The Verbal And Plenary Preservation Of The Scriptures

In the study of the verbal and plenary preservation of the Scripture we find many people have failed to understand that the Bible is truly preserved by God for His people. Everything that is written in the Bible is the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. However this truth was not taken and considered by many people seriously. During the last two centuries there have been many attacks on the preservation of the Holy Scriptures. Many people said today that the Bible only contains the word of God. On the other hand many people have determined the preservation of the Scripture based on their own selfish gain. One may say “when I read some of the Psalms I just fell so warm and so inspired, but when I read the genealogy in the book of Chronicles I can not believe anything that is inspired because that is not inspired me.” This is the way many people have done to determine whether that particular portion of Scripture is the Word of God. But the absolute truth is that nothing in Holy Scripture that is infallible based on how we might feel about it when we read it. The Bible is absolutely inspired of anything that is found in this book such as genealogy, or scientific of any kind.

The problem of understanding the preservation of the Holy Scripture for those so-called Christians does not only occur in this last two centuries but it was the problem for the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ’s ministry on this earth. The Jews had the problems to understand the Old Testament because the Jews would consider that the writings of Moses were really inspired. On the other hand they regarded the writings of the other prophets like, Samuel, Joshua, Kings, those of in the form of prophet, they believed those writings were not as inspired as what Moses wrote. For example the book of Psalms, the third category of the Bible in Old Testament according to the Jews, they put those books down and considered them as low value. This attitude of Jews was also reflected in the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, which is called Septuagint, 200 years before Christ. The Jews handled the books of Moses carefully but not the rest of the Old Testament. Thus when Jesus Christ quoted Psalms 82:6 in John 10:34 “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods? At the end of verse 35 Jesus said, “the scripture cannot be broken.” This is to say that Jesus Christ considered the book of Psalms as part of the law and it can not be broken because the whole Old Testament, the 39 books are totally infallible and inspired, breathed out of God. We do often times innocently the same thing as the Jews do. There are people who read the red letter of the Bible as the most word of God. There are many who think that they do not need to bother what Peter and Paul say, what they need is to know what Jesus says. To such attitude in understanding the preservation of word of God we may say that if a person does not believe what the apostles say and reject them, then he is rejecting the Word of Jesus because Jesus is the one who authenticates them. Thus we can not distinguish in the New Testament what is most inspired and what is almost inspired and what is not inspired?

1. Verbal and plenary preservation of the Old Testament Scripture according to Jesus

During the temptation of Jesus Christ, soon after His baptism, Jesus replied Satan three times with this phrase “it is written” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10). What is “it is written”? God’s word and God’s final authority is written. When Jesus said this word, Satan understood it correctly. Satan did not comment what Jesus said or asking further discussion on the merit of so-called ‘inspired text.’ Satan knew that he was defeated. James said it in this way that “the Devil also believe and tremble” (James 2:19). On this regard Satan knows more than liberals and unbelievers in the world today who claim to be scholars. Jesus set the example for us that is the ultimate, final authoritative, not our opinion but it is what God has said. We must be sure that we must do as what Jesus does. He made an accurate and relevant quotation from the Old Testament Text when He was facing temptations. This is to say that Jesus knew His Bible.

One proof was recorded in the Holy Scripture that Jesus knew His Bible very well was that when He was at twelve years old, He knew more than the greatest theologian in Israel did. This event is record in Luke 9:42-47 when Jesus was brought to Jerusalem by Joseph and His mother. On their return home, Jesus was left behind in the midst of doctors of the law and they had marvelled to see His understanding of the Holy Scripture. Jesus did not master what the Rabbi said but He mastered only the inspired and infallible Old Testament scriptures. Thus we need to master the message and quote it authoritatively.

Another proof that Jesus Christ said to two of His disciples after His resurrection and after having the glorified body, Jesus taught the disciples to know the very important fact about the Holy Scriptures. We read in Luke 24:25, 27 that Jesus spoke this word when they were walking on a road to Emmaus with His two frustrated disciples. “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Jesus was saying here that the two disciples must believe the word of God, beginning from the writing of Moses namely the Torah and the writing of all the prophets namely the writing of Joshua and all down to the Major Prophets and historical books. Thus in Luke 24:25, 27 Jesus had covered two categories of the Holy Scripture in the Old Testament. Now in Luke 24:44 another category namely the Psalms Jesus said that everything has already mentioned in these three categories about the Lord Jesus Christ must be fulfilled. As we read Luke 24:44 “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Thus Luke 24:44 covered the whole books in the Old Testament and it is the Word of God and we must understand what the Holy Spirit has given in the Old Testament.

Having seen Jesus’ explanation on the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, now it is important to see what Jesus says concerning the verbal and plenary preservation of the Holy Scripture. Matthew 5:17-18 we read “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The question we need to ask is that what is ‘jot’? And what is ‘tittle’? ‘Jot’ is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet namely ‘yodh,’ and ‘tittle’ is the smallest part of the Hebrew letter. Thus Jesus was saying here that not even the small letter or the small part of the letter should in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Because Jesus does not only believe on verbal inspiration but He believed in jot and title inspiration. Jesus said to the wise theologian of His days, the Saducees who are in charge of the temple and the high priesthood “ye do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). The Saducees and Pharisees had the double disasters because, firstly they did not know the scriptures and secondly they did not know the power of God. Therefore the conclusion on this matter Jesus said “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). If we follow what He says in His word we will survive from disaster of the world and we will never be destroyed.

In John 5:46 we see another evidence in which Jesus Christ proclaimed His existence in the Scripture. “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” This verse is the rebuke to the Pharisees when they persisted not to believe what Jesus had taught them. The Pharisees and Saducees often claimed only Moses and his writings that they believed and not the word of Jesus. Thus Jesus Christ has to correct them concerning their understanding of the Scriptures. If they truly have searched the Scripture it is surely they must understand that Jesus Christ has existed before Moses was. Jesus Christ is one of the three persons in Godhead who told Moses what to write. However one may ask a question, how could Jesus tell Moses what to write when Moses lived in 1400 BC? The answer is found in John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is to say that Jesus Christ is forever and ever exist and there is nothing before Him. Jesus does not have any problem to tell Moses what to do. In fact Jesus appeared to Moses in the burning bush. Thus everything we read in Genesis came from God through Moses and God has guaranteed every single word found in this book. We need to believe what Moses wrote. If we do not believe on Moses’ writings then there is no warranty to believe what Jesus says. It means everything that we read in the book of Genesis absolutely infallible such as how the world is created, in what order the things happened and how long it took, how the curse came to human rebellion, Genesis flood and every word from Genesis 1-11 is infallible. The Old Testament books are guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Verbal and plenary preservation of the New Testament Scripture according to Jesus

Having seen the Lord Jesus Christ guaranteed the Old Testament books, now it is important to consider the New Testament Scriptures and what the Lord says about these books. In John 14:26 we can see the absolute guarantee of the writing of the Scripture after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven. Jesus gave this word to those eleven frightened men in the upper room in the night he was betrayed, the night before His crucifixion. He said “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” How do we know that the apostle John who wrote this gospel 60 years later, was writing accurately every word that Jesus said? It because the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance every word that Jesus said. That is why we have the warranty in advance of what we are reading is true. Furthermore in John 15:26 we are told the Holy Spirit will testify of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” Jesus was saying here that “you will know, and all you need to know about me in written form in the future series of documents called the New Testament books by which you can be saved, sanctified and some day glorified.” The Lord Jesus Christ guaranteed the writing of His Word in advance.

Another guarantee given by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” The point here is that Jesus would not only tell them everything that He would say in the four gospels, His works in the epistles, and the things to come in the book of Revelation. All things and prophetic passages in the New Testament are guaranteed by Christ.

In John 17:20 we read Jesus’ prayer before He was crucified saying “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” What is the meaning of this verse? Jesus Christ was not saying, “Please bless those who hear me” but He said, “please bless those who believe in me through their word.” Why? Because nobody in this world today can be saved by hearing Jesus talks to him. Jesus is not talking to anybody except through the words of the apostles. We can not talk to Jesus directly nor can we hear Him speaking to us directly. The only way that we can know anything about Him is through what the apostle and prophet wrote about Him. That is why Ephesians 2:20 said that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets because every word in the New Testament was written through them. Hence the Lord Jesus could say that the only exclusive means by which we know of Him is through the writing of these men whose authority Jesus has guaranteed us in advance. As we read in Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore when we hear the Word in the New Testament books, we are hearing the absolutely infallible, inerrant written revelation from Jesus Christ and nobody can be saved apart from this book and its message.