times (John 18:17, 25, 27). For this reason, Jesus spoke with Peter about his love for Him, and restored him to service. Jesus then revealed to Peter that he would, some day, be faithful to death, and would thus glorify God as a martyr (John 21:18-19). John then corrects a common misunderstanding in which people thought He said the apostle John would not die before the Lord returned (John 21:20-23). John then provides a final statement that his testimony about Jesus is true (John 21:24), and if all that Jesus said and did were recorded, there would not be enough books to record it all (John 21:25).

Jesus’ resurrection is an essential part of the gospel.  If Jesus is not raised from the dead, then His death on the cross was not effective, and we have believed in a false Messiah.  However, the Scriptural testimony is very clear: Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion and forty days later ascended to heaven.  Here are several biblical facts about Jesus resurrection:

 

It was predicted by Jesus (Matt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19).

It showed Jesus overcame death (Acts 2:23-24).

It was central to the gospel message (Acts 26:22-23; 1 Cor. 15:3-4).

It had many eyewitnesses, including: Mary Magdalene and other women (John 20:10-18; Matt. 28:8-9), two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32), the disciples without Thomas (John 20:19-25), the disciples with Thomas (John 20:26-29), the disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23), Peter, James, and more than 500 brethren at one time (1 Cor. 15:5-7), Stephen (Acts 7:56), Paul (Acts 9:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:8), the disciples at Jerusalem before His ascension (Acts 1:3-9), and John on the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9-18).

It was argued as true against those who disbelieved (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

It reveals Jesus as the first among many to be resurrected (1 Cor. 15:20).

It reveals Jesus as the Son of God (Rom. 1:3-4).

It is the basis for our new life (1 Pet. 1:3).

Those who are raised with Christ will not know the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:5-6).

The Central Idea of John 20:1-31 is that Jesus is resurrected from the dead and revealed Himself to Mary and the eleven disciples.  On the first day of the week after Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary came to the tomb and found it empty (John 20:1).  She ran and told Peter and John, who came and found the tomb as she had described (John 20:2-5).  Upon looking into the tomb, they saw Jesus’ burial wrappings lying there and His face-cloth rolled up by itself in a different place (John 20:6-8).  Not yet understanding the Scripture concerning Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples went home (John 20:9-10).  Mary remained at the tomb and encountered two angels sitting where Jesus had been laying and briefly conversed with them about the location of Jesus’ body (John 20:11-13).  Then Mary encountered Jesus and spoke with Him, assuming He was the gardener, and again asked about the location of Jesus’ body (John 12:14-15).  Jesus then revealed Himself to her and in excitement she grabbed Him (John 12:16).  Jesus then told Mary to go tell the disciples He is alive and will ascend back to heaven, which she did (John 12:17-18).  When it was evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples and showed them His wounds (John 20:19-20).  He spoke peace to them and gave them the Holy Spirit, explaining their right to declare whose sins have been forgiven or retained (John 20:21-23).  Thomas was not among the disciples when Jesus appeared (John 20:24), and he did not believe their report (John 20:25).  Jesus revealed Himself again eight days later specifically for Thomas’ benefit, and he believed (John 20:26-28).  Jesus then pronounced a blessing on those who believe in Him, even though they have not personally witnessed His resurrected body (John 20:29).  John then states the purpose of his book is a written deposition concerning Jesus’ miracles, which prove He is the Son of God, and the Savior of those who believe in Him (John 20:30-31).

John’s Gospel is a written deposition concerning the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  It is written with a bias to persuade the unsaved person to believe (πιστεύω pisteuo) in Jesus as Savior (John 19:35; cf. 20:30-31).  The Greek word πιστεύω pisteuo is a transitive verb, which means it takes a direct object, which is Jesus Christ.  If one accepts John’s report as true concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the logical result is to look to Jesus as our Savior and reap the benefit of eternal life (John 3:16; cf. John 10:28).  It is important that we realize our faith is based on objective truth and not subjective experiences or feelings.  Paul, when sharing the gospel, based his message on the historical reality of Jesus and the eye witnesses of those who knew Him (1 Cor. 15:3-8).  For us, as Christians living long after the events of the cross, we accept the biblical testimony as true, believing Jesus died for our sins, was buried in a grave and was resurrected on the third day.  More so, we understand that salvation is by grace (we don’t deserve it), through faith (a rational response to the gospel), in Jesus Christ (the One who saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life; see John 3:16; 20:30-31; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5).  Once saved, we continue to live by faith in God and His Word (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 4:2), applying it to our lives (Rom. 14:23; James 1:22), and realizing it is the only thing that pleases God (Heb. 11:6).

The Central Idea of John 19:31-42 is that Jesus’ dead body is laid in a tomb.  The Jewish authorities who had pressured Pilate to crucify Jesus requested His legs be broken, along with the other two men, so that their bodies might not hang on the cross overnight (John 19:31).  To expedite death, Roman soldiers would break the legs of those crucified which would prevent the victims from using their legs to push upward, leading to asphyxiation.  It is a twist of irony that the Jewish leadership sought to obey Moses’ teaching concerning not leaving a body on a cross past sunset (Deut. 21:22-23), yet had no hesitation to crucify the One of whom Moses spoke and commanded obedience (Deut. 18:18).  The Roman soldiers broke the legs of the men on either side of Jesus but did not break His legs; rather, a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear, and blood and water came out, showing Jesus was already dead (John 19:32-34).  John declares He witnessed these events and that his testimony is true, and also that Jesus’ death fulfilled Scripture (John 19:35-37).  Joseph of Arimathea—a secret disciple of Jesus—requested the body of Jesus from Pilate who granted his request (John 19:38).  Joseph, along with Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus and prepared it for burial with linen wrappings and spices and placed it in a new tomb near the place of crucifixion (John 19:38-42).  Several women apparently watched these men hastily transport Jesus’ body and prepare it for burial (Matt. 27:61), and later planned to return and finish what had been started (Luke 24:1).