THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
By Peter C. Cay-ohen
We believe that the Old and New Testament scriptures contain God’s word, through which His will is revealed for the benefit of man. Though written by men the real author of the Bible is God for all scripture is given by the inspiration of God.
1. What was the name applied by Jesus to the Bible during his time?
Matt. 21:42 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures…”
Luke 24:27 “… he expounded unto them in all the scriptures…”
John 5:39 “Ye search the scriptures…”
HOW THE BIBLE WAS GIVEN
2. How was the Scripture given?
2 Timothy 3:16- “All scripture is given by the inspiration of God…”
3. What does it mean that it was given by the inspiration of God?
2 Peter 1:21 – “…holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Those who wrote the Bible did not just decide to write whatever comes naturally to their minds. These holy men of God were moved upon by the Holy Spirit to write inspired thoughts.
4. Who were the holy men through whom God revealed his message?
Amos 3:7 “God…revealeth his secrets through his servants the prophets.”
5. How did God reveal truth to his prophets and moved them to write his revelations?
Numbers 12:6 “I the LORD will make myself known unto him (the prophet) in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.”
Jeremiah 30:1,2 “Thus speaks the LORD God (to Jeremiah)… Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.”
Daniel 7:1 “Daniel had a dream and visions…then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.”
It was through spontaneous visions and dreams that God revealed important truths to his prophets.
6. Does it mean that all dreams and visions are from God?
False prophets receive visions and dreams from evil spirits – Deut. 13:1-5
True prophets receive visions and dreams from God – Numbers 12:6
There are self-induced dreams – Jeremiah 29:8
Some dreams are caused by overwork/too much work – Ecclesiastes 5:3
There are ordinary dreams without any meaning – Ecclesiastes 5:7
Not all visions and dreams come from God. The word of God gives instructions whereby we may test anyone who claims to receive dreams and visions to discern if he is a true prophet of God or a false prophet.
INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURES
7. Who was the special spokesman of God in these last days?
Hebrews 1:1 “God, who… Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”
John 7:16 “Jesus… said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”
8. Who else received revelations of truth from God to give to the people?
Eph. 3:2-5 “God…by revelation…made known…the mystery of Christ…unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
9. Who revealed to Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?
Matt. 16:16, 17 “And Simon Peter…said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus… said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
10. How was the messages in the Book of Revelation given to the beloved apostle John?
Revelation 1:1,2, 10, 11 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show… by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.”
Here is revealed the steps on how the message of God reach the people. God the Father gave the message of truth to Jesus Christ. Jesus then gave it to the chosen angel. The angel communicated the message to the prophet who in turn gave it to the people either orally or in writing or both. Thus God is the fountainhead of the truth contained in the Bible. While there were prophets in New Testament times, we think primarily of the prophets as the human instruments in the writing of the Old Testament scriptures, and the apostles as the inspired penmen of the New Testament scriptures. This being the case, the real author of The Bible is God.
11. How then shall we receive the messages we read in the Bible?
2 Samuel 23:2 David said: “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”
Jeremiah 1:9 Jeremiah said: “The Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth.”
Ezekiel 2:7 God told Ezekiel: “Thou shalt speak my words.”
1 Thess. 2:13 Paul said: “Ye received it…as it is in truth, the word of God.”
It is true that the prophets and apostles wrote according to their own personality, yet it is in truth the word of God. When you read the Scriptures, think that it is God speaking to you..
THE SCRIPTURES: A DEPENDABLE FOUNDATION
12. Upon what foundation was the church of God on earth established?
Ephesians 2:19-20 “The household of God … built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ ….”
The household of God rests firmly upon a full foundation – the Old and New Testament scriptures meeting in the central corner stone – Jesus Christ.
13. Is the Scripture a dependable foundation upon which we could safely trust and build our hope of eternal life?
Prov. 8: 8 “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.”
Prov. 30:5 “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.”
14. How safe is a person who build his house upon the foundation of God’s words?
Matt. 21: 24, 25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”
CONCLUSION:
Since God’s words are righteousness and there is nothing perverse in them (Prov. 8: 8), we could safely put our trust in them. Putting our trust in God and His word we shall have his blessing and mercy and we shall be safe.
Psalms 32: 10 “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.”
Psalms 40: 4 “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust,”
Psalms 118: 8, 9 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD….”
Proverbs 29: 25 “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
Jeremiah 17: 7, 8 “ Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
“Every part of the bible is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. The Old Testament no less than the New should receive attention. As we study the Old Testament we shall find living springs bubbling up where the careless reader discerns only a desert.” Education, p. 191.
“The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen. Look at the different writers.
“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.– Manuscript 24, 1886 (written in Europe in 1886).” –Selected Messages, book 1, p. 21.2