Page 7 - Doctrine and History of the Preservation of the Bible Student Textbook

2 Peter 3:2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command
given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

Moses emphasized that his commands were really the commands of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the
commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

God supernaturally gave Paul his ministry.

Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sent by human beings nor through the agency of humans, but
through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead).
His words ultimately had a divine origin - they were not merely human words.

Galatians 1:11,12 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by
me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received
it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
They were speaking God's message - it was not something they have originated. In the Book of Acts we
read.

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit
was giving them utterance.
The Holy Spirit guided them with respect to what they said.

Later in the Book of Acts it says.

Acts 4:13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were
uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with
Jesus.

Even unbelievers noticed the authoritative manners in which the apostles spoke.

Some thirty-eight hundred times the Bible declares, “God said,” or “Thus says the Lord” (e.g. Ex. 14:1;
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20:1; Lev. 4:1; Num. 4:1; Deut. 4:2; 32:48; Isa. 1:10, 24; Jer. 1:11; Ezek. 1:3; etc.). Paul also recognized
that the things he was writing were the Lord’s commandments (1 Cor. 14:37), and they were
acknowledged as such by the believers (1 Thess. 2:13). Peter proclaimed the certainty of the Scriptures
and the necessity of heeding the unalterable and certain Word of God (2 Pet. 1:16-21). John too
recognized that his teaching was from God; to reject his teaching was to reject God (1 John 4:6).

The Bible is a book that is both human and divine. It is God's Word written by human beings. The idea
of an authoritative, divinely inspired Scripture is not something that the church invented; it is the
testimony of the biblical writers. The claims of biblical authority can be seen in three areas. First, God
told them to write down the truth that he revealed. Second, the words they composed ultimately came
from God. They made it clear that God supernaturally spoke to them, what they wrote down was not
their own words. Finally, the contents of Scripture are fully authoritative. They are the final words on
all matters of faith and practice.

3 https://www.quora.com/How-many-times-is-sayeth-the-lord-repeated-in-the-Bible
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