Sabbath School for Adults: Lesson 3: Jesus and the Apostles’ View of the Bible

Thursday April 16 

The Apostle And The Bible 

The New Testament writers approach the Bible the same way that Jesus does. In matters of doctrine, ethics, and prophetic fulfillment, the Old Testament for them was the authoritative Word of God. We find nothing, anywhere, in what these men say or do that challenges either the authority or authenticity of any part of the Bible.

What do these passages below teach us about how the apostles understood the authority of God’s Word?

 Acts 4:24-26

So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’

Acts 13:32-36

And we declare to you glad tidings— that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;

Rom. 9:17

For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

Gal. 3:8 Notice in these passages how closely related the Scriptures are to the voice of God Himself. In Acts 4, just before being filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples praise God for the deliverance of Peter and John. In their praise, they raise their voices, acknowledging God as the Creator and for speaking through David His servant. That is, David’s words are God’s words. In Acts 13:32-36, David is quoted again by Paul, but his words are attributed to God, for verse 32 says: “What God promised to the fathers” (RSV).

In Romans 9:17, where one would expect God as the subject, Paul uses the term “Scripture,” saying: “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh” (NKJV), which could actually be stated, “For God says to the Pharaoh.” In Galatians 3:8 the subject “Scripture” is used in place of “God,” showing just how closely tied the Word of God is to God Himself.

In fact, the New Testament writers uniformly rely on the Old Testament as the Word of God. There are hundreds of quotes in the New Testament from the Old Testament. One scholar has compiled a list of 2,688 specific references: 400 from Isaiah, 370 from the Psalms, 220 from Exodus, and so on. If one were to add to this list allusions, themes, and motifs, the number would greatly increase. The books are replete with references to the Old Testament prophecies that are often introduced with the phrase, “it is written” (Matt. 2:5, Mark 1:2, Mark 7:6, Luke 2:23, Luke 3:4, Rom. 3:4, Rom. 8:36, Rom. 9:33, 1 Cor. 1:19, Gal. 4:27, 1 Pet. 1:16). All of this confirms that the Old Testament Scriptures are the foundation upon which the teachings of Jesus and the apostles rest.

What should these examples teach us about how dangerous any ideas are that would lessen our trust in the authority of the Scriptures?