Understanding the Bible

Chapter 2- The Word of God

In the last chapter we identified four words which describe the Character of Scripture. Here, we will explore each of these a little further.

Revelation- God has spoken.
("Revelation" means "an uncovering, a revealing")
At the very beginning of the Bible, God reveals Himself as the intelligent Creator of intelligent creatures (mankind). From our own observation, we know that intelligent beings communicate with one another. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that God has set out to communicate with us.

The Bible indicates that He has done so by two methods:
  1. Through nature- His creation declares certain things about God, without using words (Psa 19:1-3; Rom 1:19-20). Man has largely rejected God's revelation in nature. By doing so, they reveal themselves to be less than wise. Rom 1:21-23
  2. Beyond nature (supernaturally)- Through the words of human language, as recorded in His written Word, God declares far more than we could understand by observing creation alone. Phrases like "Thus saith the Lord...", "God says..." or the equivalent, occur more than 2500 times in the OT. The NT also claims to be God's Word. For example: John 17:14, 2Tim 3:16, 1Joh 5:9-12 (Cp. Joh 1:18)
God has spoken to us by means of a progressive revelation. Just as a school teacher cannot cover a year's material in the first lesson, God gave His Word a little at a time, over the course of centuries. Progressive revelation does not imply that new books are being added to the Bible, today. The final chapter of the Bible warns against additions (Rev 22:18,19). Some cults regard other books as having scriptural authority. But invariably, these books fail the tests of canonicity (see chapt. 1).
Inspiration- God has spoken through human writers.
In 2Tim 3:16 we read that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God..." The Greek word translated "inspiration" is "theopneustos" which literally means (theo) "God"-"breathed" (pneustos). Since Scripture comes out from God, it expresses His thoughts (not merely the thoughts of human writers). Furthermore, since Scripture is God-breathed it is somehow alive and infused with power. (cp. Gen 2:7; Heb 4:12)

2Pet 1:20,21 says that "...holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit..." The writers were "holy men" in the sense that they were set apart for God's purposes. But the writers considered themselves sinners and unworthy to be used by God. Moses and David faithfully recorded their own failures. But God supplied their lack. He moved on their hearts by His Spirit in such a way that they said what He wanted said. God expressed Himself even through their weaknesses and emotional highs & lows. Compare Ex 4:10-15; Jer 1:4-9; 20:9

Jesus and the apostles attributed true authorship of Scripture to the Holy Spirit, rather than to the human writers. See: Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16; 4:24,25; Heb 3:7; 10:15-16

From a study of what the Bible says about itself, we understand that inspiration is Verbal (the words), Plenary (the whole), and Infallible (without error).

"Verbal" inspiration means that every word is exactly where & what God wants it to be.
Some think that God inspired just the thoughts and concepts. But we need to remember that successful communication of thoughts and concepts requires words. Choose the wrong words and your thoughts may be misunderstood.

By the way, Verbal inspiration does not require that God dictated His words to men. Sometimes, He did (eg. the Ten Commandments, Ex 20:1). But usually, as we observed earlier, He used men in their weakness and diversity. Some well educated writers used very proper classical language, while others, like Peter the fisherman, seemed to struggle with grammar. If God had dictated, we would expect His literary style to be constant. Instead, God in His infinite wisdom & power, spoke through many styles, yet with exactly the right words. For example:
  • Jesus said that God's Word is accurate down to the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet (jot), and even to the smallest part of a letter (tittle). Mat 5:18
  • A proper understanding of a passage often hinges on a single word, its tense or its number (singular or plural). Examples: "am" not "was" Mat 22:32, "Lord" Mat 22:41-46, "seed" not "seeds" Gal 3:16
  • The OT prophets faithfully recorded the things which God had revealed to them, even though they did not fully understand His message. They wrote of Messiah's suffering, and death (Isa 53, Psa 22). They also wrote of Messiah's eternal Kingdom (Isa 11, Psa 45). They could not comprehend how these contradictory concepts could both be true. But they believed that God's words were true, though His thoughts were beyond theirs. They made no attempt to edit the message to make it understandable. (1Pet 1:10-12)

Verbal inspiration applies to the words as originally given. The OT was written in Hebrew (and some Aramaic). The NT was written in Greek. There is always something lost in translation into another language. Often, there are shades of meaning to words or idioms (figurative expressions) in the original language which have no equivalent in the language of translation. For this reason, we cannot say that a particular English translation is "inspired." However, there are differences between translations. Some are more "literal" than others, and attempt to preserve the original word order & idioms. Others tend to paraphrase (or restate) the thought in the idioms of the readers. Where translations distort the message or differ from one another, a study of the Hebrew or Greek text often provides clarification of the intended meaning.
"Plenary" inspiration means that the whole Bible is God's Word ("all Scripture is inspired of God", 2Tim 3:16).
In contrast, some people say that the Bible merely "contains" God's Word. Saying this, requires that we consider ourselves superior to the Book, because we become judges of what is or is not of God. Who are we to judge God's Word? It is God's Word that judges us (Joh 12:48). We are on dangerous ground when we start to edit the Bible. See Isa 55:8,9; Rev 22:18,19.

However, plenary inspiration does not mean that every voice in the Bible is God's voice. The Bible also records the words and actions of Satan and of wicked men. God does not endorse their ways, but neither does He hide them. He accurately records these things because He wants us to see the difference between the kingdoms of darkness and of Light.

"Infallible" inspiration means that the Bible is accurate and true.
The Bible's historical accuracy has been demonstrated repeatedly by archeological discoveries. God's promises, whether of judgment or of blessing, will be fulfilled down to the smallest detail. (cp. Mat 5:18; Num 23:19; Psa 119:89)

Jesus Christ gave witness to the inspiration of Scripture. When His own disciples were slow to believe it, He reproved them, calling them "fools." (Luk 24:17-27)
Preservation- God has protected His Word...
Textual accuracy has also been confirmed by a multitude of ancient manuscripts. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the oldest known copies of the OT were dated from 895 AD. But the Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered in 1947), included OT copies dated from 150 BC. These ancient texts were virtually identical to the later copies.

The NT is supported by ancient copies in far greater abundance and better condition than any other ancient literature. (Including more than 5000 manuscripts, 9000 portions and fragments, and 86,000 quotes by early church leaders). Compare the documentation for other literature from the same era:
    Document Name       Number of Manuscripts    Date of Oldest
    Caesar, Gallic Wars         10               900 AD
    Livy, History of Rome       20               400 AD
    Thucydide, History           8               900 AD
    Herodotus, History           8               900 AD
    The New Testament       14,000               125 AD
By the multitude of existing copies, the Bible's original text is well established. But why didn't God preserve the original documents? Perhaps He knew that men would revere the ancient pages as sacred, while missing the significance of their message. (Man's tendency to this kind of error is illustrated by the improper worship of Moses' brass serpent, and its greater significance. Num 21:8,9, 2Kin 18:4, Joh 3:14,15) God cannot bless the worship of paper. He wants us to hear and heed His Word.
Illumination- God must enable His people to understand His Word.
Look again at 1Pet 1:10-12. Notice that the prophets, and even the angels, did not fully understand what God was saying as the Scriptures were being written. They were recording God's revelation, yet they understood only what God "revealed" personally to them.

Jesus' disciples spent more than three years under His teaching. But it was not until He "opened their understanding" that they began to understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44,45)

I may appreciate the Bible as literature. I may know many Bible stories. I may respect its moral guidance. But unless God "illumines" (makes His light shine into) my heart, I cannot fully benefit from His Word.

We need to be aware that:
Go to Understanding the Bible, Lesson #3 - Bible Themes: God

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