BIBLE-INSPIRATION
In the Bible
itself, the two authors, human and divine, do not simply stand side by
side. Rather, each points to the other
and affirms the presence and operation of the other…God Himself points out the
importance of the human authors…God Himself requires us to interpret the words
of Scripture against the background of what we know about the human
author. We cannot simply ignore the
human author, when we concentrate on what God is saying…(The
human author) is not just any human author.
He is the one through whom God speaks.
His own intentions are that we should reckon with this. It is not a denial of human authorship, but
an affirmation of it, when we pay attention to God speaking…Hence there is a
unity of meaning and a unity of application.
The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts, ed.
G. K. Beale, Baker, 1994, p. 96, 97.
If I did not
believe in the infallibility of this book, I would rather be without it. If I am to judge the book, it is no judge of
me. If I am to sift it, and lay this
aside and only accept that, according to my own judgment, then I have no
guidance whatever, unless I have conceit enough to trust my own heart. The new theory denies infallibility to the
words of God, but practically imputes it to the judgments of men. At least, this is all the infallibility which
they can get at. I protest that I will
rather risk my soul with a guide inspired from heaven, than with the differing
leaders who arise from the earth at the call of “modern thought.”
Sermons, 35.257.
The idea is
not so much that God breathed into the Scriptures, but that the
Scriptures are the product of His breathing out.
Feed My Sheep, ed. Don Kistler,
Soli Deo Gloria Ministries, 2002, p. 63.
Give me the
plenary, verbal theory of biblical inspiration with all its difficulties,
rather than the doubt. I accept the
difficulties and humbly wait for their solution. But while I wait, I am standing on the rock.
Among the
many arguments to prove the penmen of the Scripture inspired by the Spirit of
God, this is not the last and least- that the penmen of Holy Writ do record
their own faults and the faults of their dearest and nearest relatives. For instance hereof, how coarsely doth David
speak of himself: “So foolish was I, and
ignorant; I was as a beast before Thee.”
And do you think that the face of St. Paul did look the more foul by
being drawn with his own pencil, when he says, “I was a murderer, a persecuter, the greatest of sinners,” etc?… Moses sets down
the sin and punishment of his own sister, the idolatry and superstition of
Aaron his brother, and his own fault in his preposterous striking the rock.
A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 35.
(Inspiration
is) God superintending human authors so that using their own individual
personalities, experiences, thought processes and vocabulary they composed and
recorded without error His revelation in the original copies of Scripture.
Doctrine of Scripture, Sermon, 1997.
Theologians
speak of inspiration as the mysterious process by which God worked through the
authors of Scripture to produce inerrant and divinely authoritative writings.
...The Spirit moved on the Biblical writers to produce the Word of God in the
language of men.
Drawing Near, Crossway, 1993, October 13.
The
particularity of each New Testament author was in no way smothered by the
unique process of inspiration. On the
contrary, the Holy Spirit first prepared, and then used, their individuality of
upbringing, experience, temperament and personality, in order to convey through
each some distinctive and appropriate truth.
The dual
authorship of Scripture is an important truth to be carefully guarded. On the one hand, God spoke, revealing the
truth and preserving the human authors from error, yet without violating their
personality. On the other hand, men
spoke, using their own faculties freely, yet without distorting the divine
message. Their words were truly their
own words. But they were (and still are)
also God’s words, so that what Scripture says, God says.
The Bible was
written by ordinary men. They had their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions which
they recorded in both the Old and New Testaments. God did not reach down and
take hold of their pens, causing them to write things which they would have never
thought to write. And except for the instances where His audible words were
recorded, God did not dictate the words of Scripture. Rather, He worked in
these men, through their unique personalities, experiences, emotions, and
intellects, causing them to record His words.
Daryl Wingerd
The
Bible is God's Special Revelation, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.
All
who claim a supernatural inspiration must stand prepared to prove it by
supernatural works.
The Public Preaching of Women, October 1879.
So it is with
reference to the writers of the Scriptures. They were carried along, borne
along, under the control and direction of the Holy Spirit of God. They wrote as
the Spirit directed them to write. They were borne along by Him so that what
they wrote was exactly that which the Holy Spirit intended should be there.
What they wrote was, in a very real sense, not their words; it was the very
Word of God.
Thomas A. Thomas
The
Doctrine of the Word of God, P&R, 1972, p. 8-9. Used by Permission.
God has
communicated to man, the infinite to the finite. The One who made man capable of language in
the first place has communicated to man in language about both spiritual
reality and physical reality, about the nature of God and the nature of man.