“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
(Revelation 21:5–6 )
The above text speaks to us about the veracity of Scripture, by telling us of the One who inspired it. The words of Scripture are true and faithful. They are trustworthy. The One who commanded that the words be written is Himself the Alpha and Omega. He is both the beginning and the ending. He is eternal and unchanging: that is why the words are words that are infallible, inerrant, and unchanging. This text presents to us the most fundamental point concerning the unity of the Bible, which is the immutability[1] of God.
Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The men who wrote it were moved upon by the Holy Spirit, who directed their thoughts and words (2 Peter 1:20-21). This means that the words written, the very Scriptures we have, are the words of God. Thus the nature of Scripture is rooted within the nature of God.
God is eternal, and that nature is also the nature of Scripture. That which is eternal is also unchanging, as that which is eternal must remain the same, or it would cease to be eternal. Scripture tells us that God inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15), existed before time, being the Creator of time (Genesis 1:1), and that Creation itself testifies to His eternal nature (Romans 1:18-20). Since Scripture is God’s Word, we expect to find similar statements made concerning Scripture. Thus we read, “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89 ) Peter tells us that God’s Word is imperishable and eternal. Its essence is unchanging, does not deteriorate, and exists forever (1 Peter 1:21-25).
God is immutable. It is the nature of that which is eternal to ever remain the same, and God will never change. Scripture tells us that God will never change. Israel could be comforted in their afflictions and trials; because God said, “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6 ) The assurance that we have in Christ is based upon the fact that God is immutable and true, and His Word is also (Hebrews 6:17-20). And then we read, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8 ) These things being so, we know that God’s Word will never change, nor will it contradict itself. Furthermore, when we view the Scripture from beginning to end, we will find that God’s unchanging character is on every page, binding and uniting each word, sentence, verse, chapter, book, and testament, no matter what the time and age may be.
God, being eternal and immutable, will also be true and faithful. This is also what we find concerning His Word. Moses stated that God is true and without sin (Deuteronomy 32:4). We find it said similarly of God’s Word: “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.” (Psalm 119:142 ) “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” (Psalm 119:160 ) God’s Word is forever, and it is forever true. Once again, this means that the Word will never contradict itself, nor will it change. God’s Word will not give us conflicting messages, nor will it present to us that which is wrong as being right.
These things being so, we must view Scripture as a coherent book that is a unity from beginning to end. We must not approach Scripture to say, “This passage is not for us today;” but we must rather approach Scripture to submit to its teaching, asking, “How is this relevant to us today?” Scripture is not to be divided up into small segments, with each segment belonging only to a specific group of people in a certain time, because this violates the nature of the book, and presents a God who cannot make up His mind about what He wishes to say. This is not only incorrect, but it dishonors our Lord! Since all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we must recognize all of Scripture as the Word of God, and of relevance to us in the present time. Too many people claim to “rightly divide” the Word of God when, in reality, they are rejecting large portions of Scripture and misrepresenting both the Bible, and God, Who gave us the Bible. The eternal, immutable, faithful, and true nature of God makes the Bible a unity to be read, believed, and embraced from beginning to end.
[1] Immutability- unchangeableness
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