Sacred Scripture, one of the two sources of Divine Revelation
By Jayson M. Brunelle, M.Ed., CAGS
Holy Mother Church presents to her faithful the authentic truths concerning Divine Revelation in Dei verbum, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. Therein, we find treatment of such important topics as inspiration; the Old Testament as preparation for the New; the value of the Old Testament for Christians; the unity of the two testaments; and Christ in the Old Testament. It is the purpose of this essay to briefly explore these points, vital to the study of Sacred Scripture in general and the Old Testament in particular.
Let us begin with a look at the theme of inspiration in the document. Paragraph 11 states that the Church “accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts; on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” The document continues on to explain the inspired process by which these sacred books were composed: “God chose certain men who, all the while He employed them in this task, made full use of their powers and faculties so that, though He acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever He wanted written and no more” (Para. 11). Thus, Sacred Scripture presents to us “firmly, faithfully, and without error” all the truths God wished to convey to humankind for the sake of its salvation.
The document further explains that the Old Testament was a preparation for the New; or rather, God’s election of Israel, beginning with His promise to Abraham, and the entire history of His dealings with this chosen people, was a “preparation for the salvation of the whole human race,” accomplished through and in Christ and recorded in the New Testament, specifically the four Gospels (Para. 14).
It is precisely here that we begin to see the truth that the books of the Old Testament, “divinely inspired, preserve a lasting value;” for they “are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers” (Para 15). We also find in them the salvific mystery present in hidden form.
This brings us to the profound unity of the two testaments. Paragraph 16 explains how God has brought it about that the “New should be hidden in the Old, and the Old should be made manifest in the new.” Earlier, in Paragraph 12, the Council exhorts exegetes to stay mindful of “divine authorship,” and consequently, “the unity of the whole of Scripture.”
Finally, we find explained in Paragraph 14 just how the New is hidden in the Old; that is, how Christ can be found in the Old Testament: “The economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ…and should indicate it by means of different types.”
The Church, in the document Dei verbum, has clarified points and established norms of Scripture study for the sake of guiding her faithful in the way of truth. For, it is to her alone that the “commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” has been entrusted.
Copyright © 2012 by Marian Apostolate Ministries. All rights reserved.
Marian Apostolate 
what does Cardinal Ratzinger say about the revelation of God? didn’t he say the Scripture and Tradition are the two modes by which God transmits His revelation? thus it would be less accurate to speak of “the sources of revelation” (de fontibus revelationis), rather, we would speak of Divine revelation itself (de divina revelatione).
Interesting point… I’m fairly certain I’ve heard and read the phrase “the twin-fold source” of Divine Revelation. I will grant you that, without question, the ultimate “source” of Divine Revelation, in the strictest sense of the word, “source,” is God Himself. Yet, when speaking about documents, we usually speak of “source documents” to refer back to the original documents. It is implied, when someone asks for a “source,” that they wish to know the “source documents” from which the quoted or paraphrased information has been taken. I would argue that Authorship is a separate and distinct issue that needs to be addressed within the context of this debate. For example, the Canon of Sacred Scripture is comprised of myriad different books, written over a long period of time by numerous different authors, most of whom are unknown. If I were to quote a passage from Sacred Scripture, regardless of the form of citation I choose to use, I would be expected to list the name of the Bible from which I quoted the passage, as well as the specific publisher, the year of publication, the City of publication, Chapter and verse. I would not, however, put, “Christ, Lord Jesus. (31 AD). “Sermon on the Mount.” The Holy Bible…” It goes without question that God is the Primary author, and therefore, the primary “Source” of Divine Revelation; yet, I see no problem in referring to Scripture and Tradition as the “Twin-fold source” of Divine Revelation.