WCF 1.4

Westminster Confession of Faith

1.4. Of the Holy Scripture

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God.

Proof texts

2 Pet. 1:19, 21 — [19] And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Tim. 3:16 — [16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
1 John 5:9 — [9] If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.
1 Thess. 2:13 — [13] And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

For discussion

The Assembly cited 2 Pet. 1:19, 21 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
4 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
WSC Q2 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
WLC Q4 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q2 · WLC Q4 · WLC Q1 · WLC Q2 · WLC Q3 · WLC Q5 · WSC Q1 · WSC Q3 · BC 1.1 · BC 1.2 · HC Q1 · HC Q2 · BC 1.3 · BC 1.4 · BC 1.5 · BC 1.6 · BC 1.7 · 1689 1.1 · SD 1.1 · IAR 1.1 · SC60 6.4 · SHC 1.1 · SHC 1.2

Leader's notes

A Commentary on the Confession of Faith (A.A. Hodge): This section teaches the following propositions : 1st. That the authority of the inspired Scriptures does not rest upon the testimony of the Church, but directly upon God. This proposition is designed to deny the Romish heresy that the inspired Church is the ultimate source of all divine knowledge, and that the written Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition alike depend upon theauthoritative seal of the Church for their credibility. They thus make the S(Tiptures a product of the Spirit through the Church, while in fact the Church is a product of the Spirit through the instrumentality of the word. It is true that the testimony of the early Church to the apostolic authorship of the several books is of fundamental importance…

An Exposition of the Confession of Faith (Robert Shaw): These sections teach us, that the authority of the ScripturdT' depends not upon any man or Church, but wholly upon God, the author thereof, and then points out the e\ddences that the Scriptui-e is the Word of God. The first of these heads is stated in opposition to the Papists, who maintain that the authority of the Scriptures is derived from the Church. The absurdity of this idea is easily evinced. The true Church of Christ is founded on the Scriptures, and therefore the authority of the Scriptures cannot depend on the Church. — Eph. ii. 20. That the Holy Scripture is the Word of God, is proved both by external and internal evidences. 1 . The external evidences are…