Theological Term of the Week: Inspiration of Scripture

inspiration of scripture

The truth that the Bible is a divine product; it is breathed out by God. Even though the text of scripture was written by human authors, those writers were superintended by God in such a way that the words of scripture are not only the words of the human author, but also the words of God. 

• From scripture:

And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21 ESV).

• From The New Hampshire Baptist Confession, 1833:

We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.

• From Concise Theology by J. I. Packer, page 5:

What Scripture says, God says; for, in a manner comparable only to the deeper mystery of the Incarnation, the Bible is both fully human and fully divine. So all its manifold contents—histories, prophecies, poems, songs, wisdom writings, sermons, statistics, letters, and whatever else—should be received as from God, and all that Bible writers teach should be revered as God’s authoritative instruction. Christians should be grateful to God for the gift of his written Word, and conscientious in basing their faith and life entirely and exclusively upon it. Otherwise, we cannot ever honor or please him as he calls us to do.

Learn more: 

1. Aaron Armstrong: What Do We Mean When We Say Scripture Is Inspired?
2. Simply Put: The Inspiration of Scripture
3. Got Questions: What does it mean that the Bible is inspired?
4. Blue Letter Bible: In What Sense Is the Bible the Inspired Word of God?
5. Steven Yuille: What Does the Inspiration of Scripture Mean?
6. Herman Ridderbos: The Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture 
7. Allen S. Nelson IV: The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures: The Meaning and Method of Inspiration
8. Loraine Boettner: The Inspiration of Scripture

Related terms:

• authority of scripture
• autographs
• inerrancy of scripture
• infallibility of scripture

Filed under Scripture

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Sunday Hymn: Christ Is Mine Forever More

Mine are days that God has numbered
I was made to walk with Him
Yet I look for worldly treasure
And forsake the King of kings

But mine is hope in my Redeemer
Though I fall, His love is sure
For Christ has paid for every failing
I am His forevermore

Mine are tears in times of sorrow
Darkness not yet understood
Through the valley I must travel
Where I see no earthly good

But mine is peace that flows from Heaven
And the strength in times of need
I know my pain will not be wasted
Christ completes his work in me

Mine are days here as a stranger
Pilgrim on a narrow way
One with Christ I will encounter
Harm and hatred for His name

But mine is armour for this battle
Strong enough to last the war
And He has said He will deliver
Safely to the golden shore

And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore

Come rejoice now, O my soul
For His love is my reward
Fear is gone and hope is sure
Christ is mine forevermore

And mine are keys to Zion city
Where beside the King I walk
For there my heart has found its treasure
Christ is mine forevermore

—Rich Thompson / Jonny Robinson © Cityalight Music

Sunday Hymn: Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal

Hark! I hear the harps eternal ringing on the farther shore,
As I near those swollen waters with their deep and solemn roar.

Refrain
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah praise the lamb
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, glory to the great I am

And my soul, though stained with sorrow, fading as the light of day,
Passes swiftly o’er those waters, to the city far away.

Some have crossed before me, saintly, to that land of perfect rest;
And I hear them singing faintly in the mansions of the blest.

Mighty Jesus, bear us over, these to kneel before Thy throne.
May we join the saints forever praising Thee, and Thee alone.

—F. R. Warren