Inspiration

Basic Christian Doctrines 7

 

1.   The Bible is the Word of God.

 

The main title that the Bible has for itself is "The Word of God." This means several things. For one, it is, was and ever will be God's Word. It still is. It's essence and identity have not changed. Also, though God used many people to do the actual writing, it is primarily God's Word. It is not a collection of merely human books (I Thess. 2:13). It "is" the Word of God, in contradistinction to certain liberal theories that say it merely becomes, contains or bears witness to the Word of God. It is the Word of God already, whether we believe it or not. It is already perfect.

 

2.   The Bible Alone is the Word of God.

 

In Biblical days, God spoke through prophets, dreams, visions and angels. But that has ceased. See Heb. 1:1-2. The Bible continues as the only Word of God. Similarly, preaching is not the Word of God. Preaching should be based on the Bible, but is not the same as the Bible. Also, the Bible is qualitatively different from every other book ever written. It alone is the Word of God. It is not one of many divine books, as part of a supposed "Bible of the World" containing the Koran of Islam, the Pali Texts of Buddhism, the Rig Veda of Hinduism, the Book of Mormon, etc. Even the books of the Apocrypha contain only human wisdom. These are not God's Word.

 

3.   The Bible is the Written Word of God.

 

God was pleased to commit His Word to writing. Hence, it is called "the Holy Scriptures" (2 Tim. 3:15). It was inscripturated, or written down in human script. The finger of God directly wrote the 10 Commandments (Ex.31:18). God used the human authors of Scripture as His fingers to write the Bible. God did this so that we would have His Word in black and white, in a permanent form to read and study and consult. We need not depend on a series of priests who passed it on down the ages by word of mouth to be contaminated by fallible human memory. We have it in writing. Thus, when Jesus appealed to the Bible, He said "It is written". It stands written.

 

4.   The Bible is Inspired by God.

2 Tim. 3:16 says that all Scripture is "inspired by God". This is one word in the Greek, THEOPNEUSTOS. It literally means "God-breathed". God did not breath something into the Bible; God breathed the Bible out of His own mouth. Jesus referred to this in Matt. 4:4, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." When we speak, we exercise our lungs so that they expel air, vibrate our vocal cords, with our tongue, cheeks and lips moving to form sounds we call words. God sent forth the Holy Spirit, the very breath of God (John 3). He moved certain prophets and apostles so that they then put down in writing the exact words God wanted them to write. Technically, it is the Bible, not the writers, which is inspired. Also, it is inspired because of its source, not its effect. It is not inspired because we feel "inspired" when we read it. It is divinely inspired regardless of whatever effect it has on us.

 

5.   All of the Bible is Inspired by God.

2 Tim. 3:16 also tells us that all of the Bible is inspired. Some liberal translations erroneously render this as "Every Scripture which is  inspired by God", which could imply that the Bible is but one of many inspired books. Rather, the text says that all of the Scripture is inspired. This means that all parts are equally inspired. Ruth is as inspired as Romans, Joel as much as John. Therefore, it all carries divine authority and we should read all of it. All parts of it are profitable to our spiritual well-being.

 

6.   The Very Words of the Bible are Inspired.

God breathed out specific words, not just vague ideas or feelings which the human authors were left to interpret and write down. The Bible is verbally inspired. Jesus said "Every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". I Cor. 2:13, "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches." Indeed, even the very letters of those words were inspired by God (Matt. 5:18). In Gal. 3:16, Paul appeals to the difference of only one letter in the original Hebrew of Gen. 22:18. God inspired the words of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. This does not refer to any translation into English or any other language. Still, the authority of the original language carries over to accurate translations.

 

7.   God Controlled the Writers of the Bible.

 

2 Peter 1:21 says that God "moved" certain prophets. The word means "to carry along, to overwhelm by force". They did not simply sit down and decide to write the Bible. God chose who would do the writing, then He worked miraculously in them so that He controlled what they wrote. It was not left to the fallibility of humans. Some parts of the Bible were directly dictated by an audible voice (e.g., Rev. 2-3). In most cases, God moved in a deep and mysterious way on their hearts and minds in other ways, such as by dreams and visions. They certainly knew that the words they wrote were not merely their own (I Cor. 14:37). These writers were the keys on God's typewriter, as it were. They were the pens in God's hand (Psa. 45:1).

 

8.   I nspiration is Not Illumination.

God gave them the very words, not an-inner illumination of wisdom. Also, this special inspiration has ceased. What we need now is illumination to understand what has been inspired. The light is on; we need to have our eyes opened. Because of sin, the natural Man is incapable of understanding the true meaning of the Bible (1 Cor. 2:14). Jesus said, "He that is of God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is because you are not of God" (John 8:47). The Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible chooses to illumine whom He will to understand the Bible. And He does this through the Bible itself, for "The entrance of thy word gives light," (Psa. 119:130).

 

9.   God Proves that the Bible is the Word of God.

 

Scripture carries with it certain marks of divine authorship. Among them are its high spirituality and morality, its enormous popularity in history, its durability against persecution, its record of fulfilled prophecy, etc. But these alone are insufficient to prove divine inspiration. The Holy Spirit Himself, who inspired Scripture, continues to speak through it (for example, note the present tense "says" in Heb. 3:7). The Spirit is the witness because the Spirit is the truth (I John 5:9). Even unbelievers are impacted by this power (cf. Ezek. 2:5). Like the men with Paul on the Damascus road, they hear the sound but do not know the voice.

 

10. The Bible is Powerful.

 

The Word of God carries with it the very power of God. It is "living and active" (Heb. 4:12), sharper than any two-edged sword. It is compared to a hammer that breaks rocks, light that overcomes darkness, fire that cannot be extinguished, etc. It is "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Just as God created all things by the power of His Word, so He changes lives today by that same power. God spoke to the prophets and through the prophets. He still speaks today through His Word. Let us listen and be transformed by this powerful book, the Holy Bible.