In Brief

“All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and that one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ.”1

“The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God.”2

God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth.3

Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully “understood except by the Spirit’s action”.4

The Church accepts and venerates as inspired the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New.

The four Gospels occupy a central place because Christ Jesus is their center.

The unity of the two Testaments proceeds from the unity of God’s plan and his Revelation. The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both are true Word of God.

“The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerated the Body of the Lord”5: both nourish and govern the whole Christian life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”6