On The Authority Of Scripture
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, July 2, 2025 (Donate)
Some, even within the church as a whole today, tend to
demote the authority of God’s Word. Some do it inadvertently but others openly reduce
its pages and verses to be mere guidelines or altogether as "outdated" and "unprofitable."
When God’s Word is set aside, it is man’s fallible and
errant ideas that are elevated to supersede God and His infallible and inerrant
Word. In essence, when one demotes God as the authority, they are elevating the
religion of humanism in its broadest sense. But the issue is over authority.
God’s Authority In All Matters
The authority of the 66 books of the Scripture is
foundational to all matters. The authority of God’s Word is especially important
for building a proper and true Christian worldview because the Bible is the
inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and infallible Word of God. Since God is the
Creator and ultimate authority, His Word carries absolute authority in all
matters it addresses—spiritual, historical, scientific, logical, philosophical,
moral, etc.
One might argue that the Bible wasn’t completed until the New
Testament was finished so how could anyone have a truly biblical worldview prior
to that? It’s true that the Bible was progressively revealed and based on revelation
revealed at the time, one could still be developing a proper Christian
worldview. These are not contradictory by any means, but God was building a good
biblical worldview on top of good biblical worldview that He had previously
established as He revealed His Word.
It’s not a problem for God to build good on top of good.
Bearing in mind that our all-knowing God knows all things and knew His revealed
Word prior to any word of it being revealed to man.
Scripture is not man's opinion about God (like so many false
religions that are floating around), but God’s revelation to mankind. As stated
in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed…”—meaning it originates from
God Himself. God revealed that He cannot lie by His very nature of being the
Truth (e.g., John 14:6; Titus 1:2), the Bible is completely trustworthy.
In fact, the God of the Bible
is the basis for trustworthiness, truth, and morality in the first place.
If one begins demoting God, they lose the very foundation for such things. In
laymen’s terms, if someone says “God is lying in the Bible”, then that person
has given up that lying is bad—because they have given up the Bible which is the
basis for why lying is wrong in the first place! Thus, they would be undercutting
their own argument and self-refuting.
Furthermore, compromising the authority of
Scripture—especially in Genesis—leads to undermining key doctrines such as sin,
salvation, and the gospel. The historical truth of Genesis (e.g., a normal/literal
six-day creation, the existence of Adam and Eve, and a world-covering global
Flood) is foundational to understanding why
the gospel is necessary.
Jesus and the apostles and other biblical writers affirmed previous
revelation (e.g., the Old Testament for instance) as authoritative, and the New
Testament continues that authority. Even early church father immediately
recognized that their authority was nowhere near on a level of the absolute authority
of the Holy Spirit’s work of the New Testament—showing a distinct break.
When Christians elevate autonomous human reasoning (reasoning
apart from God’s Word), secular humanistic understandings of science and
history, or human-based traditions above Scripture, they place fallible
opinions over the infallible Word of God. Instead, all beliefs and ideas must
be tested against the clear teaching of Scripture.
God’s Word Is Truth
If God’s Word is neglected as the authority that it is,
knowledge becomes meaningless and arbitrary. The
Bible must be true to make knowledge, logic, and truth possible. The Bible
consistently claims to be God’s Word.
Psalm 119:160, NKJV declares,
“The entirety of Your word is
truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”
Because God is the source of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and
God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), His Word carries His authority.
Jesus affirmed this in John 17:17, NKJV, praying to the
Father,
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your
word is truth.”
He quoted Old Testament Scripture authoritatively, often
saying, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10), indicating that what is written
carries divine authority.
All Scripture Is God-Breathed
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, NKJV:
“All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
“Inspiration of God” (Greek: theopneustos) means
“God-breathed.” This affirms that Scripture is not of human origin, but
originates from the mind and will of God, making it binding and authoritative
over human belief and behavior. It is not a problem for an all-powerful God to
use men and their God-given literary styles and flavors to write His inerrant
and inspired text.
God’s Prophetic Word Is Final
2 Peter 1:20–21, NKJV says,
“No prophecy of Scripture is of any
private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy
men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
The Bible claims that its human authors were guided by the
Spirit, making their writings God’s message—not their own. Therefore, Scripture
doesn’t merely “contain truth” as some errantly say but instead, “it is the truth”.
Jesus Affirms Scripture's Authority
Jesus treated the Old Testament as historically accurate and
authoritative. He affirmed the writings of Moses (Luke 24:27; John 5:46–47),
quoted the Psalms and the Prophets (Matthew 22:43–44), and said, “The Scripture
cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
He also promised the Holy Spirit would guide His apostles
into all truth (John 16:13), laying the foundation for the New Testament’s
authority.
Apostolic Writings Carry Equal Weight
The New Testament authors recognized the authority of each
other’s writings. Peter referred to Paul’s letters as “Scriptures” (2 Peter
3:15–16), placing them alongside the Old Testament. Paul quoted both the Old
Testament and the Gospel of Luke as Scripture in 1 Timothy 5:18, treating the
Gospels and his epistles as God’s authoritative Word.
The entire canon of Scripture
is self-attesting—which is a powerful confirmation of its authority.
Scripture Judges All, Is Judged By None
Hebrews 4:12, NKJV says,
“For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword... and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Scripture is the final standard by which all teachings, moral
claims, traditions, theologies, doctrines, science, historical claims, other alleged
holy books, and other alleged prophets and experiences must be tested (Acts
17:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:13)—past, present, or future from when the Bible was written.
No authority—whether personal, ecclesiastical, or cultural—stands above God’s
Word.
Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18–19 warn against adding
to or subtracting from God’s Word. These bookend the Bible with a warning:
God’s Word is complete, sacred, and not subject to human tampering—though some
errantly try (e.g., NWT, JST, etc.). According to the Bible itself, Scripture
is authoritative because it is God’s inspired, inerrant, and sufficient Word.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible speaks with divine
authority, demanding belief and obedience. As Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, NKJV
“Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Final Thoughts On Scriptural Authority
The 66 books of the Bible alone is the supreme authority
because it is the Word of the all-knowing, sovereign God—no other books can be
added to God’s Word because they are the works of man and not God. Every aspect
of life, education, thought, morality, science, doctrine, logic, and all other subject
matter must be brought into submission to God’s revealed Word.
For those who have gone astray and demoted God’s Word and
elevated man’s autonomous reasoning above God and His Word—I kindly request
that you think about this more deeply and repent. We have all fallen short but
we must humble ourselves and get back to God’s authoritative Word.
The authority of Scripture refers to the Bible’s right to
command belief and obedience, grounded in its divine origin. According to the
Bible, Scripture holds ultimate authority because it is the very Word of
God—true, trustworthy, and binding in all matters of faith, conduct, science, history,
doctrine, and so on. Sometimes, we need to let go of our pride, and stand in
awe of the one who has all authority.
Bodie Hodge, Ken Ham's son in law, has been an apologist
since 1998 helping out in various churches and running an apologetics website.
He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as a speaker,
writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers
News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie launched Biblical Authority Ministries in
2015 as a personal website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a
501(c)(3). He has spoken on multiple continents and hosts of US states in
churches, colleges, and universities. He is married with four children.
