THE Book, the yardstick

“…The difference between it and the writings of men is like the difference between the Person of Christ and the person of man…

“Look now at the Bible in comparison with human literature. The former is human, but it is human with a wholeness and soundness outlook no other book has. At the same time it is also divine. Through the ages Christians have recognized its unique inspiration; the life experience of countless believers bears witness to the fact that the Bible is of a different order from any other book. In and through its words, the Spirit of God works as in no other literature. The Christian teacher has in the Bible not only a model but also a frame of reference for all other books. When it comes to the heart of things, this book is the norm. In literary form it takes highest rank, though it is an ancient and Oriental book. But beautiful as its language is, men speak and write differently today.

“And so, while we admire and appreciate the Bible as literature, its most important function is on another and higher level. Here, in the plainest meaning of the words, is the book of life. Here is the book of morality, the volume that uncovers the springs of human action, whether good or evil. Here is the literature of power in a far loftier sense than Matthew Arnold realized. For this book contains the only dynamic that can change a bad man into a good man, a sinner into a saint. It is the book of Christ. Through its pages the living Savior is mediated to our hearts by the Spirit in a manner wholly unique. It is, in fine, the book that measures everything, the yardstick of all literature, the touchstone of the ages.” (The Pattern of God’s Truth, p. 65-66)