Mathers Systematic Theology - Norman W. Mathers

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(2 Tim. 3:14-17, 2 Pet. 1:20-21). The canon of our Lord Jesus Christ had a three fold division of Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (Luke 24:44). These are the major arguments for canonicity. They are the Bible’s testimony to itself and the early church recognized that authority. The Bible book had to be written by a recognized leader, prophet, or apostle or under the supervision of an apostle, content must be consistent with the rest of scripture, and the book had to have a life changing power. Secular historical books (Caesar’s Gallic War, Livy, Tacitus, Thucydides, Herodotus) are accepted upon much less manuscript evidence than the wealth of New Testament manuscripts which exceeds 5,000 in number (Bruce 1943:16-17 in Ryrie 1974:46-47). These are not complete manuscripts. Seventy five papyri date from the second century A.D. (ibid:47).

      2.3 Other views of inspiration must be considered.

      2.3.1 Six Other Theories of Inspiration.

      The Bible does not teach the mechanical theory of inspiration. God dictated the scriptures and the men who wrote the scriptures copied. 2 Peter 1:20-21 argues for dual authorship behind the writing of the scriptures. A second view is that of inspiration extending only to the concepts of scripture. The concepts of the scriptures are inspired. The words of scripture are not inspired. The words of scripture are taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13). Concepts must be expressed in words. Concepts and words are so interrelated that the conceptual view of inspiration is impossible. A third view is that of natural inspiration. The Hebrew writers of scripture had a genius for writing religious literature. Fourthly, the mystical view of scripture is that God worked in the writers of scripture. He works in us in the same way today (Phil. 2:13). A fifth view is that inspiration is partial extending to some parts of Scripture (Chafer 1971:1:68-71). A sixth view of inspiration views some parts of Scripture inspired to a greater degree than other parts (Walvoord 1974:19). The plenary aspect of Scripture argues that inspiration extends to all Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

      2.4 Illuminating Ministry of the Holy Spirit

      2.4.1 The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word of God for the believer.

      The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:12 writes: “Now we have not received the spirit of the world” (kosmos – world system) “but the spirit who is from God in order that we may have known” (eidomen- perfect active subjective – 1 person plural) “the things” [of God-understood] “having been given to us by God” (Aland & Black 1968:582). “We may have known” is a consummative perfect – action is completed. This is from the perspective of eternity. It is subjunctive mood in a subordinate clause expexegetical of purpose introduced by hina (Williams 1971:22, 25-26). Yet the active voice is something that the subject does. This means that we are to study the Word of God – and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us – open the scriptures to our understanding. Jesus predicted this ministry of the Holy Spirit during his last week on earth (John 14:26, 16:13-15). The Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible to the born again Christians so that they will have insight into the meaning of a particular Bible passage or book. “To pneuma” is neuter gender. “To ek tou theou” (1 Cor. 2:12) (Aland & Black 1968:582) “which is from God” [author’s translation] refers not to the person of the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is established in other paragraphs of Scripture. It refers rather to the procession of the Holy Spirit. Grammatical rules state that a neuter noun referred to by a pronoun would have to be a neuter noun. The writers of the Scriptures did not follow this grammatical rule but instead used masculine pronouns (Ryrie 1973:14). This indicates that the Holy Spirit is a person and not a thing. He is the third person of the triune God (ibid:14). Ryrie cites John 16:13-14 where the demonstrative masculine pronoun that one (ekeinos) is used. The reflexive pronoun himself (eautou) is used in John 16:13. The relative masculine pronoun in John 15:26 and Ephesians 1:14 is used with the neuter noun spirit (pneuma). Jesus said: “Whenever the parakletos may have come whom” (relative masculine pronoun) “I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth He Himself proceeds from the Father, that one will testify concerning me” [author’s translation](John 15:26) (Aland & Black 1968:392). Ephesians 1:14 has the relative masculine nominative singular pronoun referring to the person of the Holy Spirit. “He is earnest” (down payment) “of our inheritance to redemption of his possession to praise of His glory” [author’s translation ](Aland & Black 1968:665). The Aland and Black critical text (1968:665) has two textual readings. The reading “hos” is preferred to “ho” because the Holy Spirit is a person. “Hos” is a relative masculine singular pronoun. The relative pronoun “ho” is masculine neuter singular. Therefore, Ephesians 1:14 should be translated who rather than that. The relative masculine pronoun “hos” has as its antecedent the dative masculine singular noun “the Holy Spirit” (ibid: 665). The relative pronoun’s number and gender is determined by the antecedent to which it refers (Goetchius 1965:236). In John 16:7, the reflexive masculine pronoun “auton” is used. It is to be translated him. In John 16:8 (Aland & Black 1968:393), the demonstrative masculine pronoun “ekeinos” is to be translated “that one.” Grammatical rules follow the gender of the noun rather than the grammar of the text. Walvoord (1974:14) adds that the procession of the Spirit must be distinguished from the illumination ministry of the Holy Spirit. The first epistle of John (2:27) confirms the illumination ministry of the Holy Spirit as a teaching ministry to the believer. John writes: “And you the anointing whom you have received” (Aorist Active Indicative 2nd person plural – Constative – completed action – one time only – the anointing of the Holy Spirit – is what the apostle Paul calls – the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 6:19) “from Him” (Christ) “abides in you” [indwells you] “and you have” (present active indicative 2nd person plural – continuous action) “not need that anyone may teach you” (present active subjective 3rd person singular) “but as His anointing” (reference to the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit) “teaches” (present active indicative – 3rd person singular – customary or gnomic – refers to timeless fact) “concerning all things” (at present the 66 books of the bible) “and it is true and is Not” (emphatic form of the negative) “a lie.” The apostle John refers to the fact the the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer is true and is not a lie. “Alethes” meaning true is used with this nuance in 1 John 2:27 (Arndt & Gingrich 1973:36(2)). John draws to the attention of his readers that they have been recipients of the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit in the past. “Kai kathos edidaxen humas” translated means “and just as He has taught you” [author’s translation] (1 John 2:27) (Aland & Black 1968:817) (Aorist Active Indicative – 3rd person singular – constative – without reference to the time of the action but just that He has taught the believers). The particular truth taught by the Holy Spirit to the believers was “abide in Him” (Aland & Black 1968:817) [author’s translation]. Abide is a present active indicative, 2nd person plural (Han 1974:429). It would be better translated as a present active imperative which denotes action already begun and continuing. It should be translated: “keep on abiding in Him” [author’s translation] (1 John 2:27). To abide in Christ is to obey Him. Those believers referred to as little children (teknia – share the like nature of the Father) are admonished to abide in Him (2:28). They will have boldness or shame at Christ’s appearing (the rapture) depending on whether they have continued to abide in Christ. We will have boldness at the appearing of Christ if we have continued to abide in Christ as a life style. We will experience shame at His appearing if we have not lived a life of abiding in Christ. The believer is responsible to His Savior and Lord for this truth from the point at which he learned of it.

      2.5 The Inerrancy of the Word of God

      2.5.1 The Word of God is completely without error.

      Shedd (1948:1:76-77) argues that it is highly improbable that God would not guarantee the accuracy of the recording of the revelation that He gave. Further, he argues that even if there were difficulties it would not change any scripture or doctrine. A verbal plenary inspired bible is an error free bible. It is a direct contradiction to have an inspired but not an inerrant bible. The idea that the bible can only be trusted in matters of salvation but not in other subjects came out of Germany as early as 1650

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