The Inspiration of the Bible
Mike Johnson
Many people do not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, and this number seems to be growing. There are even some religious people who deny “inspiration” in the sense that the Scriptures teach it. They define inspiration to mean only that the Bible bears the marks of literary genius, and the Bible is inspired only in the sense that Shakespear was inspired!
God has inspired the Bible. II Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God. . . .” The Greek expression found in this verse means literally “God-breathed.” So the Scriptures are “God-breathed, i.e., God is the author of them; they are the “product” of His breath.
God used certain people who were guided by the Holy Spirit to reveal His will to us (note II Pet. 1:21, Jn. 16:13, Eph. 3:3-5). The Bible did not originate through the mind of man, but instead, it is God speaking through man.
As noted, different people mean different things by inspiration. Those who say that the Bible is inspired only in the sense of literary genius do not think that the Bible is from God. Other people say that the Bible is from God, but it is not verbally inspired. They say that God inspired the general thoughts or ideas of the writers, but not their very words. Thus, according to this position, the inspired writers could have erred in conveying the general thoughts, and we cannot depend on every word of the Scriptures.
This position does not correctly represent the sense in which God has inspired the Bible. It is “verbally” (word-for-word) inspired. I Corinthians 2:13 makes it easy for us to us see this as Paul said, “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The NASB says, “. . . not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.” Thus, in showing verbal inspiration, Paul makes an argument in Galatians 3:16 based on the singular or plural nature of a word. Also, John 8:58 has Jesus making an argument based on the tense of a verb. This kind of reasoning means little if the Bible is not verbally inspired.
It is clear that the Bible is a book inspired by God, and inspiration means verbal inspiration. The Bible is “God speaking to us,” and we need to listen to what it says carefully.