"for no
prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by
the Holy Spirit spoke from God," (2 Pet. 1:21).
The word "inspiration" means "God breathed."
Therefore, when we say that the Bible is inspired, we are saying that it
is authored from God, that God moved through the personality and abilities of
the biblical writers in such a way that what they wrote was without
error and was correct in all that they addressed. "The ‘breath’ or
‘spirit’ of God in the OT denotes the active outgoing of divine power."
1 Therefore, the scriptures are the product
of both men and God. The writings are the words of God written by
men who were the means by which the scriptures were transmitted.
The result is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative work that
conveys God's truth. This is why it says in the Bible,
"All Scripture is inspired by
God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate,
equipped for every good work," (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
The process of inspiration was not a mechanical
dictation where the apostles heard a voice and wrote down what they
heard. Nor does it mean that they went into some sort of a trance
and God wrote through them without their knowledge. Instead, the
writers were free to write what they wanted as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit. In fact, the writings reflect the personality and
style of the various writers. Yet, the personality and style of the
writers did not degrade the quality or authority of the biblical
writing.
The Christian church, through its councils in the first
few centuries, did not determine what the inspired scriptures were.
They recognized what they were. In other words, God moved through
the Christian church to affirm those writings that He had inspired.
Of course, the Old Testament documents were never disputed, but there
were New Testament documents that were: Hebrews, Revelation, etc.
Inerrancy
Because the
Bible is inspired, it is also inerrant. This means that the Bible
is without error, in the original documents and that everything that it
addresses is without error in fact or understanding. The Bible is
not a scientific book, but what it says scientifically is accurate:
Furthermore,
no archaeological discoveries have ever proven anything in the Bible
wrong. It is accurate as a historical record.
Evidence of
Inspiration
The Bible
presents itself as the inspired word of God. It does not justify
its claim. Instead, it simply assumes it. But, how can we
make a case for the inspiration of scripture? Perhaps the best way
is to mention prophecy. The prophecies in the Bible are numerous
and the Bible speaks about fulfilled prophecy in a matter-of-fact way.
- “But all this has taken place
that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.” Then all the
disciples left Him and fled," (Matt. 26:56).
- "Brethren, the Scripture had to
be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David
concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus,"
(Acts 1:16).
The
Bible speaks naturally of prophetic filament because it assumes that God
is involved in the scriptures and in human history.
Therefore, making prophecies and fulfilling them is a natural part of
the biblical fabric. Please consider some of the prophecies and
their fulfillment.
- His side pierced
- Prophecy:
Zech. 12:10,
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.
They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will
mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve
bitterly for him as one mourns for an only son."
- Fulfillment:
John
19:34, "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear,
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
- Crucifixion of Christ
- Prophecy:
Psalm 22:1,
Psalm 22:11-18,
"For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of the
Morning." A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?...Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and
there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of
Bashan. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has
encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can
count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide
my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."
- Fulfillment:
Luke 23:33, "When
they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified
him, along with the criminals -- one on his right, the other on
his left." And,
John
19:33, "But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead,
they did not break His legs." And,
John 19:23-24,
"When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes,
dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the
undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one
piece from top to bottom. Let's not tear it, they said to one
another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened
that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided
my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this
is what the soldiers did."
- Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
- Prophecy:
Micah
5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be
ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
- Fulfillment:
Matt.
2:1, "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem
in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem."
There are many
more prophecies that have been
fulfilled by Jesus. Of course, critics rarely accept the
prophecies. Sometimes they say that the Bible was written to make
it look like the prophecies were fulfilled. But this would mean
that the biblical writers were liars, intent on deceiving people.
If that is the case, then what would motivate them to carry out such
lies, to risk their own lives, to be cast out of their communities,
suffer loss of property and family? The critics need to do more
than criticize. They need to provide answers to the questions that
their criticism raises.
Application
CARM recommends that you mark up your Bible so that you can find some of
the prophecies made and fulfilled. Perhaps you can write down on a
back flap some of the prophecy locations and their fulfillments.
It is particularly effective to go to ask a person to interpret for you a
portion of scripture. Then go to
Psalm 22:11-18 and
read aloud, slowly. When you have finished, ask him/her what those
verses described. Nine times out of ten they will say it is the
crucifixion. Then point out that Psalm 22 was written by David
approximately 1000 B.C. and 600 years before crucifixion was invented by
the Phoenicians. Then, ask them to explain out that is possible if
the Bible is not inspired.
-----------------
In the Urbana ’76
convention’s first major address, John W. Alexander, IVCF’s U. S.
president, laid the foundations for the program which followed. He
emphasized his belief that the Bible “is the infallible revelation
of the infallible God—which means that it is entirely trustworthy
and reliable.” He told the students, “Our attitude toward the
Scripture is desperately important.” Alexander declared in his
address that he believed in biblical inerrancy while admitting its
problems, “but I refuse to set myself up as judge of Scripture and
commence deciding which problems are biblical error.” The
convention’s most prominent speaker, evangelist Billy Graham, faced
the issue of Scripture on the second full day of the week. He made
himself available to answer questions for an hour in the 17,000-seat
Assembly Hall, and nearly half of the delegates showed up there
despite dozens of competing meetings. Graham said he fully backed
the Alexander statement. He was applauded when he held a Bible aloft
and said, “This is the infallible Word of the Living God.”
_________________
1. The New Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton, Illinois:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1962.
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