Bible Inspiration and Inerrancy
What does the Bible means when it says it is inspired? It is
not simply saying that it is encouraging which of course it is; Biblical
inspiration means God through the agency of the Holy Spirit is the author of
scripture. Man did not write the Bible. This is where most people will disagree
and say, man did write the Bible! No, man recorded what God commanded them to
write. The word of God is NOT the invention of man. Even those who recorded the
scripture will attest to that.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God of may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The word inspired in the Greek language is the word theopneustos
which means God-breathed. God placed His words in the mouths of the
Biblical writers so that they only recorded what the Lord commanded. Paul who
wrote 2 Timothy did not take credit for what He wrote. In fact in I Corinthians
14:37 Paul said what I write to you are the commandments
of the Lord (italics mine).
Jesus Himself said the words He spoke were not of His own
authority (John 14:10b). Although Jesus was/is God in the flesh, He humbled
himself while on earth did and spoke only what His Father commanded Him (John
8:29).
In Jeremiah 1:9 it says, “Then the Lord put forth His hand
and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, behold I have put my words in your mouth.” (Italics mine).
This ordination of Jeremiah by the Lord gave the prophet divine authority to
speak in the name of the Lord.
Peter recorded these words in his second letter, “ For
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God as they were moved
or carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).
In the Old Testament we read these words, “The law of the
Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making
wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the
commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is
clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous
altogether” (Psalm 19:7-9).
Notice within these three verses the writers refer to the
law, testimony, statues, commandments as the
Lord’s, not men. If one reads the entire 119th Psalm, the writer
celebrates God’s word in an acrostic using the entire 22 letters of the Hebrew
alphabet.
In Proverbs 30:5-6 we read, Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put
their trust in Him. Do not add to His words lest He rebuke you, and you
be found a liar.
Here the writer affirms the truthfulness of God’s word and
warns severely those who would tamper with it. God’s words are perfect so no
editing of any kind is ever necessary. What God originally said is what He
meant. It is our responsibility to understand and relay the truth as He
originally transmitted to the writers of scripture; Moses, Joshua, David,
Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter,
Paul, James, John, et al.
One of the proofs of the inerrancy and inspiration of God’s
word is fulfilled prophecy. It has been reported that about 27 percent of God’s
word is prophetic. There are over 300 prophecies that have been fulfilled
regarding Christ’s first coming. These prophecies were not written after the events
occurred. Scientific dating proves this from the manuscript evidence that has
been discovered.
Another proof that the Bible is God’s word is the unity the
scriptures. The Bible was written from approximately 1400 B.C.-100 A.D. A
period of least 1500 years, penned by around 40 different authors on three
continents from various walks of life. Moses was a lawyer and judge, Joshua a
military leader, David a shepherd, a psalmist, a musician and then a king.
Daniel a prophet and exile in Babylon and Persia, Matthew a tax collector.
Peter and John fisherman, Luke a doctor, Paul a Pharisee and tentmaker.
Their words never contradicted each other, Why? Because the
original author was God the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). God is of course
incapable of error. Since He is perfect, anything He does is perfect (Matthew
5:48).
Another proof for the inspiration and inerrancy of scripture
is the overwhelming manuscript evidence. There are over 24,000 manuscripts on
the New Testament alone in existence! Just by way of comparison, the next
closest manuscript evidence for any other literature dug up through archaeology
is Homer’s Iliad written around 900 B.C. There are 643 copies in existence
which are 95% accurate. The time between when the original was written and the
first copy discovered was about 500 years. Compare that with the New Testament
which was written from around A.D. 50-100 A.D. (James being the first book and
Revelation being the last), and the first copy being discovered around 130 A.D.
A period of less than 100 years!
What this tells us is that the copies we have in our hands
are trustworthy and accurate for the copies are not far removed from the
originals (in time difference) which most likely no longer exist. The copies
are 99.5% accurate which is amazing! The amount in question comprises only one
half of 1% of the N.T. text![1]
Because we have so many copies, it makes the process of
textual criticism that much more effective in determining what the Bible
writers said.
Non biblical writings also support the scriptures. A Jewish
historian by the name of Flavius Josephus who was not a Christian lived during
the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 wrote in his antiquities regarding
Jesus, “At this time there appeared Jesus, a wise man
[if indeed one ought to refer to him as a man]. For he was a doer of startling
deeds, a teacher of people who received the truth with pleasure. And he gained
a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. [He was the
Messiah-Christ.] And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading
men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously
did not cease to do so. [For on the third day he appeared to them again alive,
just as the divine prophets had spoken about these and countless other
marvelous things about him.] And up until this very day the tribe of Christians,
named after him, has not died out.” [2]
There are those that will insist despite all the
mountains of evidence proving the existence of the Bible with all the
manuscript evidence, its internal and external evidence that is not God’s word.
One would need even more evidence to disprove the Bible claims and to date no one
has done so and no one will be ever able to do so. If critics want to contest the
accuracy of the scriptures then they MUST also contest the accuracy of the writings
of Homer, Julius Caesar, Plato and Aristotle. Since critics accept those non-biblical
documents regardless of whether they are accurate or not, then it’s only fair they
trust in the reliability of the Biblical documents based on the methods of textual
criticism. The word of God has far more documents
to cross reference for accuracy than any other ancient writing. God’s word will
abide forever for God Himself is everlasting.
The Bible is God’s word. First God Himself said
His word is true. Secondly, archeology supports its historicity and
reliability. Thirdly Its internal witness proves it among the various authors. Fourthly,
non-biblical evidence supports it. Fifthly, textual criticism confirms it. Sixthly,
fulfilled prophecy proves the Bible is God’s word.
[1]
Only the original autographs are inspired and inerrant. However the Bible
translations
We have are trustworthy and
accurate. Variants from the original have to do with spelling, word
Order, punctuation. No essential doctrine of the Bible
has been effected through the copying process.
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