The Bible – Part Five
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (II Timothy 3: 16, 17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
The divine author of Scripture is God the Holy Spirit. Exactly how this process worked is a mystery. Scripture asserts that this did happen without explaining exactly how it happened.
In addition, the Lord divinely selected the writers of Scripture – there was no volunteering for the job.
The writers of the Old and New Testament were not merely stenographers who mindlessly wrote what God dictated to them. Their own experiences and personalities were involved when the various books were being composed. Ultimately, however, the final result was supernaturally guided by God.
The result of divine inspiration is that the Bible is the very Word of God. This includes the works, the ideas, and the specific vocabulary of Scripture. Therefore everything written in Scripture is correct—there are no errors of any kind since the ultimate source is God. This means that there are no errors of fact. No Scripture is from a human source. God spoke, that is, He communicated it through chosen penmen.
When we speak of the Bible being authoritative, it means that it is God’s accurate revelation of Himself to humanity. Though humans composed the various books of Scripture, the result was an error-free work in the original manuscripts. This is because all Scripture was God-breathed. God had His hand on the production in such a way that we can accept the entire Scripture as being trustworthy.
According to 1 John 1:4, John said, “These things I write unto you that your joy may be full.” The Bible also is the source of consummate joy, built on perfect peace and hope for time and eternity. This is the most powerful book in existence. And that is because in order to accomplish these living things, it must be not the word of men, but the word of the living God. And that is exactly what it is.
Study of the word of God results in joy. It results in peace that gives stability. Knowing it to be God’s standard for life gives confidence and assurance as to what conduct pleases God. Knowing this and living by the standard gives joy.
More than 2,600 times the Old Testament and 525 times the New Testament claim to be God’s Word. All (of this) Scripture is given by inspiration of God. (II Timothy 3: 16) “All” means all.
God’s appointed penmen wrote in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. They wrote in the Sanai desert, the wilderness of Judea, the cave in Adulliam, the public prison in Rome, on the island of Patmos, the palaces of Shushan, by the rivers of Babylon, and on the banks of Chebar. All the words they wrote were God’s word.
It being such a supernatural, divinely inspired, authoritative word for today makes it worth our study and compliance with its teaching. What is it to you?