Inspiration of Scripture

The human writers of Scripture wrote without waiving their human intelligence, their vocabulary, their personality, their individuality, their personal feelings, God’s complete message to man as a permanent record with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Hebrew, Chaldean (a few chapters in Daniel), and Greek.

For instance, the Holy Spirit took Paul’s educated vocabulary and turned it into a highly technical spiritual vocabulary to communicate Bible doctrine. Also, in regard to feelings, sometimes Paul wrote when he was depressed, sometimes when he was exhilarated, sometimes when he was under pressure, and sometimes when under prosperity.

The Principle of Inspiration

The principle of inspiration is found in the Greek noun for “inspired” in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 which is θεόπνευστος (theopneustos) and means God-breathed, inspired. This inspirational breathing involves inhale of inspiration and exhale in the form of writing.

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB)

The inhale of Scripture is the Holy Spirit communicating to human authors (like Paul) God’s complete and coherent message for mankind. The exhale is the human writer of Scripture writing what the Holy Spirit has communicated to the human author. 2 Sam. 23:2-3; Isaiah 59:21; Jer. 1:9; Matt. 22:42-43; Mark 12:36; Acts 4:24-25; Acts 28:25.

““The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. “The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, Who rules in the fear of God,” (2 Samuel 23:2-3, NASB)

““As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”“ (Isaiah 59:21, NASB)

“Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:9, NASB)

““What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,” (Matthew 22:42-43, NASB)

““David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”‘“ (Mark 12:36, NASB)

“And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said, ‘WHY DID THE GENTILES RAGE, AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?” (Acts 4:24-25, NASB)

“And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,” (Acts 28:25, NASB)

The exhale was the human writer of Scripture writing on some physical materials that could then be read. What the Holy Spirit communicated to the human authors was exhaled in writing! The origin of Scripture is not human viewpoint, but from the Holy Spirit.

The literal translation of 2 Peter 20-21, “know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” As it stands in the English, it seems to be discussing interpretation, but in the Greek, it is stating Scripture’s origin.

“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21, NASB)

The Bible is the mind of Christ, therefore the absolute criterion for believers. 1 Cor. 2:16; Psalms 138:2.

“For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16, NASB)

“I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.” (Psalms 138:2, NASB)

Don’t bother getting a Bible with Christ’s words in red. This is not in line with verbal inspiration. What Christ said on earth, does not carry any more weight than what Jesus Christ said in eternity past, or what the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, Peter, John or any other writer. In other words, the whole Bible is the mind of Christ. Consequently, the Bible as the mind of Christ existed in eternity past prior to being reduced to written form. Prov. 8.

Pre-canon revelation from God occurred through the Holy Spirit. 2 Sam. 23:2; Ezek. 2:2; Ezek. 8:3; Ezek. 11:1; Ezek. 11:24; Micah 3:8; Heb. 3:7.

““The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:2, NASB)

“As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.” (Ezekiel 2:2, NASB)

“He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.” (Ezekiel 8:3, NASB)

“Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the LORD’S house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.” (Ezekiel 11:1, NASB)

“And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen left me.” (Ezekiel 11:24, NASB)

“On the other hand I am filled with power— With the Spirit of the LORD— And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even to Israel his sin.” (Micah 3:8, NASB)

“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,” (Hebrews 3:7, NASB)

There were four categories of Old Testament revelation apart from the written Canon. God revealed Himself directly through the spoken Word. Isaiah 6:9-10; Acts 28:25.

“He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”“ (Isaiah 6:9-10, NASB)

God revealed Himself through dreams. Gen. 15:12-13; Num. 12:6; Gen. 31:10-13; Dan. 10:9.

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.” (Genesis 15:12-13, NASB)

“He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.” (Numbers 12:6, NASB)

““And it came about at the time when the flock were mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, and mottled. “Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ‘I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’““ (Genesis 31:10-13, NASB)

“But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.” (Daniel 10:9, NASB)

God revealed Himself through visions. Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 6:1; 1 Kings 22:19.

“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” (Isaiah 1:1, NASB)

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1, NASB)

“Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.” (1 Kings 22:19, NASB)

God revealed Himself through teaching angels. Deut. 33:2; Psalms 68:17; Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19.

“He said, “The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones; At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.” (Deuteronomy 33:2, NASB)

“The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.” (Psalms 68:17, NASB)

“you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”“ (Acts 7:53, NASB)

“Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.” (Galatians 3:19, NASB)

Once the Canon of Scripture (66 books) was completed in about 96 AD, none of these categories are used to reveal Jesus Christ. So if you know of anyone who has visions and dreams and claims revelations of God through them, he is psychotic, neurotic or apostate.

The Extent of Inspiration

Inspiration of the unknown past: The Bible portrays as bona fide past historical details unknown to man and unconfirmed by human records. Genesis 1-11. Inspiration guarantees the accuracy of these historical facts.

Inspiration of ancient history: The Bible is not a historical textbook, but all historical citations are accurate and form the background for communicating Bible doctrine, such as the Sennacherib invasion in 701 BC, which forms the isagogics of portions of Isaiah.

Inspiration of objective type law: The Old Testament contains many laws, both for the individual and national life. These laws perfectly express the mind of God for the people for whom they were given. Repetition of these laws and the recording of these laws demonstrates the application to other generations. These laws are free from error and perfectly demonstrate God’s will and God’s command to the receivers (Mosaic Law).

Inspiration in the field of dictation: Some portions of the Scripture contain direct quotations from God. Such commands and quotations are properly recorded in the exact way in which God willed them to be recorded.

Inspiration of devotional literature: Literature, such as the Psalms, which has the writer expressing himself under much pressure, and some emotion generally, such as great happiness or great depression. God used the emotions, the pressure, the problems and the triumphs of certain believers to declare His plan and His grace. For example, in the Song of Solomon, God used Solomon’s failure to declare His grace.

Inspiration of statements of falsehood: The Bible records certain falsehoods, certain statements that are not true. For example, the Satanic lie of Genesis 3:4. It is not a true statement, however the Bible contains it to confirm that it occurred. Inspiration guarantees the accuracy of the falsehood, recording accurately what Satan really said.

“The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” (Genesis 3:4, NASB)

Inspiration of prophecy: This involves both selection and accuracy. All prophecy in the history of time has not been recorded, but what is recorded is selective and accurate both from the standpoint of a near and far fulfillment.

The protection of inspiration: God has provided the preservation of the Scriptures through His power and through preservation of certain manuscripts which are extant today. God also provides an accurate Old and New Testament today to be studied by men who are believers, both pastor-teachers and otherwise and studied from the standpoint of the original languages.

Isagogics, Categories, Exegesis (ICE)

Isagogics: The basic principle of interpretation of the Bible. The Bible must be interpreted in the framework of its own historical setting, in the time in which it was written. Isagogics means that a pastor must be able to go back and reconstruct the life, the customs, and the times as they relate to the words and usage of the words in the Bible in the original languages. The meaning of a word in the ancient world is determined by its usage.

Categories: Categorical teaching is comparing Scripture to determine doctrinal classification. A biblical subject may be taught in a number of passages, but these passages are pulled together for your consideration. Each one will add something that the other does not. Isaiah 28:10; Isaiah 28:13; 1 Cor. 2:13-14.

""For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'"" (Isaiah 28:10, NASB)

"So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there," That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive." (Isaiah 28:13, NASB)

"which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." (1 Corinthians 2:13-14, NASB)

Exegesis: Exegesis is the analysis of the Bible verse by verse within its grammar, syntax, and etymology. Not only the verse itself, but the context as well. Grammar involves the features of a language considered in all its parts like tense, mood, voice, etc. Syntax involves putting together the features and realizing the significance of them. The application of grammar so the pattern and precise meaning are readily understood. Like the significance of the aorist active indicative. Etymology involves how the word was used at the time in which it was written.