The Church –
Inspiration of the Bible
We should
understand that the Bible teaches a lofty view of scripture, that it is word
for word the mind of God.
In 2 Timothy
3:16, 17 we read: “16 All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the
man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work.” What does the Bible
say about itself? The entire
Bible is inspired or God breathed.
Teaching and correcting doctrine and moral living are the primary
purposes of the scriptures.
Note that it provides us completely all the information we
need. There is no need or
value in any other sources of authority for information from God.
But the Bible
also tells us about the mechanics of inspiration. Paul discussed this in 1
Corinthians 2: 6-12. First,
he said, “We speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom
of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God
ordained before the ages for our glory.” Paul said that when he was speaking or writing, man
was not the source of the information, God was providing it. But then he explains how
inspiration worked. “11 What
man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in
him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is
from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us
by God.” The Spirit who
provided the words to Paul was reading God’s mind. When we read the Bible, we are
reading a part of God’s mind.
Finally, Paul demonstrates a high view of scripture when he says:
“13 these things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches
but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with
spiritual”. Word for word,
the inspired writers wrote the exact words that conveyed the Spirit’s
intended meaning.
If we are to
believe the Bible, we must have a high view of inspiration; that it has
provided us with the very mind of God.
On a related
matter, sometimes people ask about translations or versions of the
Bible. It is true that
sometimes a translation can be misleading. We are blessed with many different translations to
help in our understanding.
There are three basic kinds of translations. Literal translations attempt to
convey the exact message, regardless of the level of difficulty it
creates in reading. Dynamic
equivalents follow the phrase order of the original message but reorder
things to add user readability.
Paraphrases are in essence commentaries that include the thoughts
and theology of the translators.
Generally these are not good for Bible study. In any case, understand which
translation you have and consult more than one for any serious
investigation.
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