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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And, when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak; for it is not ye that speak, but, the Spirit of your Father Who speaketh in you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I told you.
But, when He, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He heareth He will speak; and He will declare to you things to come.
but to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things ??ven the deep things of God. For who of men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man that is in him? even so the things of God no one has known, except the Spirit of God. read more. And we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is of God; that we may know the things freely given us by God. Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit; combining spiritual things with spiritual.
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you, that they are the Lord's commandment;
for neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him, to show to His servants the things which must shortly come to pass; and, having sent, He signified them through His angel to His servant John;
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day; and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, "What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven assemblies; to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." read more. And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me; and, having turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and, in the midst of the candlesticks, One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded at the breasts with a golden girdle. And His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace; and His voice as the voice of many waters; and having in His right hand seven stars; and a sharp, two-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth; and His countenance was as the sun shining in his power. And, when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead! And He laid His right hand on me, saying, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore; and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Write, therefore, the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which are about to take place 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 Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction 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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For verily I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
And, when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak; for it is not ye that speak, but, the Spirit of your Father Who speaketh in you.
for I came to set a man at variance with his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
"Verily I say to you, there has not arisen, among those born of women, a greater than John the Immerser; yet he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
And He, answering, said, "Did you not read that He Who made them from the beginning made them 'male and female,'
'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
He saith to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying,
Ye search the Scriptures; because in them ye think ye have eternal life; and these are they that testify concerning Me;
Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your law, 'I said, ye are gods?' If He called them gods to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
If He called them gods to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), say ye of Him Whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?
nor do ye consider that it is expedient for you, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not."
and I will ask of the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever;
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I told you.
"When the Advocate shall come, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He will testify concerning Me;
But, when He, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He heareth He will speak; and He will declare to you things to come.
But, when He, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He heareth He will speak; and He will declare to you things to come. He will glorify Me; because He will take of Mine, and will declare it to you.
"Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake beforehand, through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who became guide to those who arrested Jesus;
and suddenly there came out of Heaven a sound, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
For David says concerning Him, 'I beheld the Lord in my presence continually; because He is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore, my heart was glad, and my tongue greatly rejoiced; moreover my flesh also shall abide in hope: read more. because Thou wilt not leave My soul behind unto Hades; neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption. Thou didst make known to Me the ways of life; Thou wilt make Me full of gladness with Thy presence.' "Brethren! It is permitted to speak to you freely concerning the patriarch David, that he both died, and was buried; and his tomb is among us till this day; being, therefore, a prophet, and knowing that with an oath God swore to him, that out of the fruit of his loins One should sit on his throne; he, foreseeing it, spake concerning the resurrection of Christ, that neither was He left behind unto Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. "This Jesus God raised up; of which fact we all are witnesses. Being, therefore, exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He was pouring forth this which ye both see and hear.
but God thus fulfilled what He before announced through the mouth of all His prophets, that His Christ should suffer.
Whom Heaven must retain, until the times of restoration of all things of which God spake through the mouth of all His holy prophets from the beginning.
Who, through the Holy Spirit by the mouth of our father David, Thy servant, didst say, 'Why did the gentiles rage, and the peoples premeditate empty things?
Much every way: first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Now to Him Who is able to establish you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept in silence during eternal ages, but now made manifest, and through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, made known to all nations for obedience to the faith:
And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power;
Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit; combining spiritual things with spiritual.
Defraud not one the other, except by consent for a Season, that ye may have leisure for prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency. But this I say by way of permission, not of command.
And to the married I give command??ot I, but the Lord??hat the wife depart not from her husband;
But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not leave her. And, if any wife has an unbelieving husband, and he is pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. read more. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified in the brother; else your children are unclean; but as it is they are holy. But, if the unbelieving departs, let him depart. The brother or the sister has not come into bondage in such cases; but God hath called us in peace.
Now, concerning the virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give my judgment, as having received mercy from the Lord to be faithful. I think, therefore, that this is good on account of the impending distress; namely, that it is good for a man to be thus. read more. Have you become bound to a wife? Seek not a release. Have you been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But, even if you marry, you did not sin; and, if a virgin marry, she did not sin. Yet such will have tribulation in the flesh; and I am sparing you. But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened; that henceforth both those who have wives may be as though they had none; and those who weep, as though they wept not; and those who rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those who buy, as though they possessed not; and those who use the world, as not using it to the full; for the fashion of this world is passing away. But I wish you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is married is anxious for the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and has become divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin is anxious for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but she that is married is anxious for the things of the world, that she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit; not that I may cast restraint upon you, but for that which is seemly, and compatible with constant devotion to the Lord without distraction. But, if any one thinks that he behaves himself unseemly toward his virgin daughter, if she be beyond the prime of life, and thus it ought to be brought about, let him do what he wishes, he sins not; let them marry. But he who has been standing steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has authority respecting his own will, and has determined this in his own heart, that he will keep his own virgin daughter, will do well. So that both he that gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well; and he that gives her not in marriage will do better.
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all immersed unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; read more. and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they were drinking of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was the Christ. But in the most of them God took no pleasure; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things became types for us, that we might not covet evil things, as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it has been written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Nor let us tempt the Lord, as some of them tempted Him, and perished by the serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer.
And let the prophets, two or three, speak, and the others judge.
And spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
And spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you, that they are the Lord's commandment;
For we write no other things to you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge to the end;
For we are not as the many, making merchandise of the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
It is needful for me to glory, though, indeed, not profitable; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
since ye seek a proof of Christ's speaking in me, Who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you;
For I make known to you, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed by me is not according to man; for neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his Seed. He saith not, "And to seeds," as of many; but as of One, "and to your Seed"; which is Christ.
that by revelation was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief;
which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
because in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye have been made complete in Him, Who is the Head of all principality and power;
Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing unsubjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
For both He Who sanctifieth and those who are sanctified are all of One; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Let us, therefore, fear, lest a promise still being left of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For, indeed, we have had the Gospel proclaimed to us, even as also they; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not having been mingled with faith on the part of those who heard. read more. For we who believed do enter into rest, even as He said, "As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter into My rest; although the works were finished from the founding of a world." For He hath spoken somewhere concerning the seventh day thus: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;" and, in this place, again: "They shall not enter into My rest." Since, therefore, it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom the Gospel was formerly proclaimed entered not in because of unbelief, again He designateth a certain day, "To-day" (saying in David, after so long a time, as has been before said), "To-day, if ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts." For, had Joshua given them rest, He would not afterward have spoken of another day. Consequently, there remains a sabbath-keeping for the people of God. For He Who entered into His rest, Himself also rested from his works, as God did from His Own. Let us, therefore, give diligence to enter into that rest, that no one fall after the same example of unbelief.
searching as to what time or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ Who was in them was pointing to, when testifying beforehand the sufferings destined for Christ, and the subsequent glories;
knowing this, first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of one's own interpretation; for prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
and, if anyone shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, even from the things written 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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"All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows the Son except the Father; neither does any one fully know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him.
He saith to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying,
And He said to them, "O inconsiderate and slow in heart to believe in all that the prophets spake!
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I told you.
But, when He, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He heareth He will speak; and He will declare to you things to come.
And, having said this, He breathed upon them, and said to them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit.
and suddenly there came out of Heaven a sound, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues, as of fire, distributed among them; and it sat upon each one of them.
And, having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us; whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; or ministry, let us labor in the ministry; or he that teaches, in teaching; read more. or he that exhorts, in his exhortation; he that imparts, let him do it with liberality; he that presides, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
And God, indeed, set some in the assembly: first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; after that, miracles; then, gifts of healings, helps, governments, various kinds of tongues.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, continence; against such there is no law.
Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
for prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but men spake 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
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For He Whom God sent speaketh the words of God; for He giveth not the Spirit by measure.
It is the Spirit That giveth life; the flesh profits nothing: the words which I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life.
Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of eternal life.
He that is of God hears the words of God; on this account, ye hear them not, because ye are not of God."
And with this agree the words of the prophets; as it has been written,
Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit; combining spiritual things with spiritual.
And to the married I give command??ot I, but the Lord??hat the wife depart not from her husband;
But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
Now, concerning the virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give my judgment, as having received mercy from the Lord to be faithful.
Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished for every good work.
for prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
For God gave it into their hearts to do His will, even to execute one purpose, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be accomplished.
"I testify to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone shall add to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and, if anyone shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, even from the things written 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:
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And, when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak; for it is not ye that speak, but, the Spirit of your Father Who speaketh in you.
going, therefore, disciple ye all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;
going, therefore, disciple ye all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I commanded you; and, behold, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age."
And He appointed twelve [whom He also named apostles], that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach,
He that believes and is immersed shall be saved; but he that disbelieves shall be condemned.
Forasmuch as many took in hand to arrange in order a narrative concerning the facts that have been fully confirmed among us, even as those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us; read more. it seemed good to me also, having traced all things accurately from the first, to write to you an orderly account, most noble Theophilus; that you may fully know the certainty of the words wherein you were instructed.
"He who hears you hears Me; and he who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects Him Who sent Me."
for I will give you a mouth, and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or gainsay.
and I will ask of the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it beholds Him not, neither knows Him: ye know Him, because He abideth with you, and will be in you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all things that I told you.
This is My commandment, that ye love one another, even as I loved you.
"I have yet many things to say to you; but ye are not able to hear them now. But, when He, the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He heareth He will speak; and He will declare to you things to come.
And I do not pray for these only, but for those also who believe on 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; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.
Many other signs, therefore, did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which have not been written in this book; but these have been written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye may have life in His name.
This is the disciple who testifies concerning these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
"Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake beforehand, through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who became guide to those who arrested Jesus;
Who, through the Holy Spirit by the mouth of our father David, Thy servant, didst say, 'Why did the gentiles rage, and the peoples premeditate empty things?
Meanwhile as I was journeying to Damascus, with authority and a commission from the high priests, at midday, O King, I saw, in the way, a light from Heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and those journeying with me. read more. And, we all having fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul! Saul! why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' And I said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand upon your feet; for I appeared to you for this end, to appoint you a minister and a witness both of the things in which you saw Me, and of the things in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the people and the gentiles, to whom I send you, to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins, and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'
And, disagreeing among themselves, they were departing, when Paul uttered one declaration, "Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah, the prophet, to your fathers,
but to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things ??ven the deep things of God.
And we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is of God; that we may know the things freely given us by God. Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit; combining spiritual things with spiritual.
If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you, that they are the Lord's commandment;
Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),
for neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ.
But, when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might proclaim the good news of Him among the gentiles; straightway I conferred not with flesh and blood, read more. neither went I up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and again returned to Damascus.
having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner-stone;
And, when the letter may be read among you, cause that it be read also in the assembly of the Laodiceans, and that ye also read the one from Laodicea.
And, for this reason, we also give thanks to God without ceasing, that, having received the word of God which ye heard from us, ye received it, not as the word of men, but, as it truly is, the word of God, which also is working in you who believe.
Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness;
searching as to what time or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ Who was in them was pointing to, when testifying beforehand the sufferings destined for Christ, and the subsequent glories;
for prophecy was never brought by the will of man, but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
that ye remember the words spoken before by holy prophets, and the commandments of the Lord and Savior by your apostles.
And account the long-suffering of our Lord salvation; as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you;
We are of God; he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears us not: from this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him, to show to His servants the things which must shortly come to pass; and, having sent, He signified them through His angel to His servant John;
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day; and I heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, "What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven assemblies; to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." read more. And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me; and, having turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and, in the midst of the candlesticks, One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded at the breasts with a golden girdle. And His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace; and His voice as the voice of many waters; and having in His right hand seven stars; and a sharp, two-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth; and His countenance was as the sun shining in his power. And, when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead! And He laid His right hand on me, saying, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore; and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Write, therefore, the things which you saw, and the things which are, and the things which are about to take place after these;
and the wall of the city, having twelve foundations; and on them, twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.