The Inspiration And Authority Of The Bible
Issues – January 2024 – Grace & Truth Magazine
The Inspiration And Authority Of The Bible
Of all the great items of scriptural truth which are fundamental in their character, the one which forms our present theme stands first. Until the inspiration and authority of the Bible are fully and firmly settled in our souls, it is hardly worth proceeding to establish from its pages truths which may appear to be of more fundamental character. Let us open the Bible, then, with the simple thought of ascertaining what it has to say about itself and what its claims are.
The Old Testament
In the Old Testament three things strike us. First, in the opening chapters we are told of things completely beyond the range of the observation of any human writer. They are outside any knowledge that could be possessed apart from divine revelation, since happenings before man’s creation are recounted. These things are stated not in terms befitting human speculation but with the quiet ring and assurance of absolute knowledge, and therefore of truth.
Second, in all the historical books we find features utterly unknown in all human histories. We may specify such a feature as the complete absence of hero worship. Men, indeed, were approved of God, but, even so, their failings are recounted. Commendable features in the worst of men are also mentioned. All of this is with a lofty detachment from human passions and prejudices, and shows the impartial and serene judgment which is found only in God. We notice, too, that matters we never would have mentioned are dwelt upon at considerable length (for example: Jud. 17, 18:14-26; 1 Sam. 1:4–2:11). Things we might have thought worthy of much notice are ignored, such as the great earthquake in the reign of Uzziah (Amos 1:1; Zech. 14:5). Truly, the historical books are only history insofar as its recital serves the purpose of illuminating the purposes or the ways of God.
Third, in the prophets we cannot but feel the directness of their appeal: no hesitation, no apologies; but the most direct and emphatic “thus saith the Lord” repeated again and again. The Word of God came through their lips and pens. Its powerful appeal to heart and conscience is perceptible today in the hostility their words still awaken in sinful men, as well as in the way of subduing men’s hearts with a view to their ultimate blessing.
When we reach the New Testament, we find plain endorsements of the inspiration and authority of the Old, first from the lips of our Lord (Mt. 4:4,7,10, 5:17; Mk. 12:24, 14:21; Lk. 4:21, 16:31, 24:25,27,44-46; Jn. 5:46-47, 10:35). Then the evangelists frequently referenced the fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures in the life and death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. “That it might be fulfilled” and “that the scripture might be fulfilled” are words that we read over and over again in the Gospels. In the Epistles, too, we have inspiration clearly claimed for the Old Testament writers in such passages as 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Peter 1:10-12 and 2 Peter 1:19-21.
The New Testament
What about the New Testament? In its pages the Old is clearly endorsed and treated as inspired of God, but does it claim or assume inspiration equally for itself? The answer is, “Yes.” The New, be it remembered, has come to us from the pens of some of the apostles of our Lord and Savior, and their co-laborers. In 1 Corinthians 2:13 we have Paul claiming inspiration for verbal utterances of his own and of the other apostles when conveying the truths of divine revelation. In 1 Corinthians 14:37 he asserted that his writings are “the commandments of the Lord” (KJV). The apostle Peter, in 2 Peter 3:15-16, corroborated the epistles of Paul and put them on the level of “the other scriptures” (v.16).
Further, Luke claimed a “perfect understanding of all things from the very first,” and that he wrote “in order,” meaning “with method,” so Theophilus might “know the certainty” of the things he had previously received (Lk. 1:1-4).
John declared that he wrote so believers might “know” that they had eternal life (1 Jn. 5:13). These statements assume for the writings a certainty and authority for which only inspiration can be credited. Later, John received the revelation, bore record of it, and in result produced “the words of this prophecy” (Rev. 1:3). Finally, he pronounced a solemn curse on any who would dare tamper with those “words” as originally given (22:18-19). Here again is verbal inspiration.
These Scriptures are quite sufficient to show that the New Testament writers, while asserting the inspiration of the Old, assume it to be in equal measure. Therefore, while the Holy Scriptures which Timothy knew from his childhood’s days (2 Tim. 3:15) were the Old Testament writings, the “all scripture” of the next verse covers all those writings which we know as the Bible. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,” which can be translated “God-breathed” – a remarkable expression! In creation “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” (Gen. 2:7). That vessel of clay became a living entity only after God’s in-breathing, for He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (v.7). So too, what would otherwise have been but a collection of literary fragments has, by the fact of God in-breathing, become one organic living and powerful whole: the inspired Word of God!
The Holy Spirit
First Corinthians 2 is perhaps the most striking chapter bearing upon the subject of the inspiration and authority of the Bible. There, we are permitted to see the process that God ordained for communicating His thoughts to His people. There are three distinct steps and a distinct action of the Holy Spirit of God in connection with each.
1. Revelation. The things prepared of God for those who love Him – things unseen, unheard and unimagined by man – have been made known by the Spirit of God. He is thoroughly competent for such work, as the end of verse 10 shows: “God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” Verse 11 goes further and declares that the Spirit of God is the only possible source of such revelations.
These Spirit-given revelations reached, not the world, not even all saints, but the apostles and prophets (see Eph. 3:5), who are the “us” of 1 Corinthians 2:10. Having received them, the apostles proceeded to convey the revelations to others. The “we” of verse 13 indicates the “us” of verse 10.
2. Inspiration. God took care that the apostles and prophets should convey these revelations to others under supervision of a direct and divine kind. They were not left to exercise their own wisdom as to the best way of stating the truth, but were guided by the Holy Spirit in the exact words they used (v.13).
3. Appropriation. The truth having been revealed to men chosen of God, and by them communicated in inspired words, must be received, or appropriated, if it is to have an enlightening and controlling effect on men (v.14). No natural man, meaning a man in his natural or unconverted condition, can possibly receive these things. He totally lacks the faculty that would enable him to do so. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Believers have “the mind of Christ” (v.16) and have received the Spirit of God that they may “know the things that are freely given to us of God” (v.12).
When we speak then of revelation we think of that work of the Spirit of God by which knowledge and thoughts which are purely divine are conveyed to the minds and hearts of men chosen of God.
When we speak of inspiration we refer to that second work of the Spirit of God by which those men were enabled to set forth the revealed truth in words divinely chosen and therefore of divine fullness and precision, whether they spoke or whether they wrote them.
The Distinctions Of The Steps
Revelation is concerned with the transference of truth from the mind of God to the minds of apostles and prophets, so the conception and understanding of it might be theirs. Inspiration is about conveying the same truth from the minds of the apostles and prophets to all the saints, and for this not merely thoughts but words were needed. If human words are to be the proper expression of divine truth, they must be chosen and used with perfect fitness and accuracy. This was secured by the action of the Holy Spirit: “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21). The word translated “moved” in that passage means “carried” or “borne along.” These holy men of Old Testament times spoke as borne along by the Holy Spirit.
Take Jeremiah, for instance. It may be quite true that a certain tone and style marks his writings so any man of literary discernment and familiar with the contents of the Bible may usually recognize them wherever quoted. Still, the Spirit of God was the power that bore his mind along the flowing current of God’s will, and so controlled his writing, that both thoughts and words were God’s.
Sometimes, indeed, this action of the Holy Spirit took so powerful a form as to overleap necessary limitations that existed in the mind of the prophet. Such power caused him to write the real and full meaning of things he did not know. Therefore some, if not all, the writers of Old Testament had to inquire and search diligently concerning the meaning of that which they themselves had written. The Spirit of Christ in them had been signifying in their writings matters concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. In answer to their search, it was further revealed to them that they were writing for the benefit of saints in the future – the saints of the present dispensation. This being so, the full import of their inspired writings necessarily remained vague and indistinct to their minds. There was full inspiration but no full revelation, save to future generations. First Peter 1:10-12 tells us about this, and proves the power and reality of inspiration.
This may be contrasted to the kind of inspiration alluded to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. In verse 19 he told us that when giving inspired communications in the assemblies of the saints his object was to give words with his understanding, even if only five in number. He desired to speak of things he intelligently apprehended and do so in such a way that they were thoroughly intelligible to his listeners.
The kind of inspiration spoken of in 1 Peter 1:10-12 largely characterized the Old Testament writers. The prophets, who in these cases were the vehicles of the messages, were uninstructed as to the full substance of their words. It may be described, for want of a better term, as unintelligent inspiration.
The kind of inspiration mentioned in 1 Corinthians 2 is that which almost entirely characterizes the New Testament writings and, by contrast, may be termed intelligent inspiration. The possible exception to the rule, which led us to insert the word “almost” in the above statement, is the case of certain prophecies of the Revelation. It is quite likely that some of the visions and statements in that remarkable unveiling of the future were as obscure to John the seer as they are to us. Portions of that prophecy will only stand out clearly in their full and distinct meaning to saints of the coming tribulation period. The famous number 666 (Rev. 13:18) is the most pronounced example of what we mean.
The above distinction may be helpful to those who would study this matter a little more closely. It must never be overlooked, however, that whether unintelligent or intelligent, the fact and degree of inspiration is in both cases exactly the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
Let us now turn to some questions frequently raised in connection with this subject.
What is the exact meaning of verbal inspiration, now so often derided even by professed ministers of the gospel, and do you believe in it?
The exact meaning is: Inspiration of such fullness that it extends to the control of the very words of the utterance or writing. “Verbal” is an adjective derived from the Latin verbum, meaning “a word.” There are those who will allow a modified inspiration, extending as far as the thoughts are concerned; an inspiration differing in degree but hardly in kind from that state of mental exaltation and rapture which produced the finest passages from Shakespeare, Milton or Dante.
We have to observe, however, first, that Scripture definitely makes its inspiration a matter of its words (1 Cor. 2:13; Rev. 1:3, 22:18-19) and, second, that an inspiration such as suggested extending only to the thoughts would be useless, as far as giving us authoritative Scriptures is concerned. To assure us that Paul, Peter and John had wonderful ideas given of God, but to think they were left without any divine guidance when it came to expressing those ideas for the benefit of others, is to take away with the left hand what is offered by the right.
You and I have no means of getting at those wonderful thoughts that were in Paul’s mind save by the words in which he clothed them. The difficulty of putting the simplest and lowest thought into proper and adequate words is notorious, and without inspired words we have nothing inspired at all, whatever Paul may have had. To put it in another way: if we have not Scriptures verbally inspired we have no inspired Scriptures at all, and the Bible, though interesting and elevating, would not be authoritative. It is exactly this authority which the modern false teacher is out to destroy.
For ourselves it is enough that the Bible claims verbal inspiration for itself. We believe it.
What theory do you hold as to how verbal inspiration became effective; how did it work?
Quite a number of theories have been formed, but we hold none of them. We should no more think of forming a theory as to the exact working of inspiration than we should think of forming a theory as to other great mysteries of the faith, such as the truth of one God yet a trinity of persons, or the exact working of God’s creatorial power in bringing worlds into being, or the exact mode in which the incarnation of our blessed Lord and Savior became an accomplished fact. Instead, we admit frankly and at once that here are these great truths clearly revealed in Scripture, yet wholly supernatural and beyond our understanding. We do not expect to understand them; we accept them by faith. We are not troubled by finding these mysteries totally beyond our comprehension but confirmed. It is what we expect in a divine revelation. If everything in Christianity fall within the compass of our minds – which, though renewed through grace, are still human – we should at once know it to be human in its origin. And this it is not; it is superhuman: it is of God.
What have you to say as to the continual accusations of inaccuracy and mistakes which are leveled at the Bible?
Just this: that if all the accusations ever brought could be collected together and classified we believe that a substantial majority would fall under the heading of accusations founded upon sheer ignorance, intensified often by an admixture of cunning dishonesty. The favorite infidel question as to Cain’s wife is an example of this large class. Such difficulties exist not in the Scriptures but merely in the minds of the people who raise them.
Setting aside all these, we believe that of the remaining accusations a great majority again would prove to be genuine difficulties, but of a sort that careful and prayerful research gradually resolve into most instructive helps, often displaying much hidden beauty. An example of this class is the statement about the 14 generations in Matthew 1:17. We discover that the 14 generations from David to the captivity is reached by omitting the names of the kings more immediately descended from the wicked Athaliah, the daughter of the yet more infamous Jezebel. Their names to the third generation are kept out of the genealogy. Thus the apparent error is found to be due to the fact that God’s thoughts and ways and reckonings are not ours (Isa. 55:8). If apostasy supervenes, or occurs, He does not count the generations affected by it.
A very small number of difficulties would now remain to form the third class, which is composed of little discrepancies, the source of which cannot be discovered with certainty. An example of this class is the question of the age of Ahaziah when he came to the throne of Judah. 2 Kings 8:26 states it as 22, while 2 Chronicles 22:2 says 42. The error in translation – not in the original text – evidently crept in through a very early mistake in copying, but when and how we have no means of knowing.
The fact is, then, that most of these so-called mistakes are apparent only and not real, and the very few real ones are copyists’ slips and the like on side matters of no vital importance.
Is it possible to maintain the inspiration of our Authorized Version (KJV) since a revision has been issued as well as many other translations in English?
We do not maintain the inspiration of the Authorized or any other version and never have.
What we do maintain is as follows:
1. The Scriptures, as written in their original tongues, were given by inspiration of God, that inspiration extending to the words employed.
2. By means of the large number of ancient manuscript copies of the Scriptures preserved to us in the providence of God, we possess a very accurate knowledge of the Scriptures as originally written, the words or passages as to which any doubt exists being very few and unimportant.
3. The Authorized translation is on the whole very good and faithful in its rendering of the inspired original, but it may be usefully compared with the Revised Version, and more especially with the New Translation (JND) by the late John N. Darby, to ensure even greater accuracy. Substantially, however, it gives us the inspired Word of God in trustworthy form.
How do you account for the fact that the sayings of evil men have a place in the Bible; are these inspired?
By no means are the comments inspired. It is easy, however, to account for them. The explanation lies in the difference between revelation and inspiration. Not all Scripture is direct revelation from God. Some of it is history in which the sayings of evil men and even of Satan are recorded. Again, a book like Ecclesiastes is largely the record of Solomon’s thoughts, reasonings and disillusionments while seeking happiness in the gratification of his natural desires. Yet all is given to us by inspiration of God. We have divinely accurate accounts of what was done or said; and Solomon was led to record his mental struggles with such divine fitness as to be profitable for our warning and correction.
If an illustration of this be needed, turn to Ecclesiastes 2:24 (KJV): “There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.” Is this a revelation from God? Is it God’s voice telling us that food and drink are, after all, the highest good? Emphatically No! What, then? It is the divinely inspired record of the extreme folly to which the wisest of men may be led if he has no light above his natural reason and observation! How good it is of God to give us a glance at this in His inspired record.
Some people like just to open the Bible and take the first verse their eye falls upon as a direct message from God to them. Is this a right procedure?
Hardly. We are quite willing to believe that there have been occasions when people have in that way lighted on remarkable verses that have come to them with much point. However, any such haphazard method practiced in a habitual way is unworthy of the inspired Word of God.
It is written not for the lazy but for diligent searchers for truth and guidance like the Bereans (Acts 17), who read it in faith and dependence on God. Only thus do we rightly divide its contents and obtain light and wisdom from God (see 2 Tim. 2:15). This should be our desire.
By Frank B. Hole, adapted from “Foundations Of The Faith”
We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. —1 Corinthians 2:7-9 KJV
Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. —1 Peter 1:10