“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . .” (2 Tim.3:16).
Our word “inspiration” has been translated from the Greek word theopneustos which means God-breathed, out-breathed, rather than in-breathed, by God. God did not breathe into existing literature or people. He didn’t inspire John or Paul, but rather he breathed out the Scriptures.
“Since the Bible is written by human beings, it must be treated as any other human communication in determining the meaning intended by the writer.” (Basic Principle 1 - McQuilkin)
What evidence is there that the Bible was written by human beings?
“Since Scripture is God-breathed and true in all its parts, the unity of its teachings must be sought, and its supernatural elements recognized and understood.” (Basic Principle 2 - McQuilkin)
The original manuscripts were inspired by God. Even the very words of the original were given by divine inspiration. Jesus said to the Devil: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4).
Note also: Exod.4:12; Jer.1:9; Ezek.2:7; Matt.5:18; 1 Cor.2:13; Gal.3:16.
Inspiration extends to all parts of the Bible: all books, all chapters, and all verses, although divisions are often manmade.
The author is the Holy Spirit. There is one theme. Everything fits together.
Truth is clearest in the New Testament. What may be obscure and incomplete in the Old Testament is revealed more fully as God’s redemptive plan unfolds throughout man’s history.
The idea that Paul, the apostle, was “inspired” like Shakespeare to write is wrong. There is no basis of comparison between Shakespeare’s plays and Paul’s writings. Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to write what God wanted the people to hear.
The Gospel of John is not more inspired than Ecclesiastes. All Scriptures are fully authorized by God although they differ in the purpose for which they were inspired and in their application.
Some say that the ideas were divine, but men were left to express them in their own way. If this were true, we would not be able to depend on the infallibility of the Scriptures.
Some say that the Bible contains the Word of God, not that it is the Word of God. They sit in judgment of the Bible and decide what is inspired. We need to let the Bible judge us.
The writers of Scripture were not mere machines to whom God dictated what should be written down. God used the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen. The process is a mystery to us, but God does many things that we cannot understand with our limited human minds.
Jesus Christ gave a very high position to Scripture. He read the Scripture in the synagogues and quoted from the Old Testament frequently. He pointed out that the Scripture was authoritative and could not be broken (John 10:34-38).
| 2 Samuel 10:18 | 1 Chronicles 19:18 |
| But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed 700 charioteers of the Arameans and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. | The Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army. |
Solution: The occasional tiny error in copying the text
| Matthew 27:5 | Acts 1:18 |
| “So Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself.” (later the chief priests used the money to buy the field) | “Now this man Judas acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, and falling headfirst he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.” |
Solution: Faulty Assumption
Two writers can include different details of the same event for their own purposes. Judas could have hanged himself and then fallen. Peter was emphasizing the fulfillment of prophecy through the death of Judas, while this was not a concern of Matthew.
| Matthew 26:34 | Mark 14:30 |
| “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’” | “And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny me three times.’” |
Solution: Faulty Assumption
One writer can be more detailed than another.
| The Bible claims that the moon is a light. But we know that the moon simply reflects light, but is not a light itself. Isaiah 13:10 “For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light.” |
Solution: Over-emphasis on scientific preciseness does not take into account normal human language (i.e., language that speaks from the perspective of the subject).
| Proverbs 12:21 | Lk. 16:19–22 |
| “The righteous do not encounter any harm, but the wicked are filled with calamity.” | The rich man and Lazarus: The unrighteous rich man is unharmed, while the righteous poor man is experiencing calamity. |
Solution: Faulty understanding concerning the nature of a proverb. A proverb is a general truth that does not necessarily apply in every situation. Here is a misunderstanding of the ultimate end of both men. The poor man, Lazarus, was the one who ultimately experienced peace, while the rich man experienced calamity after death.
Credit: Much of this page makes use of material from Sheila Evans and also “The Theology Program” at bible.org
The biblical manuscripts were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek (means common Greek of 2000 years ago).
Hebrew is a language that is about 4000 years old. It died as a spoken language about 350 B.C. It has been revived in Modern Israel but with many changes.
Aramaic is a language that has been dead for many centuries. Translators must depend on ancient secular manuscripts to reveal the grammar and vocabulary of Aramaic. Parts of Daniel and Nehemiah are written in Aramaic.
Koine Greek is 1800 years old. It was the language of the common people when Jesus lived on this earth. Modern Greek is quite different but related.
Hebrew and Greek are rich languages that have an extensive vocabulary and a grammar and syntax that are capable of expressing fine differences in meaning. Sometimes the English language does not express all that the biblical languages expressed.
Moreover, early copies of the Scriptures were written in the ancient style with no space between words, no punctuation, no paragraphs, and with everything written in the equivalent of capital letters. A division by chapters and verses was not added until the Middle Ages.
The translator has to make choices: How is he or she going to move from one language to the other? What will the criteria be?
It needs to be emphasized that God has given us a dependable copy of his Word. Even though there are differences in the underlying manuscripts as well as a different approach to translation, the differences between the reliable translations are few and minor. None of them affects a major doctrine.
Credit: Much of this page makes use of material from Sheila Evans
| And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (KJV) |
And He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, (NKJ) |
And He gave some {as} apostles, and some
{as} prophets, and some {as} evangelists, and some {as}
pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for
the work of service, to the building up of the body of
Christ; (NAS) |
| And he gave the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the
saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body
of Christ, (ESV) |
It was he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to
be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for
works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built
up (NIV) |
It was he who gave some as apostles,
some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as
pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, (NET) |
| Some of us have been given special
ability as apostles; to others he has given the gift of
being able to preach well; some have special ability in
winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as
their Savior; still others have a gift for caring for
God's people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and
teaching them in the ways of God. Why is it that he gives
us these special abilities to do certain things best? It
is that God's people will be equipped to do better work
for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a
position of strength and maturity; (TLB) |
Christ chose some of us to be apostles,
prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so that
his people would learn to serve and his body would grow
strong. (CEV) |
He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet,
evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christians in
skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the
church, (Message) |
| Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (ESV) |
Jesus said, "You're not listening.
Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this
original creation--the 'wind hovering over the water'
creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism
into a new life--it's not possible to enter God's kingdom.
When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch--the Spirit--and becomes a living spirit. (Message) |