THE CASE FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT: NATURE OF THE WORD by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: On March 28, 2026, we will have scholars from all over the United States and even Canada coming to Clearview for our Apologetics Conference. It will be a once in a lifetime event. These scholars have been educated both in America and Europe, and several of them have decades of experience behind them. Lots of people have already registered, but I want to personally invite you to register and be here. It will be well worth your time. We are living in the age of sound bites, 15 second reels on social media, shock art, and AI generated videos. Believers through the ages have been people of the book. That’s how the world referred to the Old Testament believers and the New Testament church. In other words, instead of falling for conspiracy theories and wild speculations, we study the Word of God, the Scriptures, to see what God has said to us. Today, we are also going to take part in Communion.
Hebrews 4 (page #1836) 12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Background: The verse could also be translated – “For the word of God is living and powerful/active/effective, and sharper than any two/double edged sword, piercing even to division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner/judge of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Sometimes, people hear me preach and they’ll say, “You are talking to me.” Yes, I am. But it’s much more than that. It’s the Holy Spirit using the Word to do a surgery on your heart. I can try to judge your motives and be way off, but when the Bible judges your motives, it’s a bullseye every time.
What is the Bible? The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
In the time we have I want to break this down and look at each element carefully. My definitions are coming from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. It does not mean that I agree with everything he has written.
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE BIBLE:
1. Revealed: It refers to the voice of God. There are 2 ways in which God has revealed Himself to us—General (Nature, History, Human Nature) and Specific (Actual Words through historical events, divine speech, and incarnation). Here we are more concerned with the second.
Hebrews 1 1 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…”
He spoke through angels (Gen. 18; Gen. 19; Dan. 9:21-27; Luke 2:8-14; etc.); through a “still, small voice” (1 Kings 19:11, 12; Ps. 32:8); through nature (Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 10:18; Acts 14:15); through a loud voice (Gen. 3:9-19; Ex. 3:14); through dreams (Gen. 28:12; Matt. 1:20; Matt. 2:12).
2. Inspired: It is the transferring of the voice of God into the vocabulary of man. The Greek word is theopneustos, which literally means “God-breathed.”
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
We hold to the verbal-plenary theory of inspiration — Verbal (the very words); Plenary (all of the Bible). This does not eliminate the human element. Instead, the Holy Spirit of God has revealed God’s Word to the human authors through their styles, personalities, and various backgrounds. Nothing like this exists in other religions.
2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
3. Inerrant: It is a corollary of the doctrine of inspiration. Psalm 33:4 “For the word of the LORD isright, and all His work is done in truth.” It is a theological commitment that is rooted in the teaching of the Word of God. It means “when all the facts are known, the Scriptures in their original autographs and properly interpreted will be shown to be wholly true in everything that they affirm, whether that has to do with doctrine or morality or with the social, physical, or life sciences.” (Paul Feinberg).
The matter of the variants will be dealt with later in a message coming up.
Also, it must be properly interpreted. No, you don’t need a seminary education to do that, but you do have to invest time and get the correct resources and work through them. Some of us are addicted to these devices. They are good entry level resources, but they are not enough. If you have health issues, you don’t just go to WebMD. You maybe start there, but that’s not what you need for expert diagnosis. How much more when it comes to the Bible!
4. Authoritative: It means that all the words of the Bible are the Words of God; to disbelieve or disobey the Bible is to disbelieve or disobey God Himself. The farther we get from the original intended meaning of the Bible, the farther we get from the authority of the Word of God. The Bible is our final authority. President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the Oval Office “The buck stops here.” So also, the buck stops here when it comes to the authority of the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.”
1 Corinthians 14:37 “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”
5. Sufficient: The Bible contains all that we need to know in order to be saved and to know God’s will for our spiritual lives in this world and beyond. We don’t need any extra revelation. Also, the amount of scripture given at each stage of revelation was sufficient for redemption for that stage. Of course, we may not know everything about medicine, engineering, finances, and world history by reading the Bible, but this book was never intended to give you those details. It gives you overarching and deep principles that help you understand how the natural world was made and functions. It gives you the principles that help you lead a life of integrity and blessing. It teaches you that history is really HIS STORY, the story of Jesus coming to save us. Failure to follow this book, not just in these overarching principles and laws of God but also in daily life, has devastating consequences. That’s why a medical doctor can do brain surgery and then goes out and cheats on his wife or a great engineer who can design an aircraft that goes into space does not know how to be a parent or business person can have the whole world and still feel empty.
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 complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
6. Necessary: The Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel in order to be saved. It is necessary for knowing God’s will for our lives, for growing spiritually, and for living in this world. It is not necessary for knowing that God exists. Neither is it necessary for knowing the character of God and His general expectations for humankind.
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Romans 10 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” 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? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
7. Clear: It means that the Bible is written in such a way that all who are willing to read it, study it, and obey it will understand what it says. The car engine is clear to the mechanic who takes the time to study it. The human heart is clear to the doctor who takes the time to study it. So also, the Bible becomes clear to everyone who takes the time to study it.
Deuteronomy 6:6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
2 Peter 3 15 “and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”
Do you nourish your soul daily on the Word of God as you nourish your body daily on physical food? “No Bible, No Breakfast.” How much time do you invest in the cell phone vs the Bible? Prayer is talking to God and Bible reading is God talking to you. Can you say that when you read the Bible you hear the voice of God speaking to you in a way no other book does? Do you know the Word of God, Jesus? Are you saved?
On the Communion:
1 Corinthians 11 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.