John 16:13 says, “But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality; for He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” The Lord’s word here also proves that after the Spirit’s descension, what His disciples spoke and wrote was disclosed to them by the Spirit. Hence, the Lord’s word here proves that after His ascension, all the books of the New Testament, written by His disciples, were of the Spirit’s revelation and their divine authority was acknowledged by Him.
The Scripture, therefore, is the word written by men under God’s command (Exo. 34:27), the word of the Spirit of God spoken through men, the word of God spoken through man’s mouth (2 Sam. 23:2), and the word spoken by men who were moved by the Spirit (Mark 12:36). The Old Testament is the word spoken by the prophets under God’s command (Jer. 1:7), the word of God coming upon the prophet (Ezek. 1:3), and the word of the Spirit of God spoken through the prophets (Zech. 7:7; Acts 3:18; 28:25; Rom. 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:10-12). Some portions of the New Testament are God’s speaking in the Lord Jesus (John 14:10), while other portions are words written by the apostles as taught by the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13). The words written by the apostles as taught by the Spirit are as sacred as the Old Testament Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Hence, the entire Bible originates from God; every word and every sentence, every iota and every tittle (Matt. 5:18), are God-inspired. Hence, men should neither add to or take away anything from the Holy Scriptures (Rev. 22:18-19).
The first function of the Bible is to testify concerning the Lord Jesus (John 5:39). The Lord Jesus is the subject and contents of the Bible; the Bible is the explanation and expression of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is God’s living Word; the Bible is God’s written Word. The Bible, God’s written Word, must have the Lord Jesus, the living Word, as its reality; otherwise, it is but mere doctrines and empty letters. The Lord Jesus, the living Word, must have the Bible, the written Word, as His expression; otherwise, He is mysterious and difficult to know, vague and hard to grasp. However, since there is the clear, definite explanation and plain revelation of the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus can be known practically and comprehended definitely by men. Not only every book of the New Testament reveals the Lord Jesus, but every part of the Old Testament, whether (1) the Law of Moses, (2) the Prophets, or (3) the Psalms (these are the three major parts of the Old Testament), testifies and speaks concerning the Lord Jesus. Hence, if we want to know the Lord Jesus, we must read and understand the Bible.
The functions of the Bible are of two aspects: one aspect is to serve the Lord, and the other aspect is to serve us. On the one hand, it testifies of the Lord Jesus and, on the other hand, it causes us to receive grace and be built up. The first function of the Bible toward us is to make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15); it reveals to us how God saves men in Christ, and how men may be saved by faith, so that we may know the way of salvation.
The first practical function of the Bible in us is to cause us to be regenerated (1 Pet. 1:23). The Bible is the Word of the living God, and it contains the life of the living God. When we receive the word of the Scriptures into us by faith, it comes into us like a seed of life, sowing God’s life into us; thus, we have God’s life and are regenerated.
When we first get saved, we do not have a strong enough comprehension concerning spiritual things. Some portions of the Scriptures are like milk that can nourish us and make us grow in our spiritual life (1 Pet. 2:2). Hence, a newly regenerated believer must long for the word of the Bible, like newborn babes longing for the guileless milk of the word. Otherwise, his spiritual life cannot grow, and he will continue to be one who is an infant in Christ (1 Cor. 3:1-2).