human authors, only, narrative, revelation :

Words About The Word

ver.: 20 February 2008

when used for the Bible, what is : to reveal, and revelation,
human authors, only, narrative?

There's also a PDF booklet of all the pages on the Bible, including all of the word definitions found here on Spirithome.com.

Human Authors

human authors : Christians believe the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit, but also that the Spirit worked through human authors, poets, prophets, editors, collectors, and such. The human character of the authors comes through in the various parts of the Bible. Because the Spirit inspires, the Scriptures will tell you all the truths you need to follow God. Because the authors are humans, there are culturally-conditioned ways of expressing things, there are signs of the writers' own character and vision, and there are different styles and use of words. The Bible's humanness is part of its usefulness and appeal over thousands of years. Whether it's Jeremiah's sense of terror all around, or Nehemiah's testimony of the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls, or the Psalmists' anger and fear, or Paul describing his relationship with the other apostles, the personal, human part of the writing of the Bible helps draw you in. You recognize it, from your own human experience. When the Scriptures show God at work, it's usually through humans. God even chose to become a human for us, as Jesus. In a different way, the Spirit inspires each of us and reveals to us what Christ wants us to know. Then others see Christ in action through us. God uses people along the way from beginning to end, and the Spirit is at every step. Human authors write the words, in part because it is meant to inspire human deeds.

This is unlike the Muslims, nearly all of whom treat the Qur'an as being written by God in heaven in Arabic and then given over to Mohammed who transcribed it, instead of being written through inspired people. To Mormons, the Book of Mormon was 'discovered' by Joseph Smith, but at least in their case someone was inspired to translate it.
back to word list

Only

Only : alone in its purpose; sole. It's usually used with words like 'norm', 'rule', and 'source', often in the form of the Latin 'sola' (alone); it's most often used by Lutherans, who got addicted to the word by using it with 'grace' and 'faith'. When 'only' is used about the Bible, it means that no other documents, sources, resources, and such, and no leaders individually or collectively, can act to define the way Christians have faith (belief), think and speak of God (theology), teach Christian beliefs (doctrine), act as a church (practice), honor and praise God (worship), develop a relationship with God (devotion), and carry out their daily activities and relationships within an unbelieving world (life). Only the Bible fills that role. "Only" is the kind of word which grates against the ear of today's people -- we hate exclusive claims. But the truth is that no other source actually gets the job done. The Bible is the source the Spirit chose to use for this purpose. True, the Spirit also speaks through other books, resources, and people, but the Spirit doesn't use them definitively to set the course or direction, or give you what you're to measure current actions and happenings by. Only if you know your Bible are you able to know when God is speaking through other sources.
back to word list

Narrative

narrative : [Lat. narrâre (to tell a story), originally from some form of Indo-European *gnô- (to know)]. In a 'narrative method' of looking at the Bible, the context, roots, and importance of what's found in the Bible is found in its story line. All parts of the story find their meaning within the course of this narrative. The method isn't without its problems. For one : the story is much greater than the sum of its parts, but you can't really know the story without grasping its parts, especially when the story develops from real life. Each passage must have its full due, even when it seems to go against the flow, even if it does go against the flow (it may show us a paradox). Even so, 'narrative' approaches focus on what's most important in the Bible, the story line. For a Christian, the 'story line' of God's work among human beings is the good news of Jesus Christ and through Him, the reconciliation of all that exists with its Maker. The rest of it may be good to know, helpful, and even God's blessing for you, but it is this story line that's the 'why' for the Bible and each passage in it.
back to word list

How does the Bible Reveal?

to reveal. Related words include 'to show', 'revelation', 'uncover', 'share', 'unveil'. There are matters we could only have any knowledge or understanding about if God told us. For instance, how could we really understand anything about God -- character, will, plan, being -- if God didn't show it to us? We lack the needed 'omniscience' to figure it out ourselves (that is, we don't even come close to knowing enough to do it). We'd be left with natural vague hints and intelligent wild guesses. We'd be on somewhat better ground about ourselves, but even there, we still can't seem to figure out for ourselves why we are unable to straighten ourselves out, and why it is that the better we become at doing things, the better we also become in ever-deeper evils (such as H-bombs, monopolism, mind manipulation, and ethnic cleansing). Learning about such things takes 'revelation' : the One who knows shares this knowledge with us. That's what the Bible is : God sharing these truths with us. That's what the prophets and apostles did. Most centrally, it is not just what Christ did, but what Christ is. Through these writings, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that God's already done God's part in restoring our relationship with God. The Spirit then goes on to reveal us so much more -- what God has given us, how God wants us to live and to treat each other, deepening our relationship with God, about love and fellowship and family and justice, and even about the time to end all time when the healing will be completed and all will be revealed. The Spirit lifts the veil, and thus frees us. The primary way for the Spirit to do this is by revealing it through the Bible

Christians are very unlike Muslims on this matter. To a mainstream Muslim, the Qur'an reveals God's will and message, but not God Himself - not character, not plan, not depth of love, and not His divine nature. In Islam, Mohammed is the messenger of God, not the revealer of His character.

God's not trying to keep any secrets. God's just looking for someone who will listen.
back to word list