Our Only Rule for Glorifying and Enjoying God

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,(1) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.(2)

(1) II Tim. 3:16; Eph. 2:20.
(2) I John 1:3-4.

Rules are made to be broken, or so the saying goes. Such a statement (rule?) can only bring chaos. Such a way of life must never be applied to the Christian life (unless the rule is sinful). The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) dealt with the question of our chief end, namely to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. The present question deals with what it is that tells us how to glorify and enjoy Him. Like all things with a goal or purpose in mind, we need instructions or plans on how to achieve that goal. The set of instructions or "the rule" to teach us how to achieve the end of glorifying and enjoying God is found in Scripture - God's written word.

Question #2 of the WSC tells us that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is the very rule to direct and teach us to glorify and enjoy Him. However, it is necessary to point out that the scriptures - the Bible - is not merely a set of step-by-step instructions. Rather, it is the word of God. According to the Westminster Divines, God's word is "contained in" the Bible. Unfortunately, the meaning of that expression has different meanings to different people. Some wrongly believe that some parts of the Bible are God's very words and other parts are just man's word with the result that there are errors or things that do not matter. Those who hold to such a belief are known as theological liberals. One can easily see how arbitrary and relativistic such a view is. Others believe that nothing written in the Bible is actually or directly God's word, but in some way at some point it becomes God's word. The problem with this view (sometimes known as Neo-orthodoxy) is that a portion that may become God's word to one person may not become God's word to another person. Again, such an arbitrary view of God's word cannot be helpful or meaningful.

The Reformed understanding of the phrase "contained in" simply views the whole Bible as the word of God; every word in the Scriptures as originally written is the word of God. G.I. Williamson gives us a helpful summary of the implications of this truth in his study guide on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.[1] The first is this: the Bible as originally written is infallible because it is the very word of God. Something that is infallible is incapable of causing error or being wrong. God cannot make a mistake, therefore what His word says cannot be mistaken. Another implication is that the Bible is clear or as theologians put it, perspicuous. This needs to be understood properly. This does not mean that every single thing the Bible says and teaches is understandable; some things are quite difficult. What it does mean is that it is written in clear language to show us the way of salvation clearly; the gospel message and the way of salvation in Christ is clear so that any ordinary person - even children - can clearly find the way of salvation in the Bible. Finally, because the Bible is the very world of God, it is sufficient. It has everything we need for life and godliness. the Bible does not lack anything needed for us as we seek to learn how to glorify and enjoy Him. Other books may certainly help us in our Christian walk, but they can be helpful only insofar as they are derived from and depend upon Scripture; they must not add to Scripture, but simply seek to explain Scripture for us.

Finally, God's written word, our Bible, is found only in the books of the Old and New Testaments. The collection of books known as the Apocrypha, while interesting, is not God's word to us. The entirety of the sixty-six books and only that collection of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments is the word of God. As such, we must read it reverently, attentively, and obediently as we seek to glorify and enjoy God forever.

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[1] G.I. Williamson, The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R Pub, 2003, 8-9. It should be noted that these implications are not new. Volumes have been written throughout Church history on the doctrine of God's revelation to us and the question of the Bible's infallibility, perspicuity, and sufficiency.