The authority of the Bible is among the most contentious issues faced today between conservative and reforming (or emerging) churches. ‘The Bible as God’s word is true’ is a phrase that carries a lot of baggage and while on one level I can agree with it I would have to have a list of caveats added-on – not least my belief that it is Jesus who is God’s word and that it is with him that any revelation of God must begin.

But back to the Bible. Is it authoritative in its entirety? Or to put it another way, is it all God’s word? You’ll be familiar with Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians – a letter that deals with a number of issues that had come up as the followers of Jesus in that city worked out exactly how free they were in Christ. A whole list of issues are addressed – from some that were really serious (a man having sex with his father’s wife) and some that were less so (should they eat meat sacrificed to idols).

One issue that gets a lot of attention is the subject of marriage and there is a variety of matters addressed within this category: on some Paul feels he is giving instruction on behalf of God (‘to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord’ (7:10)) but on others he says he is merely giving his own advice (‘to the rest I say, not the Lord’ (7:12). In this second phrase the Greek puts it stronger than most English translations – it should read, ‘To the rest I say, I not the Lord.’ A small difference maybe, but a crucial one nonetheless, for the few verses that follow – giving advice on the issue of being married to an unbeliever – are merely Paul’s opinion. Of course, it is the opinion of a man called by God as an apostle, a man of deep wisdom and deeper revelation – but his opinion nevertheless. He is making clear that this was not God’s instruction to them. Or to put it another way – it was not God’s word.

How does this passage affect our view of the Bible as the ‘word of God’?


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