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Fulfilled Scripture - - - Concerning the soldiers who took Jesus' clothing at the cross. John said they did these things “...that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” (John 19.24). Peter said that the things which “...God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” Acts 3.17). John said it was Scripture; Peter said it was the things which God foretold by the mouth of His prophets. There is a wonderful truth, a truth which many fail to see today, contained in these two passages.

The truth of which I speak is this: The Scriptures are the words which God spoke through His prophets! The translators of the New King James Version (which I use in these articles) revered this concept mightily in as much as they capitalized the first letter of the word Scripture whenever it was apparent that the author was speaking of the Holy Scripture. There is scripture (anything written) and there is Scripture (God's written word). This distinction is an all important distinction and it is the distinction that sets the Bible apart from every other book.

The prophets and writers of the Old Testament recognized this distinction. However, it was not man that made the distinction; it was God Himself (which we will demonstrate presently). These facts “fly in the face” of how many modern “theologians” view the Bible. Henry Halley (in his work Halley's Bible Handbook) addressed some of these claims when he wrote, “We believe that the Bible is not an account of human efforts to find God, but rather an account of God's effort to reveal Himself to humanity. It is God's own record of His dealings with people in His unfolding revelation of Himself to the human race.” Halley's words imply the same truth which John and Peter implied, namely, the Bible is God's word!

Now back to the point that God Himself made the distinction between His word and the word of mere men. When God notified Moses that he was being sent back to Egypt to lead his kindred out of captivity, Moses realized the need to distinguish between his word and God's word; in other words, Moses knew that there had to be a way to know for certain the authority behind the words which he spoke. It was this recognition that led Moses to say, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.'” (Exodus 4.1). Interestingly enough, God completely agreed with Moses; indeed, how could others know when a prophet was speaking (or writing) his words (scripture) and when he was speaking (or writing) God's word (Scripture)? Watch how God resolved this dilemma. “Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign [Moses' staff becoming a serpent], that they may believe the message of the latter sign [the leprous hand]. And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. And the water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” (Exodus 4.8-9). Moses did not make the distinction; God did!

The need for this distinction remained throughout the Old Testament era. Although we do not know the exact details of how this distinction was made every time a prophet spoke, we can be assured that the same need existed and that God met that need in similar ways. As if He wanted to emphasize this point (i.e. the distinction between His word and man's word), the events at Sinai highlighted this distinction; we will take up those events as we continue to consider the general theme of Fulfilled Scripture.

When God speaks He also leaves His unmistakable and inimitable signature!

Questions:

1. Why was it necessary that the people be able to know the authority behind Moses' messages?

2. Did God agree with this need? How did He enable man to discern the difference between the words of mere men and His own word?

3. Think carefully! How long would it be necessary to distinguish between man's word and God's word?

4. What is the real difference between scripture (anything written) and Holy Scripture (God's written word)? How important is it to be able to know the difference?

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

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