Verbal
Inspiration Of The Bible*
Not only does the Bible claim to be a Divine revelation but it also
asserts that its original manuscripts were written "not in the words
which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth" (1
Cor. 2:13). The Bible nowhere claims to have been written by inspired
men--as a matter of fact some of them were very defective
characters--Balaam for example--but it insists that the words they
uttered and recorded were God’s words. Inspiration has not to do with
the minds of the writers (for many of them understood not what they
wrote (1 Pet. 1:10-11), but with the writings themselves. "All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God," and "Scripture" means "the
writings." Faith has to do with God’s Word and not with the men who
wrote it--these are all dead long since, but their writings remain.
A writing that is inspired by God self-evidently implies, in the very
expression, that the words are the words of God. To say that the
inspiration of the Scriptures applies to their concepts and not to
their words; to declare that one part of Scripture is written with one
kind or degree of inspiration and another part with another kind or
degree, is not only destitute of any foundation or support in the
Scriptures themselves, but is repudiated by every statement in the
Bible which bears upon the subject now under consideration. To say that
the Bible is not the Word of God but merely contains the Word of God is
the figment of an ill-employed ingenuity and an unholy attempt to
depreciate and invalidate the supreme authority of the Oracles of God.
All the attempts which have been made to explain the rationale of
inspiration have done nothing toward simplifying the subject, rather
have they tended to mystify. It is no easier to conceive how ideas
without words could be imparted, than that Divinely revealed truths
should be communicated by words. Instead of being diminished the
difficulty is increased. It were as logical to talk of a sum without
figures or a tune without notes, as of a Divine revelation and
communication without words. Instead of speculation our duty is to
receive and believe what the Scriptures say of themselves.
What the Bible teaches about its own inspiration is a matter purely of
Divine testimony, and our business is simply to receive the testimony
and not to speculate about or seek to pry into its modus operandi.
Inspiration is as much a matter of Divine revelation as is
justification by faith. Both stand equally on the authority of the
Scriptures themselves, which must be the final court of appeal on this
subject as on every question of revealed truth.
The teaching of the Bible concerning the inspiration of the Scriptures
is clear and simple, and uniform throughout. Its writers were conscious
that their utterances were a message from God in the highest meaning of
the word. "And the Lord said unto him (Moses), Who hath made man’s
mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?
Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth,
and teach thee what thou shalt say" (Exod. 4:11-12). "The Spirit of the
Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue" (2 Sam. 23:2). "Then
the Lord put forth His hand, and touched my mouth. and the Lord said
unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth" (Jer. 1:9). The
above are only a sample of scores of similar passages which might be
sighted.
What is predicted of the Scriptures themselves, demonstrates that they
are entirely and absolutely the Word of God. "The law of the Lord is
perfect, converting the soul" (Ps. 19:7)--this altogether excludes any
place in the Bible for human infirmities and imperfections. "Thy Word
is very pure" (Ps. 119:140), which cannot mean less than that the Holy
Spirit so superintended the composition of the Bible and so "moved" its
writers that all error has been excluded. "Thy Word is true from the
beginning" (Ps. 119:160)--how this anticipated the assaults of the
higher critics on the Book of Genesis, particularly on its opening
chapters!
The teaching of the New Testament agrees with what we have quoted from
the Old. "Take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what
ye shall say: for the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what
ye ought to say" (Luke 12:11-12),--the disciples were the ones who
spake, but it was the Holy Spirit who "taught them what to say." Could
any language express more emphatically the most entire inspiration?
and, if the Holy Spirit so controlled their utterances when in the
presence of "magistrates," is it conceivable that He would do less for
them when they were communicating the mind of God to all future
generations on things touching our eternal destiny? Assuredly not. "But
those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all His
prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled" (Acts 3:18).
Here the Holy Spirit declares through Peter that it was God who had
revealed by the mouth of all His prophets that Israel’s Messiah must
suffer before the glory should appear. "But that I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my
fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the
prophets" (Acts 24:14). These words clearly evidence the fact that the
Apostle Paul had the utmost confidence in the authenticity of the
entire contents of the Old Testament. "And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of
the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4). Could any man have used such
language as this unless he had been fully conscious that he was
speaking the very words of God? "The prophecy came not at any time by
the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:21). Nothing could possibly be more explicit.
Dr. Gray has strikingly and forcefully stated the necessity of a
verbally inspired Bible in the following language:--"An illustration
the
writer has often used will help to make this clear. A stenographer in a
mercantile house was asked by his employer to write as follows:
"Gentlemen: we misunderstood your letter and will not fill your order."
Imagine the employer’s surprise, however, when a little later this was
set before him for his signature:
"Gentlemen: we misunderstood your letter and will not fill your order."
The mistake was only of a single letter, but it was entirely subversive
of his meaning. And yet the thought was given clearly to the
stenographer, and the words, too, for that matter, Moreover, the latter
was capable and faithful, but he was human, and it is human to err. Had
not his employer controlled his expression, down to the very letter,
the thought intended to be conveyed would have failed of utterance."
So, too, the Holy Spirit had to superintend the writing of the very
letter of Scripture in order to guarantee its accuracy and inerrancy.
Many proofs might be given to show the Scriptures are verbally
inspired. One line of demonstration appears in the literal and verbal
fulfillment of many of the Old Testament prophecies. For example, God
made known through Zechariah that the price which Judas should receive
for his awful crime was "thirty pieces of silver" (Zech. 11:12). Here
then is a clear case where God communicated to one of the prophets not
merely an abstract concept but a specific communication. And the above
case is only one of many.
Another evidence of verbal inspiration is to be seen in the fact that
words are used in Scripture with the most exact precision and
discrimination. This is particularly noticeable in connection with the
Divine titles. The names Elohim and Jehovah are found on the pages of
the Old Testament several thousand times, but they are never employed
loosely or used alternately. Each of these names has a definite
significance and scope, and were we to substitute the one for the other
the beauty and perfection of a multitude of passages would be
destroyed. To illustrate: the word "God" occurs all through Genesis 1,
but "Lord God" in Genesis 2. Were these two Divine titles reversed
here, a flaw and blemish would be the consequence. "God" is the
creatorial title, whereas "Lord" implies covenant relationship and
shows God’s dealings with His own people. Hence, in Genesis 1, "God" is
used, and in Genesis 2, "Lord God" is employed, and all through the
remainder of the Old Testament these two Divine titles are used
discriminatively and in harmony with the meaning of their first
mention. One or two other examples must suffice. "And they went in unto
Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of
life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as
God had commanded him"--"God" because it was the Creator commanding,
with respect to His creatures, as such; but, in the remainder of the
same verse, we read, "and the Lord shut him in" (Gen. 7:16), because
God’s action here toward Noah was based upon covenant relationship.
When going forth to meet Goliath David said, "This day will the Lord
deliver thee into mine hand (because David was in covenant relationship
with Him); and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I
will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto
the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the
earth (which was not in covenant relation with Him) may know that there
is a God in Israel. And all this assembly (which were in covenant
relationship with Him) shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword
and spear" etc. (1 Sam. 17:46-47). Once more: "And it came to pass,
when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It
is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but
Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them (the
Syrians) to depart from him" (2 Chron. 18:31). And thus it is all
through the Old Testament.
The above line of argument might be extended indefinitely. There are
upwards of fifty Divine titles in the Old Testament which are used more
than once, each of which has a definite signification, each of which
has its meaning hinted at in its first mention, and each of which is
used subsequently in harmony with its original purport. They are never
used loosely or interchangeably. In every place where they occur there
is a reason for each variation. Such titles are the Most High, the
Almighty, the God of Israel, the God of Jacob, the Lord our
Righteousness, etc., etc., are not used haphazardly, but in every case
in harmony with their original meaning and as the best suited to the
context. The same is true in connection with the names of our Lord in
the New Testament. In some passages He is referred to as Christ, in
others as Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Lord Jesus Christ. In
every instance there is a reason for each variation, and in every case
the Holy Spirit has seen to it that they are employed with uniform
significance. The same is true of the various names given to the great
adversary. In some places he is termed Satan, in others the devil etc.,
etc.; but the different terms are used with unerring precision
throughout. A further illustration is furnished by the father of
Joseph. In his earlier life he was always termed Jacob, later he
received the name of Israel, but after this, sometimes we read of Jacob
and sometimes of Israel. Whatever is predicted of Jacob refers to the
acts of the "old man;" whatever is postulated of Israel were the fruits
of the "new man." When he doubted it was Jacob who doubted, when he
believed God it was Israel who exercised faith. Accordingly, we read,
"And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up
his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost" (Gen. 49:33). But in
the next verse but one we are told, "And Joseph commanded his servants
the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel
(Gen. 50:2)!! Here then we see the marvelous verbal precision and
perfection of Holy Scripture.
The most convincing of all the proofs and arguments for the verbal
inspiration of the Scriptures is the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ
regarded them and treated them as such. He Himself submitted to their
authority. When assaulted by Satan, three times He replied, "It is
written," and it is particularly to be noted that the point of each of
His quotations and the force of each reply lay in a single word--"Man
shall not live by bread alone" etc.; "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God;" "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve." When tempted by the Pharisees, who asked Him, "Is it lawful for
a man to put away his wife for every cause?" He answered, "Have ye not
read?" etc. (Matt. 19:4-5). To the Sadducees He said, "Ye do err, not
knowing the Scriptures" (Matt. 22:29). On another occasion He accused
the Pharisees of "Making the Word of God of none effect through their
tradition" (Mark 7:13). On another occasion, when speaking of the Word
of God, He declared "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).
Sufficient has been adduced to show that the Lord Jesus regarded the
Scriptures as the Word of God in the most absolute sense. In view of
this fact let Christians beware of detracting in the smallest degree
from the perfect and full inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
* Chapter 13, from the book The Divine Inspiration of the Bible by Rev. A. W. Pink.