Question 37: Why do we say that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the redemptive word of God?
Answer: The scriptures, being the living voice of Christ in the Church and in the world, fulfil God’s purpose in Christ of redeeming and saving a people unto himself.
How did you get your first Bible? What was it like? I can still remember my first Bible clearly – in fact, I still have it. I was turning 11 years old, and it was time for me to get my first “real” Bible. There was a Christian book shop connected to my local church, so in I went to get my Bible. It was a compact, well made, leather bound black Bible with a zip to protect the golden-gilded pages. It cost $40, which I paid off week-by-week with my $2 pocket money allowance. My pastor and the lady volunteering to run the shop let me take the Bible in advance so that I could start reading it!
As Christians, the Bible is very special to us. It is our Holy Book, it is God’s word given to us. But let me ask you, as you hold your Bible in your hands, why did God give it to you? What was his purpose? As we close out our consideration of the doctrine of scripture, we’re drawing together a series of threads from earlier questions now, and we’re landing on one of the most important points of all when it comes to the doctrine of scripture. God gave you the Bible to save your soul. It really is, in a sense, just as clear and simple as that.
In Question 19, we explored what it means to say that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the word of God. We saw that: “God has testified clearly to us that the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are divinely inspired, and that they thus come to us fully as the true, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient, clear, and redemptive word of God.” We’ve been steadily working through this answer to consider a number of these various qualities of the Bible, but as we conclude these studies, we need to give attention to the final adjective, that the Bible is the “redemptive word of God.”
In one sense, this is just the logical consequences of other things that we’ve already considered. In Question 7, considering the question “What is the word of God?”, we already stated that “Through the reading, preaching and teaching of the word of God, as contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, Jesus Christ is continually preached and speaks that we may have life and life abundant.” Beyond this, in Question 15, we gave some thought to what it means to say that Christ himself is the redemptive word of God: “Christ, as the redemptive word of God, is God’s word spoken to us that we may be raised from our state of spiritual and bodily death, and may have life, and life abundant, in fellowship with God.” In Question 16 we extended this by saying that: “The redemptive revelation of God is his saving revelation of himself, formerly through various acts, words, appearances, and symbols, and finally and ultimately culminating in the incarnate word himself: Jesus Christ.” The very name of Jesus reveals to us that he shall save his people from their sins.
The final piece of the puzzle has to do with connecting the person of Jesus Christ with the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which we did in Question 20: What is the nature of the relationship between Christ the Word of God, and the scriptures as the word of God? Answer: The scriptures are the living voice of Christ in the Church and in the world.” Because, then, there is an inseparable connection between Christ and the scriptures as the living voice of Christ, there is likewise an inseparable connection between the purpose of Christ and the purpose of his word: our redemption. We read as much explicitly in passages like John 20:30-31, which says: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; (31) but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So it was under the Old Covenant, as recorded in Deuteronomy 32:47: “For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” So it continues under the New Covenant as well: “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”” (Mt 4:4).
Why did God give you your Bible? To save your soul. In the Westminster Confession of Faith we read that “The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.” All things necessary for your salvation have been give to you through this book. Christ speaks to you through this book. It is the redemptive word of God.
The practical implication of this is simple and straight forward: you must cling to the word of God as an overboard sailor clings to a safety rope. You must feed on the word of God as a starving man who will die without food. Christ is your salvation, and you may come to Christ and know him through his word alone. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn 5:24). SDG.
Share this post