Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. III. Of God’s Eternal Decree – 3-5.

1. Why is the doctrine of predestination so seldom acknowledged even though it is so clearly taught in Scripture?

The doctrine of predestination is so seldom acknowledged because of the perversity of man. Scripture clearly teaches this doctrine, but it is man who refuses to hear God’s word by faith (and with humility). “And the chief cause of man’s constant misreading of Scripture regarding this matter is his perennial desire to have a better opinion of himself than is warranted” (33).

2. What does sinful man deserve?

Sinful man deserves wrath and damnation.

3. What classic example in Scripture proves this doctrine [doctrine of predestination]?

The classic example is of Jacob and Esau – Romans 9:11-15 “For the children [Rebecca’s children] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

4. How much did they have “in common” to begin with? At the “end”?

According to their nature, they being twins, to begin they had everything in common. In the end, however, they were totally different – “Jacob was chosen to eternal life, and Esau was passed by and left to the punishment he deserved” (33).

5. How does this case prove that it was God (alone) who made them differ?

This case proves that it was God alone who made them differ because Romans 9:18 says, “He [God] hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth.”

6. What Scripture asserts that God has “the right” to do this?

God is the Creator, thus, he has a right over his creation, as Romans 9:21 teaches – “Hath not the potter [God] power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?.” Commenting on this Williamson says, “God has a right to give damnation to Esau, who deserves damnation, and eternal life to Jacob, who also deserves damnation” (33).

7. What is meant by saying that God’s predestination is not “conditional”?

Williamson says, “But what is of cardinal importance is to recognize that God’s sovereign determination of the destinies of the souls of men is not conditional. There is no difference between Jacob and Esau for the sake of which God chose the one and rejected the other” (33). God’s predestination of man is wholly of grace. God’s predestination of man is not conditioned by the works of man.

8. If man could fulfill some condition upon which basis God would then elect him, what teachings of Scripture would be denied?

If man could fulfill some condition upon which basis God would then elect him, it would deny what Scripture teaches in Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” – and in Romans 11:6 – “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

9. Why has God chosen the ones he has chosen?

God has chosen the ones he has chosen because of grace, that is, because of pure, unmerited favor. Ephesians 2:5-6 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Williamson says, “Scripture informs us that divine election is conditioned upon not something in the creature but rather something in God. It is the good pleasure, the delight of God, which is the basis of Election” (34). See Luke 10:21 – “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.”

10. Why has God chosen some and passed others by?

Why did God do this? This God has done for his own glory. “God will bring glory to himself, or rather will manifest his glory. He will display the perfection of his holiness by wrath against sin in the destruction of the wicked and he will display the perfection of his mercy and love in saving the elect” (34). If what we stated earlier is true, that “Sinful man deserves wrath and damnation,” then it is obvious that both the perfection of God’s holy justice and the perfection of God’s merciful grace manifest his glory.

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. III. Of God’s Eternal Decree – 1-2.

1. What distinguishes a “person” from all other beings or things?

A person has a “will” and acts according to purpose, which distinguishes the person from other beings and impersonal things.

2. What kind of “plan” or “purpose” must of necessity belong to an “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable” personal being?

Such a “plan” or “purpose” must necessarily be infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, for it will have the attributes of the person whose “will” is at back the plan. “God is an infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Person. Therefore his plan or purpose must ever have been a part of his infinite, eternal, and unchangeable existence” (30).

3. Cite a Scripture text proving that all existence is controlled by God.

Ephesians 3:11 speaks of God’s eternal purpose which He purposed – “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And Ephesians 1:11 speaks of God’s controlling all things – “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”

4. Cite a Scripture text proving that the most minute details of existence are controlled by God.

Ephesians 1:11 speaks of God’s controlling all things (“all” includes even the most minute details) – “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.” Also, in Matthew 10:29, Christ says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”

5. Cite a text proving that seemingly accidental events are controlled by God.

The narrative in 1 Kings 22 records several seemingly accidental events which are controlled by God.

6. Cite a text proving that evil acts are predetermined by God.

In Matthew 18:7 Jesus says, “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” God has predetermined/predestined all events, even evil, but these acts are committed because men freely choose to do so.

7, Cite a text proving that evil acts are nevertheless “free.”

Acts 2:22-23 teaches that God foreordained that Christ would be delivered for death by the rulers of Israel, but it being done on account of their wicked volition – “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

8.. Cite a text proving that “good” acts done by regenerate persons are predetermined by God, and yet also “free.”

Because “will” flows from nature, the regenerate, who have been given a new nature through regeneration, are capable of freely doing “good” acts, this being taught in Matthew 7:17a – “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit.”

9. What do we mean when we say that a man is “free,” or acts “freely”?

Man is free if “not forced by any power outside himself to do that which is contrary to ‘what he wants to do'” (31).

10. Why are the unregenerate, though free, certain to do only evil?

The unregenerate are free, they have liberty, but they do not have the ability to do good because of their evil nature (due to original sin). They do not have the ability to do good because will flows from nature. As Matthew 7:18 says, “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”

11. Why are the regenerate, though free, certain to please God?

They are certain to please God because they have a regenerate nature (which is a gift given to them by God), thus, they have a good will “which is in accord with the will of God” (31).

12. Can God foresee (or foreknow) before he predetermines? Vice versa? Why?. 

No and No. God’s foreknowledge and predestination are not at odds with one another. As Williamson says, God foreknows things with certainty because God guarantees the certainty. God determines all that exists. This is the case because of the impossibility of the contrary, i.e., if it were not true then God would not be the only self-existent being.

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

Prior posts for WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – Sections 1-10.

Prior post for WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity:

WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity – 1-2.

WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity – 3.

1. Is the doctrine of the Trinity revealed in the Old Testament? In the New Testament?

Yes. God reveals himself through events recorded in Scripture. The Old Testament recorded events which prepared man for the (redemptive-historical) events by which God clearly revealed himself as triune, while the New Testament records events in light of this revelation. Williamson says, “God revealed himself by supernatural deeds, along with which gradually gave more and more verbal interpretation. Only as God’s plan of redemption was fully worked out, was God himself fully made known” (26-27).

2. Is the God revealed in the Old Testament the triune God? How can this be proved?

Yes. The God revealed in the Old Testament is fully God, and, therefore, triune, although this was not fully evident until the latter revelation came (provided by the New Testament). It is called the Old Testament because it is the older (partial) revelation. Neither the Old or the New Testaments alone are God’s full revelation, rather, the two together is God’s full revelation which reveals by way of redemptive-historical deeds who God is, and His plan of redemption for man, etc. With the revelation provided by the New Testament, it is clear that the triune God is revealed in the Old Testament. For example, in Genesis 1:26 and 11:5, 7 we see God’s self-reference to a plurality in the Godhead (fashioning man “in our image” and “Let us go down”) . . . Williamson says there is scriptural data (like the tests just mentioned) which are “inexplicable by any other interpretation than by a trinitarian interpretation” (273).

3. Cite an Old Testament text to prove that God is not a single person.

Genesis 1:26. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . .”

Genesis 32:24-30. “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him . . . . And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

Exodus 23:20-25. “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee”

4. Cite a text which indicates that the Angel of Jehovah is Jehovah (God).

Exodus 23:20, 21 (see above).

5. Cite a prophetic text which will show that God promised to send God incarnate.

The Immanuel (“God with us”) promised in Isaiah 7:14 is called “mighty God” in Isaiah 9:6.

6. Why did the apostles accept the “doctrine” of the Trinity?

The accepted the doctrine of the Trinity because each of the Person’s of the Godhead had revealed themselves through specific deeds which confirmed they were distinct but together united (one).

7. What two essential elements of the doctrine of the Trinity are taught in the baptismal form of Matthew?

The two elements are: (a) God is one, and (b) God is three. (Three Persons in one being; one being in three Persons.)

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. II. Of God, And of the Holy Trinity – 1-2.

1. Where is the proof to be found of the true God’s existence?

Hebrews 11:6 says, “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Thus, Williamson says, “The doctrine of God begins, therefore, with the assertion that God is. And to the truth of this assertion (as Scripture informs us) everything testifies” (23).

2. What do we mean when we call God a “Spirit”?

God is pure Spirit, meaning he does not have a body like men.

3. Why does Scripture speak of God as having hands, feet, etc.?

In such instances, Scripture is speaking metaphorically and/or (oftentimes) synecdochically.

4. What is meant by the term “incommunicable”?

This term is used to describe the attributes of God that are not and cannot be communicated to man (image bearer of God).

5. What is meant by the term “attributes”?

“Attribute” in reference to the Divine denotes those qualities belonging to God.

6. What are the incommunicable attributes of God?

The incommunicable attributes of God are: eternity, infinity, immutability. God alone has these attributes.

7. What is meant by the term “communicable”?

The term is used to describe the attributes of God that are and can be communicated to man (image bearer of God).

8. What are some communicable attributes of God?

God has qualities that he bestows (“in a measure”) upon creatures, i.e., the sevenfold list: being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

9. Does our knowledge of a particular fact or truth (for example) have the same qualities as does God’s knowledge of that fact or truth?

No. God’s knowledge of a particular fact or truth is eternal, infinite, and immutable knowledge. That is to say, God’s knowledge of a particular fact or truth is Divine knowledge. Our knowledge is not Divine knowledge. We are creatures. Therefore, we have creaturely knowledge. Creaturely knowledge is finite; it does not have the same qualities as does God’s knowledge.

10. What does God receive?

God receives nothing because His Divine knowledge is eternal, infinite, and immutable. All that we give to God is merely a re-interpretation (reflection) of his Divine knowledge.

11. What simple truth of the doctrine of God is seldom consistently maintained in the thinking of (even Christian) men?

The simple truth of the doctrine of God that is seldom consistently maintained is that all is derivative of God, meaning, “God is the great original. Everything else is, in one way or another, a mere reflection of him” (25). Everything else is analogically related to the doctrine of the knowledge of God.

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 10.

 1. What is the difference between the Roman Catholic and Reformed Churches with regard to the supreme judge in matters of religious controversy?

WCF clearly teaches that Reformed Churches regard the Holy Spirit speaking through Scripture as the “supreme judge” in all matters of religious controversy, e.g., “decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits.” Roman Catholic churches do not believe this: Roman Catholics believe (a) the Roman Church can “infallibly interpret the infallible Word of God” and (b) the Pope can speak officially regarding doctrinal controversies, i.e., the doctrine of Papal infallibility.

2. Can the Church speak infallibly? If not, then how can it speak with authority or value?

No. Only God speaks infallibly (God is infallible, thus, he can speak infallibly). The Church can speak with authority and value insofar as it declares the Word of God.

3. In the Synod of Jerusalem did Peter act as pope? Who made the decision? Upon what was this decision based?

Peter was not acting as pope at the Synod of Jerusalem. The Church made a decision by appealing to the Old Testament (see verses 14-18).

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 9.

1. False religions deny that the Bible is God’s complete revelation. What other aspect of revelation do they deny?

False religions (and Christian viewpoints that are not fully Biblical) deny the sufficiency-and-perspicuity of Scripture, and they also deny that Scripture interprets itself (since they believe Scripture is deficient, they insist it needs an outside interpreter).

2. In such religions is the Bible important or necessary to the individual believer (according to the view of that religion)?

In such religions the Bible is not necessarily important, since it is not the ultimate standard or authority. The outside interpreter is the authorial matrix; the outside interpreter becomes the standard, thus it becomes necessarily important. (And this is over and against Scripture; it is a myth to insist that Scripture and the outside interpreter, e.g., Tradition, are parallel standards/authorities.

3. Reconcile any apparent conflict between the Reformed insistence that the Bible is self-interpreting and the Reformed teaching that there are to be ministers of the Word ordained with authority to teach the Word in the Churches.

There is no conflict. The Bible is self-interpreting, but the Bible still needs to be studied in depth and taught; there are many hard things in Scripture, but they are understandable. It takes effort and time, it takes exertion and care. Pastor’s are ordained to “study” Scripture (see 2 Timothy 2:15), and after studying to preach!

 4. Are all portions of the Scripture equally simple to understand? If not, does this change the fact that they are self-interpreting? Explain.

No. All portions of Scripture are not equally simple to understand. This is why we say Scripture is self-interpretive – “that difficult places are clarified by the parallel passages which speak more clearly” (18), i.e., oftentimes this is referred to as the “analogy of faith” – all of Scripture is united, “the sense of Scripture is one (not many)” (18) – and since all of Scripture is harmonious and without contradiction you are able to clarify difficult passages by the passages that are not difficult.

 5. Why is creedless Christianity a perversion of this doctrine?

Creeds are evidence that the teaching of Scripture is clear and has perspicuity. If you say, “No creed but Christ!” then you are denying the clarity of Scripture.

6. Why do creeds (which are agreeable with Scripture) have authority?

Creeds, while subordinate to Scripture, are both “useful” and “authoritative”, but this is only to the “degree that they are ‘agreeable to and founded on the Word of God.” Because Scripture is self-interpretive we are able to formulate creeds, and “creeds are evidence that the Bible is clear” (19).

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 8.

1. How many “Bibles” are there (in the ultimate sense)?

In the ultimate sense, there is only one Bible, “given by inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life” (WCF. I.2.).

2. Give the correct definition of “the Bible.”

It is the original text [the “autographa of the inspired authors” (15)] written by authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

3. Do we actually possess the original manuscripts upon which the Word of God was originally written?

No. We only have copies (apographa) of the original text. But these copies “actually possess it [the original text] in “authentical” form” (15).

4. What does the Modernist say about the “original, infallible Word of God”?

He says, “What use . . . is an infallible Bible when no one possesses it?” (The Modernist equivocates the original manuscript, which we no longer have, with the original text, which we do have preserved in copies.)

5. Could a copy of the infallible Word of God be as infallible as the Word of which it is a copy? Explain.

Yes. A copy preserves and transmits the truth of the original.

6. Were the early copies perfect?

Some could have been, but they could not all necessarily be perfect because they were copied by uninspired persons. They were copied by hand and men make mistakes.

7. What two chief factors worked to preserve the perfect text even through imperfect copiers?

First, there is a cloud of witnesses (copies). Each copiest made his own mistakes, and the other copies stand as witnesses of both a) the entire text and b) against that copiest’s mistakes.

Second, the Greek-speaking Churches that were founded outside of Palestine were familiar with the text and mistakes would have been noticed, this “helped reduce the errors of copiers to an exceedingly small amount” (17).

8. Which of these do you believe most important?

Williamson believes the former is weightier.

9. Why is it no longer necessary that preservation of the true text depend on the Greek-speaking Church?

Because we now have “mechanical means of printing” (17), i.e., printing presses, copy machines, e-publishing, photographs and digital imaging, etc.

10. What is the glorious result of God’s singular care and providence so far as Scripture is concerned?

God has by his “care and providence” kept the original text pure through the ages; “We do now actually possess before our very eyes the “authentical” text of the Word of the living God” (17).

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 7.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 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 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

 John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

Blogging through and answering the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes for personal review and comprehension.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 6.

1. Cite Scripture proof that God’s Word is now complete.

     Jesus Christ said he was the “truth” (John 14:6) and the author of Hebrews unwraps the logic of that statement, stating that “God …. at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” but now he “hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son” who is the “express image of his person.” The former was provisional, and the latter final.

2. Cite Scripture proof that God’s Word discloses all of his will for man.

     Paul says in Acts 20:27 that he declared “all the counsel of God.” In 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Paul argues that Scripture is able to teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness/perfection.

3. Why is guidance given in terms of general principles rather than particular directions? (Two reasons may be given.)

     God’s law addresses all things, it is all encompassing, and if guidance is given in terms of general principles instead of particular directions that is actually a possibility (otherwise it would merely be wooden, legalistic, and bulky/verbose). Each of us is personally responsible to “apply these principles to [our] own circumstances” (11) in order to do all to the Glory of God. This involves engaging our thoughts and imaginations. But since the principles apply to specific and personal circumstances, Christian Liberty must be engendered and practiced.

4. How can the Bible suffice for all men in all times an places?

      These all-encompassing principles are universal, applying to all men, everywhere, at all times.

5. In the categories of worship and government give examples of things which are, and things which are not, circumstances of worship and government.

     Regarding worship: the time of day, location (indoors, out doors, in a building owned or rented), the color of the chairs, the paint on the walls, etc. Regarding government: the rules of church order (e.g., Book of Procedures), the specifics of constituting as a local church, etc.

6. Give an example to show that the general principles of the Word of God must control circumstances, and that the circumstances must not control (or be allowed to cause violation of) principles of the Word of God.

     In Exodus 23:4 we read, “If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.” A wooden interpretation that would cause violation would be as follows: a man sees his enemy’s sheep going astray, but since it isn’t the man’s ox or ass he doesn’t feel compelled to return the animal to his enemy.

The proper view – the principle from this case law is this for a contemporary circumstance: even if someone is your enemy, if you come across their misplaced (gone astray) property, then you have an ethical responsibility to restore the property to them. An example: your neighbor is always agitating you, complaining about your fence, about your lawn, about where and how you place the trash out by the curb on pick-up days, etc. You find his wallet on the sidewalk. You have a moral obligation, on the basis of the principle demonstrated in Exodus 23:4, to return the wallet to your neighbor.

Blogging through the questions from G. I. Williamson’s The Westminster Confession of Faith for Study Classes.

WCF. I. Of the Holy Scriptures – 2-5.

1. What is the “proof” that the Bible is inspired?

     Evidence both internal and external to God’s Word is “proof” that the Bible is inspired. The internal evidence claims it is the Word of God, the New Testament authors believed the Old Testament was inspired, Jesus Christ promised to give his Holy Scripture to his disciples in order to write the New Testament Scriptures (see John 14:26), within the New Testament we see that the different authors treat each others writings as the inspired Word of God, the Bible contains information that could only be revealed (e.g., Creation, the future new heaven and new earth), in addition, the Bible contains many prophesies that were fulfilled. The “external evidence is subordinate, but important” (7): the Church in all ages has acknowledge Scripture as inspired, and the Scriptures have “been preserved as no other writing on earth” (7), indicating God’s special care.

2. How does the Bible express the claim that it is inspired?

     The Bible claims to be the word of God. The Bible claims God is its author.

3. Why cannot the authority of the Bible depend on the “testimony” of any man or Church?

     The authority of the Bible cannot depend on the “testimony” of any man or Church because both can and oftentimes err. “Yet it is no small thing that the Church even in its darkest days has acknowledged that the Bible is the Word of God” (7).

4. What is Rome’s audacious claim?

     Rome’s audacious claim is that the the Bible is the Word of God, but that this certainty depends upon the testimony of the Church. (See the Baltimore Catechism, Q. 1327: “it is only from Tradition (preserved in the Catholic Church) that we can know which of the writings of ancient times are inspired and which are not inspired.”)

5. How do Protestants sometimes subordinate the authority of Scripture to men?

     This occurs when Protestants foolishly grant or give credence to the unbeliever’s claim that there is nothing within Scripture that warrants them to believe it is the Word of God. That is, when Protestants grant that there is a “neutral” starting point from which to dive into the complex web of data (i.e., archaeological, historical, etc.) and attempt to sift through the facts and arrive at the truth of the matter. This is foolishness because it is idolatrous, it makes the reason of man the measure of all things.

6. Where must the evidence of Scripture’s divinity be sought?

      The evidence must be sought in the Divine-Word; the evidence is evident in the intrinsic qualities. The Word of God is there. It is and in it are the evidences of its divinity. “As Prof. John Murray puts it: ‘The authority of Scripture is an objective and permanent fact residing in the quality of inspiration'”(8).

7. If the evidence is there, why does not faith always result when men are confronted with that evidence?

     There is no deficiency in the evidence, so the reasons faith does not always result when men are confronted with the evidence is because “not all men have the requisite perceptive faculty” (8). What is the state of the man’s heart? If they hate God, if the grace of God is not active in their heart, then their understanding is darkened by bondage to sin. The truth (evidence) is there, but they attempt to hold it down and suppress it (see Romans 1:18).

8. When the Confession speaks of the Holy Spirit “bearing witness,” does it mean that the new truth conveyed to the mind?

     No. The Holy Spirit is not conveying new truth to the mind of man. The Holy Spirit “bearing witness” does so “by and with the word in our hearts.” There is both the objective witness of Scripture and the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, and man through the internal work of the Holy Spirit responds appropriately to the truth that is the objective witness of Scripture. The truth in the Bible is the truth conveyed to the mind of believers through the work of the Holy Spirit. “God’s whole truth to man is contained in Scripture” (8). The Word of God is inherently perfect, therefore, the Holy Spirit does not convey new truth to the mind of man.