Faith and Knowledge

Doctrine of Scripture

1. The bible is the revelation of God.

‘Revelation is primarily the Word of God disclosed, which is essentially Jesus the Christ, the Word incarnate. And revelation is the Bible as “the word of God written.” ‘ (Grenz, p.511, Karl Barth’s definition)
‘God’s manifestation of himself to particular persons at definite times and places, enabling those persons to enter into a redemptive relationship with him’, it is special revelation. Why was special revelation needs? Because ‘the humans had lost the relationship of favor which they had with God prior the fall’.(Erickson, p.201) ‘The insufficiency of general revelation therefore required the special revelation. The special revelation, however, requires the general revelation as well. Without the general revelation, humans would not possess the concepts regarding God that enable them to know and understand the God of the special revelation. Special revelation builds on general revelation.’((Erickson, p.203)
According to Erickson (p.203~206), there are three styles of Special Revelation. 1) The personal nature of special revelation. A personal God presents himself to persons.(reveals his name to persons, personal covenants with individuals, personal experience with God) 2) The anthropic nature of Special Revelation. Revelation came in forms that are part of ordinary, everyday human experience.(especially incarnation, he came as a human) 3) The analogical nature of Special Revelation. It employs analogical language, which is midway between univocal and equivocal language.
 ‘The modalities that God uses include historical events, divine speech, and the incarnation of God in Christ.(the most complete modality)’(Erickson, p.200). Revelation is not propositional, but it is personal.


2. The bible is inspired by God.

‘By inspiration of Scripture we mean that supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit on the Scripture writers which rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in what they wrote actually being the Word of God.’(Erickson, p.225)

3. The bible is inerrant.


4. The bible has the authority of God.