1. VIEWS CONCERNING INSPIRATION
It is necessary to understand the Bible's nature and the scope of its reliability. Several views concerning inspiration are in circulation today.
1) The History of Religions (Religiongeschichteschule) Approach: This view developed during the 19th century from German school of thought and is inextricably tied to the theory of evolution. Proponents reason that if the universe and all life are the products of evolution, religion necessarily must have evolved as well. Joseph Campbell is a well-known author and professor of mythology that espoused this view.
2) Moral Inspiration: This approach does not treat the Bible as religiously binding, but it does agree that there are in the Bible sections which contain wisdom for living.
3) The Neoorthodox Approach: Essentially, this view holds that the Bible is not the Word of God, but is a witness to the Word of God. The Bible contains many helpful things, but also contains errors. One must employ the "mind of Christ" in order to determine what is truth and what is error. Thus, the Bible becomes the Word of God when one reads it. Karl Barth and Emil Brunner were proponents of this approach.
4) Thought Inspiration: The Bible contains inspired thoughts which the biblical authors received from God, but is not inspired on a word by word basis.
5) Verbal Plenary Inspiration: Each word of the Bible is completely and equally what God directed the biblical authors to write.
6) Mechanical Dictation: The biblical writers transcribed God's words, serving more as amanuenses rather than true authors.
2. BIBLICAL PASSAGES THAT ADDRESS THE SUBJECT OF INSPIRATION
1) Jesus' View of Inspiration
4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."
4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (Matt. 4:3-4).[1]
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."[2] (Matt. 5:17).
2) The Apostles' View of Inspiration
15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; (2 Tim. 3:16)
"BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER" And this is the word which was preached to you. (1 Pet. 1:25, a quotation of Isa. 40:8)
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Pet. 1:21)
3:15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,
3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Pet. 3:14-16)
3. THE BIBLE CLAIMS FOR ITSELF VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION
Some helpful definitions of verb plenary inspiration:
Verbal Plenary Inspiration: “. . . God through the Holy Spirit directly guided the exact words recorded by the biblical writers as they wrote the Scriptures.”[3]
The Baptist Faith and Message: “The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.”[4]
Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary: “We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, wholly without error as originally given by God, and is sufficient as our only infallible rule of faith and practice. We deny that other books are inspired by God in the same way as the Bible.”[5]
CONCLUSION
According to God and the Bible's own testimony, every single word of Scripture is completely and equally inspired, and therefore completely reliable. Praise God for His perfect book that is a guide and comfort to us in every situation!
[1] All Scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the New American Standard, updated edition.
[2] The phrase "the Law and the Prophets" is a way to refer to the entire Old Testament.
[3]Donald K. McKim, Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), 145.
[4]The Baptist Faith and Message: A Statement Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention June 14, 2000. Cf. Article 1: The Scriptures.
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