God's Hammer (11): Unbreakable Scripture (Part 2)

Last time we heard Jesus quote God in Psalm 82:6: "I said, Ye are gods," and then add that "the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:34-35). Thus according to the Son of God, the OT declaration, "Ye are gods," cannot be loosened, undone, dissolved, annulled, subverted, done away with or in any way deprived of its authority. Just as surely as God "cannot lie" (Titus 1:2) and a man "cannot see the kingdom of God" except he is born again (John 3:3), so it is absolutely and utterly impossible for this statement to be invalidated: it cannot be broken! And why can it not be broken? Because it is Scripture: "the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

If this Scripture cannot be broken, then no Scripture can be broken. (1) Psalm 82:6: "I said, Ye are gods" is an otherwise obscure portion of the Bible. It is not found in the Decalogue or in a Messianic prophecy or in a popular Psalm. If it were not quoted by Jesus in John 10, we would otherwise have paid little or no attention to it. Yet if this obscure verse cannot be broken, surely no verse can be broken. (2) The words, "I said, Ye are gods," are found in poetic, hymnic material designed to be sung. Someone could argue, "But can you base an argument on a song written by Asaph in glowing lyrical verses?" Yes, we can, for the Son of God did so in John 10 and He said that this Scripture cannot be broken. If poetic material cannot be broken, surely explicit teaching material cannot be broken. (3) Someone could also say that the declaration, "Ye are gods," is a hyperbole, an overstatement. It is true that the judges in Israel were not gods in the sense that they possessed divine attributes or were to be worshipped (cf. Ps. 82:1-8). Rather they were called gods in the sense that God gave them the office of judge to exercise His righteous judgment according to the standard of His Word (John 10:35). So these words, "Ye are gods," when correctly explained, have binding, unbreakable force. Thus other Scriptural statements, especially those in clear and literal language, are unbreakable too. (4) If Psalm 82:6 had read, "Ye are judges," and not "Ye are gods," it wouldn't have served Christ's argument. Christ here is teaching us plenary inspiration, namely that God breathes every word of Scripture. This is necessary for Scripture to be inerrant, without any mistakes. If even one word of Scripture was not breathed forth by God, then it could be broken. And if not even one word of Scripture can be subverted or annulled, how much more verses, or chapters or books?

So not just Psalm 82:6 or John 10:35, but all of the Scriptures are unbreakable and inerrant. Why? Because all Scripture is God-breathed and the breathed Word of God is true and omnipotent. This is the confession of true, saving faith.