And God Said

Most of us are familiar with the Bible’s account of the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3. We know about the sneaky serpent and the forbidden fruit, how Adam and Eve chose to treat themselves instead of trust in God. Last week I wrote about how the doctrine of separation is found in Genesis 1, and now I want to show you how the doctrine of inerrancy also has its roots in the opening chapter of Scripture.

Have you noticed how Satan chose to tempt Eve? He twisted God’s words. In Genesis 3:4 the serpent said, “You shall not surely die.” He added a single word to God’s earlier warning (“You shall surely die”)that greatly changed the message. You may have also noticed that Eve herself got the words of God wrong. In verse 3 Eve told the devil, “God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” She added the clause “neither shall you touch it,” which is not recorded in Scripture. Eve added to God’s words and Satan subtracted from them. Both were in error (Deuteronomy 4, Revelation 22), although Eve’s was unintentional. 

If we turn the page back to Genesis 1 we see no fewer than ten instances of “and God said…” Just as this chapter established the idea of separation, we also see Moses laying the foundation for the importance of the spoken word of God. The author connects God’s words, spoken ten times, with perfection, then contrasts the manipulation of His words with sin and the curse.

God’s Word, preserved for us as the Bible, is infallible and innerant. We may have differences of opinion among ourselves as to how to interpet a certain piece of Scripture, but if we agree that the Bible is from God, then we must agree that it is free from any error. What is inspired is surely inerrant. 

The original sin in the Garden of Eden came as a result of not trusting God’s word, and we repeat that sin as often as we choose to live outside of it. Christians, as people of the Good Book, let us determine to make this our creed. The opening chapter of the Bible establishes God’s words as perfect, so every succeeding chapter is likewise perfect. We can and should trust it.