Frank B.
Holbrook
Biblical Research Institute
In the preface of his book, God Our Contemporary, J. B. Phillips
makes this incisive observation on our times:
Ours
is a God-starved community. There is little real moral authority, because
no ultimate Authority is known or acknowledged. Since there is no accepted
standard of values beyond the purely material, the false god of success,
the lust of glamorized sex, the love of money and the "rat-race" of
business or social competition hold almost undisputed sway in the lives
of many people. . . . Without the Spirit of the living God
the public conscience is capricious and ill-formed.[1]
Notwithstanding its brazen boldness which rejects any restraints and questions
any commands, modern life has lost much of its sense of meaning and purpose
for being. It could be said of many today as was said of ancient Israel:
"My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain
of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water."[2] But underneath the exterior of a
mad society dancing its death dance with careless abandon, we believe there
are many searching hearts seeking for a meaningful authority. To the Christian
that meaningful authority is God as revealed in Jesus Christ and the Holy
Scriptures.
The Christian faith rests upon
two basic presuppositions: (1) There is a God, and (2) God has
revealed Himself to man in the Scriptures. Both positions are under severe
attack in our society. But modern man only echoes the enmity of the ages
and the enmity of the arch-rebel who in the beginning threw off the restraints
of divine authority. Rebel men and angels aim to be their own god and authority.
Their sentiments are voiced in Pharaoh's sneer: "Who is the Lord, that I
should heed his voice . . . ? I do not know the Lord."[3]
Since the knowledge of
God and His will for mankind are revealed primarily in the Scriptures, it
becomes a matter of first-rank importance in a search for a meaningful authority
to establish confidence in the trustworthiness of these writings. As any
method of inquiry must begin with basic premises, we purpose in this study
to begin with Christianity's two basic presuppositions.
If there is an Infinite God who has spoken to finite man in the Scriptures,
can such a finite being do any more than confess the fact? Has the finite
any adequate criteria by which to fully prove the Infinite? If the Scriptures
are true and man is really a sinner with a darkened mind and warped thinking
processes-and at heart a rebel against God-will he be able to prove the
inspiration of the Bible to his satisfaction by the apparent facts? Will
not the self-centered perverseness of his nature tend to prevent him from
acknowledging divine authority? The critical methods of interpreting the
data have never led to a very high view of inspiration. The procedure stumbles
over what appear to be errors, discrepancies, primitive concepts, and inconsistencies
by human measures and understanding and, hence, can from these infer no
high concept of inspiration. This is not to say that reason must be bypassed
and the inspiration of the Scriptures be accepted blindly, or that inductive
procedures are not useful in the study of the Scriptures. But rather, in
beginning with the basic premises of the Christian faith we humbly admit
that there are limits to the powers of the human mind to penetrate the wisdom
of God.
It is certainly legitimate to
let the Scriptures speak in their own defense; however, if there is an Infinite
Deity who has expressed Himself to mankind in the Scriptures, then the Scriptures
can have no greater witness to their genuineness than their own witness.
As Alan Stibbs says,
In any realm of activity the supreme authority must be self-authenticating.
It is impossible to get endorsement or confirmation of such utterances
by appeal to some greater authority. Similarly, if the Bible is from
God, and therefore possesses supreme authority among men in what it
says, it cannot be other than self-authenticating. Truth is settled
by what it says rather than by what others may say about it, or in criticism
of it.[4]
This may seem like a blind procedure to some. But in the nature of the
case it is the only logical procedure for the finite mind is limited in
its attempt to know the Infinite God. "Can you find out the deep things
of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?"[5]
Jesus and the apostles never attempt to prove inspiration; it is always
assumed. This does not mean that God requires blind faith. The Scriptures
themselves provide many broad affirming evidences that they are truly
what they claim to be-evidences that are both reasonable and sufficient
upon which we may rest our confidence.
Definition.
Webster gives the theological definition of the word "inspiration" as
"a supernatural influence which qualifies men to receive and communicate
divine truth." The term occurs twice in the KJV. In Job 32:8 it is the
rendering for neshamah for which the RSV reads "Breath." In 2 Timothy
3:16 the KJV reads, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God. . . ."
For this the RSV gives, "All scripture is inspired by God." The term so
rendered by these translations is theopneustos, an adjective
which literally reads, "God-breathed." Thus the phrase could read simply,
"All scripture (is) God-breathed."
The RV translates pasa graph' in connection with the adjective
to read, "Every scripture inspired of God is," etc., and the NEB follows
suit somewhat by rendering it, "Every inspired scripture has its use,"
etc. While these renderings tend to imply that there are some portions
of the Bible that are not inspired, it is not necessary to enter into
an extended discussion as it is obvious from the context that Paul is
not arguing for partial inspiration. The inspiration of Scripture is not
being called into question at all. Paul has just referred to Timothy's
careful nurture in the Holy Writings (hiera grammata, vs. 15)
which is the common phrase in Josephus for the OT. This phrase Paul links
with theopneustos indicating that he regarded the whole body
of OT writings as holy, God-breathed. Paul desires that Timothy shall
continue to live according to what he has learned in the Scriptures from
childhood for they, having been divinely given, are able to make him "wise
unto salvation." In saying that the Scriptures are "God-breathed," Paul
is arguing for the effective authority of Scripture somewhat as Peter
does.[6] Scripture is profitable to men because it is not man-breathed.
It is profitable for salvation as no other writing could be because it
is a revelation of the will of God from God Himself.
The Bible gives no formal definition
of inspiration. Only here and there are we given insights into the process.
However, in this classic text on biblical inspiration some observations
can be made: (1) The excellency of the Scriptures and their authority
for faith and practice in the religious life lie in their origin and source.
The Scriptures are God-breathed. God is their source and He is involved
in bringing them into being (in a manner not explained here). (2) The
purpose of Scripture is stated. The Scriptures are able "to instruct you
for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus," and are profitable for all
areas that may be comprehended in spiritual living and teaching. (3) The
sufficiency of Scripture is asserted in this area: "That the man of God
may be complete, equipped for every good work." In the context of the
epistle this may be primarily referring to Timothy. However, if the Word
of God is able to make the minister complete in all spiritual living and
equip him to serve His Lord, it would also be true for the individual
Christian. (4) Finally, in declaring that "all" or "every" scripture
is "God-breathed" and that the Scriptures are profitable and authoritative
for spiritual living because of this fact, then it must be inferred that
God has guided in the selection of the materials used-whether these stemmed
from personal observations, oral information, written sources, or direct
revelations to the writer. For Paul is stating essentially in this passage
the trustworthiness of the Scriptures and their consequent value.
Claim of
Scripture
Self-designation
At the outset it should be noted that the Bible writers regard inspired
writings as distinct and separate from other literature. They designate
them as "sacred writings" (hiera grammata) and "holy scriptures"
(graphais hagiais), and furthermore regard them as "the oracles
of God" (ta logia tou theou).[7] Stephen calls the
instruction Moses received in Sinai "living oracles" (logia zonta)[8]
which term, while properly referring to the spoken Law, is implicit in
the minds of the Bible writers for all Scripture for as Peter and Isaiah
both assert, "the word of the Lord abides for ever."[9]
Writers Claim
Revelation From
Outside Source
The writers of the Scriptures constantly remind the reader that they are
not the originators of their messages. These are truths or facts which
they have been caused "to see," that is, to understand. For example:
"The vision of Isaiah . . . which he saw concerning Judah;"
"the words of Amos . . . which he saw concerning Israel;"
"the word of the Lord that came to Micah . . . which he saw;"
"the oracle of God which Habakkuk the prophet saw;" "this is the vision
which the Lord has shown to me [Jeremiah]," etc.[10]
Occasionally the prophets were referred to as "seers" (roeh, chozeh)[11]
probably denoting that information was disclosed to them which was beyond
the normal ken of the human mind.
Consistently the Scripture
writers refer to the Holy Spirit as the divine source for the revelations
which they received. David declares, "The Spirit of the Lord speaks by
me, his word is upon my tongue." The praising Levites in Nehemiah's time
acknowledge, "Many years thou didst bear with them, and didst warn them
by thy Spirit through thy prophets."[12] Ezekiel makes a number
of references to the Spirit's control:
"And the Spirit entered into me." "And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon
me, and he said unto me." "The Spirit lifted me up, and brought me in
the vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea."
The Spirit's control is also equated with the expression, "the hand of
the Lord God" falling upon the prophet. Another prophet, Micah, asserts,
"But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord."[13]
The NT likewise acknowledges
the Holy Spirit's operation in the production of the Scriptures. Jesus
affirms that David was "inspired by the Spirit." Peter indicates likewise
the divine source for David's statements when he declared that a certain
prophecy must be fulfilled "which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by
the month of David." In similar words Paul says, "The Holy Spirit was
right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: . . ."[14]
The NT writers do not limit their statements regarding the control of
the Spirit to just a few select OT writers. It is their perspective that
the Holy Spirit spoke through all the writers. "The prophets . . .
inquired what person or time was indicated by the Spirit of Christ within
them when predicting the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory."
"No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from God."[15] While the human agent in the process
of inspiration is not forgotten or minimized, yet at times he fades and
the real authority is acknowledged: "The Holy Spirit says," "by this the
Holy Spirit indicates . . ."[16]
The NT writers also give
witness to the real author of their own messages:
Paul informs Timothy of a revelation from the Holy Spirit: "Now the
Spirit expressly says that in the later times some will depart from
the faith." John introduces the record of his Spirit-induced visions
with, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Again, "At once I was
in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven." Another of John's
expressions: "He carried me away in the Spirit."[17]
The substance of the apostolic witness is stated to have come from Jesus
through the agency of the Holy Spirit: "after he [Jesus] had given commandment
through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen [dia pneumatos
hagiou]." "How the mystery was made known to me by revelation, . . .
which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it
has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit."[18]
In sum we may say that
while the Scriptures recognize the human instrument, yet the direct personal
agency of the Holy Spirit is claimed. "Men moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God [hupo pneumatos hagiou]."[19]
It is upon the basis
of the agency of the Holy Spirit that the Bible writers assert repeatedly
that they speak the word of the Lord. The testimony they bear is not of
their own devising; it is a message direct from God; hence, their fearlessness
and urgency in proclaiming it.
"The words of Jeremiah . . . to whom the word of the Lord
came . . . 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.' " "The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest." "The
word of the Lord came to Hosea."[20]
Expressions of this type may be multiplied in the OT Scriptures.[21]
The prophets are clear and explicit on this point: "Then Haggai, the messenger
of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message."[22]
The prophets were instructed
to openly avow that God was their authority for the messages they bore.
"I send you to them; and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' "[23]
These words "Thus says the Lord," occur scores of times throughout the
writings of the OT-the divine credentials as it were of the prophet's
authority.
The NT also recognizes the
authority of God in the writings of the OT.
"The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord." "But what God foretold
by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus
fulfilled." "Sovereign Lord, who . . . by the mouth of . . .
David, thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit." "God spoke of old to
our fathers by the prophets."[24]
The consciousness of God's authority is so great that at times it stands
more prominent than the human channel. In connection with Mary's offering
after the birth of Jesus, Luke refers to the "law of Moses." But in detailing
its requirements in the same passage he twice refers to it as "the law
of the Lord."[25]
Matthew who quotes extensively
from the OT sums up the NT perspective of the authority behind the OT
writings thus: "what the Lord had spoken by the prophet" (hupo kuriou
dia tou prophetou)-the Lord being considered the direct personal
agency because He is the authority in the message and the prophet the
secondary, indirect agent.[26]
The NT writers claim
the same high source of authority for their apostolic witness as they
vouchsafe for the OT writers. "That you should remember the predictions
of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour through
your apostles," declares Peter, and he continues on to classify the epistles
of Paul as scripture.[27] Paul, of course, emphatically claimed
divine revelation for the gospel he preached: "I did not receive it from
man, nor was I taught it, but it came through revelation of Jesus Christ."[28]
And again, "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you."[29]
In one passage Paul refers to the words of Christ as scripture, regarding
them on the same plane as the OT.[30] Our Lord Himself likewise
recognized without hesitation the divine authority behind the Scriptures.
"Have you not read what was said to you by God . . . ?"
"Thus making void the word of God through your tradition."[31]
Process of
Inspiration
Reception of
a Divine Message
In Hebrews 1:1 we are told that "in many and various ways God spoke" by
the prophets. The term,
polumeros, derived as it is from the neuter
noun,
meros, meaning "share" or "portion" may be understood as
meaning "in many portions" as well as "in many ways." The Scriptures did
not come into being as one entire volume. Rather, it was revealed piece
by piece through the ages as God saw that instruction was needed and could
be received. Progressive revelation disclosing more clearly the divine plan
from age to age is thus inherent in the manner in which the Scripture was
given. The Spirit selected the time and the content for "no prophecy ever
came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from
God."
[32]
The Scriptures are not
explicit as to the details of the process of inspiration, that is, just
how the prophet was qualified by the Spirit to receive and to communicate
the divine message. There is a union-a linking of the divine and human agencies
for the effecting of the communication. Neither agency is ignored but the
details are not defined.
Content of
Inspiration. On this point there is an abundance of scriptural
testimony. While at times in a public situation there may have been physical
phenomena, communications by the Spirit were not a matter of emotion, frenzy,
temporary madness, or mere feeling. Rather, there was a transfer of information
on a rational level to the mind of the prophet.
The Holy Spirit did not always
communicate to a prophet by means of vision or dream, although this was
the common method.
[33] Sometimes the Holy Spirit appears to have
spoken to the inner senses transmitting oral instruction. Samuel is told
"in his ear" about Saul's coming to see him. Again as Samuel reviews Jesse's
sons he is told in his inner mind to reject the first lads presented and
finally to arise and to anoint David.
[34] Others like Zechariah
were given messages by symbolic representations with appropriate explanations
of the symbols.
[35] Some are given visions of heaven in which
setting instruction is conveyed in words and representations.
[36]
Sometimes a writer was given a view of events transpiring just then at another
location of which he was unaware.
[37] At other times the Bible
writers were carried forward in time and were shown events that would occur
in the future. Prophecies of the future were thus predicted upon the divine
foreknowledge. Sometimes the writers even participated in their visions-that
is, they saw themselves performing certain functions in vision, which actions
became part of the message itself.
[38]
Reaction of the Writers. The prophets did not always understand
what they were shown; at times they were greatly perplexed over the content
of their revelations. Daniel and John illustrate this fact.
[39]
At times the inspired writers themselves searched the divinely revealed
messages-their own and those of the other prophets-for piece by piece a
mosaic picture was being constructed over the centuries revealing the person
of the Messiah, His coming sufferings (First Advent) and the subsequent
glory (Second Advent).
[40] Sometimes the prophets shrank from
speaking to the people what had been shown them, or they actually argue
with God over the revelation.
[41] Definite instructions are given
to some to write out what has been shown them for future use by others.
[42]
Some observations.
From this brief review certain observations may be made in order to more
clearly delimit the biblical concept of "inspiration." First, inspiration
is not conceived to be a simple function of genius or ability such as might
be attributed to a poet or a musician. Definite instruction is conveyed
to the mind of the prophet concerning people, places, events, reproofs,
encouragements, etc. Sometimes he understands; sometimes he does not. He
is often led to search his own writings and the writings of others to find
specific data. At times he will even argue with God over what has been revealed.
"No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man." The prophet would be first
to disclaim his genius as originating his message.
Secondly, inspiration is not
regarded as the experience of regeneration or the new birth. A message conveyed
by the Spirit to the mind does not convert the prophet, nor does it guarantee
him salvation or prevent his sinning. Balaam uttered a divine communication
under inspiration while he was living contrary to God's ways. David, who
spoke by the Spirit, also committed gross crimes at one time in his life.
The prophets were men of "like nature with ourselves"
[43] so
far as their standing in need of grace was concerned. Divine revelations
did not transform their lives automatically, but they did increase their
responsibility.
Thirdly, inspiration is not depicted as being simply illumination. It is
one of the functions of the Holy Spirit to guide one into truth, to open
the understanding to grasp truth; but it is truth which is first revealed
by the Spirit by means of the prophetic agency. It is clear from Peter's
statement that inspiration could occur without illumination, that is, without
understanding on the prophet's part. The prophets did not always understand
their visions but searched for an understanding of their import. It must
also be clear that simple enlightenment by the Holy Spirit which is promised
to all seekers after truth could not account for the revelations of future
events unknown to the prophet.
[44] And it must follow that such
simple illumination of the Holy Spirit which is promised to all who seek
for truth would not make such a seeker equal in authority with a Bible writer.
The truth-filled sermons which Barnabas and Paul preached may have sounded
much alike. But there was this distinct difference which enhanced the authority
of Paul's preaching above that of his colleague: Barnabas as a convert had
been illuminated by the Spirit to apprehend the truths of the written Word
of God, while Paul received the gospel by revelation. "I did not receive
it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus
Christ."
[45]
Fourthly, it may be observed
that the prophets were instructed to commit their messages to writing, the
purpose obviously being to provide an objective authoritative body of truth
expressing God's will whereby one's experience could be tested. So Moses
commanded the nation:
At
the end of every seven years, . . . when all Israel comes
to appear before the Lord . . . you shall read this law before
all Israel in their hearing . . . that they may hear and learn
to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this
law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn
to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land. . . .[46]
The same assent to an objective body of truth is voiced by Paul: "What
then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not
been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known
what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' "[47]
Jesus asserted that the reason His questioners were missing the truth
in their human speculations was because they were ignorant of the body
of truth given in the Scriptures. "You are wrong, because you know neither
the scriptures nor the power of God."[48]
Transmission
of a Divine Message
The
biblical prophets were "men moved by the Holy Spirit." The Spirit
acted upon them. This does not mean that the prophet was merely passive
and helpless like an aeolian harp through which the wind of the Spirit
passed creating a melody, or as Montanus has the Holy Spirit to say that
"the man is as a lyre, and I sweep over him as a plectrum."[49]
The apostle Paul observed to the Corinthians that "the spirits of the
prophets are subject to the prophets,"[50] or as F. F.
Bruce has paraphrased it, "the prophets' inspiration is under the prophets'
control, for God is a God of peace, not of disorder."[51] Heathen
peoples knew the violent mantic inspirations of sibyls and priestesses,
but genuine inspiration never obliterates the self-consciousness or overpowers
the reason.[52] In other words, inspiration by the Spirit of
God does not destroy the integrity of the prophet's personality. The divine
message is addressed to his mind. He is enabled to grasp it and in turn
to deliver its contents to the people orally, written, or both.
Does the divine communication
come to the prophet in a specific set of words which he simply repeats?
While this may be true at times, the evidence indicates that it is not
always true.
The relationship between Moses
and Aaron may fitly represent the relationship between the Holy Spirit
and the prophet.
And
the Lord said to Moses, "See, I make you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron
your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command
you; and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh. . . ."
Previously
the Lord had said, "And you shall speak to him and put the words in his
mouth. . . . He shall speak for you to the people; and
he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God."[53]
The reason in the first place for the assignment of Aaron as spokesman
for Moses was that the latter had complained that he was "slow of speech
and of tongue;" however, Aaron could "speak well."[54] Presumably
then, Aaron did not speak the exact words of Moses, but, being first informed
by Moses regarding God's commands, he would have phrased them in his own
vocabulary and style in his speech before Pharaoh. The message would have
been that of Moses but couched in the language of Aaron. This we believe
to be the case of the Bible writers. They, having once apprehended the
divine thoughts and intent, expressed these in their own language and
style. The evidence for this may be seen in the varied style and vocabulary
of the various books which reflect the education and culture of the several
writers.
Sometimes the writers are told
to describe what they see. Various representations are then caused to
pass before their vision with little or no verbal instruction.[55]
It would seem reasonable to surmise that the prophet in such cases used
his own language patterns. Expressing the divine messages in his own words
would allow a writer to change individual terms or to add to a writing
if in doing so he could strengthen or clarify the expression of the divine
purposes. This seems to have been the case of Jeremiah who was instructed
to rewrite his message after Jehoiakim burned his scroll. But in doing
so Jeremiah did not make an exact duplicate. Baruch, at the dictation
of Jeremiah, wrote on a new scroll "all the words of the scroll which
Jehoiakim . . . had burned in the fire; and many similar words
were added to them."[56]
While words and thoughts
can not be cut asunder, yet for all practical purposes thoughts can be
expressed in more than one way. The many variants in the manuscripts that
have come down to our day indicate that mankind's salvation was not being
jeopardized (as far as God was concerned) so long as the essential thoughts
expressing the divine will were preserved. Those who argue for the theory
of verbal inspiration for the original autographs are for all practical
purposes limited to the thoughts as expressed by the wording of extant
manuscripts. But we would believe that the biblical evidence points to
a fuller functioning of the human personality. There is a blending of
the divine and human agencies. The divine messages were incarnated, as
it were, in the human language or vocabulary and style of the writer so
that the authoritative will of the Infinite God might be grasped and understood
by finite minds.
Inspiration
and History
Up to this point we have been considering inspiration as a process whereby
the Holy Spirit enabled a Bible writer to grasp divinely imparted truths
hitherto unknown or but dimly apprehended by the prophet. But there are
many materials recorded in the Scriptures which must have been known to
the writers; indeed, some of them lived during the happenings they recorded.
When Paul asserts that "All scripture is inspired by God," he must be
affirming also the trustworthiness of the historical records as well as
the moral or spiritual truths taught in the Scriptures.
The authenticity of Bible history
becomes increasingly important when it is realized that the Scriptures
do not teach the will of God in abstract, systematized doctrines. The
controversy between God and Satan, the truths of the plan of redemption
are revealed in the activities of God in Israel's history. The faith of
the Bible is inextricably locked to actual historical events, to a people,
to the mountains and the plains and watercourses of the Near East. Men
were guided to record various historical events although all have not
been preserved to us:
"These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went forth
out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. Moses wrote down their starting
places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord. . . ." "So Joshua
made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances
for them at Schechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the
law of God." "Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last,
Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote." "In the ninth year, in the
tenth month, the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to
me: 'Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king
of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.'[57] "
Etc.
Necessity
of Inspiration in Recording
Sacred History
The perspective of sacred history is different from that of secular history.
The words of the Lord may truthfully be accommodated to apply to historical
events as well as to human lives: "The Lord sees not as man sees; man
looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."[58]
The Holy Spirit evidently guided the writers to understand and to record
that which was spiritually significant in the stream of historical activity
which would reveal the workings of the controversy between good and evil
and would give spiritual guidance for His people in future times. Thus
the NT writers declare:
"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,
that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we
might have hope." The overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrha for their wild
immorality was to "serve as an example" "to those who were to be ungodly."
The record of the imputation of righteousness to Abraham because of
his faith was "written not for his sake alone, but for ours also." Israel's
experiences in the Exodus "were written down for our instruction." James
counsels Christians under trial to call to mind the steadfast experience
of the prophets who suffered of old for the Lord's sake, and he singles
out the patience of Job to consider. Even the recording of OT civil
law is seen to have had spiritual significance: "For it is written in
the law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out
the grain.' Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak
entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, . . ."[59]
The NT writers also make clear why they are impelled to record historical
events. Says Luke, "it seemed good to me . . . to write an orderly
account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth
concerning the things of which you have been informed."[60]
But John, an eyewitness of the life of Jesus, throws an interesting bit
of light on this matter of recording the life of Jesus. He confesses that
the disciples did not understand the significance of the acts of Jesus
when He lived with them. "His disciples did not understand this at first;
but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been
done to him."[61] The glorification of Jesus occurred upon
His ascension and enthronement at the right hand of God at which time
the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the waiting, praying disciples.[62]
It was the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them that enabled the apostolic
writers to grasp the true meaning of the events of our Lord's life and
sacrifice.[63] And so John could avow, "Now Jesus did many
other signs . . . which are not written in this book; but these
are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that believing you may have life in his name."[64]
A remarkable evidence
of the presence of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the historical
portions of Scripture is seen in the biographies of its personalities.
Only divine control could enable a writer to delineate the true character
of the one recorded-both his weaknesses and his strengths. The errors
of Bible heroes are as faithfully portrayed as their successes. There
is no partiality. Noah's drunkenness is not hidden nor Abraham's lying.
The tempers of Moses, Paul, James, and John are not passed over. The lust
and bloodguiltiness of Israel's greatest king is exposed. The deceitfulness
of the father of the twelve tribes and the frailties of the twelve disciples
are openly recorded. There is no excusing; there is no attempt to minimize.
Men are depicted as they really were inwardly, and what they became by
the grace of God or what they failed to become. No unaided human biographer
could have so written. The heathen world may have seen in Ahab a formidable
and powerful ruler, but the Bible writer never notes this fact.[65]
He only perceives under the Holy Spirit what he really was: a morally
weak and childish king who introduced deep apostasy into Israel by his
marriage to unscrupulous Jezebel.
There is no hint that the Bible writers regarded the historical records
in any other light than that they were actual events which had truly occurred.
The records are not considered false or inaccurate, nor are they regarded
as myth and symbol. Jesus often refers to the historical records in His
teachings.
He notes David's eating of the shewbread; Jonah's preaching to Nineveh
and the city's repentance. Jonah's experience in the great fish is borrowed
as a type of his own coming death and resurrection. He refers to the
creation of mankind in two sexes and the institution of marriage by
God's commandment. He refers to the murder of Abel. He notes the condition
of the world in Noah's time and the similar conditions that will obtain
prior to His return. He refers to Noah building the ark and the flood
that swept mankind away. He comments on the heathen widow's care of
Elijah and the healing of Naaman by Elisha.[66]
It is interesting to observe that the records that the modern world in particular
discounts and explains away-such as Adam and Eve, Jonah's experience, Noah
and the Flood-Jesus accepts as historically true and weighted with important
spiritual lessons for present living.
There is a forthrightness about
the Scriptures in terms of the historical records. While all questions in
this area have not been solved and possibly never will be, yet this very
directness without any hesitation is impressive. Manners and customs are
alluded to; regnal years of rulers are stated; dates for various events
are cited-sometimes even the day and month as well as the year; contemporary
rulers are noted, etc. Frankly and openly the facts are recorded. The truthfulness
of the historical data when they can be attested naturally increases one's
confidence in the veracity of the Scriptures when it speaks in the area
of spiritual truth.
Authority
of the Scriptures
Approaches
In the course of church history attempts to explain and to define the
inspiration of the Scriptures which have led to low views may be classified
under two headings: rationalistic and mystical. The chief characteristic
of the rationalistic perspective is the attempt to distinguish between
what is thought to be the inspired and the uninspired elements within
the Scriptures. On the other hand the mystical viewpoint is that man has
something within himself that will answer to the truly inspired Word as
a test of its genuiness. That only is truly inspired which "finds them."[67]
A more current view which is related to the mystical approach is to regard
scriptural revelation as a matter of personal encounter with Christ which
any man can have equally with the Bible writers. I may as a believer become
as contemporary with Christ as was Peter, says Emil Brunner. "No longer
must I first of all ask the Apostle whether Jesus is really Lord. I know
it as well as the Apostle himself, and indeed I know it exactly as the
Apostle knew it; namely, from the Lord Himself, who reveals it to me."[68]
The net effect of both
approaches is to substitute the authority of human opinions and feelings
for divine authority. Reason is not authority but the mode or means by
which we grasp and submit to what we hold to be authoritative. What we
submit to-of that do we make our real authority. In case of the rationalistic
approach the authority becomes certain humanistic criteria. The mystical
approach makes an experience the authority. However, the acceptance of
an inspired revelation does not make one a part of the revelation. Whether
one accepts or rejects an inspired revelation in no way affects the revelation
according to the scriptural viewpoint. God declared to Ezekiel: "And whether
they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will
know that there has been a prophet among them."[69] Both views
ultimately deny the divine authority which the Scriptures claim, namely,
that God has spoken through the Bible writers in a way He does not speak
to the ordinary human being.
The
authority of the Scriptures for faith and practice rises or falls in accordance
with one's concept of inspiration. If it is but a human voice that speaks
in the Scriptures, or if its message is in some manner dependent on how
it moves me or if it needs me to complete it, then the authority of the
Scriptures is greatly weakened if not entirely nullified. But if the divine
voice is speaking through the writers as they themselves claim, if the
writers are channels for conveying the divine will to mankind, then the
Scriptures become profitable to me as God's directives in matters of doctrine,
reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness.[70]
Affirming
Evidences
Naturally,
the mind asks for assurances that the biblical claim is true-that God
is truly speaking to us in the writings of the Scripture. While the finite
cannot prove the Infinite, God has given us some evidences that commend
themselves to our intelligence. We list a few.
a. The Scriptures' perspective
of life. Holy Scripture gives simply, but profoundly clear and satisfying
answers to life's ultimate questions: From where did we come? Why are
we here? What happens after death? Why the sinful predicament of mankind?
It explains the complexities of the human situation and offers an appealing
solution. The Scriptures give a sensible coherence to life and provide
a genuine sense of meaning for every-day living and for the future. This
we would expect from a sovereign God of love.
b. The fulfillment of prophecy
in general and especially in the life of our Lord, and the continual and
current fulfillment of its last-day predictions authenticate and continue
to authenticate the Scriptures. God declares, "I am God, and there is
none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
things not yet done, . . ."[71] And the Son of God
thrice stressed the authenticating effects of fulfilled predictions: "Now
I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place,
you may believe."[72]
Jesus lived in constant awareness that He was fulfilling the OT prophecies
and types that foreshadowed the Messiah. He began His ministry with a
reference to Daniel 9, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel." When He completed the
reading of the Messianic passage of Isaiah 61, He startled His fellow
citizens by affirming: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing." Submitting to the will of God, He is able to say to the disciples
in the upper chamber, "The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but
woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!" Or again, He refuses
Peter's attempts to protect Him in the Garden, for He could have angel
legions if He so desired: "But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled,
that it must be so?" It was upon the remarkable fulfillment of the OT
predictions and types in His experience that Jesus established the faith
of the disciples in Him after His resurrection: "And beginning with Moses
and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. . . . Then he said to them,
'These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets
and the psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand
the scriptures."[73]
c. The high spiritual
plane of the Scriptures. If Holy Scripture were of mere human origin,
it is doubtful that it would set so high a plane for daily living. "As
he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct."[74]
The Vedas permit thieving and the Koran teaches salvation by works,[75]
but the Scriptures command all duty and forbid all sin, and reject human
merit as insufficient for salvation while revealing the true way of redemption
by God's grace.[76] Men's idols are never more than extensions
of themselves-defects and all. How could men conceive a book whose teachings
are so far beyond their natural being? "Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean?"[77] The exalted level of scriptural teaching
is an evidence of its Divine Author.
d. The adaptability of the Scriptures to human needs. Although the Holy
Scripture came from the Near East, they meet any man at his deepest level
regardless of his race, his age, or his times. In whatever land it has
entered it has brought comfort, hope, and progress. Its endurance is phenomenal.
It has been spurned and burned and gutted. Rejected and often neglected
and at times prophesying in sackcloth, it continues to have an amazing
vitality and an international influence that is unexplainable on a human
basis.
e. The transforming influence
of the Scriptures. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is a
life-changer without peer. The schools of psychology with their adjustments,
good as they may be, have never equaled the results of a new creation
by the transforming power of God in the Word. The Scriptures studied with
sincerity of purpose under the Holy Spirit will refine, ennoble, and uplift.
They will never lead a man down, will never degrade or demean. This too
is an evidence of their essential Author.
These and other similar observations
that might be made give broad evidences that affirm the claim of divine
authority in the Scriptures.
Discrepancies
or Possible Errors
When the Scriptures assert that Inspiration guarantees their trustworthiness,
does it mean that they are free from all mistakes? Some argue, yes-in
the autographs, but this is an argument from silence. The question is,
How far does the superintendence of the Holy Spirit extend beyond assuring
that the message is valid and true? This is probably a point that can
never be fully answered. Apart from this is the matter of textual transmission
which prevents any definitive answer to our question. It is clear from
the condition of the extant manuscripts that God did not deem it necessary
to protect His message from the many variants so long as the essential
concepts and truths were preserved. Some errors or discrepancies may be
only mistakes of transmission and not those of the original writer. Many
alleged errors have turned out to be only misapprehensions on the part
of scholars as the evidences from archeology have continued to reconstruct
the ancient backgrounds. Sometimes the problem lies in reading Eastern
thought patterns with Western eyes. But we confess that we know only "in
part" and our knowledge of divine operations in conjunction with the human
agency is limited.
However, our confidence in
the authority of the Scriptures must not rest at the point of what we
assume to be a discrepancy and our ability to explain it. God is not on
trial in a sentence but in the truth.[78] If God is Infinite
and man is finite, faith can never be coextensive with knowledge. We may
not be able to explain every problem passage to our satisfaction, but
neither do we have to. There are sufficient broad evidences to assure
us of the reliability of the Scriptures and the veracity of their concepts
and truths. And these evidences should be a sufficient deterrent to prevent
our beginning with a supposed error and proceeding to explain away the
force of the rest of the biblical testimony.
Jesus and
the Authority of Scripture
Jesus
acknowledged the divine authority in the Scriptures. He declared, "Scripture
cannot be set aside."[79]
Holy Scripture was final authority to Jesus whether He was resisting
Satan in the wilderness or the Pharisees in the synagogues: "It is written;"
"What then is this that is written. . . ?" He looked
upon Scripture as the rule for faith and practice: "Go and learn what
this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' " "Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God." When one asked, "what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus replied, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" Our Lord
knew the creative power of the Word and bore witness to this fact when
He prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth." Jesus always
placed the Scriptures above the traditions and opinions of men, and
He reproved the Jews for circumventing the authority of the Scriptures:
"You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."
In His teaching He appeals to His foes to make a more discerning study
of the sacred writings: "Have you never read in the scriptures . . . ?"
Or as the parallel gospel puts it, "Have you not read this scripture
. . . ?" "Have you not read in the book of Moses . . . ?"
Jesus believed in the validity of scriptural prophecy and testified
that it pointed to Himself. "If you believed Moses, you would believe
me, for he wrote of me." "The scriptures . . . bear witness
to me." Upon their fulfillment in Him He based His strongest claim to
be the Messiahship. "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer
these things and enter into his glory?" He charged the Sadducees-the
leaders of the people-with error in doctrine because of their willful
ignorance of the Scriptures.[80]
From this brief sketch it is clear that our Lord accepted the Holy Scriptures
without reservation as the authoritative revelation of God's will for man.
It was a body of truth, an objective revelation, which stood over against
a man to point out the will of God to him. It was superior to human tradition
and teaching which often subverted it. It would lead a man to saving knowledge.
It was the rule for faith and practice. It was authoritative for spiritual
understanding and would prevent one from following erroneous, subjective
views.
The apostles likewise uphold
the authority of sacred Scripture. Peter views it as a vital "imperishable"
"living and abiding" seed that, planted in the heart, brings about a new
life. For Paul, they are the "holy Scriptures"-able to make one "wise
unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus."[81]
The Holy Spirit
and the Authority of Scripture
If
the Scriptures are what they claim to be and man is what Scripture says
he is, then the authority of the Scriptures cannot be acknowledged apart
from the operation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was the Incarnate
Word of God, but His true nature was undiscerned by the careless crowd
and the caviling Pharisees. Some thought him a prophet like John, Elijah,
or Jeremiah-but only a man. But when Peter confessed Christ's deity, Jesus
declared, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." The apostle Paul
pinpoints the immediate source of this conviction in a man's mind when
he says: "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit."[82]
In like manner the written
Word of God can neither be understood correctly nor acknowledged as authoritative
without the witness of the Holy Spirit to the mind. "No one comprehends
the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. . . . The
unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they
are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are
spiritually discerned.[83] On the other hand the apostle declares,
"We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is
from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God."[84]
The Scriptures and the
Spirit cannot be separated. The Spirit is both their author and revealer.
To the believer the authority of the Scriptures is the authority of the
Spirit. The message of the Scriptures and not the human writer is the
authority, for it is the mind of God expressed by the Holy Spirit through
the medium of the writer.
To seek for an experience with
the Holy Spirit, however, apart from the written Word may lead only to
fanaticism and excesses. The Scriptures must always remain central to
Christian living as the test of the correctness of the experience. On
the other hand to search the Scriptures without the illumination of the
Holy Spirit will lead only to dry formalism or to wrong conclusions. "Learning
without the Holy Ghost blinds men to the realities of Divine truth."[85]
It is clear from the
entire testimony of Scripture that the purpose of divine inspiration is
to provide mankind with an authoritative body of truths-an objective revelation-that
would give man a trustworthy guide outside himself for spiritual living-a
guide that would be profitable "for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
equipped for every good work."[86] Like the Law, Scripture
would provide man a mirror by which to test himself, for without such
he would have only his subjective feelings for a guide. An objective revelation
provides the only safe means of knowing about the invisible God and even
Jesus Christ whom He has sent. As Warfield sums the matter,
It remains the profound persuasion of the Christian heart that without
such 'external authority' as a thoroughly trustworthy Bible, the soul
is left without sure ground for a proper knowledge of itself, its condition,
and its need, or for a proper knowledge of God's provisions of mercy
for it and his promises of grace to it,-without sure ground, in a word,
for its faith and hope.[87]
It is not God's intention, however, that the Scriptures shall remain but
an external authority in paper and ink or an abstract proposition anymore
than it was His intent that the law should remain engraved in stone. It
is the work of the Holy Spirit to make the objective Word of God dynamic
in the life. The Word of God is referred to as a living seed that, planted
in the mind, causes a new life to spring up; but it is the Holy Spirit
that is the power in the seed which produces the new life.[88]
The Scriptures are figuratively designated as "milk" and as the believer's
food,[89] but it is the Holy Spirit that assimilates this spiritual
food into the life. In one passage Paul observes that Christ desires to
sanctify and to cleanse the church with "the washing of water with the
word," but in another place he indicates that the cleansing agent in the
Word is the Holy Spirit: "He saved us, . . . in virtue
of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy
Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."[90]
Christ's words are to "abide" in us and "the word of Christ" is to "dwell
in you richly." Likewise, Jesus said the Holy Spirit "dwells with you,
and will be in you."[91] Peter wrote to certain that they had
purified their soul by "obedience to the truth," and in another passage
he observed that the Holy Spirit is "given to those who obey him."[92]
By means of the mysterious yet none-the-less real movings of the Holy
Spirit, the truths of the Scriptures become the "engrafted word" (KJV)
or the "implanted word"-which "is able to save your souls,"[93]
for it is by means of the truths of the Scriptures that the Spirit transforms
the life.
Summary
Finite minds cannot prove the basic presuppositions of Christianity, but
we believe there are sufficient and reasonable evidences to affirm their
truthfulness. And hence, we move from the premise that inspiration is
supernaturally grounded.
The Scriptures' consistent
claim is that the Holy Spirit spoke to the prophets. The Spirit qualified
the minds of men to receive rational communications and to impart them
to others. The men were inspired. The personality of the writers was not
breached, but each expressed in his own manner what had been revealed
to him. Although the prophet was human with sinful tendencies, the operation
of the Spirit guarantees the truthfulness of the message as an expression
of the Divine will. Thus the message is asserted to be the Word of the
Lord.
Inspiration also operates in
the recording of the historical records so that the controversy between
good and evil is disclosed, and the lessons of the past give guidance
for the future.
The authority of the Scriptures
rests in the fact that by means of their medium God is uniquely speaking
to mankind as He does in no other manner. Many broad evidences affirm
and assure that the claims for this uniqueness by the Bible writers is
true.
It is the providence of the
Holy Spirit to be both the author and the revealer of the Holy Scriptures.
The Spirit and the Scriptures must never be separated. He will convince
the mind of their truthfulness, and the Scripture will test the experience
for its correctness. It is the purpose of the Spirit to transfer the truths
of the written word into the living experience of the Christian.
The apostles, and our Lord
above all, accepted the Scriptures as a divinely given body of objective
truth revealing to mankind the authoritative will of God. The deep-seated
conviction of the truly converted in every age since Moses has been the
same as that of the Thessalonians for which attitude Paul thanked God.
May it ever continue to be our own personal affirmation of faith:
And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you
received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not
as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is
at work in you believers.[94]
___________
[1].
J. B. Phillips,
God Our Contemporary, preface.
[2]. er. 2:13. Citations are from the RSV unless otherwise
noted.
[3].
Exod 5:2.
[4].
Alan M. Stibbs, "Witness of the Scripture
to Its Inspiration,"
Revelation and the Bible, ed. Carl F. H. Henry,
109.
[5]. Job 11:7.
[6]. 2 Pet 1:19-21
[7]. 2 Tim 3:15; Rom 1:1; 3:2. See also Heb 5:12.
[8]. Acts 7:38.
[9]. 1 Pet 1:25; Isa 40:8, "The word of our God will stand
for ever."
[10]. Isa 1:1; Amos 1:1; Micah 1:1; Hab 1:1; Jer 38:21, etc.
Amos 7:12.
[11]. 1 Sam 9:9; Amos 7:12.
[12]. 2 Sam 23:2; Neh 9:30; cf. Zech 7:12 for a similar statement.
[13]. Ezek 2:2; 11:5, 24; 8:1; cf. 37:1; Micah 3:8.
[14]. Matt 22:43; cf. Mark 12:36, "David himself, inspired by the
Holy Spirit, declared. . . ." Acts 1:16; 28:25.
[15]. 1 Pet 1:10-11; 2 Pet 1:21.
[16]. Heb 3:7; 9:8.
[17]. 1 Tim 4:1; Rev 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; cf. 21:10.
[18]. Acts 1:2; Eph 3:3-5.
[19]. Rom 10:19, "Moses says"; John 12:38-39, "the word spoken by
the prophet Isaiah," "Isaiah said"; Luke 20:42, "David himself says in the
Book of Psalms"; Matt 24:15, "spoken of by the prophet Daniel"; Luke 18:31,
"Everything that is written . . . by the prophets"; 2 Pet 1:21.
[20]. Jer 1:1-2, 9; cf. 10:1; Ezek 1:3; Hosea 1:1.
[21]. Cf. Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Micah 1:1; Zeph 1:1; Zech 1:1.
[22]. Hag 1:13
[23]. Ezek 2:4.
[24]. Jas 5:10; Acts 3:18; 4:24-25; Heb 1:1; cf. Luke 1:68-70 for
a similar statement.
[25]. Luke 2:22-24.
[26]. Matt 1:22.
[27]. 27.2 Pet 3:2, 15-16.
[28]. Gal 1:12; cf. Eph 3:3.
[29]. 1 Cor 11:23; cf. 1 Cor 15:3.
[30]. 1 Tim 5:18 citing Luke 10:7 and possibly Matt 10:10.
[31]. Matt 22:31; Mark 7:13.
[32]. 2 Pet 1:21.
[33]. Num 12:6.
[34]. 1 Sam 9:15 (KJV). Literally, "Yahweh uncovered the ear of Samuel."
1 Sam 16:7.
[35]. Zechariah 4, etc.
[36]. 2 Cor 12:1-4; Rev 4:1-2, etc.
[37]. Ezekiel 8.
[38]. Revelation 10.
[39]. Dan 8:15, 27; 12:8; Rev 5:4.
[40]. 1 Pet 1:10-12.
[41]. Habakkuk; Jonah.
[42]. 1 Pet 1:12, implied; Deut 31:9, 19, 24-26; Isa 30:8; Jer 36:2;
29; Dan 12:4; Rev 1:11.
[43]. Jas 5:17.
[44]. Augustus H. Strong,
Systematic Theology (3 vols. in
one), 206.
[45]. Gal 1:12.
[46]. Deut 31:10-13.
[47]. Rom 7:7.
[48]. Matt 22:29.
[49]. Cited by Philip Schaff,
History of the Christian Church,
vol. 2, 423.
[50]. 1 Cor 14:32.
[51]. F. F. Bruce,
The Letters of Paul, An Expanded Paraphrase,
111.
[52]. H.D.M. Spence and J. S. Excell, eds.,
Pulpit Commentary,
vol 44, 460.
[53]. Exod 7:1; 4:15-16.
[54]. Exod 4:10, 14.
[55]. Rev 1:11; cf. 21:10-27.
[56]. Jer 36:32.
[57]. Num 33:1-2; Josh 24:25-26; 2 Chr 26:22; Ezek 24:2.
[58]. 1 Sam 16:7
[59]. Rom 15:4; Jude 7 and 2 Pet 2:6; Rom 4:23-24; Jas 5:10-11; 1
Cor 9:9-10.
[60]. Luke 1:3-4.
[61]. John 12:16.
[62]. John 7:39; cf. Acts 2:33; 5:31-32.
[63]. John 14:26.
[64]. John 20:30-31.
[65]. Shalmaneser III recorded that Ahab supplied 2,000 chariots and
10,000 foot soldiers to the Aramean coalition which confronted his invasion
of the West.
ANET, 279.
[66]. Matt 12:3-4; 12:39-41; 19:4-5; Luke 11:51; Matt 24:37-39; Luke
4:25-27.
[67]. Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield,
The Inspiration and Authority
of the Bible, 112-13.
[68]. Cornelius Van Til, "Introduction," ibid., 61, citing Emil Brunner,
Revelation and Reason, 170-71.
[69]. Ezek 2:5.
[70]. 2 Tim 3:16.
[71]. Isa 46:9-10.
[72]. John 14:29; cf. John 13:19; 16:4.
[73]. Mark 1:15; Luke 4:21; Matt 26:24, 53; Luke 24:27, 44-45.
[74]. 1 Pet 1:15.
[75]. Strong, 203.
[76]. H. C. Thiessen,
Introduction to the New Testament,
85.
[77]. Job 14:4.
[78]. Edward Heppenstall, Doctrine of Inspiration and Revelation,
Seminary course.
[79]. John 10:35, NEB (
luo, "to loose, to break, to annul,
to cancel").
[80]. Matt 4:4, 6, 10 and Luke 20:17; Matt 9:13; 4:4; Luke 10:25-27;
John 17:17; Mark 7:8; Matt 21:42 and Mark 12:10; 12:26; John 5:46, 39; Luke
24:26, 44; Matt 23:29.
[81]. 1 Pet 1:23; 2 Tim 3:15 (KJV).
[82]. Matt 26:17; 1 Cor 12:3.
[83]. 1 Pet 1:22; Acts 5:32.
[84]. John 15:7; Col 3:16; John 14:17.
[85]. Eph 5:26; Titus 3:5-6.
[86]. 1 Pet 2:2; Jer 15:16.
[87]. 1 Pet 1:23; cf. John 3:5, 8.
[88]. Warfield, 123-24.
[89]. 2 Tim 3:16.
[90]. Samuel Chadwick,
The Way to Pentecost, 32.
[91]. 1 Cor 2:12.
[92]. 1 Cor 2:11, 14.
[93]. Jas 1:21
[94]. 1 Thess 2:13.
Scriptures quoted from RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of
the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952 © 1971, 1973.
Scriptures quoted from NEB are from The New English Bible.
© The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics
of the Cambridge University Press 1861, 1970. Reprinted by permission.
The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all quotations
cited in this paper.
7/23/98
Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®