Acts 7:51 "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. 54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55 But he (Stephen), being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God...""Bringing it all together" is "internal consistency". For any statement of scientific thought to be credible, the first test which is must pass is "Is it internally consistent?" Internal consistency, if there, is a measure of correlation between items of the same test. In layman's terms, "If items of the same test are in disagreement with other items, then the test is not internally consistent and is not a valid test." Philosophy is the same if it's indeed a science. Psychology is the same if it is to be a science. Specific philosophies and fields in both must also be internally consistent.
Internal consistency does not make a test valid or credible, it merely means that it doesn't make it's own argument against itself. Tests for validity in both philosophy and psychology by operationalization (applying quantities to measure when testing) are attempts to make religious thought scientific. Yes, both of those fields are "other religions" with others gods (both have an unknown go as Paul claimed; The "Self").
Psychology and philosophy are both dynamic. As scientists get new tools to study and do more studies, those religions change with time. Even if they are "internally consistent" they are not "eternally consistent?
Christianity IS "internally and eternally consistent"! Before we check for the former, let's first examine the latter. But before anything what is "the test"?
The Test of Scripture:
Test: The Bible is God's Word and is true, and truth is unchanging, everlasting and is never at odds with reality.
First off, the Bible, unlike other "philosophies" doesn't claim itself to be scientific in a sense that it's testable. God's word is all about faith, having hope in things unseen, thus outside this material universe. The others are about measurements, but require much the same faith since it's not possible to prove a hypothesis, especially things they claim that happened eons ago or things which are in disagreement with science itself. Have you ever thought of that? Science is not internally consistent! Such inconsistencies are called "discontinuities" because they are not scientifically possible (ex: The Big Bang THEORY).
The purpose of this commentary is not to address what skeptics claim are internal inconsistencies on minute details. Theologians have aptly addressed most perceived "contradictions". The immediate intent is to demonstrate that the message of the Bible is consistent from cover to cover.
Because of an omniscient God and a unchanging God, the plan from Day One must be the same as the Plan for the Last Day. God had no Plan B. Since we know that THE PLAN is Jesus Christ, it was the same plan on Day One. An all-knowing God who claims perfection doesn't need alternate plans! With that said, Plan A is eternal.
Eternal Consistency:
Revelation 22:13 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Malachi 3:6a "For I am the Lord, I change not..."
Psalm 119:89 "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."God has been around for ever and always will be. God is the same then as now and the words God spoke to prophets and apostles are the same and can never be rewritten! When one claims that "things are different now", first off "No they're not!" and secondly, knowing about the "changes" were part of God's plan!
Internal Consistency:
Scripture makes many claims. The first claim is that it is the very words of God!
Jeremiah 1:9 "Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."Another claim is about truth itself:
John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."If you don't believe this verse, then your claim is "God is a liar!" Why read lies? Part of faith is that believing God is the ultimate truth! What the philosophers are still searching for "that unknown god", Paul proclaimed to them! (Acts 17:23). The next thing about "the word" (scripture) is that it's God's words merely transcribed by men:
2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..."At the time of the apostles what was scripture? The Old Testament. (OT). The OT was written by men inspired by God and it's right or truthful ("instruction in righteousness"). The New Testament (NT) is included in modern "scripture" and together they are called "canon". Canon is the incorporation of Christian writings which are "internally consistent". "Canon" are the measurement of what's truthful and is closed. It cannot be changed. (i.e, truth is a constant). Jewish writings have been incorporated into Christian canon because the OT is internally consistent with the coming of Christ!
Here is the tie between "God" and "Jesus", among many many:
1 Corinthians 8:6 "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."
Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
John 10:30 "I (Jesus) and my Father are one."Jesus himself made the claim that he is indeed God. Paul said to the Corinthians that "all things" are from God and he said the same about Jesus, implying that they are identical. Then Paul told the Jews that Jesus (God) never changes! These statements validate the premise of this test! All scripture is all about God. All scripture is all about Jesus. On Day One it was Jesus who walked in the Garden and on the last day it's still Jesus who is firmly planted in the heavenly Garden! In between it's Jesus who lives in you! (Christians).
Judaism never existed! Scripture has always been about Jesus and the prophets of old were Christians in that their faith was always in Jesus. As Christians, they received the Holy Ghost and it was he who inspired them! It was the Holy Ghost who the Jews always resisted (Acts 7:51b).
Stephen's last words were revealing God's Plan from the beginning until that point. Stephen was teaching the "internal consistency" of scripture! Stephen looked toward the heavens and he too was inspired by the Holy Ghost to see Jesus there at the right hand of God! This was the same vision which David had centuries previously!
Their fathers' always rejected the teachings about the Messiah which the prophets foretold as inspired by the Holy Ghost. Likewise, in Stephen's time and now, Christians (sic) reject the Holy Ghost.
Scripture shows that not only is all the scripture about Jesus, but the Holy Ghost was one of those from "created in OUR image". The Holy Ghost always was and just as Jesus has always been rejected, so has the Holy Ghost. The eternal existence of the Holy Ghost points toward the "eternal consistency" and the "internal consistency" of the scripture, old and new.
Stephen's role in scripture was to tell the Jews that the unknown God they claim to worship is now made known. Stephen spoke of consistency of Holy Scripture, that Jesus is the one Jews were always to have faith in, and that the Holy Ghost is the one who "comforted" them all those centuries!
After his mission was ended, Jews had a decision to make: "Do we accept truth or do we continue on with hardened skeptical hearts?" We all have that decision to make, but even today many Christians (sic) reject the Holy Ghost because to do so would make them Pentecostal "holy rollers"!
The Holy Ghost is "Emmanuel" (God With Us), just the same as Jesus was called! You see they are one and the same. We must honor the Holy Ghost because he is God who lives in those who accept him into their own living temple. As they make themselves "a living sacrifice" the soul is emptied and occupied by the Holy Ghost! If you don't believe in the Holy Ghost, your temple is empty!... or maybe it's filled with another spirit!
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