THE NEW TESTAMENT’S WITNESS TO THE

Virgil Warren, PhD PDF

THE NEW TESTAMENT’S WITNESS TO THE

OLD TESTAMENT’S INSPIRATION*

Virgil Warren, PhD

I. Direct Assertion

A. Specific scriptures attributing the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit

1. Passages mentioning the human author

a. Acts 1:16-20 (Psalm 69:25; 109:8)

b. Matthew 22:43 (Luke 24:44; Mark 12:36 [Psalm 110:1])

c. Acts 4:25-26 (Psalm 2:1-2)

d. Acts 28:25-27 (Isaiah 6:9-10); cp. 1 Peter 1:10-12 (general reference)

2. Passages not mentioning the human author

a. Hebrews 3:7-11 (Psalm 95:7-11)

b. Hebrews 10:15-17 (Jeremiah 31:33a, 34b); cp. Hebrews 9:8 (general reference)

B. General scriptures attributing the Old Testament to the Holy Spirit

1. Examples with reference to persons

a. 2 Peter 1:16-21

b. 1 Peter 1:10-12

2. Examples with reference to the written documents

a. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

b. John 10:34-36

II. Logical Implication

A. Unity of the Bible

1. Unity of the Old Testament

a. Circumstances of its writing

(1) Written by more than forty authors

(2) Written over a period of a thousand years

(3) Variant circumstances: in homeland and in exile, during prosperity and subjugation, amidst religious apostasy and truth, in the face of opposition and support

b. Mechanical uses of the Old Testament relative to

(1) Formal citations

(a) “It is written”

(b) Catenas of scriptures: Romans 5:9-12; Hebrews 1:5-14

(d) Law (prophets and psalms): John 10:34 (Matthew 7:12; Luke

24:44)

(e) Reasoning in the scriptures: Hebrews 3-4

(2) Factual allusions

(a) Stephen before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7)

(b) Paul at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13)

(3) Verbal reminiscences

(a) The cleansing of the temple: Matthew 21:13; Isaiah 56:7;

Jeremiah 7:11

(b) Peter’s address on Pentecost: Acts 2:39; Isaiah 57:19; Joel 2:21

103, 107, 111; Isaiah; Micah

(d) The Benedictus: Luke 1:68-79; Psalm 41, 105, 106, 111, 132;

Isaiah; Malachi

(e) The Nunc dimittis: Luke 2:29-32; Isaiah 3:6; 42:6; 49:6; 52:10

(f) Revelation, for example, 15:3; Exodus, Deuteronomy, Joshua,

Psalm 111, Jeremiah, Amos

2. Unity of the Old Testament and the New

a. Harmony of the New and the Old: John 2:22; Acts 13:27; John 5:39;

Acts 24:14; Matthew 5:17; Romans 3:21

b. New Testament message based on the Old together with the apostles’ claim of inspiration: Galatians 1:11-12; 3:23; Acts 2:4; 7:29; 22:14-19; 26:22-23; Romans 10:4; 1 Corinthians 7:40; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Revelation 22:17-20; 1 Peter 1:12 (cp. Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:48; John 14:26; 16:7-15; Acts 1:4-8)

c. New Testament fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy: for example,

(1) Virgin birth: Isaiah 7:14

(2) Messiah’s birthplace: Micah 5:2

(3) Triumphal entry: Zechariah 9:9

(4) Death: Zechariah 12:10

(5) Resurrection: Psalm 16:8-11

(6) New covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34

d. Old Testament types and New Testament antitypes

e. Use of the “scripture”

B. Authority of the Bible

1. Christ’s use of the Old Testament

a. In self-defense

b. In answer to Jewish doctrinal questions

2. Christians’ use of the Old Testament

a. In self-defense

b. As a basis for their teaching

C. Power of predictive prophecy

D. Revelation as being of divine origin

1. Examples where citations were not God’s words

2. Examples where citations were God’s words

III. Significant Silence

A. Silence of Jesus in light of his denunciation of the Jews for their

1. Ignorance

2. False interpretation

3. Disobedience

4. Tradition

B. Silence of the Jews in light of their

1. Major indictments

2. Trivial objections

______________

*The outline summarizes a fuller presentation found in Dr. Warren’s The New Testament’s Witness to the the Old Testament’ Inspiration, Th.B. essay presented to The Cincinnati Christian University, May l968.

For full text, see document by that name and a separate document with that name plus “Endnotes.”

christir.org