Inspiration
2 Tim. 3:14-17 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God...
The Point: Scripture is the answer
The context:
2 Tim.
2 Tim.
2 Tim. 2:2 the things thou hast heard, the
same commit thou to faithful men
2 Tim.
2 Tim.
2 Tim. 3:1 In the last days
perilous times shall come
2 Tim. 3:7 Ever learning, never able to come
to the knowledge of the truth
2 Tim.
2 Tim.
2 Tim.
2 Tim. 4:2 Preach the word
2 Tim. 4:3 time will come not endure sound
doctrine, heap to selves teachers
2 Tim. 4:4 shall turn away their ears from
the truth
Two apostasies
prophesied:
Acts
Acts
Acts
2 Pe. 3:2 be
mindful of the words spoken by holy prophets and us the apostles
2 Pe. 3:3 there
shall come in the last days scoffers
2 Pe. 3:4 all
things continue as they were from the beginning
2 Pe. 3:5 willingly
are ignorant
2 Pe. 3:6 world that then was, being overflowed with water
Scripture is solution
to apostasy
Permanence: Exo.
Job 19:23,24 for ever
Isa. 30.8 time to come
Ps. 102:18 future
Authority: Exo. 34:27 these words made a covenant (official, commitment)
Confirmation: John
Precision: Eze. 43:10,11 write it that they may keep the whole
form
Convenience: Rom. 15:4 written for our learning, patience, comfort, hope,
Deu.
Hab. 2:1,2 plain upon tables, run that
readeth it.
Confidence: John.
Promulgation: Rom.
Purpose: furnish man of God
after Apostles were gone.
Scriptures take the place
of ongoing, prophetical revelation. Continual doctrinal and
practical authority.
The Principle: Inspiration is about the commonly available Bible
Popular attempts at
defining inspiration do not match reality. (By definition, only believers are
attempting the definition, so they aren’t inherently bad attempts. They are
“good tries,” but they don’t work comprehensively.)
1. God breathed.
That God directly communicated using men as mere instruments
Are the scriptures God-breathed? (NIV actually translates it this way).
Physically? Obviously not. It is literature. It is called “scripture.”
Metaphorically,
then? God’s words on paper? Not a definition at
all, tells us nothing.
Spiritually?
Spoken by God in spirit? So leave it as “by inspiration”
Quotes:
“the Law and the Prophets are not a doctrine
delivered according to the will and pleasure of men, but dictated by the
Holy Spirit.” (John Calvin)
“God directed the men who wrote it what to write, and how to write it, that as a rule of faith
and practice for men it might be perfect” (Family Bible Commentary)
“The scriptures are the breath of God, the word of
God and not men; they are ‘written by the Spirit’, as the Syriac
version renders it; or ‘by the Spirit of God’, as the Ethiopic version.” (John
Gill)
“An extraordinary divine agency upon teachers while
giving instruction, whether oral or written, by which they were taught
how and what they should speak or write.” (Knapp)
Some scriptures were actually spoken by God, but
not all:
Num. 12:6 I will make myself known in a
vision, speak in a dream
Num. 12:8 [but] with [Moses] will I speak mouth
to mouth
Heb. 1:1 God who in divers manners
spake in time past, hath in last days spoken by his son.
If all is directly from God, why does God make a
difference?
2. Special Revelation.
That God “moved upon men” giving them supernatural understanding.
1 Pet.
2 Pet. 1:20,21 Prophecy came not by will of man, but
men spake moved by Holy Ghost.
Job 32:8 the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth them understanding.
2 Sam. 23:2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by
me, and his word was in my tongue.
Luke 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of
his holy prophets, since the world began:
Mark
Heb. 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy
Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
Quotes:
“Scriptures of the prophets who were taught according
to the inspiration of God” (Josephus)
“sacred writers were kept from error on
those subjects which were matters of their own observation, or which pertained
to memory; and that there were truths imparted to them directly by the
Spirit of God, which they never could have arrived at by the unaided
exercise of their own minds.” (Albert Barnes)
“They are not the contrivance of any man’s wit and
fancy, but a revelation of the mind and will of God; and those
that wrote them were excited to it, and assisted in it, by the Spirit of God.”
(Burkitt)
“When God speaks of divine things, and this is
revelation, he does for our sakes condescend to use human language, but
fills it with what is divine.” (Darby)
Some scriptures, notably prophecies, were given by
special revelation, but not all:
John 15:26,27 Comforter
will testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness
Notice the Holy Spirit gives a separate testimony
from the Apostles. It is imperative that the “eyewitness” testimony of the
apostles not be something “revealed” by God’s spirit, but something that comes
from their own experience, that they remember themselves, and that they relate
in their own words. Otherwise, it is not eyewitness testimony at all.
Luke 1:1-4 perfect understanding from the
first, from eyewitnesses
Luke 24:48 ye are witnesses
Acts
Acts
John.
Inspiration of all
scripture does not mean supernatural revelation of all scripture, because the
role of the Holy Spirit in the testimony of the Apostles is declared to be only
the enabling of their own memory.
3. Holy men authorized:
That God commissioned men with authority and signs to confirm it, and the
scriptures connected to these men are in this way “inspired,” that is, endowed
with God’s authority.
Deu.
Jer. 28:9 when word shall come to pass,
then prophet known, Lord hath sent him
2 Pet.
Mark
1 Cor.
2 Cor.
1 Cor.
1 Cor. 7:6 But I speak this by permission,
and not of commandment.
1 Cor.
1 Cor.
1 Cor.
Quotes:
“sacred writers were kept from error on those
subjects which were matters of their own observation, or which pertained to
memory;” (Albert Barnes)
“God hath spoken to us, and [we] are fully convinced
that the prophets did not speak at their own suggestion, but that, being
organs of the Holy Spirit, they only uttered what they had been commisioned
from heaven to declare.” (John Calvin)
“but holy men of God; such as he sanctified by
his Spirit, and separated from the rest of men to such peculiar service; and
whom he employed as public ministers of his word:” (John Gill)
Much scripture is connected
to “holy men” clearly authorized by God to speak for him, such as Moses,
Prophets, David, Solomon, and almost the entire NT, but much is also not
connected to any holy man, or no man confirmed by any signs. Viz.
Judges through Chronicles and Esther. Furthermore, it is expressly
stated that “holy men” are not to be trusted against “scripture.”
Deu. 13:1-3 arise
a prophet, sign come to pass, shall not hearken
Gal. 1:8,9 though we, or an angel from
heaven, preach any other than that ye have received, accursed
4. Original Autographs. That God
miraculously protected certain original documents from any sort of error,
notwithstanding them being written by humans capable of error. A miracle in the composition only.
Quotes:
“Inspiration is here predicated of the writings, ‘all
Scripture,’ not of the persons. The question is not how God has done it; it is
as to the word, no the men who wrote it. What we must believe is that He has
done it, and that all the sacred writings are every where inspired, though not
all alike matter of special revelation: and that even the very words are
stamped with divine sanction, as Jesus used them for deciding all questions of
doctrine and practice...Verbal inspiration does not mean mechanical dictation,
but all "Scripture is (so) inspired by God," that everything in it,
its narratives, prophecies, citations, the whole--ideas, phrases, and
words--are such as He saw fit to be there. The present condition of the text is
no ground for concluding against the original text being inspired,
but is a reason why we should use all critical diligence to restore the
inspired text.” (Tregelles)
“The theory ... maintains that the entire corpus of
Scripture consists of writings every word of which (presumably in the original
autographs, forever inaccessible to us) was directly ‘dictated’ by the
Deity...They consequently convey absolute truth with no trace of error or
relativity. That I believe to be a false method.” (C. H. Dodd)
It isn’t impossible that
some original documents were supernaturally protected from error, but several
problems with the theory exist:
1. All original documents
are lost. Highly antithetical to the point of our text – continuance – that the
scriptures remain after apostles are gone. How can a departing authority be
replaced by a “long gone” authority?
2. “Original” cannot be
defined:
Much scripture was originally oral, never existed as an
original document (Genesis, Gospels).
Much scripture was compiled using sources
(Genesis, Chronicles)
Some logically were authored for publication, making multiple
original documents
(Psalms, Gospels, general epistles
written originally for wide publication)
1 Cor.
2 Cor.
1 Pet. 1:1 to the strangers throughout Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
Rev. 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in
Some were incorporated into later documents with changes
Exo. 24:4,8 Moses
wrote all the words of the Lord, took the book, and read
Exo. 20:2-21 I am the Lord thy God – wife ...
house
Deu. 5:6-17 I am the Lord thy God – house ...
wife
Some scripture was edited long after the
original
Deu. 34:5-12 So Moses died, no man knoweth
sepulchre unto this day.
Deu.
31:24-26 finished, side of the ark
Josh. 24:26 Joshua wrote in the book of the law
Some scripture was written over many generations by multiple
authors (Judges, Kings, Prov.
25-31)
3. Context of inspiration
is current – “is” given, not “was” given
“Scripture” was the charge of the scribes, Baruch,
Ezra, etc., so “inspiration” must include the work of the scribes
2 Tim.
Acts
Mat.
What Inspiration is not: Inspiration is not a miraculous act in the remote
past that produced a perfect document for a moment in time.
1. Such an act (of
inspiration) is impossible to define comprehensively.
Some scripture is God’s direct speech – but not all
(Num. 12:6-8)
Some scripture is God’s revelation, not by will of
man – but not all (John
Some scripture is connected to holy men – but not all
(Judges, Kings, Esther)
Some scripture was an original definable document –
but not all (Ex. 24:4)
2. Such an act in the
remote past is antithetical to the point.
Scriptures continue, hold fast, profitable now
3. Such an act is
illogical.
An isolated miracle undone in the
first copy, a perfect original impossible to publish or preserve perfect.
4. Such an act is not what
the text says.
Scripture, the object handled by the
scribes, not original documents or original authors.
All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, not was,
is profitable, not was profitable.
What is obvious about
inspiration in our text:
1. That inspiration is
relevant to the current scriptures (not some theoretical
point about some miracle in the distant past.)
that he had in his possession,
that were presently
available to all,
that he was reading,
that he had known from a child (v. 15), all his life,
and all his grandmother’s life.
2. That object of
inspiration is "scripture," a published manuscript
form.
inherently imperfect in individual copies
dependent on comparison and consensus for authority
and confidence
yet still claimed to be given by inspiration (obviously
the standard, usual, consensus reading)
3. That inspiration is true
about all scripture:
the whole body of writings collectively
each and every part individually (not some nor most)
applying to all equally – Moses, Prophets, Psalms,
Apostles – and even
Scribes, Chroniclers, Historians,
Editors, Publishers – and even receivers
4. That Timothy knew
what is, and is not, scripture
The same scripture Paul knew of and recognized
the same Timothy’s mother and grandmother recognized
as scripture
the same generally recognized by everyone else
and that they all were correct – they did indeed know
what the scripture was, clearly defined
5. That scripture exists by
the involvement of God’s Spirit in every aspect of its production,
and the existing result is “holy” – of
God
6. That holy scripture
given by inspiration is intact, available, recognizable.
What Inspiration means: that God gave us the scriptures we have, not some
specific type of miracle.
How did God give them to
us? By inspiring (the Spirit involving himself in):
The history itself – Any theory of
inspiration must begin before anything is written, (consider life of Joseph)
because what is written later is not
fiction, and the events themselves are elements of later inspiration
Gal. 3:8 Scripture, foreseeing ... preached the gospel unto
Abraham
Gal. 4:22-24 written Abraham had two sons ... things are an allegory
(but also actual history)
Memory of the protagonists –
inspiration must include the enabling of memory
since human imperfection extends
easily into our very memories
John
John
Transmission of oral accounts – so much
depends upon oral sources,
that if the account is actually true,
that the writers were faithfully relating what they received,
inspiration must have preceded the
writing of the eventual authoritative document
Judg.
Ps. 44:1 our fathers have told us, what work ... in the
times of old
Ps. 78:3 we have heard and known,
and our fathers have told us
Isa. 38:19 the father to the children shall make known thy truth
Recording onto primitive documents – by
scribes, not the so-called "inspired men" themselves
Jer. 36:32 Baruch the scribe wrote therein from the mouth of
Jeremiah all the words
Rom.
1
2
Direct communication on occasion –
Heb. 1:1,2 God in divers manners spake in
time past, spoken unto us by his Son
Special revelation on occasion –
2 Pe.
Heb.
Scribal publishing – God intended to
publish the scriptures,
so inspiration must take into account
the inherent imperfection of manuscript publishing,
and function within the established
principles of variable copies, (because God knew the state of the art)
agreement, continuity,
consensus, standardization
Deu. 27:8 And thou shalt write upon the
stones all the words of this law very plainly.
Hab. 2:2 Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it.
Isa. 8:1 Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a
man's pen
Isa.30:8 write it in a table, note it in a book, may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Acts
Improvements in publishing – scripture
has been on cutting edge of all major publishing breakthroughs
Biblical scribes invented, developed,
perfected or popularized every breakthrough in the industry
material - vellum, papyrus, paper
(hydraulic paper mills in
form - scroll (rolls - pre-Babylon -
Isa. 8:1, Jer. 36:2, Ezra 6:1,2), codex form (NT),
technique - scribal principles,
scribal guilds, printing press
Determination of Canon – inspiration is
useless if not recognizable,
so if "all scripture" is
inspired, then the definition of scripture (which books) is also inspired
Deu.
Deu. 13:1-3 saying, go after gods thou hast not
known, shalt not hearken unto that prophet
Gal. 1:8,9 we, or angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel than preached, accursed
Mat.
Rev. 2:2 tried them say are apostles, found them liars
Reception of the text by God’s people – inspiration must
include standardization of text among the people
it is inevitable that standardization
occur, God understood the publishing industry's principles,
so commonness, availability,
continuity, fruitfulness,
dependence, and consensus, confirm the text
1Th. 1:5,6 having received the word, with
joy of the Holy Ghost:
John
Gal. 1:9 any other than that ye have received, accursed
Luke 1:1 declaration of things most surely believed among us
Jude 1:3 faith once delivered
Titus 1:1 apostle according to the faith of God's elect
Titus 1:4 common faith
2
1
1 Th.
Isa. 55:11 shall accomplish which I please
Acts
Acts
Ps. 110:3 thy people shall be willing in the day
Translation of the text into common languages
– common
understanding, plain sense, literal when possible
not innovation in translation
techniques – dynamic equivalence, not looking for "new things"
not flexibility in interpretation
Written in Hebrew, also Aramaic
(Daniel, Ezekiel, some parts of Ezra and Chronicles), also Greek,
and phrases
originally in Latin as well (Luke
Acts 2:5-11 Every nation under heaven, hear every man in our own
tongue
Received text principles:
Acts
Written, old, continuous, common,
available,
Historical standard: the continuously available complete canon, full text,
and most usual text:
"vulgates"
in both Greek and Latin, standard readings supplied from both Greek and Latin,
(Beza's rejection of C because of its unusual
readings)
Quotes:
What, then, do those babblers, but betray their
snarling petulance in falsely alleging the spuriousness of books whose sacred
antiquity is proved by the consent of all history? (Calvin's Institutes)
We never go from that text and ancient reading, which
all the fathers used and expounded; but we translate that most
usual text, which was first printed out of the most ancient copies that
could be found; (Fulke's defence)
But as for the Hebrew and Greek that now is, [it] may
easily be proved to be the same that always hath been; neither is there any
diversity in sentence, howsoever some copies, either through negligence of the
writer, or by any other occasion, do vary from that which is commonly and
most generally received in some letters, syllables, or words.
(Fulke's defence)
"The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the
native language of the people of God of old), and the New Testament in Greek
(which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the
nations), being immediately inspired by God, and by his singular care and providence kept pure
in all ages, are therefore authentical; so as in all
controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them." (
Canon II: But, in particular, The Hebrew original of
the OT which we have received and to this day do retain as
handed down by the Hebrew Church, "who had been given the oracles of
God" (Rom 3:2), is, not only in its consonants, but in its vowels either
the vowel points themselves, or at least the power of the points not only in
its matter, but in its words, inspired by God. It thus forms,
together with the Original of the NT the sole and complete rule of our faith
and practice; and to its standard, as to a Lydian stone, all
extant versions, eastern or western, ought to be applied, and wherever they
differ, be conformed. (Forumula Consensus Helvetica 1675 )
Consensus: Mutual agreement, the received text
Quotes:
Add, moreover, that, for the best of reasons, the consent
of the church is not without its weight. For it is not to be accounted
of no consequence, that, from the first publication of Scripture, so many ages
have uniformly concurred in yielding obedience to it, (Calvin's
Institutes)
Nay, its divine origin is more completely established
by the fact, that when all human wishes were against it, it advanced by its own
energy. Add that it was not a single city or a single nation that concurred
in receiving and embracing it. Its authority was recognized as far and
as wide as the world extends--various nations who had nothing else in common
entering for this purpose into a holy league. Moreover, while we
ought to attach the greatest weight to the agreement of minds so
diversified, and in all other things so much at variance with each
other--an agreement which a Divine Providence alone could have produced--it
adds no small weight to the whole when we attend to the piety of those who thus
agree; (Calvin's Institutes)
By the received text of Shakspere we do not mean the
particular text which has obtained in particular editions such as Boswell's of
l82l but the text which if a new edition of Shakspere is set about for general
circulation is generally adopted for the most part without
any attempt whatever towards revision (C. Knight's Library Edition of
Shakspere).
What scriptures? The received text, the commonly
accepted, recognized, acknowledged scripture.
How do we recognized it? It
is the one already recognized!
commonness, availability, continuity, fruitfulness, dependence,
and consensus, ,
Notice, agreement is still the basis for authority,
even among multiple differing versions in our modern
"Bible Babel" we find where
different Bibles agree, that is the only common
remaining authority.
The Posture: The
attitude owed to scripture, and shown by the apostles
Citations w/o criticism
References w/o controversy (obvious
authority)
Authority of standard translation (Gospel
of Matthew, Heb. 9:16 covenant/testament)
Final - for doctrine
beware creeds, church fathers,
councils, traditions, historical positions, “historical context,” scholars,
Correct - for correction (it corrects
us, we don't correct it)
pastors and teachers have no business
correcting the standard Bible
believers
practically correct it often, where they don't like what it says
(Hell, original sin,
election, whosoever, etc.)
Perfect - that the man of God might be
- (stop nitpicking,)
a better rendering would be...,
oldest manuscripts say..., this word is not in the original...,
this word is translated
differently..., it really means..., in the Greek it is the Aorist tense...,
Complete - throughly furnished
to every good work
beware seminary, bible institutes,
study booklets, even commentaries, references to "historical
context,"
Isa. 8:20 if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in
them.
no priest-class - each believer studies
to be approved - personal instruction
preachers and teachers expound what
can be proved to everyone out of the standard Bible
no permission to correct the standard
Bible
not a matter of preference – a matter
of authority, submit
no selective use of different
versions, or
no "eclectic" manuscript
evidence, multiple criteria to use leaving opinion as only authority
not allowed to choose – must recognize
the standard common Bible
no selection of a Bible according to
preferences
no preferring one over another
according to tastes, ease of understanding, pretty colors, etc.