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to the authority of the Old Testament. 1 Peter i. 23: “The seed . . . the Word of God.” Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself in His life on earth bore testimony again and again to His own submission to that au thority :.“The" Scripture cannot be broken.” (See Matt. v. 18 and John x. 35). So we be lieve that the substance of Scripture bears testimony to its finality; and the. general tenor of the early Church is in the same direction. If we read the Fathers, of the first three centuries, we shall find witness after witness to the supremacy and finality ' of the Word of God. And at the Council of Chalcedon the'Gospels were placed in the center, as the final court of appeal. Then, too, every heresy opposed to ortho doxy was alleged to be based on Scripture; ancient liturgies- are simply saturated with the' .Scriptures, and the most severe at tacks of opponents have always been on Scripture. CHRIST AND THE BIBLE Experience tells the same story. It is - clear from Church history that the Lord Jesus Christ has never fully revealed Him self apart from the Bible. Where the Bible has been neglected, Christ has been neglected, and the light of Christianity has burned low. The oldest and truest view we have in ecclesiastical history is the su- £ premacy of the Bible, the finality of the Bible in relation to the revelation of God in Christ. V. The Power of this Authority —the power of the Bible. As an authority we use this book (a) against every form of what we call rationalism, or undue exer cise of the reason. Wp use it (b) against every .phase of what is called mysticism— I mean that which emphasises what is called “the inner light,” as against the written Word. We have to be very care ful about what is often called “inner light,” and about impressions which pome into the mind, which we think are the messages of God; when perhaps they are contrary to the Word of God. A man once went to Spurgeon and said that the Lord had told him he was to enter The Pastors’
College. That wise man replied: “I am in daily and almost hourly communication with the Lord, and He has not told me anything of the sort.” (c) We also use this authority against every form of scepticism. Here is a book of moderate compass which has moulded literature, colored civilization, affected every philosophy, transformed individuals and uplifted communities, and we say that a book for which this claim can, be made must be authoritative and divine. (d) We also use it against every form of individualism—l mean the attitude of people who are always thinking of the Bible as a book of rules. It is not a book of rules, it is a book of principles. It might be easy to think of it as a hook of rules, but it would not minister to our spiritual manhood and womanhood. God calls us to look at the great principles and apply them, and thus to turn them into rules for our daily life. And so against every form of pure individualism this au thority is supreme. (e) Then we say the Bible is our au thority against every form of ecclesiasticism. It is our supreme and final authority con cerning religion. When we are faced with anything concerning the Church, or Christ ianity, which: is said to be essential, we ask,' “What saith the Scriptures ?’’ (f) And, most important of all, .we use this book as, our authority fo r spiritual life and preaching and practice g Preachers must know this Book if they are to preach acceptably. If we are to go to our people with a “thus saith the Lord,” this Book must be in mind, heart, and life. There is no Christianity worthy of the name that is not based upon the Word of God; there is no real spiritual life that is not found suffused, permeated, dominated by the Holy Scriptures; and it is this beyond all else that gives the Bible its authority, and leads us to say: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” So by this Book we stand, on it we rest, with it we fight, through it we shall con quer—because it is the Word of God that liveth and abideth for ever.
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