Lesson 14
Second Peter
Warning against dangers
facing the Church
DOCTRINE: INSPIRATION
1. What Is Inspiration?
Biblical
inspiration may be defined as God's superintending of the human authors so that, using their own
individual personalities (and even their writing styles), they composed and
recorded without error His revelation to man in the words of the original
autographs.
Inspiration
means that "the Holy Spirit of God superintended the human writers in the
production of Scripture so that what they wrote was precisely what God wanted
written."
No
adequate systematic theology is possible without a belief in the inspiration
and inerrancy of Scripture. If this doctrine is abandoned, reason becomes the
source of authority and reason sits in judgment upon the text of Scripture.
2. The principle of inspiration is found in 2
Tim 3:16 with the word theopnestos qeo,pneustoj - which literally means
"God-breathed." And because Scripture
is breathed out by God, it is true and inerrant.
3. Consider the following syllogism:
Major
Premise: God is true (Romans 3:4; John
Minor
Premise: God breathed out the Scriptures
(2 Timothy
Conclusion: Therefore, the
Scriptures are true (John
4. The origin of Scripture is not from human
viewpoint but the Holy Spirit. 2 Pet
-
agency is God the Holy Spirit
-
ultimate source is God
2
Sam 23:2-3; Isa 59:21; Jer
1:9; Mk 12:36; Acts 4:24-25; 28:25.
5. The Bible is the mind of Christ, therefore,
the absolute criterion for the believer and its message should be meaningful to
believers. 1 Cor
6. Consequently, the Bible as the mind of Christ, existed in eternity past prior to being reduced to
written form. Prov.
8:22-31
- note: prior to Moses
there was no written Scripture, not that there weren’t written records earlier
than Moses, there was
7. Much of the pre-canon revelation of God
occurred through the Holy Spirit
2
Sam 23:2; Ezek 2:2; 11:1,24; Micah 3:8; Acts 28:25-26; Heb 3:7
spoke also through Theophanies Gen 17-18;
Ex 3:2-6 (Moses and the burning bush)
-
Note: Not all revelation given became a part of the canon.
8. There are five categories of O.T. revelation
apart from the canon:
a. Verbal communication (direct). Isa 6:8-10 cp Act
28:25
- often its “thus says
the Lord” or “then the Lord said to me”
b. Dreams (asleep) Nu 12:6;
Gen 15:12-15; 31:10-13; Dan 10:9
c. Visions (ecstatic status while awake) Isa
1:1; 6:1; 1 Ki 22:19
d. Angelic teaching. Zech 1:9,13,14,19
(provided the interpretation of the prophets vision); also Daniel was ministered to by angels to aid in
interpretation of the visions given; Dan
e. Creation.
Rom
9. The extent of inspiration in the Canon:
a.
The unknown past (Gen 1-11), unconfirmed by human records.
-
are accurate in all details
b.
Ancient history.
- although the Bible is not a history book it
does contain much often detailed accounts of historical events which form the
basis or background of what God is doing with His people Israel
- There are many examples of critics of
inerrancy of Scripture by respected scholars of major universities and
seminaries.
- Points often raised some examples:
1. Moses could not have written the Pentateuch
(1st 5 books of OT). Why?
Writing was not known in his day, that is
1500-1400 BC. The Exodus occurred in 1441BC.
Problem:
subsequent finds at
2. The Hittites were often presented as a
fabrication of Biblical writers where they were mentioned from Abe to
David’s day.
Then
one day the archaeologists digging in an area of
3. Today there is a group of “scholars” (Jesus
Seminar) through the process of
deconstruction and reconstruction basically deny that Jesus never existed even
though there is much extra-biblical evidence to refute there conclusions.
c. Objective type law related to the individual
and national life i.e. LDE survival in the devil's world.
d. Dictation passages of scriptures.
- all those passages
where there are direct quotes from God,
“thus says the Lord” The “word of the Lord came to me”
- all of these passages
are exactly as communicated to the human author
e. Devotional literature (Psalms, Esther, Job,
Proverbs)
- God uses the problems, pressures, the success
and failure of believers to reveal principles of His grace provision to handle
these kinds of issues in life.
f. Recordings of falsehoods (i.e. lies are
recorded accurately).
- Example: Gen 3:4 with Satan; point is that God
does not condone the lie but inspiration ensures the accuracy of the recording
of it.
g. Prophecy (1/3 of WOG so obviously is very
important).
10. External proofs of inspiration:
a. Prophecy fulfilled - 300 fulfilled in the 1st
Advent of Christ, seen in the phrase "that it might be fulfilled" Mt
b. Archeological confirmation (ill:
The
Bible's accuracy and reliability has been proved and verified over and over
again by archeological finds produced by both believing and non-believing
scholars and scientists.
This
includes verification for numerous customs, places, names, and events mentioned
in the Bible.
Nelson
Glueck, a specialist in ancient literature, said:
"It can be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."
Bible
scholar Donald J. Wiseman said, "The geography of Bible lands and visible
remains of antiquity were gradually recorded until today more than 25,000 sites
within this region and dating to Old Testament times, in their broadest sense, have been located...."
(25,000 sites!)
Well-known
Bible scholar William F. Albright said: "Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of
innumerable details, and has
brought increased recognition of the value of the Bible as a
source of history." Archeological
studies have been a true friend to the Christian Bible.
c. Preservation and restoration of the text. The grace provision of God in keeping the OT and the NT texts pure
through centuries of transmission. Mt 24:35
9. False views of inspiration:
a. Dictation theory - writer was a robot, an
amanuensis.
b. Conceptual theory - ideas and thoughts only
not words; writer restated concepts in own words and could inject error.
c. Partial inspiration - only truths unknowable
to the author.
d. Natural inspiration (intuition) - writer had
and elevated religious experience - same idea as an exceptional artists such as
in music and poetry.
e. Neo-orthodox view (Karl Barth)
do not deny that supernatural elements exist in
scripture but that it contains error therefore cannot be taken as literally true.
Bible is a channel of divine revelation and only becomes true as it is
comprehended by the reader of scripture. Puts the individual as the authority
determining what is true/false - therefore no absolute standards and situation.
11. The true view: Verbal, Plenary Inspiration:
a. By verbal inspiration is meant that, in the
original languages of scriptures, the Spirit guided in the choice of the words
used. However, the human authorship was respected to the extent that the
writers characteristics are employed (style, vocab,
personality), but without the intrusion of error. It means that every word is
inspired or God-breathed.
b. By plenary inspiration is meant that the
accuracy which verbal inspiration secures, is extended
to every portion of the Bible so that it is in all its parts both infallible as
to truth and final as to divine authority. It means that every part is inspired
equally.
12. Testimony of Christ related to Scripture:
a. Mt
Christ
is saying that the accuracy and inspiration of the O.T. scripture extends to
the very letters of scripture.
b. Christ declared the inviolability of
scripture in Jn 10:35 "scripture cannot be
broken".
c. Christ quoted the O.T. as authoritative; Mt
4:4, 7, 10
d. Lk 24:4 - in upper
room discourse - "that all things which are written about me in the Law
of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." (these describe the three sections of the Hebrew O.T. Canon)
Christ
is affirming that the entire O.T. Canon is scripture, is accurate and
authoritative.
Hebrew
OT canon is divided into 3 parts or sections:
#1 Law – Torah; often
referred to as the 5 books of Moses
#2 Naviim
– Prophets (2 categories)
Former
prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
Latter
prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve
#3 The Writings, kathuvim (Psalms is
the first and the longest)
Poetical
– Psalms, Proverbs, Job
5
Rolls (Megillah) - Song of Solomon, Ruth,
Lamentations, Esther, Ecclesiastes
Historical
books – Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles
(This
is the order of the OT Canon)
e. Lk
f. PRINCIPLE: It is logically
impossible to question the inspiration of O.T. without questioning the very
character and veracity of Jesus Christ.
g. Therefore the denial of the inspired,
inerrant W.O.G leads to the denial of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.
The
authority of Scripture cannot be separated from the authority of God. Whatever the Bible affirms, God affirms.
And
what the Bible affirms (or denies), it affirms (or denies) with the very
authority of God."
Theologian
Rene Pache agrees, noting that "if God entirely
inspired Scripture (as we have seen that He did), then Scripture is vested with
His authority.