Chapter 02 · Bibliology
Bibliology
The Doctrine of the Bible
Revelation: General & Special
Before we can talk about the Bible specifically, we need to understand how God communicates with humanity at all. The broad category for this is revelation: the ways God makes Himself known. Theologians divide revelation into two types: general and special.
General Revelation is God's communication of Himself to all people, at all times, and in all places (Erickson). This includes the created world, the order and complexity of the universe, and the moral conscience built into every human being. Paul draws on this idea in Romans 1:20, arguing that God's existence and power are "clearly perceived" through creation, leaving humanity without excuse.
Special Revelation refers to God's particular communications and manifestations of Himself to particular persons at particular times (Erickson). Unlike general revelation, which is available to everyone, special revelation is specific, intentional, and crucially, directed toward salvation. The Bible is the primary form of God's special revelation available to us today.
If building a systematic theology is like building a house, Scripture and our beliefs about it are the foundation. Everything else we study rests on what we believe about the Bible.
The Bible as Special Revelation
The doctrine of Scripture centers on three interconnected claims about the nature of the Bible: inspiration, inerrancy, and authority. These are not independent ideas but build on each other. Together, they answer the question: Why should we trust this book?
Inspiration
Erickson defines inspiration as: "that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers that rendered their writings as an accurate record of the revelation or that resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God" (Erickson, 169).
In other words, the Bible is God's own Word, delivered through human authors, not merely a human document about God. This is the meaning of 2 Timothy 3:16's phrase "breathed out by God" (theopneustos in Greek): the Scriptures originate with God Himself.
"For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."2 Peter 1:20–21 (ESV)
Various theories have been proposed to explain the extent of inspiration: how much of the biblical text is directly from God, and how much reflects the human author's own style and thought. These include the intuition theory, illumination theory, dynamic theory, verbal theory, and dictation theory (Erickson, 175). The exact nature of the cooperation between the human author and the Holy Spirit remains somewhat mysterious. What is clear is that the result is genuinely God's Word and a gift to humanity.
Note
The phrase "Thus says the Lord…" appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament, a direct claim that the prophets' words were divine in origin, not simply their own reflections.
Inerrancy
Erickson defines inerrancy as: "the doctrine that the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings" (Erickson, 188). If the Bible is truly God's Word, and God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), then the Bible must be without error in what it teaches.
This is not a simple or uncomplicated doctrine. Among theologians and scholars, there is a spectrum of views on what inerrancy means in practice. Some hold to a very rigid definition, while others prefer the term infallibility, meaning the Bible never fails in its intended purpose, as a more precise way of describing the same core commitment. The key question is whether the presence of apparent tensions or differences in certain details undermines the Bible's trustworthiness.
The answer involves careful exegesis: reading texts in light of their intended purpose and literary genre. A poetic description of the sun rising is not a scientific claim about heliocentrism. A rounded number in a census is not a mathematical error. When we understand what a biblical author was trying to say and why, most apparent contradictions dissolve. The Bible is 100% trustworthy and true as the revealed Word of God and the foundation of our belief system.
Authority
Erickson defines scriptural authority as: "the Bible, as the expression of God's will to us, possesses the right to supremely define what we are to believe and how we are to live" (Erickson, 211).
Scripture is the highest authority in terms of developing doctrine. Tradition, reason, experience, and history all contribute to our understanding, but none of these is equal to Scripture. When they conflict with the Bible, Scripture wins. This principle, sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone"), was a cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation and remains central to Baptist theology today.
This claim stands in direct tension with postmodern assumptions that there is no absolute truth, or that all perspectives are equally valid. If the Bible carries God's own authority, then it makes binding claims on our lives, not as an outside imposition, but as the word of a Father who knows us and loves us completely.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)
Key Vocabulary
"God's communication of himself to all persons at all times and in all places" (Erickson). Includes creation, conscience, and the natural order — available to every human being.
"God's particular communications and manifestations of himself to particular persons at particular times" (Erickson). Intentionally directed toward salvation; the Bible is its primary written form.
"That supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers that rendered their writings as an accurate record of the revelation or that resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God." (Erickson, 169)
"The doctrine that the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings." (Erickson, 188) The view that Scripture, as originally given, contains no errors in what it affirms.
The quality of being incapable of failing or making mistakes. Sometimes preferred over "inerrancy" to emphasize that the Bible never fails in its intended purpose as God's authoritative Word to humanity.
"The Bible, as the expression of God's will to us, possesses the right supremely to define what we are to believe and how we are to live." (Erickson, 211) Scripture's right to make binding claims on belief and behavior.
Greek word translated "breathed out by God" or "God-breathed" in 2 Timothy 3:16. Communicates that the Scriptures originate with God Himself — they carry His breath, His voice.
The careful, systematic process of interpreting a biblical text by drawing out its meaning from the text itself — considering context, original language, literary genre, and authorial intent. The opposite of eisegesis (reading your own meaning into the text).
Latin for "Scripture alone." The Reformation principle that the Bible is the supreme and final authority for Christian belief and practice — above church tradition, human reason, or personal experience.
From the Greek word for "rule" or "measuring rod." Refers to the collection of books recognized as authoritative Scripture. The Protestant Old Testament canon has 39 books; the New Testament has 27.
Key Scriptures
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
- 2 Peter 1:20–21
- Romans 1:18–20
- Psalm 19:1–4
- Psalm 119:105
- John 17:17
- Hebrews 4:12
- Titus 1:2
- Matthew 5:18
- Isaiah 40:8
Review Questions
- What is the difference between general revelation and special revelation? Give one example of each. Why is the Bible classified as special revelation?
- In your own words, define inspiration as Erickson describes it. What does 2 Timothy 3:16's phrase "breathed out by God" (theopneustos) tell us about the origin of Scripture?
- Why do theologians disagree about the precise definition of inerrancy? What is the difference between inerrancy and infallibility, and why might someone prefer one term over the other?
- How does exegesis help us respond to apparent errors or contradictions in the Bible? Give an example of how understanding an author's intent might resolve a surface-level difficulty.
- What does it mean to say the Bible has authority? How does this claim conflict with postmodern ideas about truth? How would you defend biblical authority to someone who doesn't believe in absolute truth?
- What is sola Scriptura? Does it mean Christians should ignore church tradition, human reason, and personal experience entirely? Why or why not?
- In what way does our view of Scripture serve as the "foundation" of all other Christian doctrine? What happens to our theology if we start with a weak view of the Bible?