Reference: Inspiration
American
That supernatural influence exerted on the minds of the sacred writers by the Spirit of God, in virtue of which they unerringly declared his will. Whether what they wrote was previously familiar to their own knowledge, or, as in many cases it must have been, an immediate revelation from heaven; whether his influence in any given case was dictation, suggestion, or superintendence; and however clearly we may trace in their writings the peculiar character, style, mental endowments, and circumstances of each; yet the whole of the Bible was written under the unerring guidance of the Holy Ghost, 2Ti 3:16.
Christ everywhere treats the Old Testament Scripture as infallibly true, and of divine authority-the word of God. To the New Testament writers inspiration was promised, Mt 10:19-20; Joh 14:26; 16:13; and they wrote and prophesied under its direction, 1Co 2:10-13; 14:37; Ga 1:12; 2Pe 1:21; 3:15; Re 1:1,10-19.
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But when you are given up into their hands, do not be troubled about what to say or how to say it: for in that hour what you are to say will be given to you; Because it is not you who say the words, but the Spirit of your Father in you.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.
However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come.
But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God. For who has knowledge of the things of a man but the spirit of the man which is in him? in the same way, no one has knowledge of the things of God but the Spirit of God. read more. But we have not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God, so that we may have knowledge of the things which are freely given to us by God. And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.
If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord.
For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him so that his servants might have knowledge of the things which will quickly take place: and he sent and made it clear by his angel to his servant John;
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and a great voice at my back, as of a horn, came to my ears, Saying, What you see, put in a book, and send it to the seven churches; to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. read more. And turning to see the voice which said these words to me, I saw seven gold vessels with lights burning in them; And in the middle of them one like a son of man, clothed with a robe down to his feet, and with a band of gold round his breasts. And his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like polished brass, as if it had been burned in a fire; and his voice was as the sound of great waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword: and his face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I went down on my face at his feet as one dead. And he put his right hand on me, saying, Have no fear; I am the first and the last and the Living one; And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell. Put in writing, then, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will be after these;
Easton
that extraordinary or supernatural divine influence vouchsafed to those who wrote the Holy Scriptures, rendering their writings infallible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (R.V., "Every scripture inspired of God"), 2Ti 3:16. This is true of all the "sacred writings," not in the sense of their being works of genius or of supernatural insight, but as "theopneustic," i.e., "breathed into by God" in such a sense that the writers were supernaturally guided to express exactly what God intended them to express as a revelation of his mind and will. The testimony of the sacred writers themselves abundantly demonstrates this truth; and if they are infallible as teachers of doctrine, then the doctrine of plenary inspiration must be accepted. There are no errors in the Bible as it came from God, none have been proved to exist. Difficulties and phenomena we cannot explain are not errors. All these books of the Old and New Testaments are inspired. We do not say that they contain, but that they are, the Word of God. The gift of inspiration rendered the writers the organs of God, for the infallible communication of his mind and will, in the very manner and words in which it was originally given.
As to the nature of inspiration we have no information. This only we know, it rendered the writers infallible. They were all equally inspired, and are all equally infallible. The inspiration of the sacred writers did not change their characters. They retained all their individual peculiarities as thinkers or writers. (See Bible; Word of God.)
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Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness:
Fausets
The supernatural action of the Holy Spirit on the mind of the sacred writers whereby the Scriptures were not merely their own but the word of God. Scripture not merely contains but is the word of God. As the whole Godhead was joined to the whole manhood, and became the Incarnate Word, so the written word is at once perfectly divine and perfectly human; infallibly authoritative because it is the word of God, intelligible because in the language of men. If it were not human we should not understand it; if it were not divine it would not be an unerring guide. The term "scriptures" is attached to them exclusively in the word of God itself, as having an authority no other writings have (Joh 5:39; 10:34-36). They are called "the oracles of God" (Ro 3:2), i.e. divine utterances.
If Scripture were not plenarily and verbally sanctioned by God, its practical utility as a sure guide in all questions directly or indirectly affecting doctrine and practice would be materially impaired, for what means would there be of distinguishing the false in it from the true? Inspiration does not divest the writers of their several individualities of style, just as the inspired teachers in the early church were not passive machines in prophesying (1Co 14:32). "Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty" (2Co 3:17). Their will became one with God's will; His Spirit acted on their spirit, so that their individuality had free play in the sphere of His inspiration. As to religious truths the collective Scriptures have unity of authorship; as to other matters their authorship is palpably as manifold as the writers. The variety is human, the unity divine. If the four evangelists were mere machines narrating the same events in the same order and words, they would cease to be independent witnesses. Their very discrepancies (only seeming ones) disprove collusion.
The solutions proposed in Harmonies, being necessarily conjectural, may or may not be the true ones; but they at least prove that the differences are not irreconcilable and would be cleared up if we knew all the facts. They test our faith, whether on reasonable evidence we will unreservedly believe His word in spite of some difficulties, designedly permitted for our probation. The slight variations in the Decalogue between Exodus 20 and its repetition Deuteronomy 5, and in Psalm 18 compared with 2 Samuel 22, in Psalm 14 compared with Psalm 53, and in New Testament quotations of Old Testament, (sometimes from Septuagint which varies from Hebrew, sometimes from neither in every word), all prove the Spirit-produced independence of the sacred writers who under divine guidance and sanction presented on different occasions the same substantial truths under different aspects, the one complementing the other.
One or two instances occur where the errors of transcribers cause a real discrepancy (2Ki 8:26, compared with 2Ch 22:2). A perpetual miracle alone could have prevented such very exceptional and palpable copyists' mistakes. But in seeming discrepancies, as between the accounts of the same event in different Gospels, each account presents some fresh aspect of divine truth; none containing the whole, but all together presenting the complete exhibition of the truth. Origen profoundly says: "in revelation as in nature we see a self concealing, self revealing God, who makes Himself known only to those who earnestly seek Him; in both we find stimulants to faith and occasions for unbelief." The assaults of adversaries on seemingly weak points have resulted in the eliciting of beautiful and delicate harmonies unperceived before; the gospel defenses have been proved the more impregnable, and the things meant to injure "have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel."
When once it is admitted that the New Testament writers were neither fanatics nor enthusiasts, (and infidelity has never yet produced a satisfactory theory to show them to have been either,) their miracles and their divine commission must also be admitted, for they expressly claim these. Thus, Paul (1Co 14:37), "if any man think himself a prophet, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." And not only the things but the words; (1Co 2:13) "we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth." The "discerning of spirits" was one of the miraculous gifts in the apostolic churches. His appeal on the ground of miracles (1Co 2:4) which are taken for granted as notorious rather than asserted, (the incidental mention being a clear mark of truth because it excludes suspicion of design,) and to persons whose miraculous discernment of spirits enabled them to test such claims, is the strongest proof of the divine authority of his writings.
Peter (2Pe 3:16) classes Paul's epistles with "the other Scriptures"; therefore whatever inspiration is in the latter is in the former also. That inspiration excludes error from Scripture words, so far as these affect doctrine and morals, appears from Ps 12:6, "the words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." As our Lord promised the disciples His Holy Spirit, to teach them how and what they should say before magistrates (Mt 10:19-20), much more did the Spirit "abiding" with the church "for ever" (Joh 14:16) secure for the written word, the only surviving infallible oracle, the inspiration of the manner as well as the matter. So (Joh 16:13) "the Spirit of truth will guide you into all (the) truth," namely, not truth in general but Christian truth.
Also (Joh 14:26) "the Holy Spirit shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." "He shall testify of Me" (Joh 15:26) "He will show you things to come ... He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you" (Joh 16:13-14). Paul (2Ti 3:16) declares that no part of the written word is uninspired, but "ALL" (literally, "every scripture," i.e. every portion) is "profitable" for the ends of a revelation, "doctrine, reproof (conjuting error: the two comprehending speculative divinity; then follows practical), correction (setting one right, 1Co 10:1-10), instruction (disciplinary training: De 13:5; 1Co 5:13) in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"; as it makes him "perfect" it must be perfect itself.
Some parts were immediately communicated by God, and are called "apocalypse" or "revelation," as that to John, and to Paul (2Co 12:1; Ro 16:25). Others, as the historical parts, are matter of human testimony. But inspiration was as much needed to write known facts authoritatively as to communicate new truths; else why should certain facts be selected and others be passed by? Inspired prohibition is as miraculous as inspired utterance. Had the evangelists been left to themselves, they doubtless would have given many details of Jesus' early life which our curiosity would have desired, but which divine wisdom withheld, in order to concentrate all our attention on Christ's ministry and death. The historical parts are quoted by Paul as God's "law," because they have His sanction and contain covert lessons of God's truth and His principles of governing the world and the church (Ga 4:21).
Considering the vast amount of Mariolatry and idolatry which subsequently sprang up, the hand of God is marked in the absence from the Gospel histories of aught to countenance these errors. Sacred history is like "a dial in which the shadow, as well as the light, informs us" (Trench). The Spirit was needed to qualify the writers for giving what they have given, a condensed yet full and clear portraiture of Messiah, calculated to affect all hearts in every nation, and to sow in them seeds of faith, hope, and love. The minor details, such as Paul's direction to Timothy to "bring his cloth and parchments," and to" drink a little wine for his stomach's sake and his infirmities," are vivid touches which give life and nature to the picture, making us realize the circumstances and personality of the apostle and his disciple, and have their place in the inspired record, as each leaf has in the
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And the Lord had talk with Moses face to face, as a man may have talk with his friend. And when Moses came back to the tents, his servant, the young man Joshua, the son of Nun, did not come away from the Tent.
And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is true to me in all my house: read more. With him I will have talk mouth to mouth, openly and not in dark sayings; and with his eyes he will see the form of the Lord: why then had you no fear of saying evil against my servant Moses?
And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is to be put to death; for his words were said with the purpose of turning you away from the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt and made you free from the prison-house; and of forcing you out of the way in which the Lord your God has given you orders to go. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
The spirit of the Lord had voice through me, his word was on my tongue.
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel.
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.
Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.
The words of the Lord are true words: like silver tested by fire and burned clean seven times.
A word of the Lord: The Lord has come to the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is his resting-place: for the towns of Aram are the Lord's,
The word of the Lord about Israel. The Lord by whom the heavens are stretched out and the bases of the earth put in place, and the spirit of man formed inside him, has said:
Truly I say to you, Till heaven and earth come to an end, not the smallest letter or part of a letter will in any way be taken from the law, till all things are done.
But when you are given up into their hands, do not be troubled about what to say or how to say it: for in that hour what you are to say will be given to you; Because it is not you who say the words, but the Spirit of your Father in you.
For I have come to put a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law:
Truly I say to you, Among the sons of women there has not been a greater than John the Baptist: but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
And he said in answer, Have you not seen in the Writings, that he who made them at the first made them male and female, and said,
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead but of the living.
He says to them, How then does David in the Spirit give him the name of Lord, saying,
You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me.
In answer, Jesus said, Is there not a saying in your law, I said, You are gods? If he said they were gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Writings may not be broken),
If he said they were gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Writings may not be broken), Do you say of him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, Your words are evil; because I said, I am God's Son?
You do not see that it is in your interest for one man to be put to death for the people, so that all the nation may not come to destruction.
And I will make prayer to the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you for ever,
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.
When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father even the Spirit of true knowledge who comes from the Father--he will give witness about me;
However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come.
However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come. He will give me glory, because he will take of what is mine, and make it clear to you.
My brothers, the word of God had to be put into effect, which the Holy Spirit had said before, by the mouth of David, about Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus,
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it.
For David said of him, I saw the Lord before my face at all times, for he is at my right hand, so that I may not be moved: And for this cause my heart was glad and my tongue full of joy, and my flesh will be resting in hope: read more. For you will not let my soul be in hell and you will not give up your Holy One to destruction. You have made me see the ways of life; I will be full of joy when I see your face. My brothers, I may say to you openly that David came to his death, and was put in the earth, and his resting-place is with us today. But being a prophet, and having in mind the oath which God had given to him, that of the fruit of his body one would take his place as a king, He, having knowledge of the future, was talking of the coming again of Christ from the dead, that he was not kept in hell and his body did not see destruction. This Jesus God has given back to life, of which we all are witnesses. And so, being lifted up to the right hand of God, and having the Father's word that the Holy Spirit would come, he has sent this thing, which now you see and have knowledge of.
But the things which God had made clear before, by the mouth of all the prophets, that the Christ would have to undergo, he has put into effect in this way.
Who is to be kept in heaven till the time when all things are put right, of which God has given word by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been from the earliest times.
Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?
Much in every way: first of all because the words of God were given to them.
Now to him who is able to make you strong in agreement with the good news which I gave you and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in the light of the revelation of that secret which has been kept through times eternal, But is now made clear; and by the writings of the prophets, by the order of the eternal God, the knowledge of it has been given to all the nations, so that they may come under the rule of the faith;
And in my preaching there were no honeyed words of wisdom, but I was dependent on the power of the Spirit to make it clear to you:
And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.
Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control. But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord.
But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband
But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a Christian, and it is his desire to go on living with her, let her not go away from her husband. read more. For the husband who has not faith is made holy through his Christian wife, and the wife who is not a Christian is made holy through the brother: if not, your children would be unholy, but now are they holy. But if the one who is not a Christian has a desire to go away, let it be so: the brother or the sister in such a position is not forced to do one thing or the other: but it is God's pleasure that we may be at peace with one another.
Now about virgins I have no orders from the Lord: but I give my opinion as one to whom the Lord has given mercy to be true to him. In my opinion then, because of the present trouble, it is good for a man to keep as he is. read more. If you are married to a wife, make no attempt to get free from her: if you are free from a wife, do not take a wife. If you get married it is not a sin; and if an unmarried woman gets married it is not a sin. But those who do so will have trouble in the flesh. But I will not be hard on you. But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not; And for those who are in sorrow, to give no signs of it; and for those who are glad, to give no signs of joy; and for those who are getting property, to be as if they had nothing; And for those who make use of the world, not to be using it fully; for this world's way of life will quickly come to an end. But it is my desire for you to be free from cares. The unmarried man gives his mind to the things of the Lord, how he may give pleasure to the Lord: But the married man gives his attention to the things of this world, how he may give pleasure to his wife. And the wife is not the same as the virgin. The virgin gives her mind to the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit: but the married woman takes thought for the things of the world, how she may give pleasure to her husband. Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord. But if, in any man's opinion, he is not doing what is right for his virgin, if she is past her best years, and there is need for it, let him do what seems right to him; it is no sin; let them be married. But the man who is strong in mind and purpose, who is not forced but has control over his desires, does well if he comes to the decision to keep her a virgin. So then, he who gets married to his virgin does well, and he who keeps her unmarried does better.
For it is my desire, my brothers, that you may keep in mind how all our fathers were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea; And they all had baptism from Moses in the cloud and in the sea; read more. And they all took the same holy food; And the same holy drink: for they all took of the water from the holy rock which came after them: and the rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not pleased: for they came to their end in the waste land. Now these things were for an example to us, so that our hearts might not go after evil things, as they did. Then do not go after false gods, as some of them did; as it is said in the holy Writings, After resting and feasting, the people got up to take their pleasure. Again, let us not give way to the desires of the flesh, as some of them did, of whom twenty-three thousand came to their end in one day. And let us not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did, and came to their death by snakes. And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them.
And let the prophets give their words, but not more than two or three, and let the others be judges of what they say.
And the spirits of the prophets are controlled by the prophets;
And the spirits of the prophets are controlled by the prophets;
If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord.
For in our letters we say no other things to you, but those which you are reading, and to which you give agreement, and, it is my hope, will go on doing so to the end:
For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.
Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free.
As it is necessary for me to take glory to myself, though it is not a good thing, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Seeing that you are looking for a sign of Christ giving out his word in me; who is not feeble in relation to you, but is strong in you:
Because I say to you, my brothers, that the good news of which I was the preacher is not man's. For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now to Abraham were the undertakings given, and to his seed. He says not, And to seeds, as of a great number; but as of one, he says, And to your seed, which is Christ.
How by revelation the secret was made clear to me, as I said before in a short letter,
Which in other generations was not given to the sons of men, but the revelation of it has now been made to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
For in him all the wealth of God's being has a living form, And you are complete in him, who is the head of all rule and authority:
Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness:
You put all things under his feet. For in making man the ruler over all things, God did not put anything outside his authority; though we do not see everything under him now.
For he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all of one family; and for this reason it is no shame for him to give them the name of brothers,
Let us then, though we still have God's word that we may come into his rest, go in fear that some of you may be unable to do so. And, truly, the good news came to us, even as it did to them; but the hearing of the word did them no good, because they were not united in faith with the true hearers. read more. For those of us who have belief come into his rest; even as he has said, As I said in my oath when I was angry, They may not come into my rest: though the works were done from the time of the making of the world. For in one place he has said of the seventh day, And God had rest from all his works on the seventh day; And in the same place he says again, They will not come into my rest. So that as it is clear that some have to go in, and that the first hearers of the good news were not able to go in because they went against God's orders, After a long time, again naming a certain day, he says in David, Today (as he had said before), Today if you will let his voice come to your ears, be not hard of heart, For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have said anything about another day. So that there is still a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God. For the man who comes into his rest has had rest from his works, as God did from his. Because of this, let us have a strong desire to come into that rest, and let no one go after the example of those who went against God's orders.
Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them.
Being conscious in the first place that no man by himself may give a special sense to the words of the prophets. For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
And as he said in all his letters, which had to do with these things; in which are some hard sayings, so that, like the rest of the holy Writings, they are twisted by those who are uncertain and without knowledge, to the destruction of their souls.
And if any man takes away from the words of this book, God will take away from him his part in the tree of life and the holy town, even the things which are in this book.
Hastings
The subject comprises the doctrine of inspiration in the Bible, and the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, together with what forms the transition from the one to the other, the account given of the prophetic consciousness, and the teaching of the NT about the OT.
1. The agent of inspiration is the Holy Spirit (see p. 360) or Spirit of God, who is active in Creation (Ge 1:2; Ps 104:30), is imparted to man that the dust may become living soul (Ge 2:7), is the source of exceptional powers of body (Jg 6:34; 14:6,19) or skill (Ex 35:31); but is pre-eminently manifest in prophecy (wh. see). The NT doctrine of the presence and power of the Spirit of God in the renewed life of the believer is anticipated in the OT, inasmuch as to the Spirit's operations are attributed wisdom (Job 32:8; 1Ki 3:28; De 34:9), courage (Jg 13:25; 14:6), penitence, moral strength, and purity (Ne 9:20; Ps 51:11; Isa 63:10; Eze 36:26; Zec 12:10). The promise of the Spirit by Christ to His disciples was fulfilled when He Himself after the Resurrection breathed on them, and said, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost' (Joh 20:22), and after His Ascension the Spirit descended on the Church with the outward signs of the wind and fire (Ac 2:2-3). The Christian life as such is an inspired life, but the operation of the Spirit is represented in the NT in two forms; there are the extraordinary gifts (charisms)
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And the earth was waste and without form; and it was dark on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was moving on the face of the waters.
And the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth, breathing into him the breath of life: and man became a living soul.
And he has made him full of the spirit of God, in all wisdom and knowledge and art of every sort;
And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had put his hands on him: and the children of Israel gave ear to him, and did as the Lord had given orders to Moses.
But the spirit of the Lord came on Gideon; and at the sound of his horn all Abiezer came together after him.
And the spirit of the Lord first came on him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
And the spirit of the Lord came on him with power, and, unarmed as he was, pulling the lion in two as one might do to a young goat, he put him to death; (but he said nothing to his father and mother of what he had done.)
And the spirit of the Lord came on him with power, and, unarmed as he was, pulling the lion in two as one might do to a young goat, he put him to death; (but he said nothing to his father and mother of what he had done.)
And the spirit of the Lord came rushing on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and, attacking thirty men there, took their clothing from them, and gave it to the men who had given the answer to his hard question. Then, full of wrath, he went back to his father's house.
And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it.
But truly it is the spirit in man, even the breath of the Ruler of all, which gives them knowledge.
But truly it is the spirit in man, even the breath of the Ruler of all, which gives them knowledge.
Do not put me away from before you, or take your holy spirit from me.
If you send out your spirit, they are given life; you make new the face of the earth.
But they went against him, causing grief to his holy spirit: so he was turned against them, and made war on them.
And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you: I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will send down on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayer; and their eyes will be turned to the one who was wounded by their hands: and they will be weeping for him as for an only son, and their grief for him will be bitter, like the grief of one sorrowing for his oldest son.
All things have been given to me by my Father; and no one has knowledge of the Son, but the Father; and no one has knowledge of the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will make it clear.
He says to them, How then does David in the Spirit give him the name of Lord, saying,
And he said, O foolish men! how slow you are to give belief to what the prophets have said.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.
However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come.
And when he had said this, breathing on them, he said to them, Let the Holy Spirit come on you:
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it. And they saw tongues, like flames of fire, coming to rest on every one of them.
And having different qualities by reason of the grace given to us, such as the quality of a prophet, let it be made use of in relation to the measure of our faith; Or the position of a Deacon of the church, let a man give himself to it; or he who has the power of teaching, let him make use of it; read more. He who has the power of comforting, let him do so; he who gives, let him give freely; he who has the power of ruling, let him do it with a serious mind; he who has mercy on others, let it be with joy.
And God has put some in the church, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then those with wonder-working powers, then those with the power of taking away disease, helpers, wise guides, users of strange tongues.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith, Gentle behaviour, control over desires: against such there is no law.
Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness:
For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
Morish
Though this word occurs in the Bible but once in reference to the scriptures, yet the one statement in which it is found is important and full of deep meaning: "Every scripture is divinely inspired literally, 'God-breathed', and is profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work." 2Ti 3:16-17. This places all scripture on one basis as to inspiration, whether it be historical, doctrinal, or prophetic. We learn by this passage that not simply the persons who wrote were inspired, but the writings themselves are divinely inspired. Cf. 2Pe 1:21.
All writings are composed of words, and if these writings are inspired, the words are inspired. This is what is commonly called 'verbal inspiration.' Other passages speak of the importance of 'words:' Peter said, "To whom shall we go? thou hast the words (??????) of eternal life," Joh 6:68: and we find those words in the Gospels. When it was a question of Gentiles being brought into blessing without being circumcised, James in his address appealed to the 'words' of the prophets. Ac 15:15. Paul in writing to the Corinthian saints said, "Which things also we speak, not in the 'words' (?????) which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 1Co 2:13. The Holy Spirit taught Paul what words to use. The whole of scripture forms the word of God, and both in the O.T. and in the N.T. we read of 'the words of God.' 1Ch 25:5; Ezr 9:4; Ps 107:11; Joh 3:34; 8:47; Re 17:17. Neither must His word be added to, or taken from. De 4:2; 12:32; Re 22:18-19.
The above passages should carry conviction to simple souls that every scripture is God-inspired. As nothing less than this is worthy of God, so nothing less than this would meet the need of man. Amid the many uncertain things around him he needs words upon which his faith can be based, and in the inspired scriptures he has them. The Lord Jesus said, "The words (??????) that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life." Joh 6:63. He had the words of eternal life; and, through the grace of God, many a soul has found them to be such, and has no more doubt of the plenary inspiration of scripture than of the existence of God Himself.
It may be noted that scripture records the sayings of wicked men, and of Satan himself. It need scarcely be said that it is not the sayings but the records of them that are inspired. Paul also, when writing on the question of marriage, makes a distinction between what he wrote as his judgement, and what he wrote as commandments of the Lord. "I speak this by permission," he says; and again, "I give my judgement." 1Co 7:6,10,12,25. He was inspired to record his spiritual judgement and to point out that it was not a command.
Some have a difficulty as to what has been called the human element in inspiration. If the words of scripture are inspired, it has been asked, how is it that the style of the writer is so manifest? John's style, for instance, being clearly distinguishable from that of Paul. The simple answer is that it is as if one used, so to speak, different kinds of pens to write with. God made the mind of man as well as his body, and was surely able to use the mind of each of the writers He employed, and yet cause him to write exactly what He wished. God took possession of the mind of man to declare His own purposes with regard to man.
Further, it has been asserted that the doctrine of verbal inspiration is valueless, because of diversities in the Greek manuscripts, which in some places prevent any one from determining what are the words God caused to be written. But this does not in any way touch the question of inspiration, which is, that the words written were inspired by God. Whether we have a correct copy is quite another question. The variations in the Greek manuscripts do not affect any one of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, and only in a few places are the words doubtful.
Another objection to the value of verbal inspiration is that most persons read scripture in a translation, the words of which cannot, it is alleged, be said to be inspired. But if the translation conveys exactly the same meaning as in the original, the words can be said to be inspired: for instance, the words 'God is love,' may surely be said to be the same as ? ???? ????? ?????, or Deus caritas est, Dieu est amour, or Dio ? carit?, to those who can read them. It may be that the translations from which the above are taken cannot in all places be said to be the same as the Greek; but this only shows the great importance of each having a correct translation in his vernacular tongue. And it must not be forgotten that the Lord Himself and those who wrote the New Testament often quoted the Septuagint, which is a translation from the Hebrew; and they quoted it as scripture.
Nothing can exceed the importance of having true thoughts of the inspiration of scripture. As no human author would allow his amanuensis to write what he did not mean, so surely what is called the word of God is God's own production, though given through the instrumentality of man. Though there were many writers, separated by thousands of years, there is a divine unity in the whole, showing plainly that one and only one could have been its Author. That One can only have been the Almighty
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Make no addition to the orders which I give you, and take nothing from them, but keep the orders of the Lord your God which I give you.
You are to keep with care all the words I give you, making no addition to them and taking nothing from them.
All these were sons of Heman, the king's seer in the words of God. And to make great his power God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
Then everyone who went in fear of the words of the God of Israel, because of the sin of those who had come back, came together to me; and I kept where I was, overcome with grief, till the evening offering.
Because they went against the words of God, and gave no thought to the laws of the Most High:
For he whom God has sent says God's words; and God does not give him the Spirit by measure.
The spirit is the life giver; the flesh is of no value: the words which I have said to you are spirit and they are life.
Then Simon Peter gave this answer: Lord, to whom are we to go? you have the words of eternal life;
He who is a child of God gives ear to the words of God: your ears are not open to them because you are not from God.
And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said,
And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.
But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband
But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.
Now about virgins I have no orders from the Lord: but I give my opinion as one to whom the Lord has given mercy to be true to him.
Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness: So that the man of God may be complete, trained and made ready for every good work.
For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
Because God has put it in their hearts to do his purpose, and to be of one mind, giving their kingdom to the beast, till the words of God have effect and are complete.
For I say to every man to whose ears have come the words of this prophet's book, If any man makes an addition to them, God will put on him the punishments which are in this book: And if any man takes away from the words of this book, God will take away from him his part in the tree of life and the holy town, even the things which are in this book.
Smith
Inspiration.
Dr. Knapp given as the definition of inspiration, "an extra-ordinary divine agency upon teachers while giving instruction, whether oral or written, by which they were taught what and how they should write or speak." Without deciding on any of the various theories of inspiration, the general doctrine of Christians is that the Bible is so inspired by God that it is the infallible guide of men, and is perfectly trustworthy in all its parts, as given by God.
Watsons
INSPIRATION, the conveying of certain extraordinary and supernatural notices or thoughts into the soul; or it denotes any supernatural influence of God upon the mind of a rational creature, whereby he is formed to a degree of intellectual improvement, to which he could not have attained in his present circumstances in a natural way. In the first and highest sense, the prophets, evangelists, and Apostles are said to have spoken and written by divine inspiration. This inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures is so expressly attested by our Lord and his Apostles, that among those who receive them as a divine revelation the only question relates to the inspiration of the New Testament. On this subject it has been well observed:
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But when you are given up into their hands, do not be troubled about what to say or how to say it: for in that hour what you are to say will be given to you; Because it is not you who say the words, but the Spirit of your Father in you.
Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
Go then, and make disciples of all the nations, giving them baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to keep all the rules which I have given you: and see, I am ever with you, even to the end of the world.
And he took twelve to be with him, so that he might send them out as preachers,
He who has faith and is given baptism will get salvation; but he who has not faith will be judged.
As a number of attempts have been made to put together in order an account of those events which took place among us, As they were handed down to us by those who saw them from the first and were preachers of the word, read more. It seemed good to me, having made observation, with great care, of the direction of events in their order, to put the facts in writing for you, most noble Theophilus; So that you might have certain knowledge of those things about which you were given teaching.
Whoever gives ear to you, gives ear to me; and whoever is against you, is against me; and whoever is against me, is against him who sent me.
For I will give you words and wisdom, so that not one of those who are against you will be able to get the better of you, or to put you in the wrong.
And I will make prayer to the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you for ever, Even the Spirit of true knowledge. That Spirit the world is not able to take to its heart because it sees him not and has no knowledge of him: but you have knowledge of him, because he is ever with you and will be in you.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.
This is the law I give you: Have love one for another, even as I have love for you.
I have still much to say to you, but you are not strong enough for it now. However, when he, the Spirit of true knowledge, has come, he will be your guide into all true knowledge: for his words will not come from himself, but whatever has come to his hearing, that he will say: and he will make clear to you the things to come.
My prayer is not for them only, but for all who will have faith in me through their word; May they all be one! Even as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so let them be in us, so that all men may come to have faith that you sent me.
A number of other signs Jesus did before his disciples which are not recorded in this book: But these are recorded, so that you may have faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that, having this faith you may have life in his name.
This is the disciple who gives witness about these things and who put them in writing: and we have knowledge that his witness is true.
My brothers, the word of God had to be put into effect, which the Holy Spirit had said before, by the mouth of David, about Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus,
Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish?
Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. read more. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
And they went away, for there was a division among them after Paul had said this one thing: Well did the Holy Spirit say by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers,
But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God.
But we have not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God, so that we may have knowledge of the things which are freely given to us by God. And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.
If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord.
Paul, an Apostle (not from men, and not through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who made him come back from the dead),
For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.
But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace, To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood, read more. And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus.
Resting on the base of the Apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief keystone,
And when this letter has been made public among you, let the same be done in the church of Laodicea; and see that you have the letter from Laodicea.
And for this cause we still give praise to God, that, when the word came to your ears through us, you took it, not as the word of man, but, as it truly is, the word of God, which has living power in you who have faith.
Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness:
Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them.
For these words did not ever come through the impulse of men: but the prophets had them from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
So that you may keep in mind the words of the holy prophets in the past, and the law of the Lord and Saviour which was given to you by his Apostles.
And be certain that the long waiting of the Lord is for salvation; even as our brother Paul has said in his letters to you, from the wisdom which was given to him;
We are of God: he who has the knowledge of God gives ear to us; he who is not of God does not give ear to us. By this we may see which is the true spirit, and which is the spirit of error.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him so that his servants might have knowledge of the things which will quickly take place: and he sent and made it clear by his angel to his servant John;
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and a great voice at my back, as of a horn, came to my ears, Saying, What you see, put in a book, and send it to the seven churches; to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. read more. And turning to see the voice which said these words to me, I saw seven gold vessels with lights burning in them; And in the middle of them one like a son of man, clothed with a robe down to his feet, and with a band of gold round his breasts. And his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like polished brass, as if it had been burned in a fire; and his voice was as the sound of great waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword: and his face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I went down on my face at his feet as one dead. And he put his right hand on me, saying, Have no fear; I am the first and the last and the Living one; And I was dead, and see, I am living for ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell. Put in writing, then, the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will be after these;
And the wall of the town had twelve bases, and on them the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.