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 whenever they apprehend you, do not be anxious about how you shall speak or what you shall say; for it will be given you in that very hour what to say. "For it will not be you who is speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.
But when he is come, that Spirit of Truth, he will guide you into the whole truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but all that he hears he will speak, and will make known to you that which is to come.
Yet God has unveiled them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit fathoms everything, even the abysmal depths of God. For what man knows the depths of man except the man's own inner Spirit? Even so, also, the Spirit of God knows the deeps profound of God. read more. But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes forth from God, that we may realize the blessings freely given us by God. Of these high themes we speak in words not taught by human philosophy, but by the Spirit; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.
If any one thinks himself a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that what I am now writing you is a command of the Lord.
for neither did I myself receive it from man, nor by man was I taught it, but by a revelation an apocalypse of Jesus Christ.
Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
The unveiling apocalypse of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his slaves the things which must soon come to pass; and he sent and made it known by his angel to his slave John.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches; to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea." read more. And I turned to see the Voice which was speaking to me, and as I turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks One like to a son of man, clothed with a robe down to the feet, and with a golden girdle round his breast. His head and his hair were as white as wool, as white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, and his feet like burnished brass, as if molten in a furnace; and his voice like the voice of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars; and out of mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was as the sun shining in his strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying. "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore; and hold the keys of death and of Hades. So write the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things that will come to pass hereafter.
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 Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training 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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"In solemn truth I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a comma, will pass from the Law until all has taken place.
"But whenever they apprehend you, do not be anxious about how you shall speak or what you shall say; for it will be given you in that very hour what to say. "For it will not be you who is speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
"For I came to set "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
"In solemn truth I tell you that there has not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist; yet one of the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
"Have you not read." he answered, "that He who created them from the beginning 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."
"How then, "he said, "does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
"You are searching the Scriptures because you suppose that in tem you have eternal life; and though these are they that bear witness concerning me,
"Is it written in your law," replied Jesus, "I said, You are gods? "If those to whom the word of God came are called gods (and the Scripture cannot be annulled),
"If those to whom the word of God came are called gods (and the Scripture cannot be annulled), do you mean to tell me, whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
"You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, rather than the whole nation be destroyed."
"and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.
"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.
"When the Comforter is come whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who comes forth from the Father, he will bear witness of me;
But when he is come, that Spirit of Truth, he will guide you into the whole truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but all that he hears he will speak, and will make known to you that which is to come.
But when he is come, that Spirit of Truth, he will guide you into the whole truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but all that he hears he will speak, and will make known to you that which is to come. He will glorify me; for he will take of what is mine and will make known to you.
"Men and brothers, it was necessary for the Scripture to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit uttered beforehand by the lips of David in regard to Judas who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.
there came suddenly from the sky a sound like the onrush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
For David says of him. "I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is at my right hand lest I be shaken. "Therefore my heart is glad, my tongue exults, my very body also shall pitch its tent in hope. read more. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, Nor give up thy Holy One to see corruption. "Thou hast made known to me the paths of life, Thou wilt fill me with gladness in thy presence. "Men and brothers, I can speak plainly to you concerning the patriarch David, because he not only died and was buried, but his tomb is among us even to this very day. "Because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit of his loins he would set one on his throne, "he, foreseeing this, spoke of the resurrection of Christ that neither was he left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of this we are all witnesses. Since he is by the mighty hand of God exalted, and has received from his Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this which you now see and hear.
"But God has thus fulfilled what he foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer.
"whom the heavens must receive until the time of restoration of all things. "God spoke of this ages ago, through the mouth of his holy prophets.
"who saidest through the Holy Spirit, by the lips of thy servant David, our forefather. "Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples form futile plans?
Much in every way. First of all, because to them were entrusted the oracles of God.
Now I commend you to Him who is able to keep you stedfast, according to my gospel, and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, whereby is unveiled the secret truth which was kept secret through immemorial ages, but now has been brought to light, and by command of the eternal God made known to the Gentiles by the scriptures of the Prophets, so that the Gentiles might hold obedience of the faith.
My message and my preaching were not in the persuasive language of philosophy, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power;
Of these high themes we speak in words not taught by human philosophy, but by the Spirit; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.
Do not refuse one another, unless it is only temporary and by mutual consent, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, lest through your lack of self-control Satan begin to tempt you to sin. But what I have just said is by way of concession, not command.
But to those already married my commandment is??nd not mine, but the Lord's??hat a wife is not to leave her husband;
To the rest it is I who am speaking, not the Lord. If any brother has a wife who is not a believer, if he is willing to live with her, let him not send her away. And a woman whose husband is not a believer, if he is willing to live with her, let her not separate from him. read more. For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through union with his believing wife; and the unbelieving wife, through union with her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unholy, but now they are consecrated to God. But if the unbelieving partner be determined to leave, separation let it be. In such cases the believing husband or wife is not under bondage. But it is into peace that God has called us.
I have no command from the Lord to give you concerning unmarried women; but I give you my opinion, and it is that of a man who, through the Lord's mercy, is deserving of your confidence. I think then, that in view of the time of suffering now imminent, it is best for a man to remain as he is. read more. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from the marriage bond? Do not seek for a wife. Yet if you do not marry, you have not done wrong; and if a girl marries, she has not done wrong. Such people, however, will have trouble in worldly affairs, and I wish to spare you. Indeed, brothers, the time that remains to us has been shortened; so let those who have wives live as if they had none, let those who weep be as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use the world as though using it sparingly. For the present phase of the world is passing away. So I want you to be free from all anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the Lord's business, how he may please the Lord; but a married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how he may please his wife, and he is divided in his mind. Again, the woman who is widow, or the maid, is anxious about the Lord's business, how she may be pure in body and in mind; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how she may please her husband. It is in your own interest that I say this; not that I may entangle you in a snare, but that I may help you to serve the Lord with fitting and undistracted service. If, however, a father feels that he is not treating his virgin daughter in a seemly manner, in leaving her unmarried beyond the flower of her age, and so the matter is urgent, let him do what she desires; he commits no sin. Let the marriage take place. On the other hand, he who is firm in his purpose and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has determined to keep his daughter unmarried, does well. So he that gives his daughter in marriage is doing right, and he who keeps her unmarried will be doing right, and he who keeps her unmarried will be doing better.
For I would not have you ignorant, brothers, how our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. read more. They all ate of the same spiritual bread, and all drank from the same spiritual stream, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But in most of them God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the desert. Now this happened as a warning for us, that we might not long for evil things as they longed. And you must not be idolaters like some of them. as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, And they rose up for idol dances. Nor must we act licentiously, as some of them did, and fell in a single day, twenty-three thousand of them. Neither must we presume upon the patience of our Lord, as some of them presumed, and were destroyed by the serpents; nor murmur, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel.
Let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others exercise their judgment.
The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets,
The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets,
If any one thinks himself a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that what I am now writing you is a command of the Lord.
For I am writing to you nothing different from what you read aloud and very well recognize, and I hope will continue to recognize to the very end,
I am; for I am not like most, trafficking in the word of God, but rather from a sincere heart, like a man of God, I speak in Christ, in the very presence of God.
(The Lord means the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord abides there is freedom.)
I am forced to boast, though it is unprofitable, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
Since you want a proof of Christ who is speaking in me, he who is not feeble toward you, but powerful among you.
For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel I preach is not man-made; for neither did I myself receive it from man, nor by man was I taught it, but by a revelation an apocalypse of Jesus Christ.
Now it was to Abraham that the promises were spoken, and to his offspring. God did not say, "offsprings" as if speaking of many, but "and to your offspring," as of one; and this is Christ.
Tell me, you who wish to be subject to the Law, why do you not listen to the Law?
You have heard how by direct revelation the secret truth was made known to me, as I have already briefly written you.
which was not disclosed to the sons of men in former generations, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets,
For it is in Christ that all the fullness of deity dwells bodily, and in him you have your fulness, and he is the Lord of all the principalities and powers.
Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
Thou hast put all things under his feet. For this putting all things under man means leaving nothing not subject to him. But we do not yet see all things subject to him.
For both he who sanctifies and those whom he is sanctifying are all from One; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying.
Let us be on our guard, then, though there is a promise still standing of being admitted to his rest, lest any one of you should be found to have come short of it. For the Good News is come to us just as it did to them. But the message they heard was of no benefit to them, because they did not share the faith of those who gave heed to it. read more. We are actually entering into that rest, we who have believed, as God has said,??n my wrath I swore??They shall not enter into my Rest
They were searching to know to what time, or to what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them kept pointing, when he ever testified beforehand concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
But first be assured of this??hat no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man; but moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke for God.
It is the same in all his letters when he speaks of these things. There are indeed some things in his letters hard to understand, which the ignorant and the shifty wrest, as also they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City, about which this book is written.
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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"Everything has been handed over to me by my Father; neither does any one know the Son, except the Father, nor any one know the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
"How then, "he said, "does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
"O foolish men," said Jesus, "slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.
But when he is come, that Spirit of Truth, he will guide you into the whole truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but all that he hears he will speak, and will make known to you that which is to come.
When he had said this he breathed upon them and said:
there came suddenly from the sky a sound like the onrush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. There appeared to them tongues, like flame, distributing themselves, one resting upon the head of each one,
But we have gifts differing according to the grace which was given to us. He that has the gift of prophecy, let him prophesy according to the proportion of his faith. If it is the gift of administration, let us give ourselves to our service. read more. Let the teacher give himself to his teaching; and he who exhorts others to his exhortation. He who gives, let him do it in singleness of mind. He who rules, let him rule with diligence; and he who shows mercy must be cheerful.
And God has appointed those in the church to be first of all apostles, second, prophets, third, teachers. then workers of miracles, healers, helpers, administrators, users of various kinds of "tongues."
But the harvest-fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control; against such there is no law.
Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man; but moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke for God.
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
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For he whom God sent utters the words of God; for God does not give the Spirit sparingly.
"The spirit is what gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words which I have been speaking to you, are spirit and are life.
Simon Peter answered. "To whom shall we go Master? You have words of eternal life;
"He who is from God listens to God's words. For this reason you do not listen, because you are not from God."
"And this is in harmony with the language of the prophets, which says.
Of these high themes we speak in words not taught by human philosophy, but by the Spirit; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.
But to those already married my commandment is??nd not mine, but the Lord's??hat a wife is not to leave her husband;
To the rest it is I who am speaking, not the Lord. If any brother has a wife who is not a believer, if he is willing to live with her, let him not send her away.
I have no command from the Lord to give you concerning unmarried women; but I give you my opinion, and it is that of a man who, through the Lord's mercy, is deserving of your confidence.
Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may himself be complete, and completely equipped for every good work.
For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man; but moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke for God.
For God has put it into their hearts to execute his purpose, in executing their common purpose, and by giving over their kingdoms to the beast, until the words of God shall be accomplished.
I testify to every man who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the Tree of Life, and in the Holy City, about which this book is written.
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:
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"But whenever they apprehend you, do not be anxious about how you shall speak or what you shall say; for it will be given you in that very hour what to say. "For it will not be you who is speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe every command which I have given you. and lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Twelve of them whom he also called "Apostles," he appointed to be with him, and also that he might send them out to preach,
He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who disbelieves shall be condemned.
Seeing that many have taken it in hand to draw up an account of those matters which have been fully established among us, just as they reported them to us, who were from beginning eye-witnesses and ministers of the word, read more. it seemed good to me also accurately, from the very beginning, to write them to you in order, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the story which you have been taught by the word of mouth.
"He who listens to you listens to me. and he who rejects you, rejects me; he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me."
"for I will give you utterance and a wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to answer or withstand.
"and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth. "The world cannot receive him because it does not see him nor know him, but you know him, for he is ever with you and within you.
"But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.
"This is my command, Love one another as I have loved you.
"I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them just now. But when he is come, that Spirit of Truth, he will guide you into the whole truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but all that he hears he will speak, and will make known to you that which is to come.
"Nor do I pray for them alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, even as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee; that they also may be in us; in order that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
There were then many other signs which Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples, which have not been written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
It is this disciple who bears testimony to these facts and who recorded them; and we know that his testimony is true.
"Men and brothers, it was necessary for the Scripture to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit uttered beforehand by the lips of David in regard to Judas who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.
"who saidest through the Holy Spirit, by the lips of thy servant David, our forefather. "Why did the Gentiles rage, And the peoples form futile plans?
"On this errand I was traveling to Damascus one day, armed with authority and commission of the chief priests, "when at noon, as I journeyed, O King, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and around those who journeyed with me. read more. "We all fell to the ground; and I heard a voice saying to me in Hebrew. "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad.' "'Who are you, Lord?' I said." And the Lord said: 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. "'But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you in order to appoint you my minister and my witness both of what you have already seen and of those things in which I will appear to you. "'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes "'so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, in order to receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
Unable to agree among themselves, they began to go, but not before Paul had spoken a word to them, saying. "Right well did the Holy Spirit say to your ancestors, through the prophet Isaiah.
Yet God has unveiled them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit fathoms everything, even the abysmal depths of God.
But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes forth from God, that we may realize the blessings freely given us by God. Of these high themes we speak in words not taught by human philosophy, but by the Spirit; interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men.
If any one thinks himself a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that what I am now writing you is a command of the Lord.
Paul, an apostle sent not from men nor by any man, but by Jesus Christ and by God the Father who raised him from the dead;
for neither did I myself receive it from man, nor by man was I taught it, but by a revelation an apocalypse of Jesus Christ.
But when God who had set me apart from my very birth, and had called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach his gospel among the Gentiles, without consulting a human being, read more. or even going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apostles before me, I went off at once to Arabia, and on my return came back to Damascus.
You are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.
Luke, the beloved physician, salutes you, and so does Demas.
And when this letter has been read to you, see that it is read also in the church of Laodiceans, and that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
For this reason also I am giving continual thanks to God, because when you heard from me the spoken word of God, you received it not as the word of men, but as the word of God (which in truth it is), who himself is effectually at work in you believe.
Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
They were searching to know to what time, or to what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them kept pointing, when he ever testified beforehand concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
For no prophecy was ever brought by the will of man; but moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke for God.
I want you to recollect the words that were foretold by the holy prophets, and the command of your Lord and Saviour, given you through your apostles.
Regard our Lord's longsuffering as salvation; even as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him.
But you are of God. He who is beginning to know God listens to us; he who is not of God does not listen to us. By this we may distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of error.
The unveiling apocalypse of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his slaves the things which must soon come to pass; and he sent and made it known by his angel to his slave John.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a loud voice behind me, like a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches; to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea." read more. And I turned to see the Voice which was speaking to me, and as I turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks One like to a son of man, clothed with a robe down to the feet, and with a golden girdle round his breast. His head and his hair were as white as wool, as white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, and his feet like burnished brass, as if molten in a furnace; and his voice like the voice of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars; and out of mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was as the sun shining in his strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying. "Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore; and hold the keys of death and of Hades. So write the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things that will come to pass hereafter.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.