WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?

-Doctrine of inspiration
INTRODUCTION All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is the foundational passage on the subject of the inspiration of the Bible. It says very clear that all Scripture is inspired by God. There are three points that need be observed. 1. The FACT of Inspiration: All Scripture is INSPIRED by God... (2 Timothy 3:16a). The phrase "inspired by God" is translated from the single Greek word qeopneustos (pronounced theopneustos). This is the only time that this word ever occurs in the New Testament. To the best of my knowledge, it is the first time this word is ever used in the Greek language. This means that Paul possibly coined the word himself to describe the work of God in producing the Scriptures. Paul does something similar in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 when he says that you yourselves are taught by God to love one another literally, you are "God-taught" (qeodidaktos) pronounced as theodidaktos. In both cases, Paul utilizes a compound word, made up of two commonly used Greek words which are joined together to form a new word. a. The first word is theos. It is the word for God. b. The second word is pneu. It is a verb meaning "to breathe" or "to blow."It is also the verbal form of the Greek word for "spirit" (pneuma). Therefore, we could say that "all Scripture is GODBREATHED." This is why we refer to it as the Word of God.

All Scripture is GODBREATHED. This is why we refer to it as the Word of God.

This idea is not new. The Old Testament describes God as accomplishing the work of Creation "by the breath of His mouth" (Psalm 33:6). In the same way, the Bible is the result of the creative work of God.

2. The EXTENT of Inspiration: ALL Scripture is inspired by God... (2 Timothy 3:16a). All of Scripture is God-breathed. It is not just a small portion of the Bible, but every single sentence and every single word that is God-breathed. This is all-encompassing. Jesus stressed this principle when He spoke of the abiding quality of the Law in His Sermon on the Mount.

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"For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18). Don't miss this! Jesus says that each and every letter and dot of Gods word would continue to stand. There is not one part of the Bible that is more inspired or more trustworthy than any other part. It is ALL completely God's word. 3. The OBJECT of Inspiration: All SCRIPTURE is inspired by God... (2 Timothy 3:16a). It is the Scriptures themselves that are inspired. Paul does not say that the writers of the Scriptures were inspired. He says that the Scriptures themselves that are inspired. It is not the writers, but the Scriptures themselves which are said to be Godbreathed. It is the truthfulness of the books that make up our Bible that is guaranteed by inspiration. At the same time, we must recognize the aspect of dual authorship. By this, I mean that there were really two authors of each book - the Holy Spirit and the human author. There are instances where the human writers described things of which they were eye-witnesses (1) and merely wrote of the thing that they had seen. At other times, these same writers described events that they could not possibly have known about without a supernatural revelation (2) from God (such as those events which took place prior to the creation of man). There were also times when they wrote and did not themselves understand (3) the full implications of that which they wrote (Daniel writes certain things which are to be sealed up until a future time).

DEFINITION OF INSPIRATION 1. What it is NOT. We have all heard people speak of how they were watching a beautiful golden sunset and were inspired to paint a picture or to write a poem. This is not inspiration in the theological sense. 2. What it IS. It is the truth that God has moved certain men to write in such a way that the results of that writing, the scriptures, are the very word of God.

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3. Difference between Revelation versus Inspiration. Revelation God has revealed Himself Inspiration God in-breathed the Scriptures

Involves both general as well as Confined to the Bible special revelation

FALSE THEORIES OF INSPIRATION 1. The Mechanical Dictation Theory. This is the theory that God dictated the exact words for the authors to write. E.g. God told Moses to write the word, "In," and he wrote, "In." Then God said, "Write the word, the," and Moses wrote "the." Then God said, "now write, beginning." The problem with this view is that it fails to explain how there are different styles and vocabularies used by the different human authors of the Bible. However, there were indeed times when the Lord dictated His message very explicitly to the prophets. Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD (Exodus 24:4). Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel" (Exodus 34:27). The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book." (Jeremiah 30:1-2) Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run" (Habakkuk 2:2). In Jeremiah 36 we have a vivid picture of God giving His message to Jeremiah and then Jeremiah dictating that same message to his servant and scribe Barach. God gave His message to Jeremiah Jeremiah dictated the message to Baruch Baruch wrote down the message Baruch read the message in the Temple

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WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?-Doctrine of inspiration

And it came about in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 "Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. 3 "Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin." Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which He had spoken to him, on a scroll. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD. 6 So you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation the words of the LORD to the people in the LORD's house on a fast day. And also you shall read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 7 Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people." And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD's house. (Jeremiah 36:1-8). In this case, the message of God was given through the intermediaries of Jeremiah and Baruch, yet nothing is said to have been lost in translation. 2. The Natural Inspiration Theory. This view says that God had nothing to do with the Bible. It sees the authors as having been inspired in the same sense that Shakespeare was inspired to write Romeo and Juliet. 3. The Dynamic Inspiration Theory. This theory says that God encouraged the authors to give first-hand reports of their experiences with God. They wrote of these experiences in the best way they humanly were able. This view likens inspiration to light passing through the stained glass of a cathedral window. The light is from heaven but it is stained and colored by the glass through which it passes. In the same way, the message of God is said to pass through the heart and mind of the original human author and come out discolored by his personality.

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4. The Limited Inerrancy Theory. This view says that God supervised the writing process of the Scriptures so that the truths of the Bible are without error. This view sees the Bible as correct only on truths involving redemption but capable of error on issues like historical or scientific accuracy.

A BIBLICAL VIEW OF INSPIRATION "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:20-21). Remember that Peter is writing these words in the midst of an epistle which attacks false doctrine and false prophets. There were those who were claiming to have their own revelation of God. Peter says that the Scripture is more authoritative because it came from a higher source. The writers of Scripture were able to speak from God because they were "moved by the Holy Spirit." The verb used here is feromenoi, a present passive participle. This is the same root word used as is found in Acts 27:15 where "the ship was caught in it, and could not face the wind, we gave way to it, and let ourselves BE DRIVEN ALONG" (eferoumetha). Just as the driving force behind the ship was the wind, so the driving force behind the writers of Scripture was the Holy Spirit. God was able to use... (a.) All of the past experiences of the human writers. (b.) Their vocabulary and grammar. (c.) Their thought process and style of writing. ...and still have the result to be the exact message which He sought to impart. How is this possible? To us it would not be. Such a work would only be possible to the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

Just as the driving force behind the ship was the wind, so the driving force behind the writers of Scripture was the Holy Spirit.

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WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?-Doctrine of inspiration

VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION Verbal Plenary Inspiration means God the Holy Spirit supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture in a way that His Complete and Coherent Message to mankind was recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture without waiving their intelligence, their individuality, their personal feelings, their literary style, or any other human factor of expression. The authors were directed, NOT MANIPULATED, by the Holy Spirit. The authors were tools BUT NOT mere robots. OBJECTIONS TO THE DOCTRINE OF VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION The teaching of the verbal plenary inspiration of the Scriptures has come under heavy attack in recent years. There are many e.g. Muslims, who would deny that each and every word of the Bible is the Word of God and without error. They normally raise the following points 1. The problem of Language. Some people state that human language cannot express spiritual truths. Such a view is really an attempt to limit the power of God, for it states that God is unable to draw a straight line with a crooked stick. 2. Paul's comments on Inspiration. In his first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul makes some statements which, at first glance, seem to deny total inspiration. "But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband." (1 Corinthians 7:10). It has been suggested that Paul is showing how he is giving the commands of God rather than his own personal commands, but that in verse 12 he leaves God's instructions and moves forward with instructions that are comprised only his own personal opinion. Notice the following phrases: "But to the rest I say, not the Lord..." (1 Corinthians 7:12). "Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy." (1 Corinthians 7:25). These verses might be difficult until we realize that Paul is merely contrasting the commands which have already been given by the Lord Jesus while He was on earth with the new commands that Paul is now giving. Thus, he is not denying inspiration, but rather is simply quoting the words of Christ to prove his point.

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In verse 25 Paul gives his opinion, but this does not mean that it is not an inspired opinion - one which "by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy." 3. Some quotations are not accurate. Anyone who has read through the Bible has quickly seen that it often quotes itself. The New Testament contains hundreds of quotations from the Old Testament. A close examination of the quotations will reveal that they are not always exact. There are often variants as a word or a whole phrase is changed. Sometimes the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) is quoted - even when that translation makes a notable departure from the Hebrew text. At other times, the author gives a rather free translation. Does this mean that each and every word of the original passage is not inspired? Not at all! These quotations are general and intended to bring out and better illustrate the truth that is being taught. They were simply commentaries on the text which is being quoted. 4. Some reports conflict. There are a number of instances when two different writers in the Bible describe the same event. In such cases, there are sometimes major differences in the details between the two accounts. Here are just a few examples:
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The genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17 versus Luke 3:23-38). The calling of the disciples (Matthew 4:18-22 with Luke 5:1-11 and John 1:40-42). The setting of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 and Luke 6:17). The cursing of the fig tree and the time of its actual withering (Matthew 21:18-20 versus Mark 11:12-13 and 11:20-21). The inscription that was placed over the cross of Jesus (Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38 and John 19:19). The account of the events following Paul's conversion (Acts 9:1-31 and Galatians 1:13-17).

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WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?-Doctrine of inspiration

The following general answers can be suggested to these problems:
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Not all of these passages are necessarily speaking of the same event. For example, it seems that Jesus called His disciples on at least two separate occasions. Sometimes a chronological order of events is set aside and replaced with a topical order. For example, a writer of one of the gospel accounts might begin to detail the things that Jesus said during His ministry concerning a specific topic. Another writer might list those events in the order in which they took place. Certain words and phrases are used interchangeably due to the fact that the quotations might have been made from different languages. This is seen in the case of the teaching of Jesus who probably preached in Hebrew or Aramaic while His sayings are recorded in Greek.

God has spoken. He has spoken in a way in which we can understand. He has preserved His message to us in the Scriptures. His message is true. It is complete and without error. And we can believe it.

Important terms
Term Inspiration Acronym Definition The truth that God moved certain men to write the result of which was the word of God The view that God directed authors to give His exact message without interfering with their individuality, writing style and personal feelings Owner

Verbal plenary inspiration

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WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?-Doctrine of inspiration

REVIEW QUESTIONS WHAT IS INSPIRATION? _____________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________
WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?

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WHAT PART OF THE BIBLE IS INSPIRED? GIVE A VERSE TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER.

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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INSPIRATION AND REVELATION?

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WHAT IS VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION?

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WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS OF VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION?

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HOW CAN YOU DEFEND VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES?

1.____________________________________________________________________________________________ 2.____________________________________________________________________________________________ 3.____________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________________________________________________________

HOW IS THE STUDY OF THE DOCTRINE OF INSPIRATION IMPORTANT IN YOUR CHRISTIAN WALK (READ 2 TIMOTH3:16)_________________________________________________________________________________

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