Day 34: Self-Authenticating Scripture, Recognizing the Word of God

Scripture
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 WEB

“For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, because when you received from us the word of God which you heard, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13 WEB

Confessional Summary
The Westminster Confession of Faith says that the authority of Scripture “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” (Westminster Confession of Faith 1.4). Authority belongs to God and therefore to His Word. The church receives and submits.

The Belgic Confession says believers receive the canonical books “for the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith,” not primarily because the church receives them, “but more especially because the Holy Ghost witnesseth in our hearts that they are from God, whereof they carry the evidence in themselves” (Belgic Confession, Article 5). Scripture bears its own marks, and the Spirit grants eyes to see them.

The Heidelberg Catechism defines true faith as “a sure knowledge, whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word,” and “an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the Gospel in my heart” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 21). Faith does not confer authority on Scripture. Faith rests on the authority Scripture already has as God’s own speech.

The Reformers did not teach that the Bible becomes God’s Word when the church approves it. The church receives Scripture because God has already spoken.

Reflection
Jesus gives us a simple picture of sheep and a shepherd. The sheep are not experts in everything, but they know one sound. The shepherd’s voice cuts through the noise of other voices, not because it is loudest, but because it is His. His sheep know His voice.

That is how Scripture is self-authenticating. The Bible does not merely speak about God. It confronts, consoles, and commands with a weight and clarity that belong to God alone. Over time, you learn that this Book repeatedly gets behind your defenses, names your fears, exposes your excuses, and holds out a Savior at a level no other message can match.

That recognition is not a trick of upbringing or temperament. The confessions send you back to the Spirit’s quiet work. He uses the Word He inspired to persuade and assure you that what you are hearing is truly from God. You discover that your faith is not hanging in midair. It is resting on a God who speaks, and on a Word that carries His own light. So when you say, “This is the Word of the Lord,” you are not announcing your opinion. You are acknowledging the voice that found you first.

Application
Read John 10:27 slowly and ask: “What is God calling me to hear?” and “What is God calling me to trust?”

Turn 1 Thessalonians 2:13 into a short confession at the start of your Bible reading: “Lord, I receive this not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God. Let it work in me as I believe.”

Prayer
Lord God, You speak with Your own authority in the Scriptures. Thank You that Your Word does not lean on human approval, but carries its evidence in itself, and that Your Spirit teaches my heart to recognize it. Make me a listener who trusts what You have revealed, a disciple who follows the Shepherd’s voice, and a member of Your church who wants no other judge of truth than Your Word. Let true faith in me be a sure knowledge and an assured confidence in all that You have spoken. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.