The “Creator and His Creation” School of the Foundations of the Christian Faith. Lesson 10. The Divine Inspiration of the Bible. The school consists of 22 lessons. The school was founded by the Christian Bible Institute.
1. The Divine Inspiration of Holy Scripture
The Bible is a unique book. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it was created by God and expressed through people. The Bible contains 66 books: 39 books make up the Old Testament and 27 books make up the New Testament. God used more than 40 authors to write the Bible. These people lived at different times, from 1,500 years before the birth of Christ, when the Pentateuch was written, to the 90s of the first century after the birth of Christ, when the Revelation of John was written.
The Bible preserves each author's style and manner of expression. The books of the Old Testament were written in ancient Hebrew. The books of the New Testament were written in ancient Greek. Most remarkable of all, despite these differences, God preserved the absolute truth of the meaning of every word and phrase of Holy Scripture. This became possible through the divine inspiration of Scripture.
“Divine inspiration” means “breathed out by God.”
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:17 so that the man of God may be fully prepared for every good work.
No other book in the world is divinely inspired.
Let us take a closer look at the miracle of Divine inspiration:
The individuality of the human authors was preserved:
- The language of writing was the language they spoke (Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic)
- The writing style corresponded to their education and abilities (from literary to colloquial)
- The circumstances of writing ranged from royal palaces to a shepherd’s hut
- The time of writing spanned from the lifetime of the first author, Moses (1,500 years before the birth of Christ), to the lifetime of the last author, the apostle John (the 90s after the birth of Christ)
- The intended readers of the Scriptures were Israel, the Church, and various peoples of the world
At the same time, God guarantees that absolutely every word written by a human author is the Word of God.
Scripture points to this miracle:
2 Peter 1:19 Now we are even more certain of the prophetic word, and you do well to pay attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:20 Above all, remember that no prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, 2 Peter 1:21 because prophecy never came by the will of man, but people spoke from God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Moved by the Holy Spirit—the word “moved” was used to describe the movement of a sailing vessel. The wind fills the sails and moves the vessel (the same word is used in Acts 27:15–17).
The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and moved by Him to write the Bible.
Verbal inspiration – God ensured the accuracy and authority of every word of the Bible:
1 Cor. 2:13 We proclaim this not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit. We explain spiritual truths with words taught by the Spirit.
Because of the divine inspiration of the Bible, we can be confident of the following:
The Bible is absolutely true and contains no errors
Matt. 5:18 Truly I tell you: until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter or stroke will disappear from the Law—everything will be fulfilled.
Ps. 119:138 The statutes You have laid down are righteous and completely trustworthy.
The Bible contains everything we need for our lives
2 Tim. 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Tim. 3:17 so that the person of God may be fully equipped for every good work.
Ps. 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. Ps. 19:8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Ps. 19:9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and all of them are righteous. Ps. 19:10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. Ps. 19:11 By them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
No book in the world has an origin like that of the Bible.
2. Illumination by the Holy Spirit.
(The Holy Spirit’s testimony concerning Scripture)
In addition to divine inspiration, Scripture has another unique feature: the Holy Spirit’s testimony to the truth of Scripture. This testimony is called illumination. Illumination enables God’s children to perceive and understand the Word of God.
A. The Role of the Holy Spirit’s Illumination
Enlightenment gives the believer the ability to practically receive and understand the Bible. The Holy Spirit changes a person and gives them the ability and desire to obey the Word of God.
1 John 4:6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
God miraculously enables His children to be confident that the Bible is absolutely true: the Holy Spirit, who wrote the Bible, dwells in a born-again person and gives them confidence in His Word.
B. The Work of the Holy Spirit in Enlightenment
The Holy Spirit breaks a person's heart (that is, reveals God's holiness, points out a person's sinfulness and inability to obey God on their own) and fills them with Himself; thus, the person becomes able to understand and receive Scripture.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The unspiritual person does not accept what comes from the Spirit of God. They consider it foolishness and cannot understand it, because it can be judged only spiritually. 1 Corinthians 2:15 The spiritual person can judge everything, while no one can judge them, 1 Corinthians 2:16 because “who has understood the mind of the Lord to advise Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The Word of God is written in clear language. It is accessible to people. Nevertheless, without the Holy Spirit, who is the author of the Bible, a person is unable to receive the Word of God.
The enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is inseparably connected with the text of Holy Scripture. The Holy Spirit does not add information to the Word of God but gives the Christian confidence in the truth of the Bible. Only the Holy Spirit can incline a person's heart so that they become able to receive the obvious reliability of the Bible.
Consider several practical examples of the work of the Holy Spirit from Holy Scripture:
Matthew 16:15 “But who do you say I am?” Jesus asked. Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:17 Then Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because this was revealed to you not by people, but by My Heavenly Father.”
2 Corinthians 4:3 If the Good News we proclaim is veiled to anyone, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 2 Corinthians 4:4 to unbelievers, whose minds the god of this world has blinded so that they cannot see the light of the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
1 John 2:19 These antichrists went out from us, although they never belonged to us. If they had truly belonged to us, they would have remained with us. Their going out from us shows that they did not belong to us. 1 John 2:20 You have received an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge.
Review Questions
- What is the inspiration of Scripture?
- How Many Books Are in the Bible?
- How Many Authors Wrote the Bible?
- How Many Years?
- What Does the Phrase “Moved by the Holy Spirit” Mean?
- What Does the Testimony of the Holy Spirit Concerning the Reliability of the Bible Consist Of?
Source: Christian Bible Institute
