The Reference Bible Begun
Bout the year 1902 Dr. Scofield was one day talking to a very dear friend in New York City — a layman and business man, Mr. Alwyn Ball, whose sympathetic friendship and co-operation had meant much to him in his work. “Dr. Scofield,’ said Mr. Ball, “just what work are you now looking ahead to or planning, beyond the Bible conference teaching work that you constantly do, and in addition to your Bible Correspondence Course? What Bible work have you in mind that will remain permanently after you are gone?”
Challenged by this question, Dr. Scofield told his friend something of what had been running through his mind as to the need of a Reference Bible that should be helpful to those who wanted to do systematic Bible study for themselves, yet without being too formidable in size and annotations. Mr. Ball at once said that he believed the Lord wanted Dr. Scofield to bring out such
a work. And with that conversation there came the conviction from God, clearly revealed to the pastor and Bible student, that the Lord indeed wanted him to undertake this. From that time on he never doubted God’s call to the vast undertaking. Soon afterward the late John C. Pirie, of Chicago and New York, entered heartily into fellowship with Dr. Scofield in the very considerable expense involved in the work.
Through his ministry in teaching Bible classes of ordinary men and women, his Bible Correspondence Course work reaching great numbers of such people, and his simple but searching and fundamental studies in the little book, “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth,” Dr. Scofield had had abundant evidence that multitudes of persons everywhere were needing and hungering for just such guidance in their Bible study as he had been providentially led to discover for himself and to give to others. But the time had come when he saw that if his Bible studies were to be of the widest usefulness they would need to be attached to the Word itself — and in a form not too bulky. Out of his own past experience he asked himself the question: “‘What kind of reference Bible would have helped me most when I was first trying to learn something of the Word, but ignorant of the very first principles of Bible study?” Looking back then over twenty years of such study, and visualizing again his own need as an uninstructed beginner when he had first come to Christ, he began to see the sort of reference Bible that would have been most useful to him, and that he believed was still greatly needed.
After serving seven years as pastor of the church in East Northfield at Mr. Moody’s call, Dr. Scofield, as will be remembered, had returned to his old charge in Dallas, Texas, in 1902. The people of the Dallas church now assured him that they would be content to have him give his time freely to work on the proposed Reference Bible if he would continue to serve them as their pastor. This was the joint work that he undertook to do; but after a year of it, in 1903, he found that he would either have to give his entire time to work on the Reference Bible or give it up — and he dared not do that. So the church, in unselfish devotion to the largest service of their Lord and Master, set him free to give uninterrupted attention to the Bible work, though his name was continued as their pastor until 1907, when he became pastor emeritus.
And now seven years (from 1902 until the work was published in 1909) were given to a complete re-study of the Bible, a task that would have been impossible within that time had not the ground been so thoroughly covered in preparing the Correspondence Course.
Dr. Scofield saw clearly that what was needed was not a commentary on the Bible, but the Bible itself with just enough help in reference form to keep the reader and student close to the Word of God. As he studied and pondered this, very early in his new work the entire plan of what is now the Scofield Reference Bible came to him. Few details were changed or added afterward.
He saw, for example, the immense value of a system of chain references which should cover, one by one, all the great subjects or teachings of the Bible, commencing with the first clear mention of such a subject or theme in the Bible, and then continuing from passage to passage of every outstanding mention until the last such mention in the Bible was reached. At the place of final mention the series of references would be concluded by a clear, compact note summarizing the entire teaching of the Bible on that theme. The value of this simple help to Bible study, for one who wishes to find out for himself what God says on any of these subjects, is immense. It needs only to be stated to have its rare helpfulness clearly seen.
Each book of the Bible must have a simple, clear introduction, and must also be accompanied by a brief analysis of the book.
Then there must be an introduction to each group of books, such as the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Poetical Books, the Prophetical Books, and the rest.
He felt that a system of paragraphing, not following exactly any paragraphed Bible — though there were many of these — but breaking up the material into paragraphs at such points as the narrative or message seemed best to warrant, and each paragraph to be headed by a clear sub-title which would give the reader an instant suggestion of the contents of that paragraph, would help to guide the student’s thought in the right channel. This feature of the Reference Bible has been warmly approved, especially by ministers, who have found sermonic help in these sub-heads. Dr. Scofield has owned his indebtedness to Dr. R. A. Torrey for the suggestion of this feature.
Just here one of the secrets of the world-wide usefulness of the Scofield Reference Bible should be disclosed. How is it that ministers and Bible teachers, of advanced scholarship and mature learning in Bible fields, as well as the ordinary untaught lay reader of the Bible, alike find this work of untold value? How is it that seminary professors and leading Bible students and ministers of directly opposed views in Bible interpretation and in theological positions alike find this Bible of greatest use to them?
For example, a very prominent Arminian theologian and a very prominent Calvinist theologian almost at the same time told Dr. Scofield that they had been examining with much interest his definitions of crucial doctrinal words, such as Election, Predestination, and Foreordination. And both of these men said to him, in effect, that they found that they could accept his definitions. One or the other said, to be sure, that he might guard this point or that a little in his own statement of the doctrine; he might phrase this or that point a little differently; but that, on the whole, he found the definitions in the Scofield Reference Bible sound and satisfactory.
How can this be explained? The answer is simple. The man who gave his lifetime study to the making of the notes and comments in the Scofield Reference Bible was concerned only to find and state exactly what the Bible itself had to say on any and every point. And not every one recognizes that the Bible is a book on which all true believers can stand, if we are satisfied to have Biblical instead of philosophical or theological definitions. It is the undiluted Scripture basis of its notes and comments that makes the Scofield Reference Bible so invaluable and so almost unique.
Look, for example, at the definition of Predestination, which is given in a foot-note on Ephesians 1:5: ‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” Here is the definition: ‘‘Predestination is that effective exercise of the will of God by which things before determined by Him are brought to pass.”
Now a good many people think, and naturally enough from the mere meaning of the word “predestination”’ itself, that this word means the determining by God, in advance, of what is to be brought to pass. But God does not say so. He says, in His Word, that predestination is that exercise of His will by which He brings to pass those things which, earlier, He had determined. On this the Word of God is unmistakable; therefore, for believers, that is final. If one still is skeptical as to this, he has but to search out for himself exactly what God says about predestination, by using the chain references to this which are brought together for his quick finding in the margins of the Reference Bible.:
Or notice the definition of Election as given in a note in comment on I Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” After a statement on the meanings of the Hebrew and Greek words in both Testaments rendered “elect,” “chosen,” etc., comes this brief, clean-cut, summarizing definition: “Election is, therefore: (1) The sovereign act of God in grace whereby certain are chosen from among mankind for Himself (John 15: 19). (2) The sovereign act of God whereby certain elect persons are chosen for distinctive service for Him (Luke 6:13; Acts 9:15; 1 Corinthians 127,128). 0
Of course we must, as Dr. Scofield points out, be willing to leave out the lacunae, the intentional gaps in the Bible, the things left unsaid by God, and not attempt to form opinions or draw inferences as to those silences. “Don’t infer doctrines in your Bible study,” is one of the cardinal principles upon which Dr. Scofield has long worked and which he urges upon other Bible students. What does God say? — that is what you must find out. When God does not say anything on a certain subject, then leave it alone.
For example, in studying the relation of God’s foreknowledge to His predestination, the question naturally arises, as we follow the points back step by step, What does God “foreknow’’? But the Bible gives us no light on this. Therefore the only safe answer is, “I don’t know.” We must leave what constitutes God’s foreknowledge to Him, for He has not told us.
The brief, easily read definitions now found in the Reference Bible did not come easily. First of all, there were constant prayer and seeking of divine guidance; an utter yet confident dependence upon the illumination of God’s Spirit. Then there was an enormous amount of study, the leaving of no stone unturned in order to make sure of finding just what God has put there for us to find if we are willing to search. All this meant that often an incredible amount of time, and energy, and patient study, and faith-filled prayer went into the formation of some little two-line definition.
But the editor of the Scofield Reference Bible was too reverent and too thorough to imagine that he alone had been taught of the Spirit, and this recognition of other scholarly and spiritual students involved the additional immense labor of the study of their writings. The result is that those definitions last, and they satisfy, and God can bless them, as He is doing, to multitudes of his children.
The problem of what to put into the Reference Bible, in the way of notes and comments, and what to leave out, was solved by prayer, as only it could be. But in addition to the supernatural illumination of the Holy Spirit, God was capitalizing the rich experience that pastor Scofield had had during his years of teaching the Bible in his Dallas pastorate. Those years of experience had shown him that there are certain places in Bible study where many students and readers of the Bible become confused or are misled. On these passages, therefore, he knew that some comment was needed, and he acted accordingly, while at the same time using constant care not to let the Reference Bible become a mere commentary.
The spiritual value of the Scofield Reference Bible has been well brought out by Dr. James M. Gray, of the Moody Bible Institute, in a characterization of Dr. Scofield’s distinctive gifts. Dr. Gray has said:
“The Scofield Reference Bible requires no more advertising than the juicy grass requires to draw the hungry sheep. ...
“When one attempts to describe Dr. Scofield in the pulpit or the teacher’s desk, that open-air meeting in Jerusalem comes into mind where ‘they read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading’ (Nehemiah 8:8).
“This is Dr. Scofield’s richest gift. He knows how to read the Word of God, and give the sense, and cause the people to understand the reading. He never writes or speaks in a haze. As was said of another, ‘No trace of indeterminateness can be found in any of his discussions on any subject.’ His insight pierces the intricacies.
“‘A Christian father, hitenself charmed by the Scofield Reference Bible, was pleased to see his young sons take it up night after night because, they said, ‘it was so easy to find out things.’
Thank God for a Bible expositor who can command the interest of children!
“One of the officials of the Oxford University Press wrote me that in reading proof for another printing of that book he ‘found it almost impossible to concentrate on the technical work because of the temptation to follow the great Bible truths so delightfully unfolded and connected by Dr. Scofield’s genius.’ And yet it was not Dr. Scofield’s genius so much that did the work, but the ‘unction of the Holy One’ that came upon him for the service....
“When our beloved brother was revising his Correspondence Course he honored me with advance sheets and with the request that I go over his definitions of the great words of Scripture for any suggestions that might occur to me. It was like a considerate father giving his lad the end of the reins to hold and letting him think he was driving the horse.
“In the quiet of my study the work was done. No eye but that of God rested upon me; and as I followed in the definitions the unveiling of the Bible meaning of such words as ‘adoption’ and ‘atonement,’ and ‘redemption’ and ‘remission,’ and ‘pardon’ and ‘peace,’ I am glad to be able to say that my heart swelled within me and that my emotions found outlet in the falling tear. A teacher who can accomplish that in one can never be forgotten. ...
“Dr. Scofield sees the inner truth and hidden glories of the Holy Scriptures as few Christian teachers do. To him the Bible from beginning to end is luminous with the splendors of Christ. And as his clear analysis and sublime logic unveil those splendors, his own joy and ecstasy in them become contagious.”
It is not strange that this Reference Bible has been called for by missionaries in foreign fields, with its notes and comments and references and paragraph headings translated into the languages in which the missionaries are working. Requests for permission to translate have come from many if not all of the larger mission fields. It is not known to Dr. Scofield or to the biographer just what translations exist, except that he has been told from time to time that these have been made in various languages. Meantime the English editions are carrying their blessing to missionaries the world over, and through them to both saved and unsaved of many tongues.