What is the Bible's authority?
When we speak of the “canon of Scripture,” we are referring to those books that the church has recognized as the authoritative Word of God. Thus, although a formal distinction can be made between canon and authority, they are closely related. Specifically, books that the church has recognized as canonical are those that are recognized as having divine authority (F.F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments, p. 95). Therefore, we can first note the testimony of the Scripture concerning its own authority. First, the OT itself witnesses to its own authority. This is seen especially instances where the words of Scripture are said to come directly from the Lord. Both the Mosaic Law (for examples, cf. Exod 4:30; Deut 18:21, 22; Lev 4:1, 5:1) and later parts of the OT use phrases such as, “The LORD has spoken,” “The mouth of the LORD has spoken,” or “The word of the LORD came to saying” (Josh 24:2; Isa 8:11; Jer 7:l; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1; 26:1; 27:1; 30:1,4; 50:1; 51:12; Amos 3:1). The NT