Is GOD the Author of the Bible?

[JonC]

....that particular point in time.

29​	But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;
30​	and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not;
31​	and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for the fashion of this world passeth away. ! Cor 7

7​	But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore of sound mind, and be sober unto prayer: 1 Pet 4

17​	And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
18​	Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour. 1 Jn 2

1​	The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, [even] the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John;
2​	who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, [even] of all things that he saw.
3​	Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand. Rev 1

3​	And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

34​	Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Mt 24

He had been persecuted and knew persecutions were coming. I agree.

But his advise is also relevant today. How many of us who are married have not recognized that marriage is a responsibility?

Not only is this true in persecutions but it is true in general. I like AW Tozer. He was a minister God used to impact the world. He looked after his congregation and was extremely devoted to God's ministry. He refused raises from his congregation and lived a very humble life. BUT in his responsibility to his family he was a failure, almost to the level of neglect.


How many of us could quit our jobs and work at McDonalds part-time to evangelize the world without getting paid (those of us who are working)? How many of us could sell pur homes and rely on the hostility of others? For most of us I think we'd pause because we have responsibilities to our family.

 

[MrW]

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Mt 24 And indeed, that generation, the Jews, have not passed away, though the adversary has tried and is still trying to eradicate them.

 

[kyredneck]

that generation, the Jews

Yea, right....apply the same elsewhere:

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous race seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil race. Mt 12

5 They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish; They are a perverse and crooked race.
20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: For they are a very perverse race, Children in whom is no faithfulness. Dt 32

40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked race. Acts 2

 

[Deacon]

The local church I've been recently attending plans to hire a faithful deacon (without any formal theological education) as an assistant pastor.
That lead me to study Paul's letters to Timothy recently. I've been working through 1 Timothy 2 for the past week; portions of which might be directed to a local situation rather than toward the universal church in general. It touches upon what JonC mentioned in 1 Cor. 7.
And so... I reluctantly enter the Fundamental Forum...I'm asking for pardon if I offend.

I have a semantic problem with the OP question, Is GOD the Author of the Bible?

Generally when I think of an author, I think of somebody writing from a particular frame of reference, be it time, place or a system of theology.

God is bigger than that, his frame of reference is beyond mankind (Rom. 11:33-36).

So I'd say, no God is not the Author of Scripture...But he is the Source.
God speaks through the authors of Scripture.
This means that ALL the words in Scripture manifest God's authority because the authors were "inspired" by God (2 Tim. 3:16).

It also means I should consider the perspective of the human authors, (their background, their concerns, their frame of reference, etc.), and I need to discern to whom a particular passage is directed.

Does this passage in question deal with a local or situational problem? or Is this a general principle for Christians of all times?

When Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 7:6, "Now as a concession, not a command, I say this...", he clearly is speaking about a local situation and offering a local solution. - - - - he's still speaking with God's authority - - - - but only to a single, specifically defined local problem.

This is a note I read yesterday concerning 1 Timothy 2:8-11...

...what if one partner, the wife, became a Christian and her husband did not, as Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 7:13-14? Did she stop performing the domestic rituals believed to assure the security of the family? Did she let the hearth fire go out as a sign that she no longer believed that Hestia was protecting her household from harm? Did she refuse to throw wine and food into the fire at the start of a meal? Did Christians, when meeting friends at the tavern, not engage in the set of ritual libations associated with drinking? What if they got sick? Did they avoid going to the temples where there were rituals for healing? If they had a bad dream, did they no longer go to dream interpreters? If they were perplexed by a problem, did they still consult an oracle? Did they continue to wear amulets to protect them from curses and other evils? Did they throw away their domestic gods, including the ones that honored their ancestors? When they visited the graves of loved ones, did they still pour libations of honey, milk, oil, and wine to the dead and the chthonic deities? Did they join with family members in commemorative meals at the graveside, and did they still believe that the deceased was present eating among them? The gods and their cosmos did not go away when renounced by Christians. They were there at every turn.
Maier, Harry O. New Testament Christianity in the Roman World. Oxford University Press. 2019. p. 62-63.

Inspired Scripture lets Christians today learn how Paul addressed a problem that occurred in a congregation and encourages us to deal with them in a similar manner. After listing many situational problems in Corinthian churches, Paul's final admonition was to the universal church, do it in LOVE (1 Cor. 13).

Rob

 

[JonC]

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Mt 24 And indeed, that generation, the Jews, have not passed away, though the adversary has tried and is still trying to eradicate them.

It would be an error to limit γενεά (birth, race, offspring, generation) to a specific time as people tend to choose a word based on theological concepts they select to believe, but that does not matter to this discussion.

What matters is that Paul does not make a claim that God's commands and his opinions given in the passage apply on a temporary or limited basis. It would be an error to conclude that the Pauline epistles expired with the 1st and early 2nd century audience.

 

[kyredneck]

It would be an error to conclude that the Pauline epistles expired with the 1st and early 2nd century audience.

I certainly was not doing that. I was following Hodge's first rule of interpretation:

"The Scriptures are to be taken in the sense attached to them in the age and by the people to whom they were addressed."

We are reading 'other people's mail', you know.

 

[JesusFan]

Except for a few instances (where Paul states his opinion and clarifies it is not a command from God) I believe all of Scripture is God's Word. I think Paul's clarification concerning his opinion (Paul making note that it is his words) shows the rest as being from God.

When Paul was addressing issues and doctrines that Jesus never directly spoke to is what he meant by giving his opinion, and since he was under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, those opinions of his were just the same as if Jesus stated them Himself.

 

[MrW]

When Paul was addressing issues and doctrines that Jesus never directly spoke to is what he meant by giving his opinion, and since he was under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, those opinions of his were just the same as if Jesus stated them Himself.

Paul wrote things the Holy Spirit revealed to him (just as the Lord Jesus said would happen, in the Gospel of John) that were not spoken by the Lord while He was on earth. It's still Scripture. God's Word is forever settled in Heaven--we need to get it settled on earth.

 

[JonC]

I certainly was not doing that. I was following Hodge's first rule of interpretation:

"The Scriptures are to be taken in the sense attached to them in the age and by the people to whom they were addressed."

We are reading 'other people's mail', you know.

I didn't mean you were.

I agree. Paul was writing to a real audience.

 

[JonC]

When Paul was addressing issues and doctrines that Jesus never directly spoke to is what he meant by giving his opinion, and since he was under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, those opinions of his were just the same as if Jesus stated them Himself.

Jesus never spoke much of what Paul wrote. Paul was saved after the Resurrection and expound a lot by the guidance of the Spirit to edify the congregation.

I'm just saying I believe all of Scripture to be true, even when it singles out certain advice as Paul's opinion.

IF Paul's words that Scrioture records as Paul's opinion rather than God's word is the same as God's words then Scripture contains at least one lie (it states Paul's advise that it is best not to marry unless one lacks control as being NOT of the Lord but of Paul).


We disagree because I believe that all of Scripture is true and given by God (which means Paul's advise is exactly what the Bible states it to be).

You seem to believe that Scripture is mostly true, at least the passage stating those words are not of God but of Paul is an error in Scripture.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

I understand verbal plenary inspiration.

But that does not solve the problem.

Scripture is not quoting Paul. This is Paul himself stating that the passage is not God's words but his opinion. In fact, it is given as advice. The passage itself is the point (not a quote if Paul to make a point).

IF the passage is not what Scripture states the passage is then Scripture is wrong. Verbal Plenary does not get us around that issue (verbal plenary would mean God inspired Paul to write that those were not God's words).


To make matters worse, considering that one passage something other than what the passage claims calls into question verse 6 as well but the validity of Scripture as a whole.


Do you believe it is a sin for a Christian to marry? Is it alright for a lost wife to divorce her saved husband?

I don't believe that 1 Corinthians 7:12ff is merely Paul's opinion.
When in vs.10-11, he says, ".......Not I, but the Lord," He is saying that the Lord Jesus taught much the same thing in Mark 10:6-12. In vs.12-16, there is no corresponding teaching from our Lord, but if we believe in the plenary inspiration of Scripture, we must surely believe that Paul's words were given to him by God.
Paul never says that to marry is a sin; he only says that marriage is optional (v.6) for those who have the capacity to remain chaste. Nor does he say that it is 'alright' for a lost wife to divorce her husband, only that if she does, the believing husband is not bound and may marry again.

 

[JesusFan]

Except for a few instances (where Paul states his opinion and clarifies it is not a command from God) I believe all of Scripture is God's Word. I think Paul's clarification concerning his opinion (Paul making note that it is his words) shows the rest as being from God.

When Paul was addressing issues and doctrines that Jesus never directly spoke to is what he meant by giving his opinion, and since he was under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, those opinions of his were just the same as if Jesus stated them Himself.

Jesus never spoke much of what Paul wrote. Paul was saved after the Resurrection and expound a lot by the guidance of the Spirit to edify the congregation.

I'm just saying I believe all of Scripture to be true, even when it singles out certain advice as Paul's opinion.

IF Paul's words that Scrioture records as Paul's opinion rather than God's word is the same as God's words then Scripture contains at least one lie (it states Paul's advise that it is best not to marry unless one lacks control as being NOT of the Lord but of Paul).


We disagree because I believe that all of Scripture is true and given by God (which means Paul's advise is exactly what the Bible states it to be).

You seem to believe that Scripture is mostly true, at least the passage stating those words are not of God but of Paul is an error in Scripture.

No, stating that whatever Paul wrote down concerning doctrines and practices were all fully inspired, so His teaching on divorce/remarriage and any thing else was same authority as red letters words of Jesus in our bibles.

just reacting to idea some have that Paul had some parts of his books not inspired, as in when he stated "my opinion of the subject"