Man has come up with many different things to do in the name of religion. Yet when it comes to deciding what we will do in our service to God, the only way we can know how to please Him is by looking to His word. But how does His word help us discern His will? That is a matter of Bible authority.
What is Bible authority? We are going to discuss some fundamental points here.
It Is Based upon the Authority of Christ
When Jesus gave His apostles the Great Commission, He began by saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). This was the basis for the instruction that followed: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The reason one would become a disciple and observe what the Lord commanded was because He had “all authority.”
Since Jesus has “all authority,” everything we do in our service to Him must be by His authority. Paul wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). We are not to do whatever we think will please Him or whatever we want to do for Him; we need to do what He authorizes us to do.
The Word of God Is Understandable
Many claim that we cannot understand the Bible. While it is true that there are some parts that are “hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16), that is not true for all of it. Paul told the brethren in Ephesus, “When you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). He expected them to have the same understanding as he had regarding the will of God.
Because of this, we should not approach the Bible as if it were something that is “impossible” to understand. Instead, we need to have an open mind and an honest heart in order to discern the proper interpretation of whatever passage of Scripture is under consideration.
How We Can Know the Lord’s Will
The will of God is communicated to us in His word. As our Creator, He knows how to communicate in a way that we can understand. Through His word, He imparts His will to us in the same ways that we would impart our will to others – by telling, showing, and implying.*
As an example of this, consider the practice of observing the Lord’s Supper. How does God want us to partake? Why are we to observe it? When are we to do it? Consider what God’s word has revealed:
- His word tells us of the practice and the purpose – “And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). The Lord’s Supper involves partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine and is done for the purpose of remembering Jesus’ death on the cross.
- His word shows us when and where it is to be observed – “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them…” (Acts 20:7). Under the direction of the apostles, the early Christians observed the Lord’s Supper in the assembly of the local church on the first day of the week.
- His word implies certain details – Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the days “of Unleavened Bread” (Matthew 26:17). During this time, everything with leaven would have been removed from their houses (cf. Exodus 12:15); therefore, we know that unleavened bread must have been used in the Lord’s Supper.
God communicates His will by telling (through commands and direct statements), showing (by approved examples), and implying (from which we draw necessary inferences). This is how we know what He has authorized.
We Must Not Go Beyond What Is Authorized
John warned about this in his second epistle: “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9). To “not have God” means to lose fellowship with God. Jesus explained that those who claim to do things in the Lord’s name could actually be practicing “lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22-23). Rather than doing whatever seems good to us, we need to follow what His word tells, shows, and implies to us.
Conclusion
So what is Bible authority? It is about using the word of God to determine what God wants us to do. His word is authoritative and understandable. We must follow what it teaches without going beyond it.
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*I first heard this terminology used by Doy Moyer and have since started using it as well. I believe these commonly-used terms are helpful in conveying the concept of hermeneutics to people today.
