The Character Of Scripture
Thus far the necessity of Scripture is defined in the Westminster Confession of Faith 1:1, and the content of Scripture is described in 1:2 & 3 as the sixty-six books of the canon. All people know God through revelation of himself in creation and conscience, however their understanding of God as they read Scripture is blurred until the Holy Spirit focuses their perceptions by illumining their understanding to embrace the gospel, then they grow in sanctification through both reading and hearing its teaching from faithful instructors. The next two paragraphs of the first chapter provide teaching regarding the authority and authenticity of Scripture.
The Authority of Scripture
4. The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore, it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.
Paragraph four provides in just one sentence both an apology and doctrinal affirmation regarding the authority of Scripture. Notice the Ramist antithetical bifurcation as the issue is expressed negatively by saying Scripture’s authority depends not upon any man, or church, then it is said positively that the authority depends but wholly upon God. The apologetic response is directed primarily at the teaching of Roman Catholicism regarding the authority of the pope and the leadership of the Catholic Church. At the time of the Westminster Assembly the popes were number 236, Urban VIII (1623-1644), then 237, Innocent X (1644-1655). Most recently in the news was the inauguration of number 268, Pope Leo XIV (2025). All the popes in linear succession are said to have received their authority from the Apostle Peter as it was delivered to him by Christ in Matthew 16:18. However, the Assembly turns readers of the Confession from the authority of man to the authority of God; Scripture needs no witness or proof of any man, or church as to its authority and authenticity. The Lord has providentially delivered the Word through political chaos, storms, floods, earthquakes, consuming fires, wars, technological deficiencies, plagues, and the disobedience of his wandering people—the Bible needs no confirmation of its authority since its authority is because it is the Word of God.
The Authenticity of Scripture.
5. We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
Several points are made in paragraph five that evidence the authenticity of the Bible as the word of God. These points are not proofs, but rather evidence that one would expect the word of God to manifest. The church should teach a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. Over the centuries there have been individuals who questioned the authenticity of Scripture by raising the question uttered by Satan, “Yea, hath God said” (Genesis 3:1). The rise of Socinianism (Unitarianism) in the seventeenth century showed little esteem for the clear teaching of Scripture on the Trinity. In the later years of the nineteenth century higher criticism did not esteem the Bible calling into question the authorship of its individual books while denying their divine origin. At the end of the nineteenth into the twentieth century the kenosis theory interpreted Philippians 2:7 as teaching that Jesus set aside his divinity. Then proponents of the Messianic self consciousness did not esteem Scripture as they interpreted Jesus to be at best deluded about his divine identity, or at worst a charlatan. It is the duty of church leaders to teach their congregations to have high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scripture. The Bible is not to be worshipped as an object, but it is to be esteemed because its content is God’s word.
The Bible is a book dealing with spiritual issues as is expressed with the heavenliness of the matter. It teaches about God, the soul, angels, Satan, prayer, sin, and hell, all of which exhibit its spiritual, supernatural, and invisible concerns. The Assembly also mentions the efficacy of the doctrine which means the effectiveness and certainty by which Scripture’s teaching accomplishes its purpose. The Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever,” and the means for accomplishing that end is “The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him” (Questions 1 & 2). Thus, the efficacy of the doctrine is shown by the Word being the resource for learning how to glorify and enjoy the Lord. Further evidence the Bible is the word of God is the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God) and the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation. As Simon Peter answered Jesus when he told him of the difficulty of following him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
The Assembly also considered the majesty of the style and the consent of all the parts as evidence of the Bible’s divine origin. The literary beauty of Scripture is indicative of God’s inspiration since he created all human languages as evidenced in part by the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). One would expect God to produce not only a fine literary work in terms of style, but also one that has the consent of all the parts. Those who are not familiar with the Bible sometimes question its authenticity because of contradictions, which should really be described as apparent contradictions because the portions that appear to disagree may have a future resolution, but if not, it is consoling to know that God knows the solution. Considering the massive size of the Bible, the biographical encyclopedia of individuals, gazetteer of locations, and massive collection of facts, the consent of all the parts displays the copious work of the Holy Spirit as men were moved to write under inspiration (2 Peter 1:21).
Added to the literary beauty and cohesion along with the spirituality of the Bible’s message are many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God. However, no matter how glorious, beautiful, coherent, cohesive, and perfect the Bible may be, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.
Notice here the first use of infallible in the Westminster Confession. It has been observed that the word inerrancy does not appear in the Westminster Standards, which is true, however, the meaning of infallible at the time of the Westminster Assembly was “Of persons, their judgements, etc., not liable to be deceived or mistaken; incapable of erring,” with the earliest sample of usage given dating to 1491 (O.E.D. v. 5, H-K, 1933 ed.). In the same volume of the O.E.D. are definitions for both inerrancy and inerrant, with the former’s earliest usage sample dating to 1818, and the latter for the second definition dating to 1837. So, infallible was seen to be inerrant. When the infallible truth and divine authority thereof is read, the meaning that should be conveyed is inerrancy. The concept of infallible in the seventeenth century was associated with the infallibility of the pope—the idea that as he makes pronouncements relative to church doctrine and practice, he is said to do so infallibly, without error. It appears that the Assembly used infallible to show that the papacy’s claim to infallibility was wrong because the only right use of the word in a theological context is with reference to God and his Bible.
Finally, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. In 1903 there was a successful move by Presbyterians to revise the Westminster Confession and one of the changes achieved was adding a chapter about the Holy Spirit (chapter 34). It was said by the proponents of the new chapter that the Confession did not teach the Holy Spirit and they observed that there were chapters “Of God and of the Holy Trinity” (ch. 2), “Of Christ the Mediator” (ch. 8), but no chapter for the Holy Spirit. At the end of the nineteenth century the holiness movement was spreading from its antebellum roots in Methodism to other denominations including Presbyterians. Adherents of the Holiness Movement were similar to charismatics today in their belief that supernatural gifts unique to the apostolic age such as speaking in tongues, extra-biblical revelation, and immediate healing of physical afflictions could be used via a special or second blessing of the Holy Spirit. Whether the desire for a chapter on the Holy Spirit was brought to mind by the Holiness Movement or not, it is clear the Westminster Assembly taught that the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit was needed to persuade people the Bible is the word of God and he bears witness with those who believe the gospel.
Notes—The Council of Trent was called as seen on Papal Encyclicals Online on the page “The Bull of Indiction [declaration] of the Sacred Ecumenical and General Council of Trent Under the Sovereign Pontiff, Paul III.”; on the same site, see a complete list of the popes at “Pope Directory, Chronological List of All the Popes.” The 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is available on Internet Archive, however acquiring the right volume requires some hunting.
