What is the Old
Testament and Why
Study It?
Encountering the Old
Testament
Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer
Canon
Definition:
• Canon comes for the
Hebrew word qaneh and
the Greek word kanon.
• Both signified a reed or
measuring stick.
The Biblical ‘canon’ was a
measuring standard for faith and
practice. People could compare
their lives to what the Bible
required.
Canon could also be a standard to
which the biblical writings
themselves must conform.
Inspiration: How was the Bible
written?
We know the Bible was
inspired by God’s Spirit
through man. But How?
There are several theories
as to how God
accomplished this feat.
Bible Affirmation of the
God Breathed Word.
II Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
Four Most Common Theories
* Neo-Orthodox Theory
* Dictation Theory
* Limited Inspiration Theory
* Plenary Verbal Inspiration
Theory
Plenary – full or complete
Verbal – God’s inspiration extended to every word
the writer chose.
Neo-Orthodox Theory
Two Leading Promoters
* Karl Darth and Emil Bruner
* began in the early 20th
century
* born as a reaction to
liberalism’s disregard for
divine authority
Neo-Orthodox Theory
God is utterly transcendent, that
is, he is absolutely different from
us and far beyond our
comprehension. We can only
know something about God is He
reveals Himself to us, as He did
in Jesus Christ.
Neo-Orthodox Theory
The Bible is a witness to the Word
of God, or contains the Word. As
people encountered God they
recorded their experiences as
best they could, but sometimes
those accounts contained errors.
Neo-Orthodox Theory
These witnesses help others
understand God better. As others
experience God’s Word through
these accounts the accounts
become God’s Word all over
again.
Neo-Orthodox Theory
While it is nice that NeoOrthodox supporters have such
a high view of God, The Word is
much more than a news report
of experiences.
Troublesome Scriptures
for the Neo-Orthodox
Theory
II Timothy 3:16,17 (seen above)
II Peter I:20-21 Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the
prophet's own interpretation. 21For
prophecy never had its origin in the
will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.
Dictation Theory
This theory suggests that God
simply dictated the Bible to
human scribes. God chose
certain individuals to record
His word and gave them the
exact words He wanted.
While this view does not
generally appear in print, it
is a common opinion held
by some conservative
Christians.
Scripture does suggest that
God may have
communicated a precise
word-for-word message to
human authors.
Jer. 26:2
"This is what the LORD says: Stand
in the courtyard of the LORD's
house and speak to all the people
of the towns of Judah who come
to worship in the house of the
LORD. Tell them everything I
command you; do not omit a
word.
Rev. 2:1,8
1"To the angel of the church in
Ephesus write:
These are the words of him
who holds the seven stars in
his right hand and walks
among the seven golden
lampstands:
Rev. 2:1,8
8"To the angel of the church
in Smyrna write:
These are the words of
him who is the First and the
Last, who died and came to
life again.
At other times scripture
bears out that authors
were allowed to express
their own personalities as
they wrote.
Gal. 1:6
I am astonished that you
are so quickly deserting the
one who called you by the
grace of Christ and are
turning to a different
gospel—
Gal.3:1 You foolish
Galatians! Who has
bewitched you? Before your
very eyes Jesus Christ was
clearly portrayed as
crucified.
Phil 1:3 I thank my God every
time I remember you.
Phil 1:4 In all my prayers
for all of you, I always pray
with joy
Phil 1:8
God can testify how I long
for all of you with the
affection of Christ Jesus.
Still, the Holy Spirit insured
that the finished work
accurately communicated
God’s intentions.
Therefore, this theory
contains biblical truth, but
not totally.
Limited Inspiration Theory
God inspired the thoughts of the
biblical writers, but not necessarily
the words they chose. God guided
the writers as they wrote, but gave
them the freedom to express His
thought in their own ways.
Limited Inspiration Theory
Because the writers had this
freedom, the historical details they
wrote may contain errors.
However, the Holy Spirit protected
the doctrinal portions of Scripture
from any errors to safeguard God’s
message of salvation.
This theory recognizes that
the Bible contains
statements that are hard to
resolve. But is the best
solution to admit or
concede that the Word may
contain errors?
The Bible places great
importance upon historical
details. Romans 5:12-21
requires that one believe in
a historical Adam.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as
sin entered the world through
one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came
to all men, because all sinned—
…
Matthew 12:41
The men of Nineveh will stand
up at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for
they repented at the preaching
of Jonah, and now one greater
than Jonah is here.
Jesus states that there were
actual men of Nineveh, and
there was a Noah who
preached to them.
Archaeologists eventually find
evidence to prove that
historical sites in the Bible
exist. Should we not just trust
The Word, and wait for
evidence to show up to verify
what God has said all along?
Plenary Verbal Inspiration Theory
Like the other thoughts, this
view holds that the Holy
Spirit interacted with man to
produce the Bible.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration Theory
Plenary – full or complete
Plenary inspiration asserts
that God’s inspiration
extends to all of Scripture,
from Genesis to Revelation.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration Theory
God guided the writers no
less when they recorded
historical details than when
they discussed doctrinal
matters.
Verbal – refers to the
words of Scripture
God’s inspiration extended
to the very words the writer
chose. But it defers from
the dictation theory.
Writers could have chosen
other words, and God
allowed the writer’s
personal expression in the
writing, but the Holy Spirit
so guided the process
that the words they
chose accurately
conveyed the meaning
God intended.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration
seems to fit biblical evidence
best. It recognizes human
differences in writing. It also
affirms that the Holy Spirit is
the Bible’s ultimate author.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration
Important Implication
1. The Bible is trustworthy. It provides
• reliable information
• Insights into history
It describes God’s plan, reveals life’s
highest meaning, and helps us be all
God wants us to be.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration
Important Implication
2. The Bible is Authoritative.
• It is God’s word and speaks with
God’s authority.
• It calls for us to read, understand and
submit to it, whether we agree or are
comfortable with its guidelines or
not.
Plenary Verbal Inspiration
Important Implication
This concept of the Bible seems to
best fit the declaration of faith of
the Church of God. Our first
declaration of faith states that,
“We believe in the Verbal
Inspiration of the Bible.”
The Church of God believes
the whole Bible to be
completely and equally
inspired and that it is the
written Word of God.
Moses called the Word of
God life itself.
Deuteronomy 46 he said to them,
"Take to heart all the words I have
solemnly declared to you this day,
so that you may command your
children to obey carefully all the
words of this law.
47 They are not just idle
words for you—
they are your life. By them
you will live long in the
land you are crossing the
Jordan to possess."
What will you call the Word?
My son, attend to my
words; incline thine ear unto my
sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes;
keep them in the midst of thine heart.
For they are life unto those that find
them, and health to all their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-22