Doctrines of the Bible Module 1 - The Preservation of Revelation: Inspiration Lesson 3

Lesson 3 The Preservation of Revelation: Inspiration

“For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  (2 Peter 1:21)

The inspiration of Scripture is the necessary means through which the revelation of God can be accurately preserved. Revelation can be viewed as a vertical action in that God reveals himself to man. Inspiration on the other hand has a horizontal focus in that the revelation of God to specific people during specific periods can be made available to people of all time.

Definition of Inspiration

The supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon the writers of Scripture that results in their writings being a true and accurate record of revelation.

Biblical affirmation of Inspiration

(a) View of New Testament writers regarding Scripture
(2 Peter 1:21) The word prophecy refers to the prophetic words of the Old testament prophets that later came to be written down as Scripture. The source of Scripture is not human in nature, rather men were being used by God (carried along by the Holy Spirit) as they wrote Scripture. The content of Scripture therefore came from God. The prophecy referred to is also what is meant by the word of the prophets mentioned in 2 Pet 1:19. Referring to Mat 13:35 what was spoken through the prophet was attributed to a quote from Psalm 78:2. The word prophecy therefore appears to refer to the whole range of writings of the Old Testament.
(2 Tim 3:16) This affirms that all Scripture is inspired by God. Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam, He breathed out Scripture. He was actively involved with the writing of Scripture. Inspiration covers both the whole Old and New Testament.
(2 Pet 3:16) Peter equates the writings of Paul with Scripture.
(1 John 4:6 ) John affirms divine origin for his words.

(b) Preaching of the early church regarding the Old Testament
(Acts 1:16) Peter regards David’s words as authoritative. He affirms that God spoke by the mouth of David.
(Acts 3:18) God spoke by the mouth of the prophets

c) Testimony of the Old Testament prophetsThe Old Testament prophets declare that what they speak constitute the words of God Himself.
(Micah 4:4) (Jeremiah 30:4) (Isaiah 8:1) (Amos 3:1) (2 Sam 23:2)

(d) View of our LORD concerning the Old TestamentThroughout all his interactions with the Pharisees, Jesus consistently used the OT scriptures and regarded them as authoritative. He only questioned and corrected their wrong interpretations of the OT but not the OT itself.
(Matt 5:18) Jesus here upholds the authority of the OT Scriptures right down to its individual letters. His is the highest possible view of the OT.
(John 10:35) Jesus affirms the inspiration of Scripture.

Model of Inspiration

When we say that the biblical writers were inspired by God while writing Scripture, we mean that the Holy Spirit guided and influenced them not only to write down the thoughts of God but also to choose the exact words that would accurately represent those thoughts. This is what we call verbal inspiration.

Although the Holy Spirit was actively influencing them only at the point of writing, there was a process of providential working upon the writers through the years to prepare them for the task.

Fulfilled prophecies as a support for Inspiration

(a) Messianic prophecies
(Gen 3:15) Christ is mentioned as the seed of the woman
(Is 7:14) His mother was to be a virgin
(Is 9:6) Deity and humanity are united in the Messiah
(Is 53) Jesus as the Suffering Servant
(Ps 22) The sufferings and death of Jesus is predicted in detail
(Ps 110 :1) Jesus will occupy the place at the right hand of God.

(b) Prophecies concerning the Jewish people
In Deuteronomy 28 we find pre-written the sad history of Israel. The Spirit of God through Moses outlined thousands of years ago the history of the scattered nation, their suffering and tribulation.

(c) Prophecies of other nations
Daniel 7 predicts the succession of 4 major empires which have been fulfilled. Daniel made the predictions around 530 B.C. The four empires are dated Babylonia (626 – 539 B.C.) Medo-Persia (539-330 B.C.) Greece (330-63 B.C.) and Rome (63 BC - )

Other evidence as a support for Inspiration

Apart from fulfilled prophecies, other evidence that support the inspiration of Scripture include its historical accuracy, its consistency, its power to transform lives and its exclusive salvation message.

However it must be noted that the only confirmation that we can have that Scripture is indeed the inspired infallible Word of God is through the inward work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Conclusion

Inspiration involves both the writer and the writings. The writers were carried along by the Holy Spirit while writing (2 Pet 1:21) to ensure that the writings themselves are God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16)

Review questions

1. What is the difference between verbal inspiration and dictation ?
2. How does this understanding that the Bible is completely inspired by God affect the way you perceive the Bible ?
3. What spiritual insight can you draw from 2 Pet 1:21 which can help you in your effort to study Scripture ?