The BIBLE.
There is nothing more important than the Word of God.
Scripture is necessary, sufficient, authoritative, and inerrant.
It is central to worship and it is how God works both to give new life and to sanctify – by His Word.
Scripture is the Word of Christ
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the Word of His power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
God’s Word is all about Christ
Luke 24:27 – And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Scripture is necessary.
Scripture is necessary for our spiritual life. Without trusting scripture we have no spiritual life. In trusting scripture we have spiritual life and scripture is necessary to maintain our spiritual walk and every aspect of it. Through scripture we can discern God’s Will for our lives.
To say that scripture is necessary is to simply say that we need it. We need the Word of God in a general way. It was by the Word of God that He created all things including us.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse
Genesis 1:9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place
Genesis 1:11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants
Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night
Genesis 1:20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures
Genesis 1:24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
Hebrews 1:3 – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
The Westminster Confession of Faith deals with the necessity of Scripture in it’s very first statement.
Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary unto salvation: therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal Himself, and to declare that His will unto His Church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which makes the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing His will unto His people being now ceased.
The WCF tells us of the necessity of scripture to give knowledge of salvation. But scripture is also necessary to reveal the nature of our relationship with God, the covenant.
God is our covenant Lord. The covenant is a relationship between the Lord and His servants or His children. God is the ultimate authority. Without the Word of God, there is no covenant. It is the Word of God that tells us to “Obey His voice” and “keep His commandments.
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine
Leviticus 26:15 says, “if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break My covenant,”
Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.”
Matthew 7:26-27 – And everyone who hears these Words of Mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
John 6:68 – “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life,
The Words of Jesus are only found in scripture. To have a covenant relationship with Him we must acknowledge scripture as His Word, and we must acknowledge that God’s Word is our ultimate authority.
No scripture – no Lord. No scripture – no Christ. No scripture – no salvation.
Scripture is necessary For Knowledge of the Gospel
Romans 10:13-14 – How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 – In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Without the Word of God, there is no possibility of salvation.
Scripture is necessary For Maintaining Spiritual Life
2 Peter 1:3-4 – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. by which he has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
This is profound truth. Christ lives in every believer: Christ in us, God the Father in us, the Holy Spirit in us; and we in God, and we in Christ, and we in the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Galatians 3:27 – For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
1 Peter 2:24 – He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
2 Corinthians 3:18 – And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Seeing His glory revealed on the pages of the New Testament, we are being transformed into the same image, the same glory from one level of glory to the next, to the next.
We go from glory, to glory, to glory, to glory, simply becoming increasingly more conformed to the glory of Christ. This is the work of the Lord the Spirit. That’s how sanctification works. We look at the glory of Christ. We see a clear revelation of it in the New Covenant or Testament, which makes even the Old Testament more clear. We see that glory, and we’re changed into that very glory by the work of the Holy Spirit.
What should be the desire of every Christian? – That they would go from glory, to glory, to glory, being evermore conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that’s a faithful pastor’s desire;
not content that people are interested in Jesus,
not content that even they were born again or justified,
not content that someday they’ll go to heaven,
but that they would be sanctified, that they would go from glory, to glory, to glory, for the glory of the Lord, and for the blessedness of that believer, for the well-being of the church, and the authority and power of the testimony of the Word of God.
May God richly bless you as you read and study His Word. May you be transformed into the image of His dear Son. And may you be filled with all the fullness of God.
We look forward to your comments and questions below!
If you found value in this post, please share your comments, questions, and prayers with us!
