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Evidence ID: BIB-EV95

Evidence: Jesus' Affirmation

Summary: Because Jesus is God, he is able to claim with authority that the Old Testament scriptures and his teachings are divinely inspired. Throughout his ministry he declares the scriptures to be authoritative, eternal, immutable, inerrant, supreme and prophetically accurate.

Description: What does Jesus say about the inspiration of the scriptures? Did he attribute the truth of the scriptures to individual writers, or did he attribute it to God?

Jesus affirmed that all scripture is divinely inspired. He states emphatically that the Old Testament and his teachings are rooted in God's truth [HIS-EV29].

• Scripture is Authoritative: "the scriptures state ..." (Matthew 4:7-10)
• Scripture is Everlasting/Eternal: "my words will never disappear" (Matthew 24:35, Matthew 5:17)
• Scripture is Unchangeable/Immutable: "the Scriptures cannot be altered" (John 10:35)
• Scripture is True/Inerrant: "teach them your word, which is truth" (John 17:17)
• Scripture is Supreme: "why do your traditions violate the direct commandments of God?" (Matthew 15:3)
• Scripture is Prophetically Accurate: "the Scriptures declared long ago" (Matthew 26:24-56), "Scripture has been fulfilled this very day!" (Luke 4:21)
  "the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled" (Luke 21:22)

These characteristics set scripture apart from all other sacred writings. No other collection of writings spanning 1,500 years has this degree of consistency. Therefore, the universal truths presented in scripture must transcend its individual writers, and originate from a single author, God himself.

Because Jesus is God [PHY-DS06], he is able to claim with authority that the scriptures are divinely inspired.