The Nature of Inspiration I. Introduction A. As Christians who seek to follow the will of God, we highly prize the Bible and its message for us B. We believe that the Bible is God's revelation to man, plenary and inspired C. Plenary: full, complete D. We also believe the Bible to be inspired 1. But what does it mean that the Bible is inspired? 2. What is inspiration? 3. How does inspiration work? 4. Does inspiration mean the same thing in every text of the Bible? E. Let us explore more regarding the nature of inspiration II. The Meaning of Inspiration A. What is inspiration? B. Inspiration, most literally, is the process by which one draws air into the lungs (Webster's) C. We see the word used in 2 Timothy 3:16 1. Paul declares Scripture to be "inspired"/speaks of Scripture that is "inspired" 2. The Greek word used here is theopneustos, literally "God-breathed" 3. Scripture, then, is "breathed out by God," and hence the use of the English term inspiration! D. How do we know what is inspired? 1. Paul establishes that "Scripture" is inspired 2. We know that Jesus and the Apostles considered the Old Testament to be inspired, since they constantly quote from all but a few of its books 3. We know further that the prophets were inspired (2 Peter 1:19-21) 4. We can trust the Apostles as inspired since Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-13), and such was given on Pentecost (Acts 2) 5. Likewise, Peter attests to Paul's letters as being Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16) E. We can have every confidence, then, that the Bible we have is Scripture and is inspired of God! III. How Does Inspiration Work? A. Having established the fact that the Bible is inspired, and that inspiration means that God has breathed out the Scriptures, we can now attempt to ascertain, as much as we are able, how that inspiration came about B. Peter, when speaking of the prophets, establishes that prophecy is not done by man's agency, but that "men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20) 1. We get the impression, then, that men who are filled with the Holy Spirit are moved by the Spirit to write, and such is inspired Scripture 2. It is entirely true, then, that the Scriptures were physically written by men, but the source, direction, and substance of the message are from God C. We can see from the Scriptures themselves that while God directs men to write, the author's style is not lost in the presentation of God's message 1. When we approach the Bible, we do not see 66 books that sound the same 2. The message is consistent throughout, sure, but different authors have their different styles 3. The Gospel of John is no less true than the other Gospels, yet the style is different 4. Likewise, the style of Paul is different from the Hebrew author and different from James, John, and Peter 5. This is not a difficulty, for the Spirit used men and the way the men wrote in the languages the men wrote to clearly and fully present God's truth! D. Confidence of inspiration is only for the original texts in the original language 1. There are some who, for various reasons, believe that later editions and/or translations of the Bible are specially inspired of God a. this is most often seen in some who believe in the inspiration of the KJV translators b. others believe that the Textus Receptus of Erasmus, the Greek manuscript behind the KJV, was specially inspired by God 2. While people hold to this belief, there is no evidence for it, nor any indication from any of the authors of those materials that would attest to their inspiration! 3. We can have complete confidence in the inspiration of what was written down by the original authors in their original languages 4. Furthermore, we can be reasonably confident that the Hebrew and Greek texts in our possession can be analyzed so as to provide us with a text very near to those originals 5. Our English translations, while good and certainly able to lead us to the truth, are still translations by uninspired men, and therefore it is profitable at times to consider the original languages to make sure that we are not going astray E. We should not feel that we cannot translate the Word, however 1. After all, the New Testament authors use a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, and not the best one either-- the Greek Septuagint 2. We see throughout the Bible the intent of God to communicate to His people in their language-- be it Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek 3. Since we speak English, it is only proper to communicate God's will in English-- we just need to keep its limitations in mind F. We can see, then, how God has inspired men to write in days of old and present His message IV. The Implications of Inspiration in Various Texts A. Having seen how God inspired men to speak, it is good for us to now consider how we are to interpret the Scriptures and what is authoritative based on the inspiration of the message by God B. Essentially, how does inspiration work in the texts? C. There are three main ways that inspiration works D. 1: A statement is inspired of God and designed to present authoritative instruction from God 1. We are most familiar with this type of inspiration 2. We see this kind of inspiration in the commands of God issued in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and in the New Testament 3. For example, the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 are statements inspired of God, written down, and the Israelites were expected to follow them 4. Likewise, when Paul says in Galatians 5:19-23 to refrain from the works of the flesh and to manifest the fruit of the Spirit, those are inspired statements of God that God expects man to follow 5. With these statements, God said it, we must do it, end of story! E. 2: A statement is inspired of God and designed to present a true rendition of events that occurred 1. While the Bible is full of commands for man to follow, a large portion of the Bible is filled with narratives of historical events 2. When we see such narratives, we recognize that their inspiration means that the story is being presented to us exactly as it happened 3. Many times the author will provide indications as to whether God approves or disapproves of the events transpiring a. 1 Kings 16:29-31: the author of 1 Kings indicates that Ahab was evil, in fact the most evil king of Israel; therefore, when we read the narratives of Ahab throughout 1 Kings, we recognize that God is not approving of his actions b. Luke 2:52, Luke 3:22: Luke informs us that Jesus grows in the favor of God, that God is pleased with Him, and we can see then that God approves of His Son's actions 4. On the other hand, there are many times when the author does not indicate that God has either approved or disapproved of the actions spoken of, and we should not deduce from the silence that God actually approves of the person's actions a. Judges 16:1: Samson visits a harlot b. Isaiah 39:1-3: Hezekiah receiving the Babylonians 5. Acts 19:28: the Scripture reads that "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!", yet we know that such is not the truth of the matter-- Luke is faithfully recording the events transpiring in Ephesus, not proclaiming the truth of Artemis! F. 3: A statement is inspired of God and presented in figurative and/or poetic language 1. The use of inspired figurative/poetic language requires a special mention because many try to ascertain truth based on the literal language used! 2. Many times, men who are inspired will make statements using figurative/poetic language that is inconsistent with other truth when taken on a literal level 3. Psalm 51:5: As David pours out his heart in repentance toward God, he says that he was conceived in iniquity a. many take this passage, apply it literally, and say that mankind is sinful from birth b. the problem with this is that David is speaking in poetic language and he speaks in hyperbole-- his great sorrow prompts him to exaggerate the truth c. Matthew 18:1-4, Ezekiel 18:4-- we can see that children are innocent and the soul that sins dies on its on basis d. The inspiration of David's poetry does not present literal truth, therefore, but represents the raw emotion in David's repentance 4. We also see in Job plenty of statements made by Job that are not exactly correct (and many statements of his friends that are correct, but not their application thereof)-- the inspiration of that text demonstrates that we have an accurate record of what Job said and felt, but we recognize from Job 38-42 that we cannot fully trust the statements made by Job 5. In the New Testament, we see this often a. Revelation, of course, is constantly literalized despite the fact that it is a vision b. 2 Corinthians 11:5: Is Paul literally saying that his opponents are super-apostles? We think not! c. 2 Corinthians 11:8: did Paul literally rob other churches? Is it not a sin to steal? d. In these texts, we see that Paul is using sarcasm and charged language to drive home his point-- you have accepted those who are false and have accepted false claims e. Paul was inspired to say such things, but that does not mean that we are to accept them on the literal level! G. These are the main implications of inspiration V. Conclusion A. We have looked into the nature of inspiration B. We have seen that inspiration means that God breathed out a message to men, that those men wrote the message, and that message is authoritative C. We have seen the implications of inspiration in regards to various texts D. Let us hold to the inspired Word of God and believe in it! E. Invitation/songbook F. We affirm for you today that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, the message breathed out by God and authoritative for mankind G. That message includes the message of Christ Jesus, that He, as God, came to earth, and took on the form of man, and died on the cross that you may have eternal life (Philippians 2:5-10, John 3:16) H. If you have not done so, you have the opportunity to obey Him today I. Likewise, if you are a Christian who believes such and you need some encouragement, we can help you with that also J. Whatever you need, let us help you; come to the front as we stand and sing