A careful study of the Scriptures will reveal three major truths, or elements, of divine inspiration. First, God is the primary mover. He is the originator of Scripture and authorized its writing, while at the same time keeping Scripture’s human element. This is Divine Causality. Second, the prophets and apostles were the spokesmen of God. They were His appointed vessels that He used to reveal his nature and His will to the world. This is Prophetic Agency. Third, God’s word is God’s word in all times and in all places. It is His revelation and holds authority over all aspects of life. This is Scriptural Authority.
When we have a right understanding of the inspiration of Scripture, we understand that Scripture must be allowed to witness to itself. The authors of A Theology of the Church write that “All knowledge of God comes by way or revelation…By God alone can God be known. The knowledge of God is revealed by his self-disclosure” (103). Scripture does not just “contain” the words of God. It is the very Word of God Himself. Thus, Scripture is its own final authority. So, what does the Bible say about itself?
We will first examine 2 Peter 1:19-21. The Apostle writes: “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” In this passage we see the three major elements of divine inspiration mentioned earlier. First, Peter’s focus is on Scripture’s divine origin. The prophets have not misrepresented God’s word because all Scripture has originated from God. The emphasis is on the means or source of Scripture: the Holy Spirit. Secondly, Peter speaks in no uncertain terms of prophetic agency, using the terms “prophecy of Scripture” and “holy men of God… moved by the Holy Spirit.” Lastly, we see scriptural authority highlighted. No Scripture is of private interpretation, because no Scripture has come by the will of man. It is God’s Word, then, now, and always. It is authoritative, inerrant, and infallible. To quote Geisler and Nix again: “Here is an implicit affirmation of the authority (certainty) of the ‘prophetic word’… so inspiration is the process by which Spirit-moved writers recorded God-breathed writings.”Next we will examine 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Paul writes: “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” In this passage we plainly see the divine origin of Scripture (“all Scripture is given by inspiration of God”), its prophetic agency (“given”), and its Scriptural authority (“able to make you wise for salvation… that the man of God may be complete”). There are several other important implications of this passage. First, because Scripture is God’s word and revelation, it bears God’s characteristics. Secondly, we are called to emulate these characteristics. There is a strong connection between doctrine and application. How you understand Scripture will affect how you live your life.
Jesus Himself testifies to the divine authorship of Scripture in John 10:34-36, when He says “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” Geisler and Nix state that this passage is important because “in it Jesus uses the ‘Scriptures, ‘Torah’ (Law), ‘it is written,’ ‘word of God,’ and ‘cannot be broken’ interchangeably.” Jesus here is demonstrating that God gave His Law-Word to men, and that His Word is infallible and unbreakable. There are many other passages in Scripture that affirm the same, and these include Rom. 15:4, 2Pet. 3:15-16, Matt. 4:4, and Heb. 1:1.
What has the Church said about the Inspiration of Scripture? A historical survey will serve us well here. The authors of A Theology for the Church write that “much early and widespread evidence indicates that the early church accepted the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures” (115). They believed that the writers of Scripture where moved by divine word (116), and that the Scriptures were perfect and trustworthy. In his Letters, Augustine writes: “For if you once admit into such a high sanctuary of authority one false statement…there will not be left a single sentence which… may not by the same fatal rule be explained away” (28.3). Thomas Aquinas, a church father during the Medieval Period, held that the writings of the early patriarchs where not on the same level as Scripture: Scripture alone is authoritative because, as divine revelation, it is an “infallible truth” (Suma Theologica 1.1.8).
During the Reformation period, Martin Luther held to the divine authorship of the Bible. He writes that the Scriptures are the “perfectly clear, certain, sure words of God, which can never deceive us or allow us to err” (Luther’s Works, 37:308). John Calvin also held to divine inspiration. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, he writes that “The authority of Scripture [is] derived not from men, but from the Spirit of God” (1.7), and again, “our faith in doctrine is not established until we have a perfect conviction that God is its author. Hence, the highest proof of Scripture is uniformly taken from the character of him whose Word it is” (1.7.4).
There are a few modern theologians who erred from the Orthodox view of scripture. FDE Schleiermacher would hold that Scripture is just a fallible record of other people’s religious experiences. Bushnell denies divine inspiration, and David Strauss held that the miracles recorded in the gospels where mere myths. I would reply to these men that they had allowed the humanist thought of the age to cloud their judgment and suppress the witness of the Holy Spirit. The Church has historically believed, the Scriptures rightly attest, and the Holy Spirit divinely testifies that all Scripture is in fact the true, complete, infallible and inspired Word of God. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:22-25).
Systematizing what we have learned so far, we are lead to the following truths. First; inspiration is not a general influence on the minds of men, but extends to the very words chosen by each writer of Scripture (2Pet. 1:20-21, Heb. 1:1). Second; as God Himself is the source and origin of Scripture, it is true and inerrant in all that it speaks on, and it speaks on everything (2Tim. 3:15-17, 2Th. 2:2). Because God’s Word is true and inerrant, Scripture can testify for itself (Jn. 10:34-36, Eph. 2:20). Thus, we may formulate the doctrine of Verbal, Plenary Inspiration. Verbal, as God’s inspiration applies to the words themselves; Plenary, as every part is fully and unconditionally God-breathed; and Inspired, as it is God revealing Himself to us through the Holy Spirit.
We have covered definitions, scriptural analysis, historical survey, and systematic formulation. We have shown that when Scripture speaks, God speaks. How then are we to make application of these truths? Let us turn again to 2 Timothy. If we believe that all Scripture is indeed “God breathed,” then we can take Paul, and the Holy Spirit, at their word when they tell us that Scripture is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We have the assurance of God’s salvation in our lives. And because of that salvation, we are commanded to live accordingly. But God has not left us to fend for ourselves in this regard. Inspiration includes everything the Bible touches on and teaches, and the Bible gives sufficient instruction for all of life. Scripture speaks on all culture throughout all of history, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. In teaching, it is the positive source for all our doctrine, so we may know how to live rightly before God. In reproof, it exposes our failures and errors that lead us away from right living. In correction, it restores us to right practice or right doctrine. In instruction in righteousness, it teaches us how to live morally, and how to live as God intends.
God’s commands in Scripture are irrevocable, inerrant, all sufficient and all authoritative. We trust in God’s infallible Word, and it makes us bold. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Emboldened by the surety of God’s Word in our hearts, protected by the shield of our faith, and armed with the sword of His sure and perfect Scripture, we are made complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. We are commanded to gird up our loins, prepare ourselves for battle, and march out into the world, trusting in our King and Savior for the victory.