The Doctrine Of Inspiration
The Holy Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Today, we are going to be starting a series of lessons that I hope will help each of us have a deeper appreciation for “The Holy Bible.”
God’s most precious word is vital to the child of God and as such we should have a deep appreciation for what God has given us.
However, over the years, the inspiration of the gospel has taken a beating from those that would strive to discredit God and lead people away from the truth.
Thus, today we are going to start our series on “The Holy Bible” by diving right into “The Doctrine Of Inspiration.”
But before we can get in we must admit that man has invented…
Various Theories On Inspiration
Various Theories On Inspiration
Differing Views Held About The Bible.
Differing Views Held About The Bible.
If one decides to go down the rabbit hole on the differing views about the inspiration of the bible” and expand out to the world looking for man’s opinion on the subject it doesn’t take long to find the strange, peculiar, and certainly outlandish theories or views.
I will just for our information take a moment to examine a handful today.
What are some of these views held about the bible and its inspiration?
There are those that hold the view that the bible is no different than any other book written by any other person in history.
It is perhaps a “good book” but nothing more.
There are those that hold to the view that the bible is “inspired” in the same sense that Shakespeare, Longfellow, and others are inspired writings of times past.
It inspires people emotionally but nothing more.
There are others that hold to the view that the bible is inspired in “some way” or to “some measure.”
They cannot define how much or how little it is just stated that it is inspired to “some degree.”
There are some who hold the view that God gave each writer of the bible “his thoughts” but not the exact words.
That man was given liberty to explain God’s thoughts in his “own words.”
There are others who hold that God had nothing to do with man’s writing of the scriptures, but rather inspired the collecting of writings so as to created his word or bible, specifically 397 AD.
That certain group was “inspired” to created the canon we know of now as the bible.
There are also those, like you and I, that hold the view that God miraculously gave the original writers the exact words, those exact words were selected & revealed by the Holy Spirit to men who possessed the miraculous gift of “prophecy”, and that these men wrote down those exact selected words given by the Holy Spirit as they were directed by the Holy Spirit to do.
2 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness
Summary
Summary
Now that last view is the one we find in scripture and it is vitally important that we understand that this is how God inspired his holy word.
Because “if God inspired his word” then his word is the final word on the matter of all things authoritative.
So, let’s first examine…
The Bible’s Own Claim For Itself
The Bible’s Own Claim For Itself
The Miraculous Nature Of Inspiration.
The Miraculous Nature Of Inspiration.
The bible is clear that all authority is inherent in God and this crucial fact is declared in various passages.
Genesis 1:1 (ESV)
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Psalm 95:1–3 (ESV)
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
Psalm 95:4–6 (ESV)
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Acts 17:24–25 (ESV)
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Genesis 18:13–14 (ESV)
13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Luke 1:37 (ESV)
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.
Because of “who God is” and “what God is” all original authority resides in him.
In time the bible demonstrates that God gave authority to the Son.
The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were inspired to convince men that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God who was given all authority.
Mark 9:7 (ESV)
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
John 5:26–27 (ESV)
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
Matthew 28:18 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
In time, the bible demonstrates that the Son of God gave authority to the apostles as well.
Jesus knew that his own life upon the hear would be short and thus he set out to teach, tutor, and train his apostles for the great task of taking the gospel to the whole world.
Matthew 10:18–20 (ESV)
18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
John 16:13 (ESV)
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Matthew 16:18–19 (NASB)
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Summary
Summary
This is the great gift by which God gave his revelation to man, his authority behind every word.
The authority involved in this gift is the authority of God, who gave it to Christ, who gave it to the apostles through the Holy Spirit.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The real question is then…
What Does This All Mean?
What Does This All Mean?
We Have The Mind Of God Written Down.
We Have The Mind Of God Written Down.
Paul would boldly proclaim in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16…
1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV)
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 2:12–13 (ESV)
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
Paul would proclaim the same thing but in a slightly different way in Ephesians 3:1-5…
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
Ephesians 3:3–5 (ESV)
3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 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.
Summary
Summary
What does all this mean…
It means that the bible is authority.
It means that the bible is divine authority.
It means that the bible is the only and all sufficient authority in all matters pertaining to salvation of the soul.
It means that the bible is our only guide to take us from this life and into heaven itself.
Acts 20:32 (ESV)
32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The doctrine of inspiration must be vital to every Christian.
Because as the apostle of love wrote, inspired of God, in 2 John 9…
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
